5 things i love right now
the new album by natural child, be m’guest
despite their lengthy periods of inactivity in recent years and completely underwhelming last album, i remained unwilling to give up on my decade-plus love affair with one of my best music festival discoveries and favorite bands of all time…OF ALL TIME. and i knew they’d be back sooner or later with a banger, baby! be m’guest was a semi-surprise drop — natty popped up out of seemingly nowhere to debut the first single, “little magic” and announce the release date a month ago — and it’s the perfect summer record: groovy and upbeat in some places, relaxed and beachy in others. and, IMO, it’s a pretty good blend of their past, more straightforward rock ‘n roll material and the recent country/folk influence without going too far in either direction. give it a whirl. and while you’re at it, i highly suggest immersing yourself in their entire discography (except that last, self-titled album). this mini-documentary is a fab introduction to their whole hilarious vibe. yeahhhh buddy!
fave tracks: little magic, check the mirror (above), swanee, me and george
FRIED CLAMS
thing #8,492 i love about living in new england (and secondarily, having a generally untethered and free-flowing existence): on saturday, because i had no plans and the weather was absolutely gorgeous and i just felt like having an enchanting little seaside adventure, i hopped into my car and drove 45 minutes up to rockport and it legit felt like i was on vacation for the day.
i ate a lobster roll and chips for lunch from roy moore lobster co., washed it down with lemonade, strolled through the quaint boutiques, ate a cup of butter pecan ice cream, and even checked out an atlas obscura-esque attraction called the paper house that — you guessed it — is completely made of paper!
then, probably because i was fully in that vacay mindset, i got hit with a craving for fried clams that i simply could not ignore. realizing that perhaps the most famous place in new england for fried clams, woodman’s of essex, wasn’t too far away (and i’d never been!), my plan was clear. i drove down there and got a medium-sized “family box” of the clam strips and a root beer to go, drove home singing along to tom petty, foghat, and ben harper on my flawless summer classics playlist, sat on my couch, turned on the hills, and ate the entire box as the breeze blew through my windows. ideal summer day, tbh. the only problem? while my craving was satisfied, it was only temporary and now i want moooore. like, now.
this book, the seven year slip
one thing about me is that i will EAT UP any novel, movie, or TV show about time travel that’s light on the sci-fi and heavy on the romance and whimsy and
”what would you go back and change?” or “would you want to see your future?” stuff.the plot of this book is that this almost-30-year-old book publicist falls in love with a guy who she unexpectedly finds in her apartment one day. the only problem? he’s living seven years in the past. i haven’t finished it yet, but i love ashley poston’s writing style and descriptions. not to mention, the book totally feeds into the glamorous-manhattan-apartment-living fantasies i had as a teenager.
starbucks’ pink drink
so it’s like a bazillion degrees outside today and i just wanted a refreshing, cold drink that wasn’t iced coffee or lemonade or iced tea. i was aimlessly browsing the ‘bucks app and my eyes happened upon this “pink drink,” which i’d seen before but immediately wrote off as too sweet for my taste based on its appearance. but upon reading the description, (which promised a “crisp strawberry açaí refreshers® beverage with accents of passion fruit and combined with creamy coconutmilk,” i was intrigued and decided to go for it.
brooo! SHOCKINGLY GOOD. it’s not overly fruity and tastes almost like a lighter strawberry milkshake because of the coconut milk’s creaminess? i know it sounds weird, but it reminds me of the perfume i’m wearing today, which is one of my faves: ariana grande’s sweet like candy. but like, in tasty beverage form. i foresee myself ordering many more of these this summer.
this movie, watcher
oooooohhh. in addition to time travel fare, i love me a good slow-burn, hitchcockian thriller. the recommendation for this one (on hulu) came somewhat unexpectedly from a colleague i don’t even actually know via a slack movie recommendation channel, but her description made it sound right up my alley and she enjoyed it. it was fantastic! sure, the formula is well-worn at this point: an american woman moves with her boyfriend to bucharest, becomes increasingly isolated as he’s working all the time, and eventually paranoid that the neighbor across the street is stalking her. is he? is it in her head? the gradual, spooky build keeps you guessing the whole way through.