Weekly Roundup #97: Birthdays and AHAs + BHAs
I combined the last two weeks into this roundup because I was out for a few days and work was a little crazy. A couple weeks ago, I turned another year closer to 30 and nothing changed—except I’ve finally been to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and I couldn’t have nerded out harder.
xo, Katie
Reading
Milkman, Anna Burns. Guys, I’m really fucking up my schedule to hit my goals for the Popsugar Reading Challenge this year…but hoping to finally finish this book this weekend!
How Girls' Night In founder Alisha Ramos manages her workflow and sets boundaries at work, Hello Giggles. As someone who struggles with work-life balance, I really appreciated hearing that it’s ok to not check emails after 6:30 pm from a CEO.
The Rules of Communicating With Friends, From Missed Texts to Unplanned FaceTimes, Man Repeller. If only the confetti-send on my phone actually worked…
How to Be More Optimistic, The New York Times. I tend to be a pretty optimistic person, but, sometimes, I let my stress get the best of me. So this, “Research suggests that optimists earn more money, have better relationships and even live longer “ is a great little reminder not to.
Fat Women Onscreen Deserve Better Than Crappy Love Interests, BuzzFeed. I never realized this, but it’s so true. Why is “getting the guy” always, always, always the “prize” or moment of validation at the end of a fat girl’s storyline? Although we did just start getting fat leads in shows, so hopefully this will become a more common thing…we can only hope. I mean, honestly, more empowering and inclusive storylines always, especially for shows you know young people will see!
Which Lunchtime Workouts Are Actually Possible? I (Sweatily) Investigated, Man Repeller. I really liked this piece because I’m just like the writer. Despite having a flexible workplace, I think my brain would explode if I took an entire hour off for non-work purposes…yes, I do eat my lunch at my desk, how’d you know? I don’t know that I could every actually workout at lunch…but this makes me feel like I could TRY.
It’s Good That Stars Are Talking About Their Anxiety, The Cut. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
The unfair pressure for Birds of Prey to be a great feminist superhero movie, Vox. “…when a movie dares to represent something other than the status quo, the movie’s supporters are forced to cross their fingers.” It’s utter bullshit. I would love to see a Joker-style Harley Quinn movie. I’ve always found her story arc so fascinating and I would love to actually get a closer look into her backstory. I mean, going from a psychiatrist to a full-on deranged supervillain? Yes, let’s see that happen. But, instead, movies like this have to worry about hitting the numbers, just so we can maybe continue to see female leads in superhero movies. They’re not allowed to just BE—they have to knock it out of the park.
These Are Top 10 Beauty Products That People Are Really Into Right Now, Refinery29. I’ve had both Herbivore's Prism and The Ordinary Peeling Solution serum on my list forevvvver, and the Glow Recipe sleeping mask…really need to get on this stuff.
Prenups Rule, Divorce Drools: How Millennials Are Killing The Marriage Game, Refinery29. Hmm, never thought about it this way…maybe I do want a prenup when I get married.
The 9 Trends Dominating 2020 (And The 2 We're Leaving Behind In 2019), Elle. I’m pretty all-in on most of these—yes, please, colored faux leather!—but I will never carry a clutch. I don’t like carrying a purse as it is, so one I have to literally carry in my hand at all times? Fuck no.
The price of wine is dropping fast, CNN. This totally makes sense. I love going to wineries and doing a tasting, then buying a bottle or two (or going to wine festivals and buying six…whoops), but I rarely actually drink it… Instead, it just sits in our wine cabinet until I realize I have to drink it before it goes bad. And I basically never order it when out—there are too many fun cocktails and beers out there!
You’re Not Listening: Here’s Why, The New York Times. I found this so interesting. I think I’m a good listener, but this made me think that maybe I should take a step back next time and make sure I’m not assuming what the person is going to say next or relying on my stereotypes of that person.
3 Editors Tried the "Clean Color" Pastel Makeup Trend, and They're Never Going Back to Basics, Popsugar. I’m very into the first and third examples, annd it kind of reminds me of how I feel Glossier’s Skywash will look—which I really want to try.
Listening
Black Girl Magic playlist, Spotify. We should all be making more of an effort to appreciate black artists’ work, but I appreciate Spotify’s push during Black History Month.
Check out my Tunes 2020 highlight for all my most recent listens!
Watching
Love Is Blind, Netflix. Everyone is watching this show now, right? If you haven’t yet, watch the first two episodes and you’ll be hooked too. You may not be happy about it, but you will. be. hooked.
Explained, Netflix. Not only is the theme song pretty stellar, but there are some really interesting topics in their roundup, like tattoos.
Joker, Warner Bros. This movie was disturbing, upsetting and…I think I thought it was good? I felt it said a lot about mental health and how we care for people—or, rather, don’t—with mental health issues.
Adore You (Harry Styles Cover), Lizzo. What did we do to deserve this? 😇
Loving
My unicorn bday nails.
Sailor Moon x Colourpop collection. I immediately sent this to a friend of mine whose favorite shirt is one with the Sailor Moon girls on it, but…I used to have the crescent wand as a kid, no big. So this is V. exciting to me. Give me the Luna and Tuxedo Rose shadows NOW PLZ.
