Leandra Medine's Blog, page 33
April 6, 2020
Your April Horoscope Is Here to Deliver You a Tiny Glimmer of Joy
Astrology can’t predict our futures: If it could, surely there would have been some warning written into the movement of the stars, letting us know how much could change from one month to the next. When you come to commune with me here on planet Man Repeller, I don’t think of us as being in the future-prediction business. I believe, in fact, that we are in the business of creation. Astrology functions as a kind of reflecting pool. When we peer into this reflecting pool together, we give ourselves a space to play, to tell each other generative stories about who we are and who we want to become. Every time we read a horoscope and say “Oh yeah, that’s spot on–classic me!” or “Ugh that is so not me,” we are triangulating what we believe about ourselves. That kind of self-knowledge is incredibly valuable at such an unstable time.
I offer this month’s, and every month’s, horoscopes to you as a tool I hope can be useful and delightful. Imagine that I am holding out a small wooden whistle that I carved, just for you, in my outstretched paws. I say: Please accept this humble gift from the bottom of my wee heart. I can’t offer you the answers to the questions we all want answered right now. I don’t know the way forward, and honestly, neither does Pluto.
Without further ado, my fellow mammals striving to find meaning and maybe even brief glimmers of joy in the anthropocene, let us get weird.
Aries
Happy birthday season, you perfect fire ram!
I know, I know—it’s a hard time to have a birthday. For many signs, just the thought of mustering an elaborately themed virtual birthday party would be exhausting. But I believe that you, Aries, can pull it off. You and your fellow rams have an unparalleled energetic disposition. It may seem frivolous to apply that energy to something like a whimsical fete, but hear me out: The full moon in Libra on the 7th urges all of us to think about our relationships, and for you, this means turning to your IRL social network as a source of levity and light during the dark days. As the moon wanes and you continue to apply your energy to keeping your personal connections fresh and uplifting, you may feel a newfound sense of confidence and security, surrounded (even virtually) by the people you care about and who care about you. When the new moon in Taurus arrives on the 22nd, take a big deep breath and allow yourself a period of reflection. Take stock of how this month has been lived in your body, and then lay that body down in a warm bath. I’ll be here when you get out
Taurus
Taurus, you celestially cherished, spiritually fortified, sexy-never-left lookin ass bovine, I want to start off by directing your attention to one of my fave qualities about you.
Y’all are notorious for being what some people might call set in your ways, but other people might just say you know what you like. I am among the second set of people, who believe that you just know what tf you like. Secondly, I would like to direct your attention to the full moon in Libra on the 7th. Full moons signal the completion or fulfilment of a cycle, and this full moon in Libra is all about letting go of some stale habits in your relationships. This period of economic anxiety and social distance and just general large-scale grief has transformed the way that we express and receive love; it has challenged our boundaries and our communication styles. Take some time around the full moon to consider which parts of your communication style have maybe been on autopilot for a while. Try and make yourself aware of the aspects of your life that you can let go of before entering into this next phase.
On the 19th, it’s Taurus time, baby! By the time the new moon arrives in your sign on the 22nd, you will have entered a fresh period of self-knowledge and refined intimacy. Under the cover of the new moon, indulge in some highly personal pleasure adventures. Think of something that gives you pleasure and think about how you might stretch out that pleasure, or amplify it. For example, let’s say you’re really leaning into your 10 p.m. comfort waffles, which you normally eat with some Log Cabin syrup and some Earth Balance. Think about how much more decadent you could be, Taurus! Waffles are an amazing base food. There is a world full of waffle innovations— Monte Cristo waffle sandwiches, cinnamon roll waffles, chicken and waffles nachos!!! In fact, this horoscope is now primarily waffle erotica, but you get what I’m saying, right? Taurus, please stay knowing exactly what you like. Also, harness the lunar energy this month to let go of whatever doesn’t serve you, so that you can make room for bigger and better things (like waffles).
Gemini
Oh, Gemini, what a challenging time to be the astrological equivalent of a fireworks show.
Without credit, against the onslaught of constant internet shade, Geminis have been out here, keeping parties interesting, keeping their followers thirsty, and generally being fascinating as heck. First of all, I want to thank you for joining me here in the horoscopes, as I assume that many of you are making yourselves busy with a variety of virtual linkups. My favorite Gemini recently invited me to a Zoom dance party, but it was 9 p.m., and I was already deep in my nightly ritual of eating a pound of noodles and waiting for the darkness of sleep to take me.
Gemini is ruled by Mercury, the astrological communicator—and during this challenging time, it’s especially important for the world’s Geminati to continue to fill up their spiritual gas tanks and find ways to grace us with their sparkle, even at a distance. This will never be more evident in April than on the 7th. With a full moon in Libra, we’re all going to turn our attention to the relationships in our lives. Your strength for communicating and building connection can sometimes result in carrying more than your share of effort, in terms of relationship maintenance. Are there any relationships in your life where you feel that you’re doing the heavy lifting? As generously as possible, consider asking for more support. If there’s someone in your life who is on some bullshit, consider this horoscope your permission to gracefully, compassionately choose to get some space from that person. The new moon in Taurus on the 22nd marks an opportunity for a new beginning. The earthy energy of Taurus will encourage you to ask yourself questions that you may have been moving too fast to consider back in the before-times. Why do you want what you want? What makes all of the effort worth it? The support you receive from your loved ones–along with the space you’ve made around the full moon–will set you up to receive the answers to those questions with fortitude.
Cancer
Cancers know how to nest.
If, a few months ago, you had given a Cancer an enchanted bottle full of wish-granting genies or witches or whatever, the Cancers may have actually wished for the opportunity to spend an indeterminate amount of time holed up in their own damn house. Unfortunately, if you’ve ever watched a movie, then you know that that is the trouble with magical creatures who offer you stuff–it really all comes down to context! Although many Cancers are inclined toward staying at home, social isolation is not the same as taking a cozy self-care staycation, in spite of what many of the life-optimizing seize-the-moment-type articles circulating right now would have you believe. This can lead to domestic strife and tension, which cuts to the Cancerian quick because of how much y’all love a peaceful home. The full moon in Libra on the 7th will draw your attention toward the balance, or imbalance, in your life, especially in terms of your relationships. Libra’s intellectual, airy influence can offer you a productive counterpoint to the deeply feeling water in your chart. See if you can lay out some practical, pragmatic ways that you can ask for support in your relationships. Try and take the risk of putting yourself out there, or asking for something that you are afraid you won’t receive. Then feel your heart grow two sizes when your family and friends rise to the occasion.
The new moon in Taurus on the 22nd is a chance for a new beginning, specifically in the world of sensuality and embodied experience. This presents an excellent opportunity to take up a new self-care practice that you’ve been curious about but haven’t tried for whatever reason. Maybe it seemed frivolous or embarrassing, but whatever–it’s apocalyptic as heck out there now, so why not try to learn hula from YouTube tutorials? No one is watching! No one cares! Let those two phrases be your mantra as you plumb the depths of buried impulses and find something silly and sweet that feels good in your body. Every time you hear a negative thought or self-judgement, just repeat after me: No one is watching! Nobody is okay right now! No one cares if I look like one of those inflatable noodle guys in front of car dealerships when I dance!
Take these and call me in the morning, Cancer.
Leo
A little known fact about Leos is that they come out of the womb with jazz hands.
Instead of crying, they hit one Mariah-Carey-style-Champagne-glass-shattering vocal run before asking someone to wipe them down. It’s true. I don’t make the rules. If you have a problem with it, ask science. Leos are born to be adored, and it’s generally not without cause, because generally y’all are incredibly charismatic. But if a tree falls in the forest with no one around to hear it, does it make a sound? Or in your case: Take our Leo, fantastically dressed, learning the ukulele, alone in their apartment. If there’s no one around to applaud their pared-down rendition of “Skinny Love”, does anything even matter anymore!?
The answer is yes, Leo. The full moon on the 7th signals the end of a cycle, and with that moon filling out in Libra—a sign that’s all about harmony and relationships—you already know we’re going to be doing some work on how we relate to other people. This brings me to the point, Leo. The social distance and isolation that most of us are experiencing has thrown a lot of people into a crisis of identity, a crisis of affirmation. When we’re cut off from the normal sources of external validation, we must get more intimate with ourselves. Can I get an amen? (I heard you.) This means that you need to channel Libra’s harmonious relationship energy as you examine how you may have been giving away your power to define and affirm yourself.
This will most likely be a bumpy journey of discovery, you Calabrian chilli pepper of a human being! Happily, the full moon in Taurus arrives on the 22nd, and God bless it. We will all be grateful for Taurean preference for slow, steady, pleasure-based activities. If the full moon asked you to move past aspects of your relationship with yourself that no longer served you, then the new moon in Taurus on the 22nd will ask you to implement and anoint your new relationship with yourself. Yes, Leo–of course I’m talking about sex stuff. So many of us are afraid to become deeply intimate with ourselves. Many of us are afraid that whatever is down there in the murk of our heart is bad or shameful or wrong. Don’t be afraid of seeing yourself, Leo, because I promise that whatever you discover down there is worthy of your love and attention. Scout’s honor.
Virgo
Hey there Virgirino, how are you doing these days?
What are you eating? Intuitively I feel like Virgos are devoted to overnight oats. They are the perfect Virgo food: cost effective, time efficient, delicious, and how satisfying is it to look at perfectly lined-up jars of overnight oat varieties? Come to think of it, overnight oats are actually a perfect metaphor for one of Virgo’s big-time strengths: prudence. That’s right! Prudence is not just a name for Victorian ghosts and hot witches on the Sabrina reboot, folks! At your fullest Virgoan potential, you achieve your goals by visualizing the future you want for yourself–and then by making careful choices everyday toward that future.
Virgos delight in control, order, and making sure everything goes according to plan. We need these qualities right now. Even if you don’t feel like you’re embodying your highest Virgo lifestate, you can have a stabilizing influence on the people in your life. Feeling out of control is challenging for everyone, and it can bring out sides of people that would normally stay tucked away. That’s why the full moon in Libra on April 7th will illuminate the many irksome ways that love and friendship do not always conform to our expectations. Take this as an opportunity to practice acceptance, because denial and repression do not yield sustainable futures–only a clear-eyed, hands-in-the-dirt understanding of reality can bring about a future built on solid ground. Acknowledge your chaotic side and acknowledge it in others, while also asking yourself what kind of structure would make you feel more comfortable. So many of us are aching for regularity, for something to depend on, and maybe this looks like scheduling a recurring check-in with a loved one instead of random one-offs. Maybe this looks like having virtual coffee every morning with your mom or your best friend. By the time the new moon in Taurus arrives on the 22nd, you’ll have more space for the inevitable chaos of the world, balanced by the comfort of stability and routine in your relationships. You deserve to have needs, Virgo, and you deserve to have those needs met.
Libra
Libra, you astral aesthete, how have you been spending your indoor days?
I am betting that there have been some days when you might have felt moved to try and perfect a gazpacho recipe and rearrange the living room. Perhaps there have also been days spent primarily in the fetal position, letting your eyes glaze over while Bob’s Burgers plays on an endless loop. Lucky for you, one of the most important strengths attributed to Librans is your ability to see what needs to be changed in order to bring a situation back into balance. We’re living through a time when many of us are swinging wildly from one extreme to another. It’s like we’ve hit a patch of black ice on the highway, and many of us are overcorrecting and swerving into a tailspin. We must resist the totally understandable urge to overcorrect–and instead we must do whatever it is that dads and tow-truck guys have told me to do in that scenario that I can’t recall but hey! I’m not perfect and I’m not driving anywhere these days anyway! Take that, black ice! Anyway!
On the 7th, we get a full moon in your sign. This is a moment when your Libran powers for discernment, balance, and beauty will be amplified and best put to use in your relationships and the domestic sphere. You have the opportunity to reflect on areas of excess in your life and consider how elements of your relationships or your home life might be adjusted to support equilibrium. This is especially important because the new moon in Taurus on the 22nd will likely encourage you to indulge— a proposition to which any Libra is immediately like bitch, say less. But! Armed with your full-moon energy from the beginning of the month, you will have the discernment and grace to indulge wisely, rather than maxing out your credit card on luxury candles and sumptuous house slippers. A lack of moderation often comes from a deep-seated belief in scarcity–like, if I don’t eat the entire tub of ice cream I’ll be a sucker because I’ll never get to have ice cream ever again after tonight. Libra, ice cream isn’t going anywhere. There is more abundance in our lives than any of us manage to comprehend, trust.
Scorpio
Precious Scorpling, what have you been dreaming about?
Seriously, I want to know. Hit me with dream descriptions in the comments. I want to make a compendium of things that happen in Scorpios’ dreams because I have always imagined that it’s like a club scene from Queen of the Damned, and I just have a bit more time on my hands these days to dig in and do some research. Now, I am not only interested in your dreams, so as to dispel or confirm my stereotype that all Scorpios have freaky-sexy subconsious lives. I also bring up your dreams to draw your attention to one of the strengths associated with your sign. Scorpio is known for emotional depth and bravery, two necessary traits when we try to interact with the shadowy parts of ourselves, which are expressed in dreams, sex, and intuitive practice. With the full moon on the 7th in Libra, a sign that is all about relationships, you will have the opportunity to lean into the deep well of your emotional intelligence and ask yourself if you are holding onto grudges that stand in the way of intimacy. Like, the world is in chaos and tragedy is everywhere–do you really need to continue cold-shouldering that person who you actually really like but felt slighted by a few months ago and haven’t hit up since? Now is the time to dig deep and bravely examine that running list of People I No Longer Fuck With, which I imagine Scorpios recite like Arya Stark did her kill list. (Wow I just Googled it and, as a matter of fact, Arya Stark is a Scorpio. Congratulations.) When the new moon arrives in Taurus on the 22nd, maybe you’ll have rekindled the platonic or erotic flame with a previously counted-out person. If so, take Taurus’s sensual lead and have a candlelit, socially distanced dinner to celebrate the reunion. If you ever feel misunderstood, Scorp, just know that your depth and passion are necessary, beautiful aspects of who you are, and your complexity doesn’t make you any less deserving of generosity, patience, and love.
Sagittarius
Seeing a Sagittarius out of sorts breaks my heart.
It’s like if that Nickelodeon show where people got slimed was back on the air–only instead of celebrities and eager youths, it was, like, plump and unsuspecting housecats getting slimed, they would have no idea why they were suddenly gooey and no coping strategies! You see, Sags are the camp counselors of the zodiac, but even Sags are getting slimed by the weight of the world right now–especially if they are cooped up indoors and unable to go adventuring. This can be especially hard if the people in your life have come to rely on your indomitable optimism and your proclivity for starting impromptu wrestling matches. Think of a social distance wrestling match: It would be like watching a mime show with way more Spandex and glitter, which, honestly, is the feedback I have been giving mimes for years–like, c’mon mimes!! But now is not the time to demand more of mime aesthetics, nor is it the time to demand super-high energy positivity from yourself, no matter what other people want from you. When the full moon in Libra arrives on the 7th and your attention turns toward the relationships in your life, it might be time to lean away from your posi-leader of the pack vibes and lean into your signature Sagittarian independence. Think about who you need to be for yourself right now, and keep that in the foreground. Having a full moon social media break could do wonders for you. Take that self-focused energy and spend this month tuning into what you need throughout the waning cycle of the moon. If you guard your energy in this way, the new moon in Taurus on the 22nd will be a powerful boost to your confidence and sense of self. Beneath your surface, Sag, you are a deep well of warm, generous care. No matter how dark or heavy your heart might feel right now, know that your true identity, your true home, is that warm generous love, which is always just a deep breath away.
Capricorn
When I think of Capricorns, I think of Michelle Obama.
I also think of Michelle Obama when I am doing push-ups, and when I am considering my ideal romantic partners. (I’m not saying Barack hasn’t done right by you, Michelle, I’m just saying that if you’re ever looking for something on the side, I’m right here.) Now, Michelle Obama’s excellent biceps are the embodiment of Capricorn’s signature persistence and notorious discipline. During times such as these, when so many of the avenues for demonstrating your ambition and your dogged persistence are thrown out of whack, all my Caps out there might be feeling pent-up and frustrated. On the 7th, the full moon in Libra, the sign of relationships, offers an opportunity to channel some of that energy in ways that might have been neglected in the before-times. This is the perfect moment to reflect on the ways that your achievement-focused mindset has impacted your ability to show up for loved ones, or to take solace and comfort from those closest to you. Here’s the catch: You are not allowed to be hard on yourself about it. Right now, you are only allowed to take stock of the past in order to learn about what you need right now and in the future. The Libran energy of the moon encourages you to resituate relationships as an area in your life where you can derive satisfaction, affirmation, and meaning. If you’re feeling the itch to strive for greatness right now, strive for being a great friend, a great partner, a great parent. Take the new moon in Taurus on the 22nd as an invitation to run a bath, put your feet up, and celebrate the love you’re cultivating in your life because you are fundamentally, inherently worthy and loveable, and none of the outside world’s accolades or lack thereof will ever alter that truth.
Aquarius
Aquarius, you tender-hearted alien, how have you been holding up?
Have you been finding ways to occupy your busy mind? Hopefully you have been occupying yourself with things that bring Aquarians joy–like arranging Hubble satellite images into a calming slideshow (theme: the smallness of our planet’s strife on the galactic scale). One of Aquarius’ greatest strengths is the humanitarian impulse, and right now, many of you may feel utterly bereft about the state of the world. That is, of course, an entirely reasonable feeling, but it is not necessarily a livable place for the duration of this crisis. The full moon in Libra on the 7th encourages you to scale down your concern for the whole world and focus on the people closest to you, where you can have the most impact. One of your strengths is your independence, but right now we need each other more than ever–and there are surely people on your contacts list who sincerely want to hear about the latest developments in whatever esoteric field ranks as your current obsession. You will be glad that you pulled your attention away from lofty and abstract places (read: your favorite places) when the new moon in Taurus arrives on the 22nd and insists on a new beginning w/r/t your self care. Aquarians can be so wrapped up in their inner world that they would easily win the “most likely to forget they have a body” award on a zodiac yearbook’s superlatives page. If you spend this month connecting with other humans, even virtually, you will likely be more grounded and more inclined to apply your curiosity to self care. What would feel so, so deliciously good to you right now? That is the question the new moon will ask of you. The answer might be caramel sauce, or some risque sex stuff that you want to try by yourself or with a human that shares your home. Whatever it is, luxuriate in it, because you are a really good person and you deserve it.
Pisces
Welcome to Aries season, Pisces, you interdimensional transcorporeal son-of-a-gun!
How many times have you been told to meditate in the last two weeks? If you’re anything like my friends, family, or the random neighborhood man I lectured at a safe distance while he was watering his plants, then you’ve been hearing it a lot. As a yoga teacher and translator of celestial goings-on, I am compelled to tell people to meditate like an evangelical Christian or a brand-new vegan is compelled to share their own personal salvations. That said, I think there are times in our lives when the advice to be still and meditate can feel like someone saying “You know, if you stopped worrying so much you’d be a lot happier.” Which is, like, good advice, I guess? But also annoying and unhelpful.
What I’m saying is that your Piscean strengths are emotional and spiritual, but sometimes even the Professor Trelawneys of the world (is that a Harry Potter deep cut or common pop culture reference these days? I don’t know, I don’t care, what is time, etc.) might find it difficult to cut through the world’s noise and locate some inner silence. Lucky for you, the full moon in Libra on the 7th will illuminate your sensitive heart and encourage you to connect with yourself through connecting with others. Yes, I am talking about virtual eye-gazing sessions. I haven’t tried it myself, and the way it’s playing out in my head is a little creepy, but I think you might be into it. If you have another human in your home, you can do it IRL. If eye gazing isn’t your jam, then maybe just sitting in silent meditation with one of your mystic friends (I’m sure you have a homie charging up her crystals as I type) On the 22nd, when the new moon in Taurus casts the world into a darkness that signals new beginnings and new opportunities, nurture the budding intimacy with yourself by trying your hand at creating something. Even if you’ve been in a slump, just take out the colored pencils and start scribbling. Draw the outfit that you’ll wear the next time events are a thing. Color an entire page black and feel like a statement-making goth Rothko (omg, Gothko!!! That’s my new artist moniker no stealsies!). Whatever you are moved to do or make this month, Pisces, trust that your inner world is valuable and worthy of expression. You are not too much, you are not excessive, your inspiration transcends you, and all you have to do is let it move through you.
Illustration by Olivia Healy.
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Outfit Anatomy: Author and Activist Jodie Patterson on Recovering from Covid-19 and Taking Stock of What Family, Community and Style Mean to Her
Welcome to Outfit Anatomy, a series of comprehensive style analyses that aim to break down the mechanics of why we wear what we wear. Up this week is author and activist, Jodie Patterson.
When I was getting dressed for this story last month, I wanted to be comfortable. I had to take the subway from Brooklyn to your office in Soho and it was raining. I’d been on a few Human Rights Campaign board calls that morning and I did a dress rehearsal for a stage performance I was in called In Love and Struggle.
Mostly I wanted to be strong. I was conjuring masculine and feminine vibes—figure old-world glamour with rude-boy confidence. But that day feels like a million minutes ago. I know the routine well, I’ve done it so many times—running from here-to-there, work-to-kids-to-work again, the A-train to the city and back to Brooklyn. And even though it was last month, it feels far enough away that I can’t exactly taste it anymore.
I know this is hard to say and to hear, especially because I know people who haven’t survived this pandemic—I am one of the lucky few who have—but I respect this time. There is so much loss. And I feel the loss. Yet I can see how something like this was a long time coming. The earth is a living, breathing thing and we haven’t really respected that. Now the earth is saying: stop, think about what you’ve done and come back with a new plan of action. I’m trying to take a step back to think about my actions.
Before I got sick with the virus, I was on four planes, a bus, a train, and three stages—not including three televised appearances. So much of that modus operandi is now under question—should anyone really travel that much? How many things do we really have to do in a single day? It now seems to me unnatural and unsafe. I’m trying to rethink the way I’ll work going forward.
I got sick in Vegas. I arrived there on March 3rd for work but by March 5th, I couldn’t get out of bed. My symptoms where a migraine, body pains, and chills darting down my back. I could barely walk down the stairs at my hotel to get in a cab to go to the hospital, but I made it to one on the 5th and tested positive for COVID-19 there. They quarantined me in the hospital for two weeks and in those weeks, I was relocated twice to two separate hospitals.
Even after my symptoms subsided, I couldn’t (and wouldn’t) travel home. It was hard to not have family around. I relied on one caring nurse who reminded me that it only takes one person to extend a hand and to act humanely—to shift a situation from bad (but still not the worst) to better.
I bet we’re all rethinking things. The term “superpower” has been on my mind lately. What does it really mean? What makes us strong? I keep asking myself: Are our systems—those for our families, our businesses, our country—strong enough to withstand COVID-19 or any “virus” for that matter?
And then there’s this big breakthrough, right? We’re debunking the myth that real work happens in an office. But now, we’re seeing it happen whenever and wherever dedicated people are. Period. Activism is real work. Our nurses, mail deliverers, food suppliers, and grocery story folks—they’re the heroes of today. They’re keeping hope alive.
My jacket is by Zac Posen. It’s hand-embroidered—he gave it to me when I was his director of PR over 10 years ago. It was way out of my budget, maybe a thousand dollars. I can’t recall.
The pants are from my favorite shop, No. 6 Store. I bought them because they make me look really tall. There is no zipper, they pull on and pull off. They’re also oversized and have good form so I feel larger than life in them. I’m pretty sure the shop is closed right now, but have been thinking about ways to support my favorite small brands from a distance.
The hat was hand-knitted in 2001 by an old friend and phenomenal singer, Martin Luther. I love that it’s gray. It’s like a neutral slate that complements any mood or outfit. The color equivalent of jeans. And the knit makes the hat flexible so it works with any of my hairstyles.
Martin and I basically grew up together during college. He was at Morehouse and I was at Spelman. He made one of the hats for me and one for my daughter—my first of my five children, who was two at the time.
I’ve had it through 18 homes, nine careers, two marriages, five children and tons of friendships. It’s legendary and loyal. It feels right every time I put it on. It also has a way of making me feel young-at-heart and down-for-whatever. Which is exactly how I want to be right now. Don’t we all?
The world is always heavy but especially right now. I’m proud to be an anchor for my family, community, and business and am called more specifically to stand in this role in these days, but honestly, some days, I just want to fly up and over it all. Young people, I find, can fly over stuff more seamlessly because they’re not as defined by stuff yet.
On other days, I want to “starfish” as I call it—stretch out and touch the world.
And then on a day like today, in the wake of the outbreak, being “down for whatever” takes on a different meaning. I’ve been asking myself: Are you down for what this moment takes? Can you mother your kids and still be present from miles apart?
My three young boys (ages 14, 12, 11) are out of the city with their dad. (They usually go between my house and dad’s house but under the current circumstance I haven’t seen them in over a month.) My daughter, who is 20, lives in Switzerland, in Zurich, on her own. It seems I won’t see her for until after the summer—and my oldest son (he’s 28) lives on his own in Brooklyn. We speak very often.
I stay up at night thinking: If it comes down to it, how do I make my way back to my kids? How do we gather back together as a family and stay together? Are you warrior enough, Jodie, to make it back? If shit ticked up to the next level, could I handle it?
I think to really handle what’s ahead of us, we’ll need to combine wisdom and a sort of naive, young-at-heart fearlessness.
18 homes is a lot, I know. I like movement. I like change. I like design. But I guess the bigger truth is that I myself am constantly in motion, or at least used to be, and seem to use moving to refresh myself and let major shifts take place every few years.
As far as my careers, well, I’m a co-owner of Joe’s Pub. I worked closely with my ex-husband, Serge Becker, the brain behind the pub to bring on live performers like Alicia Keys, Max Roach, and Quest Love and DJs like Mark Ronson. That was 20 years ago.
I was the Fashion Director of sales at VIBE (I was horrible at that!). And I ran my own PR firm for years. We had clients like Nike, Lincoln Center, and Cedella Marley. Now I call myself a writer—I have a memoir out called The Bold World and one coming out soon called–and social activist. Most of the work I do is around LGBTQ awareness and protection.
My eyes are pretty naturally seeing the injustices. The divisions in America and in the world have been clear to me, but I think they’re becoming even more clear—the lines drawn between races and economic groups are deeper than ever. I hear a lot of people saying that COVID-19 doesn’t discriminate and it’s true that the virus doesn’t, but which communities will rise or fall as a result of this? We do have the power to collectively and quickly rewrite the story of The Other and frame it as “We.” I really believe that.
In quarantine, I’ve been FaceTiming with my kids and the HRC board members—my extended family—to keep me sane. I’ve been cooking, cleaning, writing, stretching, and running to stay grounded, and I’ve been listening to music, trimming my puppy, and thinking about the day I’ll get dressed again to keep me smiling.
Everything I wear reminds me of people. My hat reminds me of Martin (and honestly, Bob Marley too). My jacket reminds me of Zac Posen. My pants remind me of my father, my uncle and my grandfather—all the gentlemen who came up around the turn of the century through the mid-1900s in Harlem and down south.
And let me tell you, the men in my family were revolutionaries! My dad opened the first black brokerage firm on Wall Street. My uncle was the singer Gil Scott Heron who wrote “The Revolution Won’t Be Televised.” To listen to them speak on economics, politics, and family dynamics was mesmerizing. And they all happened to be very handsome.
I haven’t really been thinking about shopping since the coronavirus outbreak. Not toilet paper, not bags of rice I don’t need. I’m not consuming much at all—just what I need. I’ve been thinking mostly about health, togetherness, soulful music, and maintaining stability. But once in a while, when I’m feeling light, I’ve popped on my favorite fashion and travel sites (Architectural Digest, Nat Geo Traveler, Clare V., No. 6.,) and daydreamed about ‘tomorrow.’ The places to which I’ll travel and the things I will wear to go see those places.
After coming home from Las Vegas, I took a week at home to be still. I moved from room to room in my house but didn’t interact with the outside world. During that time and even still now, I try to be intentional about what I put on, how I care for my skin, my hair, what goes in my mouth. What I listen to and what I read. I’m going to be home for a long time, like so many of us, but still, I dress. I don’t have to. None of us do, but it reminds me that “the day has begun.” In some way it reminds me that even in the wake of loss and sadness, life itself is still enough. As told to Leandra Medine.
Photos by Sabrina Santiago; Photo Assistant: Beth Sacca.
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A Weird Thing I Did: I Challenged Myself To Watch As Many Instagram Lives As Possible
Since its inception, I have had a natural resistance to Instagram Live. On principle, I don’t like a genre of entertainment that preys on my passivity. While I’m already-quite-passively scrolling on the app, a notification pops up to tell me “@jigsawpuzzle86 is live,” appealing to my curiosity and prompting a knee-jerk reaction to join. I have tried to avoid succumbing to this impulse as best as possible.
your ex is going Live with your 5th grade teacher tonight at 9PM
— Drew Anderson (@imdrewanderson) March 24, 2020
That’s why I found it surprising when, the other Sunday, I estimated how many Instagram Lives I had watched over the weekend. My guess: four. Then I counted: more like 17. I hadn’t hung around for long in most of them, just wanting a glimpse of the action. After that night, I turned it into a game: How many could I hop into in a day?
The experience of opting into an Instagram Live has that grab-bag quality I hadn’t encountered since fooling around on Chatroulette with friends almost 10 years ago. I never know quite what to expect or what’s in store until I’ve committed my handle, my name, to it. It feels a little like jumping into cold water, holding your breath for a second and then buoying back up to the surface, completely visible, all lurky voyeurism or celebrity reverence or boredom revealed when it says, “@edithwyoung joined.” You never know how many people are inside until you’ve entered, of course, and there’s no virtual between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place quite like a Live where you’re unwittingly one of only five spectators. It’s a surreal sensation, crossing the threshold and entering these Lives (literally—entering someone’s life). The irony is not lost on me that a feature called Instagram Live has skyrocketed in popularity, functioning as a substitute to in-person programming, while our mortality swims in the forefront of our minds.
Here’s what I’ve seen: Cat Cohen’s Club Cumming show translated to this new medium until my phone ran out of battery — infusing even its most banal, hiccupy moments with humor as Cat troubleshoots technical difficulties, trying to add guests to the stream but filibustering in a sing-songy voice. Something-of-a-beauty-influencer, a person I’ve never met but follow, going through her beauty cabinet and talking about a Byredo perfume. My uncle playing a song on his guitar, very far away. A writer named Laura Lane reading her work aloud as part of McSweeney’s Issue 59 virtual release party. Cat Cohen, again, talking with Scott Rogowsky of HQ fame, discussing Gossip Girl, which Cohen calls “a show about knowing about hotels.”
Playwright of Slave Play Jeremy O’Harris and SNL’s Chloe Fineman shooting the shit on The Cut’s account, talking about Bode pants, mini-trampolines, and the London Airbnb where O’Harris is staying. Nicholas Braun (Cousin Greg) and Christopher Mintz-Plasse (McLovin) in conversation with a shirtless guy lifting weights who’s waiting for his “quarantine cutie” to stop by. The tail end of Kiernan Shipka catching up with a co-star of hers, I think—he has about three million followers. Emma Roberts and Karah Preiss talking about what they’re reading on the Belletrist account. Zibby Owens (of the podcast “Moms Don’t Have Time To Read”) and her partner, interviewing a writer and their partner, I assume. A comedian I think I like talking to a recently controversial comedian. Jen Gotch and Busy Philipps in cahoots just before the pub date of Jen’s new book. One of Busy’s daughters reads a few lines out loud from a galley, after which she and her mom leave the chat for bedtime and Jen shows the remaining audience her recently renovated bathroom.
Wine editor Marissa Ross hosting a Q&A where I submit a question, and then discover why this is a tactically wise format for audience engagement: It encourages followers to stay in the Live much longer than they usually might, to see if their question gets answered (mine—asking which natural wine I should buy from Primal Wine or Wine Therapy—goes unanswered but I stick around for a good long while, waiting). Three different fitness classes: one by Forward Space, another by Indigo Fitness, and a third by Sky Ting Yoga, though I don’t actually do the workouts. The last gasps of John Mayer and Cazzie David theorizing on relationships post-pandemic on Mayer’s recurring Sunday night Instagram show, Current Mood. Nearly everyone I watch is in L.A., because I guess that’s showbiz, baby. At some point, the Instagram Live challenge I’ve set up for myself starts to feel like a game of whack-a-mole, where I am all five moles.
The allure of the feature is clear: as an unscripted event unfolding in real-time, it breaks down another wall of transparency in the Instagram universe, as authenticity-obsessed as it is authenticity-deprived. Will the novelty of this mode-of-connection, which sinisterly required a global pandemic to take off, wear off? And if so, when will we fatigue of Instagram Live? Has it happened already?
Graphics by Lorenza Centi.
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April 3, 2020
A Running List of Fashion Brands Making Donations, Offering Discounts, Trying to Survive Right Now
At the intersection of a conflict that finds us wondering how to responsibly support the brands—both big and small—that have often supported us through the philosophical mechanisms of empowerment, expression, community, inspiration, and so forth, resides a gigantic question mark that seems only to get bigger as the weeks proceed, the quarantine persists, and the pandemic grows more catastrophic. The schools of thought tethered to this conflict are many ranging from those that encourage conscious consumption from the small businesses you like (if you can) to those that reinforce the risk at which we put the various hands that must touch the product in order to get it from brand to you.
I don’t know what the correct response is, but I do know that I care to support, sustain (even celebrate) the labels that have been there for me when I’ve needed them. This doesn’t have to mean commerce, as Harling aptly pointed out in an e-mail conversation we recently published, “Small things add up. Engagement/community/awareness is a form of value, even if it’s not as tangible as money in the bank. It still matters, especially because it can have a cumulative effect.” It also does not supersede the urgency with which we can all donate something.
And thus, a good thing, I think, that we can do right now is to make you aware of which brands are doing what to support who (be it an organization or themselves) and how. Below you’ll find a list of designers, which we will be updating in real time, with links to their sites and brief summaries of their efforts. Do with this information whatever you want and above all else, stay safe.
—Leandra
Brands contributing to relief efforts
Rosie Assoulin – Everything on the site is 20% off, and if you email the team when you receive your order confirmation, they will donate 15% of your purchase to a charity of your choice.
Tibi – An online sample sale at up to 80% off. The Tibi warehouse has also set aside 1,000 pieces for you to nominate a worker to which you’d like to send an outfit by tagging @tibi on Instagram or completing the form here.
RIXO – Donating 10% of profits from rixo.co.uk to Age UK; Next week RIXO will be launching a ‘Stay at Home’ T-shirt, of which 50% profits will go to NHS Charities COVID-19 Urgent Appeal.
Monogram – Use Code “Together” at checkout for 25% off + donating 10% of sales to Feeding America.
Emily Levine – 10% of sales will be donated to the hospital of Bergamo, Papa Giovanni XX.
Live The Process – 20% of proceeds will go to Food Bank NYC to support local communities and ensure access to food for so many in need. Every $1 provides five meals.
Tanya Taylor – Creating 5,000 non-medical grade masks for distribution to NYC hospitals. 100% of site donations will go directly to the creation and distribution of more masks. Website archive sale with styles up to 60% off and with every purchase made, they will produce and donate 5 more masks.
Viva Aviva – 20% of all online sales will be donated to Food Bank NYC.
SVNR – Donating 50% of web sales to Meals on Wheels to provide food for the elderly.
Khaite – Stay at Home Sale, save 40% on select styles. Khaite is also donating $10,000 to the nonprofit organization
Staud – 10% of proceeds from each purchase are being donated to Meals on Wheels plus 25% off site-wide with code THANKYOU25.
Brinker & Eliza – Donating 10% of the profits from all purchases made with this code to the Domestic Workers Coronavirus Care Fund plus receive 15% off site-wide until 4/30 with the code ‘OneLove.’
The Nue Co. – Donating 30% of all sales (inclusive of their 600% increase in immunity-boosting products) to Hospitality in Action in the UK and direct donations to small businesses in NYC on a rotating basis.
Pamela Love – The designer is making jewelry from home out of polymer and selling them with 100% of the proceeds going No Kid Hungry.
Entireworld – 10% of all sales will go to Doctors Without Borders through April 6th.
Donni – Donating 15% of all proceeds to LA Food Bank, which distributes food and other essential items to children, seniors and families in need.
AGL – Donating 30% of online sales to support the medical staff in the region of Marche where the company has its headquarters and factory.
Sleeper – For the entire month of April, the brand’s blue merchandise will be 40% off, and 20% of those sales will be donated to civic organization Happy Today.
Koio – 35% off merchandise sample sale. A percentage of sales will go to the Red Cross and Food Bank NYC (details here).
Linda Farrow – 10% of online sales from a curation on their site will go to the COVID-19 Urgent Appeal for the months of March and April.
Lele Sadoughi – Donating 5% of proceeds to Meals on Wheels.
Everybody.World – Bundles added to Factory Flea from which 25% of each sale will go to Rainy Day Fund to cover the lost wages of factory workers who can’t work from home.
Universal Standard – Offering a free piece from the Foundation collection to every doctor, nurse, and medical worker who wants one, while supplies last.
Mansur Gavriel – With every purchase of the Bucket Bag (of any size and color), 10% of sales will be donated to GlobalGiving’s Coronavirus Relief Fund, which supports immediate and long-term relief within vulnerable communities.
Fivestory – Take 15% off the entire site, 15% of all proceeds will support the WHO’s Covid-19 relief efforts.
Machete Jewelry – Has partnered with Mask Match to donate masks to workers and hospitals who need them now by selling about 10,000 pieces of jewelry on their website at 50% off (pieces will range from $12 – $78). For each sale and piece purchased, they will be able to donate up to 25 masks.
AGMES – Donating 15% of all online sales now through April 15th to No Kid Hungry.
Marina Moscone – Producing Level 1 protective masks, donating directly to the staff at Mt. Sinai and Bellevue hospitals.
Coco Shop – 20% of proceeds to Feeding America plus 10% off your first order
Loup – 15% of proceeds to Meals on Wheels
Mr.Larkin – Donating 10% of proceeds from their collection to Houston Food Bank plus an additional 25% off new season arrivals with Mr. Larkin’s Thank You Sale.
Still Here – Donating 20% percent of sales to local NYC food bank Sephardic Food Fund.
Wol Hide – Shibori dyed tee proceeds are being donated to the Philadelphia food bank Philabundance.
Brands offering discounts
Susan Alexandra – 20% site-wide applied at checkout plus complimentary domestic shipping.
Lisa Says Gah – New loungewear added to sale section on site.
Batsheva – Free shipping on US orders and a robust sale section.
Pretties – Loungewear and intimates selection curated on site.
Terry T – Free express shipping on all orders within Australia with the code ‘STAYHOME’ at checkout.
Ciao Lucia – 20% off the site with code ‘STAYHOME20.’
Brother Vellies – Orders placed will ship in 3-5 business days. Complimentary ground shipping is available for orders over $100 within the US.
Labucq– 15% off site-wide through April 15.
Knickey Underwear – Free Shipping on US Orders over $60.
Parade – Save 20% on select styles.
Kule – Free shipping and returns.
Megababe – 15% off site-wide with code ‘STAYHOME15.’
Alison Lou – Fist-ever sample sale now online. Get 15% off with code ‘SPRING15.’
Rowing Blazers – Free shipping on all US orders.
Rachel Comey – Up to 60% off sample sale.
11 Honore – 20% off with code ‘MAR20.’
L.F.Markey – Mid season sale, discount applied automatically.
Wolf Circus – 15% off site wide with code ‘CYBERHUG.’
EMILY DAWN LONG – 10% discount on all online orders using code ‘THANKYOU10.’
Big brand donations of note
The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation – Committing $10 million to help teams, partners and communities impacted by the novel coronavirus pandemic. – RalphLauren.com
Gucci – Pledging 2 million euros to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. – Gucci.com
Armani – Giorgio Armani has pledged to donate a total of 2 million euros to Italy’s Civil Protection and various Italian hospitals – Armani.com
MAC Cosmetics – Will distribute $10 million to 250 local organizations across the globe supporting COVID-19 relief efforts – MacCosmetics.com
Prada – Prada S.p.A is financing the ICUs of three new hospitals in Milan. The Italian company has also reconfigured its factory in Perugia to produce 110,000 masks and 80,000 medical garments that will be delivered to Tuscan hospitals on April 6. – PradaGroup.com
LVMH – Using the manufacturing facilities of its perfume and cosmetics brands to process large amounts of hydroalcoholic gel, which it will distribute free of charge to health authorities in France. It has also promised to donate 40 million face masks. – LVMH.com
AG – AG has committed to donate $1 million to COVID-19 LA County Response Fund to help support community clinics and hospitals across the county. – AG
Aritzia – All profits will go to the Aritzia Community Relief Fund to pay employees and support their families through this challenging time. – Aritzia.com
Feature photo via CIAO LUCIA.
The post A Running List of Fashion Brands Making Donations, Offering Discounts, Trying to Survive Right Now appeared first on Man Repeller.
Inside Story: The ER Doctor Who’s Renting an Airbnb Away From His Family
As Covid-19 has developed over the course of the past months, weeks, and days, our plans have changed and so have our lives. And it appears this will be the norm for a while. In this series (duration: a few weeks to…not sure?), we’ll share the stories of people who have confronted the unexpected in interesting ways. Today, we have a New York City-based ER doctor, who is staying in an apartment a few blocks away from his wife and child, to protect them from exposure to the virus he’s working around the clock to treat. —Mallory
I’m an ER doctor in New York City, so on a typical day I take care of all sorts of problems. One moment, I could be treating someone with a heart attack or stroke, and the next minute I could be helping someone figure out whether they’re pregnant or helping someone who’s fractured their arm and needs a splint. The day kind of goes like that—from true emergencies to more mundane or benign complaints. It’s part of what makes our jobs as ER doctors interesting and exciting.
I noticed things were starting to change while working a specific overnight shift about a week and a half ago. I realized there were no other cases in the emergency room. I was no longer seeing that variety of complaints. Everybody had the same symptoms—a fever, a cough, body aches, chills, severe fatigue, and weakness. It’s gotten to the point where it seems like every single person is coming in with the exact same malady, and there’s very little variability now in the care I provide. It’s really quite stunning, because part of what we love as emergency doctors is the unknown, and now these symptoms are part of our daily routine.
Once I realized that the coronavirus was probably everywhere, and every patient and really any interaction outside the house was a possible exposure, my wife and I talked about what we can do to protect each other and our son. Overall, I would say we’re still in the lower-risk category—we definitely see a lot of young people get sick from coronavirus, but those cases are less common than the 70-year-old with multiple medical conditions. That said, we want to make sure we’re not getting sick at the same time. Taking care of a toddler when we’re sicker than we probably have ever been in our lives is not something we can feasibly do.
On Monday, the USNS Comfort docked on the Hudson River to help ease the stress on the New York City hospital system.I’ve talked to a lot of families where both parents are sick, and they’ve said that taking care of their children is the hardest part of all this. So, in order to not take any chances and to not be patient zero in my household, we rented an Airbnb apartment a few blocks away where I’ve been staying for about two-and-a-half weeks now. I just extended it for another couple weeks so we have a safe place for me to stay. I think I was one of the first doctors or nurses to do this. But as the weeks have progressed, I now know of at least half a dozen to a dozen colleagues who are in the same boat. They’ve either sent their kids away or have rented apartments. Now our hospital is providing some limited housing, and there are also hotels opening up rooms at discounted rates for hospital workers.
To keep in touch, we do a lot of Zoom. Last night, we played Taboo with a group of friends, which was an interesting experience, but it worked. I also keep in contact with my work colleagues this way. We have Zoom meetings to keep ourselves grounded and talk about how things are going across the country. There are also text message threads and FaceTiming. I’m probably communicating with my friends outside of work a lot more than I would on a normal basis.
I don’t go to work afraid—I go to work thinking I have a job to do.
Usually, when I’m at home, I’m woken up by my toddler kicking me or crying at 6 or 7 in the morning. You’d think I’d actually be getting better sleep when I’m sleeping at an Airbnb on my own. But I find that I’m waking up in the middle of the night, almost every night, around 2 or 3 a.m., feeling very anxious, worried about what the day is going to hold. I don’t remember ever feeling these feelings of doom. I don’t go to work afraid —I go to work thinking I have a job to do, and it’s my responsibility to take care of these patients, which is what I signed up for. It sounds cliche, but we’re taught to run toward danger as emergency doctors. We put our heads down, but we’re shocked, consistently, on a daily basis, about how bad things are getting or can get.
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A post shared by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo (@nygovcuomo) on Mar 21, 2020 at 6:44am PDT
If you look at the recent maps that have come out depicting the impact by borough and by neighborhood, they show that the virus is disproportionately affecting the poorer communities in the Bronx and Queens. I think the [numbers are going up for lower-income people] because as people get poorer, they live in larger family households. We know from China that much of the transmission, early on especially, was happening in households. Another component is whether low-income communities are getting the right messaging. Do they have access to the same experts telling them to stay home? They also often have to work hourly jobs to survive, so many of them are doing work like delivery or construction with much more frequency. And then finally, there’s usually less access to care in those communities, so you could have a 40-year-old with uncontrolled diabetes because they don’t get to see a doctor with the same regularity as someone who lives on the Upper West Side or the East Village. The inequality is pretty stark.
Our hospital has been very progressive in terms of how they’re protecting us. We’ve been wearing masks and goggles at all times in all clinical areas for the past three weeks. We clean our goggles after every patient interaction and we try to exchange our masks as often as we can, especially if they get wet or visibly soiled. Many of us are wearing N95 masks the entire time we’re on-shift and then covering those with regular procedure masks—that way we can keep one N95 the whole shift and then just exchange the procedure mask that covers it. We also wear gowns for every patient interaction, and we exchange those gowns between patients. Even if I’m sitting at my computer, I’m still wearing goggles and a face mask at all times. We wash our hands excessively. My hands are raw. I have skin breakdown on the entirety of my left and right hands and wrists, just from scrubbing and washing my hands so frequently. We have indentations on our faces from wearing the masks 12 hours a day. Despite that, we are still getting sick sometimes. We’re human. Sometimes people will take off their goggles and forget and maybe rub their eye with their hand.
I think one problem that the public may not be aware of is that we’re focused on New York City right now—pouring in resources, talking about ventilators, staff coming from across the country to help us. Those things are very important, but I think in the next week or two we’re going to realize that it’s not just New York that needs help. There are cases in New Orleans that are hitting the news, Philadelphia, Detroit. You can always isolate New York State and New York City and pull resources and get ventilators and staff here, but what happens to those areas that are not yet at the same level of pandemic as we are? What happens when we have not one or two cities that are seeing a tremendous spike in cases and it’s now a national issue?
If you want to do something to support medical workers today, continue to stay at home.
The other thing that I think is helpful to pass on is that the tracking of cases is valuable in some ways, but it’s also quite misleading. The more you test, the more cases you’re going to find. New York has a lot of cases because we tested people for two weeks—we set up outpatient testing centers, we did drive-through testing centers, urgent cares were testing. But now you’re not going to get a test unless you’re sick enough to be admitted to the hospital. I turn down probably 80% of the people I see in my ER for testing because they’re not sick enough to be admitted. So the case number is going to seem like it’s dropping but what’s more important to follow is the number of people who are dying each day. That’s more indicative of the severity, and it’s also indicative of how many people are getting truly infected. We have to remember that the people who are sick now were infected seven to nine to 10 days ago. So those numbers lag even further. We’re not out of the woods yet.
If you want to do something to support medical workers today, continue to stay at home. 15 days is not a magic bullet. It’s not going to be enough, most likely. This is going to require a longer-term self-isolation and social isolation to make sure we combat this. I still go to Central Park or the East River promenade and see kids playing together. The Great Lawn [in Central Park] is packed with people on a sunny day, listening to music and playing sports. Unless we really make a true commitment, we will continue to see deaths at a level that we’ve never been accustomed to. We are not through this yet, and we, as a younger generation, are not exempt. There are many, many people in their 20s and 30s who are getting critically ill from this disease. I would urge people to take action—before they learn the hard way, when someone they know gets sick.
If you have the means to contribute, consider supporting the following organizations:
Getusppe.org
Donateppe.org
Maskson.org
You can also donate blood or visit NYC.gov’s volunteer page for more information about opportunities for healthcare and non-healthcare workers.
Graphics by Lorenza Centi. Images via Getty.
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The Easiest (and Best) Four-Ingredient Recipes, According to 3 Female Chefs
During a six-month period of extreme money-saving in the lead up to moving to New York, I had the same thing for lunch every single day: a can of tuna and half an avocado, sliced, served on three round rice cakes. At the time, I wondered if I’d ever get bored of this beyond-basic meal, but every day for six months at 11.30 a.m. (the best time to have lunch) I looked forward to it. Even now, more than three years later, I’m still overcome with delight whenever I realize I have all the makings of this meal in my pantry.
While I love my lunch recipe with the whole of my heart, I’m very aware that most people—particularly the tuna-fish averse—would definitely not. In an effort to find more delicious but simple recipes to add to my limited mental recipe book, I reached out to three female food experts (read: restaurant owners and chefs) to share their best recipe with fewer than five ingredients. Here’s what they came up with:
The Homemade Salsa That Will Make You Feel Like You’re Capable of Anything
Natalie Hernandez, chef and owner of Boca Santa
Salsa Tatemada is our go-to salsa. It goes with everything from scrambled eggs to sandwiches to quesadillas to tacos, of course.
Ingredients:
4–5 Serrano peppers
4 plum tomatoes
2 medium garlic cloves
1½ teaspoons salt
Method:
Place a comal or a cast-iron skillet over high heat. Place plum tomatoes and Serrano peppers on skillet or comal to char, flip occasionally, until all ingredients are cooked through and charred, about 15–20 minutes. Turn the heat off the comal or skillet, and set aside.
While veggies are charring, place garlic cloves, salt, and ⅕ cup water in blender and blend on high for about 30 seconds, or until garlic is completely broken down and there are few to no chunks left.
Once veggies are charred and cooked fully through, add them to blender, making sure to have removed stems from peppers, and pulse veggies and garlic mixture in blender until veggies are broken down but still have a chunky consistency.
The Cookie That’s a Thousand Times Simpler Than It Looks (and Tastes)
Christina Tosi, chef, founder, and owner of Milk Bar
This is the recipe I grew up making. It’s what I make with my nieces and my family, and it always gives me a little sense of togetherness—plus, it’s only four ingredients!
Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup packed light brown sugar
2 cups flour, plus more for dusting
½ teaspoon salt
Method:
Heat the oven to 350°F. Spray your baking sheets.
In a large bowl, combine the softened butter and sugar with a wooden spoon (or in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment). Mix until the butter and sugar are smooth. In a separate bowl, stir together the salt and flour, then mix this into the sugar and butter, a little at a time. After the first two additions of flour (if you’re not doing this with a stand mixer) it may be easiest to ditch the spoon and use your hands.
Form the dough into a ball, and divide the ball into three pieces. Place each piece into a plastic sandwich bag and pat the dough smooth and flat with your hands. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Dust a clean, dry section of your countertop with flour. Place the dough down and use a flour-dusted rolling pin to roll it out until it is a ¼ inch thick (use a ruler!) Use your favorite cookie cutters to cut the dough into shapes. Using a metal spatula, lift the shapes and transfer them to your greased baking sheets. If you use a range of sizes and shapes, keep the bigger cut-outs on one baking sheet and the smaller cut-outs on the other baking sheet.
Bake the cookies at 350°F for 5 to 10 minutes (depending on size of your cut-outs), until the edges of the cookies are golden brown. With oven mitts, remove the baking sheets from the oven and cool the cookies completely on the baking sheets.
The Mac and Cheese That’s Begging For Your Potato Chip Crumbs
Libby Willis, owner MeMe’s Diner
A simple comforting recipe that can be made quickly and feel luxurious rich with even cheaper ingredients.
Ingredients:
1 lb pasta (any shape will work here—at MeMe’s we use shells)
1 12 oz can of evaporated milk
1 lb shredded cheddar cheese (any kind of easily melting cheese works here—I like sharp cheddar)
8 oz American cheese cut into cubes
Optional toppings: A pinch of salt, chili oil, or crumbled potato chips (really anything crunchy!)
Method:
In a large pot, boil salted water. Then, cook pasta until al dente.
For cheese sauce: In a saucepan over medium heat, add evaporated milk, shredded cheese, and American cheese. Stir frequently with a flexible spatula to avoid scorching cheese. When the sauce is melted, add cooked pasta. Stir until combined.
Top each serving with crushed potato chips and something spicy. If you are making a batch for just yourself and plan to have leftovers, I recommend storing the cheese sauce and the cooked pasta separately. This way you can reheat the sauce before adding the pasta, to prevent it from overcooking. The cheese sauce is also great added to eggs for a cheesy scramble, or on chips like queso.
What’s your favorite just-a-handful-of-ingredients meal? Send your suggestions my way! And don’t forget to let me know if you try out any of the above—I’ll be cheering you on from my apartment.
Finally, both Boca Santa and MeMe’s Diner are currently accepting donations to their staff relief funds. If you try and love these recipes, and have some money to spare, please consider a donation.
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The Banalities of a Day in the Life During Quarantine
9:21 a.m.: By this hour, I’ve worn exactly three outfits if you count the pajamas that I started in, which I do, because they were an integral part of the Thoughtline’s WFH Dressing Challenge. I’ve been sitting cross-legged at the head of my bed with my computer in my lap and am now wearing a navy blue day dress–cum-night gown and silver slippers. I’ve read a 10-page memo from a credit analyst, I’ve re-read the draft of a story that’s going up next week. I’ve picked my left eyebrow and evaluated the most recent trove of comments under this story underlining the morally-ripe conflict of whether one should shop right now. Tl;dr: It’s complicated. The most disappointing and probably belated discrepancy I’m discovering amid this outbreak is the odds at which financial security and humanism stand.
10:36 a.m.: Have you been bickering with your partner? I know this question only applies if you cohabitate, but Abie came over to give me a glass of water a little while ago and proceeded to kiss me, then smell me, and remark that I have b.o. Before the remark, he smelled me like four times, even obstructing mobility in my arm to lift it above my head and really get his nasal passage in there, at which point I snapped, expectedly in my view, but he snapped back. In his gentle but biting Abie way he said, “If you don’t want my nose in your armpit, just say that.”
Didn’t realize I had to when I signed on the dotted line, ya fuckin’ freak.
On the other hand, he brought me a glass of water, unprompted, just as my throat was getting dry. Googly eyes.
12:16 p.m.: Made lentil noodles for Madelaur, heated up some veggie burgers that I have had frozen since January—remember January?—and roasted some sweet potatoes and pan-fried cubes of chicken mixed with coconut aminos for Abie and me. I will say that I am pleased that where I once thought I could never be any good at running a household, it seems I can be pretty decent. I do not wish to do this forever, but I’m not letting the message get lost on me. Incidentally, it’s true that if you put your mind to something, you can achieve it. You don’t even necessarily have to want it, there just has to be no other option.
12:18 p.m.: I just donated $100 to Win. I’m not saying this to blow steam up my own ass or earn altruism points, but if you can donate anything, Win is the largest provider of shelter for homeless families in New York. Last year they helped transition 700 families out of shelter into their own homes! Employment is a requirement to apply for a housing voucher with Win, and after last week, the 53% of Win parents who were employed had dropped significantly, leaving the 5,400 children that the shelter serves at risk.
I still don’t know what I’m going to do to make a dent, but I won’t continue to discredit the small things.
1:05 p.m.: Just got home from a walk around the neighborhood. I wore gloves (but not a mask) and did not touch anything as I traversed Mulberry to Mott to Elizabeth Street and back. I was on the phone with my mom the whole time, who was telling me about a Friday-night dinner that occurred two weeks ago in Great Neck. Among the ten people who congregated to celebrate the Jewish Sabbath—immediate family members, to be clear, who live in different, neighboring homes—five got sick. Two died. I still don’t think we are aware of the severity of this virus.
1:25 p.m.: I’m feeling like a sociopath, in case you are wondering, because after letting the news sit heavy on my chest, I am about to go Live on Man Repeller’s Instagram to indulge a home tour, breaking down in less-than-exquisite detail the trivialities of this post. I couldn’t complete the tour because Abie was meditating in our bedroom, so instead I just let my head spin around my neck while I tried to catch comments, push notifications, and maintain eye contact. Going live is like indulging monkey brain to a far-out degree of magnitude but also, does anyone even actually want to watch them? Mallory said they’re kind of like fashion week events approaching peak whats-the-point-ism to the extent that everyone thinks they need to do one and no one really wants to go (or watch). Some of them make sense! Don’t get me (or her) wrong. But I thought it was a good observation.
4:30 p.m.: How you doing? In the past three hours, I have had one meeting, taken one phone call, recorded one more installment of this thing we started doing last week and am about to make dinner for everyone. I basically have not moved from the floor of my bedroom bathroom, which I say only to remind myself that even though I’m not physically moving, I am moving. You know what? I should physically move. I’m going to do 30 jumping jacks and 20 squats, then I’ll go cook salmon for Abie and make pizza for the kids and me.
7 p.m.: I did it—I made pizza for the kids and me, using a cauliflower crust from Trader Joe’s, topped with tomato sauce, the last leaves of a giant bag of arugula and shredded Swiss cheese. I cut up romaine hearts and mixed in some avocado and toasted walnuts and dressed it in balsamic vinegar. Abie had that next to a piece of pan-fried salmon. I also made a new cracker/crudite dip for the week, which has pretty much been the best food hack I’ve uncovered during quarantine. So long as you can use nutritious, caloric items like chickpeas or lentils, you can hold yourself over during the hundreds if not thousands of snack breaks you are wont to take over the course of the day. I guess almond butter works too. But in case you’re wondering, I made a lentil/walnut dip this go around with:
1 can lentils, drained (or cup of cooked lentils if you don’t have a can; cook them with 6 cups of water for 20 minutes)
1 cup toasted walnuts (put them in the oven for like, 10 minutes at 350)
3 teaspoons miso (not required but I really like miso)
Half an onion and two cloves of garlic, sauteed (Put them in a pan on oil for like, 15 minutes or until the onion gets mushy wushy), THEN THROW IT ALL IN A BLENDER, CALL IT A METAPHOR FOR YOUR FEELINGS AND MIX THEM ALL UP IN THE HOPES THAT WHEN THEY EMERGE FROM THE BLENDER, THEY’LL TASTE BETTER TOGETHER THAN THEY DID WHEN THEY WERE SEPARATE.
I should go to bed.
11:42 p.m.: This show is fucking crazy.
Feature image styled with Roller Rabbit pajamas and Ray-ban sunglasses.
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April 2, 2020
The Emotional Evolution of Quarantine, as Told by My Instagram Bookmarks
Until two and a half weeks ago, my “saved” folder on Instagram told the indisputable tale of someone planning a wedding. It overflowed with images of long tables lined with colorful flower arrangements, bridal looks from old runway shows, hair #inspo, vintage stamps, registry fodder, no-makeup makeup, invitation suites, and candid shots of newlyweds obscured by a shower of petals. The last thing I bookmarked before the phrase “social distancing” became more commonplace than “hello” was a photo from a reception at a vineyard in Virginia: The couple set up a shelved trellis stacked with glasses in different shades of blue, so guests could serve themselves cold lemonade from an aesthetically pleasing dispenser.
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A post shared by Carats & Cake (@caratsandcake) on Mar 13, 2020 at 5:35pm PDT
The same day I saved it, I received an email from a friend confirming that her dinner party was still happening as planned the next evening, unless that was crazy? Everyone assured her it wasn’t, that it would be fine, because at this point, fine was honestly how things felt. Our offices had declared working from home “optional” but not mandatory, restaurants remained open for business, face masks were rare–and besides, it was a small group, only eight people, minimal risk. So we all showed up, toting bottles of red wine as thank-you gifts, deciding we probably shouldn’t hug and teasing each other about it. It was one of those truly perfect nights when everyone gets just the right amount of drunk, when there’s enough bolognese to have seconds, when the suggestion of playing a game after dinner sounds genuinely appealing.
Like the wedding photos in my saved folder, this evening feels like a relic of another era. I’ve seen tongue-in-cheek tweets referring to the time before coronavirus as “beforetimes,” which is less humorous than it is appropriately dramatic. The distinction between then and now is stark to the point of seeming fictional, like some trick of the memory. My only evidence that I’m not losing it completely is the tangible line of demarcation that divides the wedding photos from what I started bookmarking next: memes. Corona memes, to be precise.
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the sacred texts @chillblinton
A post shared by Shitheadsteve (@shitheadsteve) on Mar 18, 2020 at 8:50am PDT
If I were attempting to psychoanalyze our collective processing of the bizarre experience that is sudden isolation via social media–which I suppose, to some extent, I am–I would call the influx of corona-related memes and jokes the “denial” phase. Denial that we were grieving the loss of our old routines, and with them, the assurance that it was safe to exit our apartments, much less eat dinner with friends. Band-Aids though they may have been, the jokes were still entertaining: Venn diagrams about chillin at home, pleas for Apple’s screen time reports to be suspended, spot-on comparisons to Russian Doll, alignment charts, hand-washing quips… I bookmarked them by the dozen, each one an artifact of the mounting effort it took to maintain a sense of levity.
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A post shared by Good News (@tanksgoodnews) on Mar 25, 2020 at 3:20pm PDT
But news of the virus and its impact evolved rapidly, and with it, my instinct about what variety of content was worth memorializing and revisiting. As quickly as quarantine transformed from possibility to inevitability, many iterations of corona-related humor shifted from uplifting to unsettling. So instead, I bookmarked a photo of a man holding up a sign at a hospital window thanking the emergency room doctors for saving his wife, a clip of Hoda breaking into tears on the Today Show after a conversation with a football player who donated $5 million to coronavirus relief in Louisiana, a video of nurses taking a quick yoga break, a video of someone leaving toilet paper and hand sanitizer for people making deliveries, a PSA about businesses collecting donations to help feed those in need so I could remember to contribute later–any sliver of content that made me feel less alone in my spirals of anxious uncertainty, anything to feel connected to something bigger than the confines of my apartment that I know I’m deeply fortunate to live and work in right now.
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A post shared by Heidi – Apples Under My Bed (@heidiapples) on Mar 29, 2020 at 4:16pm PDT
I’m not sure what the whims of my saved folder will call for next during this strange time, but based on the recipe for bright, creamy corn pasta I just bookmarked, I have a hunch it’s likely to be cooking-related. I rarely cooked before all of this happened, but it is slowly becoming less of a chore born of necessity and more of a pleasure born of the desire to delimit the end of each day with something tangible, something nourishing. I scroll through the “explore” tab on Instagram and pause every time I see a photo that looks edible. I fantasize about baking a large casserole in the oven and freezing the leftovers. I squeezed sausage out of their casings for the first time last weekend, and it felt more meditative than anything I’d done in days.
For now, like many aspects of life as we knew it, my wedding planning is in limbo. I can’t get my dress fitted until the seamstresses who are making it can safely return to work. I can’t meet with the rector and organist at the church where the ceremony is supposed to take place. I might have to postpone the event altogether. I know these problems are minuscule in the grand scheme of what is happening right now–trivial, even–but they’re also a glimmer of what awaits in the aftertimes: celebrating together. Dressing up. Dancing outside. Sharing dessert out of the same bowl, all the sweeter because we had to wait.
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(Out of) Office Apropos: 5 Outfits We Wore Working From Home This Week
It’s officially April, whether you can believe it or not, and spring feels 100% sprung. Last week, six members of Team MR shared how they got dressed for a day that involved work but no commute or IRL meetings. Below, Harling, Mikaela, Sabrina, Mallory, and Edith do the same while discussing the shoes they miss, outfits they’re planning for (maybe) May, and the art of taking a one-legged selfie in non-stretch denim. Behold, another edition of Spring Office Apropos, extremely shaken, with an unprecedented twist.
Harling
I didn’t feel like wearing a practical WFH ensemble today, so instead I styled myself in an outfit I would like to wear on the first 70-degree day in May, safety protocols permitting. It was nice to clothe myself in items that aren’t conducive to wallowing around in an apartment (see: denim shorts that dig into my pelvis every time I sit and a linen crop top that is prone to wrinkles, not to mention the completely ancillary purse and sunglasses)—it ‘s like holding a plank for 60 seconds, just to prove to myself that I still can. I will admit that I changed out of the shorts after an hour or so, but their effect lingered on. For all of the limitations of homebound dressing, I do think it’s worth celebrating the fact that you can wear exactly what your gut wants or even needs, completely independent of whatever the weather outside happens to be doing.
Mikaela
Aside from the fact I had to heavy-duty clean this entire countertop and put my bevy of drugstore makeup ~just~ out of frame to take this photo, I’m relatively proud of my ability to one-legged-selfie while in non-stretch denim! Believe it or not, these jeans are actually comfortable WFH wear, probably due to the massive rip in the right leg. I wear the same set of earrings every single day: my vintage Oscar de la Renta hoops and two Repeller charm earrings (without the charms, which are currently hanging out on some necklaces of mine). I doubled up on the scrunchies because we all have to find a way to put a little pep in our step these days.
Sabrina
I’ve worn a variation of this very outfit almost every day while working from home. I recommend bike shorts for two reasons: in case halfway through the day you get the urge to do jumping jacks, and because wearing them almost feels like you’re not wearing pants at all. The other part of my WFH recipe includes a button-up. This one is on rotation because it reminds me of my dad. And if you know me, you know these boots. I don’t wear them at home, but damn do I miss how they feel on my feet.
Mallory
I’m currently staying at a friend’s place, in a bedroom that is almost entirely different shades of green—it’s on the walls, carpet, bedding, etc. as you can sort-of see. It would be fair to say that this is my most compelling source of inspiration right now, since I have not seen much else in the material world for the past two or so weeks. Anyway, on deck we have my trusty A.P.C. cardigan, vintage Hawaiian-print shorts I purchased at Brimfield last year (which have a matching shirt I didn’t pack), and super-soft Hansel from Basel socks you can’t see, which I bought in just about every color during the holiday sale season. The only other thing I can imagine I’m drawing inspiration from here is that Simpsons meme where Homer disappears himself into the bushes.
Edith
This morning, I got up early to write a draft of a story and then went for the briefest and clammiest of runs, after which I looked into my closet and thought it might be refreshing to see my form in something other than extreme loungewear. It was a thrill, and lovelier still, to wear something that’s been waiting out the winter in my closet, saving itself up for summer. A wrap dress is like a glorified robe, so it didn’t feel like a tremendous commitment. I was adamant that the socks match. This whole ensemble didn’t last long, though: It had the life span of a few professional tasks. I eventually set out to write another draft and wanted to exercise one of the perks of working, and therefore writing, from home, which is to type with your feet up. And that’s when my sweatpants found me crawling back to them.
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How Do You Take Your Morning Coffee?
Oh man. When I set out to write this ditty, née “Trust Me Try It: Coffeemate is the Greatest Coffee Mate,” there was a zero percent chance that I would not surmise the aforementioned really is the greatest coffee mate. That it’s the little things — like texture so creamy it flows seamlessly into your cup as if a silk runner with wind blowing through it, flavor so sweet it soothes dark beans like a hug mid-quarrel. I had a cup sitting right next to me! The mate was swirling around — it looked like it was dancing, summoning my “come hither”: Bring your lips to the cup, it said. I will make you feel good.
And that — feeling good in the most harmless, trivial, and quotidian way — is part of what I strive for these days. But guess what? It’s not harmless. The Coffeemate, I mean. I just learned that they’re embroiled in a lawsuit! I was fact-checking the ingredients, which are disgusting, which I already knew, (corn syrup is, like, the first listed item) only to discover that their asses are being sued because their bottles say there are 0g of trans fats in the product but significant traces of hydrogenated oils, which the FDA mandated are not safe for consumption in 2017, float among several flavors. What the actual fuck? Is this why I can never find it at the grocery store? I have not investigated deeper than a shallow string of google searches, the whole fiasco is nonetheless problematic for a number of reasons, the most unilateral among them that I am newly in possession of a 64 oz. pumping bottle to complement the morning hours of the month of April which will henceforth do no such complementing.
And to think, I had landed upon this fairly perfect equation of three parts oat milk, one part ‘mate. So before I continue, let me just say No. No. Coffeemate is not the greatest coffee mate. But the sentiment remains and if you, too, are in pursuit of the kind of quotidian good feeling that reinstates your faith in the notion that it really is the little things, there’s a way to take the principle of discovering a micro life upgrade and blend it into your routine. For now, I’m back to the drawing board. And specifically fixated on doing something to soup up my morning beverage—it’s what I look forward to most at the top of the day. So, should I take up Jasmin’s recommendation and get a frother? Commit myself implicitly to oat milk once again? Should I puree dates and mix it in? Toast coconut oil and make it a bullet?
How do you make your morning coffee? For the love of roasting beans, please, tell me! I’m newly in need of advice.
Feature photo by Heidi’s Bridge.
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