Among Other Things: Vol. 5
/There’s only one way to begin this blog post during the times we live in and that’s by asking- how are you doing?
In my ideal vision of our conversation, your answer would be a cheery all’s well, but the reality may be less hunky dory than that. And that’s okay. A global pandemic forcing the world to shut down, the challenges of prolonged social distancing, a never-ending slew of related and unrelated crises around the world, a nation roiled in historic protests for social justice, murderous hornets, a mystery elephant illness … have your pick of the lot at any given time. I’ve certainly observed my brain coalesce and chew on these and many more stressors lately, the result being significantly lesser mental bandwidth than usual among other things. Case in point: wow, it’s been a while since I wrote on my blog! Taking it day-by-day with to-do lists comprising work, healthy eating, exercise and fresh air has been the MO.
And oh oh oh, major life update: we’ve added a puppy to our home! Brio’s been a delightful little hurricane in our lives for 2.5 months now. Again, it’s been a while since I showed up here.😅 Quarantine’s been a blessing in disguise for our sleep-deprived puppy training selves, but it’s still been a big lifestyle change as first time pet parents. Recent behaviors in the K & S household include SO much shrill squeaking of affectionate gibberish, mauling of puppy and endless staring at the adorable (& rapidly growing!) face that we cannot believe is ours. 100% smitten. 🥰
All in all, it’s been a largely domestic life lately, y’know? I could write reams more about the various nails on which my quarantine life hangs, but instead, I thought it may be more helpful to share a few things that have kept me sane. This edition of AOT is a random smattering of the practical mood-booster thingamajigs making up my lockdown life. ❤️
Kitchen Situation 🥣
Imperfect Produce has been a lifesaver in that i’m-not-even-kidding-it’s-literally-putting-food-on-our-plates kinda way. We started lockdown strong back in March with weekly trips to the local ethnic stores for fresh produce and basic pantry items, but pretty soon, it became hassle enough that we considered delivery options. Imperfect Produce has been an economical and most convenient deliver-er of fresh produce and several of our favorite pantry options, not to mention that we love their mission to reduce waste of imperfect, surplus inventories at farms and food industries.
Night’s watch 📺
Anyone else thankful for all of their TV subscriptions?! I’m not usually a fan of the TV after computer-ing and phone-ing all day and would much prefer to read, but with my brain being mush and work sometimes needing a background distraction, the TV has become a welcome companion.
Never Have I Ever is the Netflix show I didn’t know I’d been waiting for and honestly, didn’t think we were ready for, what with Devi being in a love triangle with hot boys while also attending Ganesh Chathurthi temple celebrations with her mom.
Normal People on Hulu was binge-watched by me in the span of four days after loving the book so much last year. Great book to screen adaptation, but be warned, it is v v steamy and NSFW. 🤭
Love Life on HBO is an excellent rom-com watch, especially if you like NYC. Anna Kendrick is *chef’s kiss* good!
On a more serious note, I’ve been focusing some of my efforts to better my allyship for the BIPOC community and taking advantage of the many great curated lists of books to read, things to watch, steps to take and more. Here are some picks across genres that have held power over me in the ‘things to watch’ category- When They See Us (gut-wrenching beyond words), Insecure (Issa Rae FTW foreva), Blackish (SO funny!), Homecoming (Beyoncé + Coachella + HBCUs. Come on.), 13th (next on my list).
(Un) Arrested Development 🙏🏽
My acne/skincare journey is basically an unending graduate degree at this point, so when I saw that Helena of Brooklyn Blonde swears by spearmint tea for hormonal breakouts, I thought- what’s the harm? For maybe three months now, I’ve been religiously drinking spearmint tea 1x a day for 2-3 days a week. Specifically around Aunt Flo’s visits when I almost always have a breakout, I make sure to never miss a day. I’m honestly not convinced it’s helping my skin 😅, but if nothing else, it’s certainly become a soothing little ritual that I’ve grown to love- my sipping of the tea as I read my book before bed. 💯
Ka-ching!💰
Anyone that knows me is aware that I don’t shop much, but given that it’s the End Times, I’ve had to make exceptions. There should be no exception, though, to saving money. PSA for all of my discount watchers and coupon-ers: install the Honey plug-in on your browser! It scours the internet for discount and promo codes and will apply them for you on your checkout page at any retailer. I’ve definitely saved some greens at Sephora, thredUP, Williams and Sonoma, and more places that I’m sure to find out of since it’s looking like we’re only 22.239% done with shutdowns this year.
Used and Abused 🏆
I’ve grown to enjoy the perks of working from home, but perhaps the biggest downside has been the non-ergonomic sitch of not having a proper home office. Living in a small apartment means that I’m setting up base for the day wherever it’s most convenient- the kitchen table, the couch, the bed. A small if imperfect improvement has been this bed rest pillow. It isn’t pretty, but my back thanks me for my sacrifice. 😁
Readers’ Block 📚
It’s common knowledge that I’m a bookworm, so of course I had to include my favorite quarantine discovery ever! Libby is a free app that you can install on any device of your choice, which then acts as an e-library if you log in with your public library account (which is also free, FYI!). My iPad was collecting dust in a corner somewhere, but now, K and I both want to read our Libby reads on it and we want to do it NOW. Lifesaver during this bleak time when the library’s been closed!
The Good Place 📍
Travel is a distant memory right now for most of us, but consider me practiced in patience as 2020 is my sixth year of being unable to travel internationally due to visa restrictions. Having lived in this predicament for so long, I’m forever on a mission to find local + domestic destinations that transport me elsewhere. An annual summer road-trip to NorCal’s lavender farms is a must on the list, but imagine my delight when a friend alerted me to a tiny one less than 20’ from where I live! A ton of you asked for the location when I shared on Instagram, so I thought I’d leave it here for posterity- google Tootsies at the Stanford Barn and let your phone guide you.🤩
Thank you for reading, please stay well and WEAR YOUR MASKS! ❤️
xo Sushmitha :)
