Do we get participation rings

Writing is easier when things are bad.

That’s mainly because I can complain more, but there’s not much to complain about at the moment.

I decided that on Friday I needed some time to myself and my parasocial friends who are spending their summer in Fiji on Love Island. I had one last meal from the three that Goop Kitchen had sent me for signing up for updates on their Williamsburg location, a fresh Cafe Panna pint in the freezer, and hours worth of horrible (non-derogatory) television to watch.

As soon as I got comfortable—I didn’t think things could get better—a crack of thunder boomed throughout the Lower East Side, and the familiar patter of heavy raindrops hit my AC unit. It was the first night all week I had to myself between plans with friends and Knicks games to watch, and I couldn’t believe the universe was rewarding me with the best staying-in-weather in the world: a summer thunderstorm.

Everyone saying that Love Island USA is bad this season needs to practice patience. We’re two weeks into a long summer. This show is the definition of a marathon and not a sprint. We must give people like Corbin the benefit of the doubt, no matter how difficult he makes that for us.

On Saturday morning, I went to my first pottery session in a while. I decided to cancel my membership this month, and as sad as it is, I felt like I was going into overdrive in terms of creativity between my day job, this Substack, the book I’m working on, and something had to go. This last month is going to be focused on wrapping up projects and trying out anything I haven’t yet, and by the time it ends in the middle of July, I’ll be preparing for my summer travels anyway.

Pottery for me is like riding a bike. It’s more muscle intensive than people realize, but the benefit of that is the memory that’s created from repetition and practice. I will admit that once I got back on the wheel, I slightly regretted cancelling my membership because I remembered how much I love it. Life is hopefully long, and hobbies are supposed to be fun, not laborious. When it started to feel like a job is when I realized maybe I didn’t have the luxury of time to enjoy things like that, and that taking a step back doesn’t have to be permanent. Over the last 10 months I’ve made enough pieces to stock a Pottery Barn, so if you want something, let me know.

As discussed at length on Friday, the heat has been very difficult for me. Saturday is when I realized I needed to toughen up and embrace the summer, so I tossed on my Kith Women Halter Active Dress and headed for a spritz with my friend Jess at Bar Bianchi.

Bar Bianchi is one of those places that I think poorly of due to how fast it turned so cheesy. I went the first day it opened with my mom and sister and thought it was great, but it soon started to attract a crowd that I pretentiously don’t want to be a part of (interns, Utah Curl wearers, etc.) I will admit that I need to relax and not take myself so seriously. I’m not sure why I think I’m better than anyone else when it all boils down to a giant fishbowl of vodka and sparkling wine and Italian aperitivos. All was proven when I texted Jess:

As I always say—no need to reinvent the wheel.

I’m afraid of getting hit for saying this, but I was a little Knicked out by the time Saturday rolled around. I had gotten reservations for my friends on Monday and Wednesday, both at Half Pint, both mentally and physically exhausting, and I wasn’t necessarily longing to do that all over again on the most popular night of the week anyway. If you ever wanted to go to a restaurant that’s been on your list for a while, Saturday was the day. Everything was wide open since the majority of the city was in fact watching the game. Eliza and I ended up at an ole reliable for us, American Bar, at my favorite time, 9 PM.

I got this dress from the Urban Outfitters clearance section in I think high school, and speaking of ole reliables, it’s the ultimate (linked similar here). I paired it with Hugo Boss heels that were my mom’s when she was my age and worked there (linked similar), and my new Bottega Veneta clutch (linked similar) that feels like carrying a football around in the best way.

American Bar is great because of a lot of reasons. The martinis are all incredible, they have the best dinner salad in the city, and there’s always a pretty good crowd. With the exception of Saturday when the Knicks were inevitably going to win the championship, but the fact that Meredith and Seth Marks walked in and sat next to us about an hour into our meal was enough to set the vibe.

For some reason, I thought that we would be able to watch the game at Forgetmenot. Dimes Square was basically Times Square on New Years Eve. I saw Terrence O’Connor, Alana Haim, Brenda Hashtag, Isaac Likes, and about ten people from the Substack community alone when trying to find a view of any of the projected screens on Canal Street. We ended up in front of Bacaro for the big win, which admittedly, was a really amazing experience.

This weekend was all about doing things I hadn’t done in a while, which includes going to Soho and hot yoga, both of which were interesting choices given my list of complaints recently. My father doesn’t read this, so I feel in the clear telling you that we got him these Lululemon shorts and this sweat towel for Father’s Day. If I didn’t sweat enough in that endeavor, there is definitely no pornstar martini left in my bloodstream after yoga.