5 things i love right now
rediscovering this song by blanko basnet, “get away”
something my current self is constantly thanking my past self for: creating spotify playlists every single month since september 2012 (except for summers, for which i make a massive seasonal one). and every month of every year since then, i revisit all of a particular month’s past playlists for nostalgia and “oh yeah, i forgot how much i love this song!” purposes.
all of that is to say that this amazing song recently re-entered my orbit due to this practice since it was on my february 2020 playlist, and i’m so incredibly happy about it. i had to refresh my memory as to how i first heard it, and remembered that a fellow humor writer had suggested it to me when i shared my playlist on twitter at the time, saying it helped him “tune out all the dumb national news like a nice warm ether rag on the face.”
he was spot on, and boy, is that kind of remedy still necessary 4 years later! that’s exactly how it makes me feel. it’s such a relatively simple tune, but so atmospheric and relaxing. and that…crescendo, i suppose you’d call it? at 1:53ish gives me chills and fills me with total bliss every time. they’re also from durham, NC, somewhere i recently visited for the first time last fall, and learning that only added to the cozy feeling i already had about them, because it just sounds like how i felt while spending time in that area. cozy college town vibes. ya dig?
the north shore roast beef sandwich
upon graduating from college in boston, moving to an apartment in melrose, and beginning a job in nearby woburn, i was soon introduced to an interesting phenomenon: the north shore roast beef sandwich.
you see, there was a little hole in the wall — walking distance from my office — called “roast beef roundup,” and, well, i’ll just let my 2010 yelp review do the talking about it:
do not get it twisted; this is not your average roast beef sandwich, so i’ll do my best to describe (though this article probably does a better job). you have a typically-sesame seed or onion roll, piles of thinly-sliced medium-rare roast beef, one slice of white american cheese (this is critical), “barbecue sauce” which is really not like any barbecue sauce you’ve ever had because it’s thin, runny, and extremely tangy and vinegar-forward (also critical), and then whatever other toppings you choose (i have changed my order since the above yelp review and my go-tos are lettuce, pickles, and raw onions because i’ve found that tomatoes screw up the flavor profile too much). over the years and after my office moved, i dabbled in other purveyors, my favorite being liberty bell and my least favorite being kelly’s (avoid at all costs; overrated as hell).
anyway, it had been a hot minute since i’d indulged in the sinful, hedonistic pleasures of the NSRB, but i was struck with a craving out of nowhere that i simply had to heed a couple weeks ago. after doing some research to make sure i was getting a true north shore beef, i took a calculated risk and ordered a sandwich from fresco’s roast beef and seafood in malden via uber eats. and, well, let’s just say it was good that i enjoyed it in the comfort and privacy of my own home because the noises i made were not suitable for public reception. 5-star everything. all i wanted. all i needed. fantastic, fresco’s.
SO if you find yourself up in these parts, i implore you to get a north shore roast beef (from just about anywhere but kelly’s). thank me later!
this tiktok/instagram account, meet cutes NYC
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Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browseri don’t really know why, or how to explain it, but the idea of a meet cute is like…central to my essence and who i am as a person. as someone who’s essentially disgusted by all things mushy “romance,” yet considers herself a hopeless romantic (too much to unpack for a substack post there, but i swear that it ultimately makes sense), the meet cute is everything to me. serendipitous, charming, quirky, destined, delightful, and sweet. i’ve had quite a few in both the romantic and friendship spheres over the years, and while none have stuck with respect to the former, i remain eternally optimistic and hopeful. and in a world where these encounters are increasingly rare (or so people purport…SHOW ME THE GODDAMN STATS, i say), this roving reporter on the streets of new york highlights couples’ mostly old-fashioned love stories — and i am not ashamed to admit that while i’d seen a few here and there prior, i spent multiple hours a couple weekends ago watching every. single. one.
my takeaways? 1. indeed, love can begin in the most unexpected and roundabout ways 2. the vast majority of the time, the saying “when you know, you know” is true — and, as one older woman succinctly said, “if it’s not perfect the first day, walk away.” i wrote that one down. at least 75-80% of these couples were like “we met each other and it was like ‘BOOM’.” the rest strongly disliked and/or hated each other at first, which i feel like works, too. if you’re in the middle, it’s most likely nothing. 3. it’s aaaall about the *banter* and humor above everything else. and 4. your “weirds” have to match. these are all things i have known and prioritized, but it was good to have it reaffirmed over and over with these longtime couples.
witchy stuff
speaking of weirds, perhaps the best part of your 30s is that you really, truly cross that threshold past which you do not give one single shit what people think about you (or at least i have, and i very highly recommend it). and one thing about me that has ALWAYS been a thing about me is that i’m a little witchy. funny aside: i’m adopted, and when i met one of my half sisters several years ago, she said something along the lines of, “i always knew i had another sister even before my mom told me. all of the women in our family have a little witch in us.” and i cracked up because i was like, “so THAT’s where i got it from!” it’s in my blood, baby.
while i used to try my best to minimize my occult interests when i was younger because i got made fun of in middle school enough as it was (mainly for my funky retro clothing, something else that hasn’t changed!), i’ve fully embraced them at this point and it’s been great. i went up to salem the weekend before last — somewhere i try to visit at least once a year since it’s only a half-hour drive from my house — to meet a friend for brunch and wander, and this city is a paradise for people like me. i got an aura photograph (above) and reading that was surprisingly spot-on and wandered into a couple boutiques, including my favorite, hauswitch, and got a candle called coven, which has notes of tobacco, spicy pepper, and leather. i’ve been burning it constantly and it’s such a cozy winter night vibe!
tan france’s kitchen
tan france is my favorite member of the queer eye cast — he’s sweet, smart, sharply funny, and almost never obnoxious (i do like the others, but they evoke moments of annoyance from me far more frequently than he does). architectural digest has been publishing a video series that documents the build of his and his husband’s dream home in salt lake city, utah, and while the rest of the home is beautiful but not quite my taste, the kitchen IS. skip to the end to see it if you don’t have the attention span for this whole video. every single aspect is so thoughtful, and together, it’s just jaw-droppingly stunning. that WINDOW! i’m officially manifesting this kitchen energy for my future home.