#2 Wednesday Round-Up

10.13.2022

October 13, 2022

Happy Wednesday! (Today is Thursday). Apologies for the delay on this second round-up. I completely and utterly forgot I had started this project. Per usual, the star scale is based on the amount of joy it gave me personally, which is subjective, chaotic, and massively unscientific. Not every section will have the same number of recommendations or reviews, since it’s based on what I’ve come across this week that’s worth suggesting. Without further delay, here are some gems I have been enjoying this week. 

🎧 Listening Round Up 

I discovered Lana on #dramione TikTok and we have since become internet friends (swoon). She created a playlist to accompany her recent fanfiction obsession and my sisters in Christ, when I tell you that it is a portkey directly to the castle itself…Vibes are self-evident in the title, but think rain/snow/academia/stone/dew/crackling fire/ wool/ dreamy nostalgia wrapped literary lusciousness ⭐⭐⭐⭐

🎬 Watching Round Up

  1. Catherine Called Birdy (Amazon Prime, Film, Comedy, 2022)

I had been getting advertisements and trailer clips for Catherine Called Birdy for months, forcing Devon and Alicia to watch the trailer with me more than once and making plans with multiple people to watch it once it landed on Amazon. I am a slut for anything Andrew Scott (Hot Priest, Moriarty, Hamlet etc.) and was eager to see him play in another comedy. Russell Brand, for all of his controversy, still manages to be so unpredictable that I catch myself laughing out loud, and though I have a strong dislike for Lena Dunham, the cast and concept of this film was too compelling to resist. 

The childbirth scene in Catherine Called Birdy alone was worth the watch, as so many birthing scenes are depicted with misogynistic characters, fatalistic attitudes, dehumanizing dialogue, and horribly depressing outcomes (I’m looking at you, House of the Dragon). The childbirth scene in Catherine Called Birdy and the childbirth scene in season 2 of Bridgerton both offer a much-needed and far different story if you are looking for a pallet cleanser from HOTD. They take that same concept of a difficult and distressing birth during a time of abject gender inequality and make the moment beautiful and good because of the love and support shown by the men in the room. (I don’t care if it’s fictional, okay?) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I DO NOT KNOW WHEN MY OBSESSION WITH LIZZIE WILL END OKAY?! There are a few things I love about this twenty-nine minute and one second film/visual album. In no particular order:

  • it is twenty-nine minutes and one second long with no paywall

  • it is nostalgic as hell, angsty and sad and creepy and beautiful

  • it is creative and daring– to release a visual album takes guts

  • it’s got HEART okay? #sadgirlautumn #cozyboyfall 

(I don’t really know about content warnings other than there are dark themes around dysfunction and toxic relationships and euphoria-esque vibes of high school/college) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

📚 Reading Round-Up

  1. All The Young Dudes (Harry Potter Fanfiction, relationship Remus Lupin/Sirius Black)

If you are not familiar and/or obsessed with Harry Potter, this one may not be for you. Proceed at your own risk and/or come back once you’ve read the Harry Potter series (BUY IT USED OR BORROW FROM THE LIBRARY TO AVOID SUPPORTING JK ROWLING FINANCIALLY). 

Beginning with Remus, James, Peter, and Sirius’ first year at Hogwarts and ending with the events of The Order of the Phoenix, All The Young Dudes (ATYD) is a 188 chapter, 500K+ word, work of fanfiction that chronicles the Marauders’ friendship from 1970s to the 1990s, rife with references to 70s popculture, Bowie, and the Beatles as the title suggests. This fic is canon-compliant (so prepare to be devastated in the later half), and draws on themes of coming of age, friendship, self-discovery, young love, classism, prejudice, and betrayal. 

There is a reason this fic remains a staple in the FF community, for the characters are written with so much heart and compassion, and many of the mistakes of the Harry Potter series are rectified in this beautiful exploration of Sirius & Remus’ love with one another and the true power of friendship amongst their friends. The author offers a refreshing and bold critique of class, gender, and sexuality in a way that JK Rowling massively missed in the original series. Though I am only several hundred pages into this fic (of which there are nearly two thousand), I know that this will be one of the best things I have ever had the privilege of reading. 

Fleur’s Uploads on Youtube reads this fic aloud, and it is really wonderfully done if you’d like to listen while you do your laundry. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

📚 Field-Trip Round-Up (SF Bay Area)

  1. Mill Valley Public Library (Mill Valley, CA)

Located at 375 Throckmorton Ave, Mill Valley, CA 94941 the Mill Valley Public Library is nestled amongst the redwoods of the north bay overlooking a small creek. Designed in the 1960s and later expanded upon, the building is three stories tall with massive floor to ceiling windows that allow readers to stare up the height of some of the largest trees in California as they immerse themselves in literature (or, ahem, smut). With large wooden beams, gorgeous and comfortable furniture, old fashioned carol desks and lamps, a large fireplace and friendly librarians, this place is worth crossing any bridge for. Check out the tiktok that inspired my voyage here! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

🧁 Cooking Round-Up:

  1. Pasta allá Norma (Cookie & Kate)

This recipe is SO EASY and it’s really good as left overs as well. My friend Hilary whipped this up for me one day and even though I didn’t think I was hungry, I ate two bowls. It’s that good. Though I’m usually a make-it-from-scratch bitch when it comes to tomato sauce, I love using the fancy jarred Rao’s marinara because, though hard to admit, it’s better. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Devon, Alicia and I, in our complete surrender to our elderly twenties, have begun a monthly Sunday dinner wherein we try a new recipe, catch up, and wine down. We have managed to successfully prioritize this time together with the help of google calendar (not a sponsor) and aggressively kind peer pressure. I highly suggest, dear reader, creating standing times to gather with your girlies to avoid endless rounds of “omg we should get a drink soon!” “yes omg so busy this week but lets try next week?” “omg I wish I could but I’m out of town” “dw we will find a time!” *never finds a time*. Gone are the whimsical days of our youth where we could text the group “what are we doing tonight” because we now live in different cities balancing work, partners, family obligations, travel and of course, mental illness. PUT IT ON THE CALENDAR! 

Main: Oh, right, the chicken. Alicia used a recipe from Molly Baz’s Cook This Book but added *🍋LEMON🍋* to the cavity and the pan to retain moisture. Her first roast chicken, armed only with the confidence of “If my mom can roast a chicken, so can I,” Alicia deserves a standing-O[vation]. 

Sides: Roasted potatoes: Sliced and diced some small, golden potatoes with olive oil / salt/ pepper/ whatever spices she liked, put them in the oven  @ ehhh 375? Roasted them until one of us said “uhh…there’s still potatoes in the oven” and we all admitted we had forgotten about the potatoes. Served deliciously crispy and on the side. 

Arugula Salad: Devon made a side arugula salad with shaved carrots, avocados, and sourdough croutons with a dijon dressing (dijon, olive oil and balsamic vinegar). It was delicious with amazing textures.

Broth: Alicia was tempted to throw the carcass away because making homemade broth seemed too much of a hassle, but I (politely) screamed at her that broth is actually the easiest thing to make and I did it two weeks ago. Empowered by the confidence of “if Montana can make broth, so can I” Alicia made a pot of delicious chicken broth, though wished she had removed the lemons. We just dumped all the chicken bones and scraps into a pot with water and let it simmer while we chatted in the living room for a few hours. 

Roast a chicken. Love your friends. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

🔨 Learning Round-Up

The beginner’s kit I purchased can be found here, however you can also hit up your local library, local craftstore, or local grandma for necessary supplies.

In this time of recovery from teaching, where I am trying to teach my body to slow down,  I figured perhaps needle-point would give my hands something to do so that my head could stop spinning with intrusive thoughts. It also allows me to pay homage to the March Sisters, the Bennett Sisters, and any woman anywhere really, who has ever passed time in a parlor with other ladies…spools of thread and textiles at their feet.

I am a complete beginner when it comes to hand embroidery, but I have always loved small accents on otherwise plain crewnecks, t-shirts, and shoes and have marveled at how meditative and calming the process looks. My old roommate, Lydia, embroidered adorable Christmas gifts for her best friends one year, and I was astounded at how beautifully they turned out (everything Lydia does, she does excellently, so I actually shouldn’t have been surprised). 

The video I used was extraordinarily calming, and I highly suggest pairing this whole experience with pizza, wine and a friend who also has some jeans to patch up or some Converse to embellish. 

Enter my beautifully creative friend Ceilie, who used gorgeous navy and lilac thread to patch up a hole she had in the back pocket of an adorable pair of dark wash jeans. Crafts are best enjoyed with relaxing music and friends that feel like home <3

**Ceilie also has an amazing etsy shop where she sells her amazing iphone wallpaper templates that turn to-do lists into a fun bingo game! ⭐⭐⭐⭐

😂Laughing Round-Up

Have you seen the 2017 live-action Beauty and the Beast starring Emma Watson? Chances are you have. However, chances are you have not seen behind-the-scenes footage from before the CGI was applied. Please do yourself a favor and watch the scene from the movie when Belle and the Beast meet at the staircase and THEN and only then, the BTS (pay particular attention to his feet at 0:53)

*Ending note*

This project was born from a realization I had that most newsletters I was subscribed to have recently become little more than snarky lists of things to purchase. This focus on consumption gave me the ick. I wanted to read a newsletter that suggested hyper-local ways in which I could connect more deeply with myself and my community through experiences that bring me joy, not experiences predicated upon the habitual spending of consumer culture. So, though some things I suggest necessitate getting materials, or having subscriptions, or buying ingredients at the market, I am really trying to offer a compendium of experiences I have had that can be enjoyed when you’re flat broke and wanting to FEEL something. If you’re looking for more of an influencer type vibe of things to *own*, this ain’t that. But there are so many newsletters that offer trendy-stuff!