READING

I finished The Knight and the Moth and LOVED IT. Like, LOVED it. It had a wonderful twist at the very end and leaves you on quite the cliffhanger. The only downside is that it’s such a new novel that the second isn’t dropping until September. I was so ready to dive into what came next, but now I have to do what has become so hard for all of us in an instantly gratifying world — wait. Regardless, if you’re into the fantasy genre and love fairies, absolutely recommend.

For my next read, I landed on Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. I read The Covenant of Water last year and absolutely loved it, and Ellen has assured me if I loved that, I’d love this, so here we go!

WATCHING

I will legitimately be devastated if they ever stop the Love on the Spectrum series. It’s just so brilliant, pure, and shines a much-needed light on these incredibly interesting human beings. It’s so wonderful and eye-opening to see how neurodivergent individuals operate on such an honest level. ANYWAY, Connor is my king and always will be. He’s just so incredible. Logan is CLEARLY this season’s breakout star and the sheer amount of cologne he sprays on is incredible entertainment. The “curvy-straight” hair preference makes me laugh every time he says it.

I also love Emma so much and am very excited for her to hopefully find a honey. I sadly can no longer handle James. Love the guy but his energy and non-stop talking has become harder and harder for me to watch. Clearly his dad agrees what with his facial expressions toward James, and we have to remember — they’re neurodivergent but they’re human! Those that love them are allowed to be aggravated with them from time to time.

Also, Madison and Tyler are national treasures. I’ve seen multiple spoilers on social media, but I’m not letting any of them ruin this season for me.

LISTENING TO

I got a weird itch to put together this Throw(your)back(out) playlist and am going to add to it whenever a banger pops up that I feel belongs here. Not to toot my own 39yo horn, but it’s pretty good so far.

MAKING/EATING

I decided that this section needs to house both things I make AND things I buy at the store that I love so we can cover more culinary ground.

So lately, I’ve made:

The best homemade tuna salad I think I’ve ever had? It involves mayo, chopped up dill pickles, and some green onions and it’s so damn good. Like simple and hits all the tuna salad spots. Very much recommend eating it on a piece of toasted sourdough.

’ 30-minute pork and asparagus bowls. So good, so simple, so healthy. Would and plan to make again and again.

These extremely healthy ass bran muffins. I love a carb for breakfast, so making these was my attempt at getting that doughy fix but with some serious nutrients packed in. I would cut down the raisins next time (there are A LOT), but in general, they were great. Ziggy and Zac loved them!

My go-to CCC (Chocolate Chip Cookie) recipe from Butternut Bakery. My only twist: I use equal parts milk choc chips, dark choc chips, and semisweet choc chips to make them even more fantastical.

Now for what I’ve been consuming outside of my own creations:

I am obsessed with Poppi prebiotic soda and have decided that Cherry Limeade is my absolute favorite. I know they just dropped Shirley Temple, which is also good. And I LOVE their Cherry Cola. But the Cherry Limeade is my #1 and I wish they sold it in 18-packs.

Aloha protein bars are very good as far as bars go. I recently got the coconut chocolate almond flavor and it’s fabulous. Will definitely be bringing a few to the hospital!

Lastly, I wish I had never seen a reel about making homemade blizzards, but I did and I can’t unsee it. It’s simple — you freeze the KitchenAid mixing bowl for 15-20 minutes, take it out, hook it up, and dump your ice cream of choice and all your toppings in. Mix it up and you have yourself a blizzard. THE BEST combo I’ve made so far is strawberry ice cream with crushed up Oreos and just a tiny bit of chocolate syrup. Y’ALL. No, you don’t understand. Like… IT’S EVERYTHING. Just do it and report back to me. OMG.

SHOPPING

• I am a diehard Dazzle Dry girlie, BUT I have to say Essie’s Expressie line is great, too. I use it with the Dazzle Dry top and base coats, and it stays put! Right now, I have Dazzle Dry Honeydew on my toes and Expressie “Crave the Chaos” on my hands.

• I need more measuring cups and spoons like I need a third boob, but I instantly fell in love with this beautiful floral collection and then one of my best friends gifted it to me for my birthday because she’s the best. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel immense joy using every spoon and cup.

• The right robe for postpartum is imperative, and I only have heavier robes so I ordered this short, lightweight number from Amazon and it’s exactly what I was wanting.

• When I tell you I’ve been eyeing these red rubber Birkenstock knock-offs since last year… I’d walk by them at Target and consider it, then move on. But finally I decided I need them for this summer, so they are now mine! THEY’RE $10.

• Baby boy needed a side table for his room, so I ordered this round 2-tiered number for $40 and it’s perfect.

• The limit does not exist for me when it comes to casual, tinted lip stuff. I kept getting served ads for this Versed balm, so I picked up the color “Scene” last week and love it! It’s the perfect hint of something when you look dead but don’t want to go full lipstick or gloss.

• is one of my favorite writers and style/hair icons, so I trusted her review of the Crown Affair air dry cream and I’m glad I did because it delivered. Super happy with the results when I want a quick air dry with minimal product intervention. My curls are super happy and fluffy after using this!

• Speaking of hair, I got this pale green and white checkered chunky claw from the Sephora sale and love it s0o0o0o0o0o much.

• Lastly, the Dior eyelash primer really does make a massive difference when it comes to mascara application. When I DON’T use this first, my eyelashes look nowhere near as pretty and full. In fact, they look pretty sad without it. So I reupped while the Sephora sale is happening and you should, too.

xox,

EGM

To be honest, I don’t really give a shit about my birthday this year. I am extremely pregnant, incredibly uncomfortable, and just not really in the mood to celebrate myself? A perfect birthday this year would be napping, lounging, getting endless open-mouth kisses from Ziggy (who is new to the whole kissing thing), and ice cream. Alas, my besties are coming over tonight, and my family (mom, dad, sis, her kids) are coming over tomorrow to spend time, and that’s good, too. It’ll be lovely. I may even coerce them into helping me get our house more in order.

Once this birthday is over with, though, I’m gonna start getting serious about trying to push my body into early labor. I haven’t acted on any of the old wives’ tales yet (you know, raspberry leaf tea, nipple stimulation, curb walking, dates, etc.) but I’ll be 37 weeks on Monday, and I’m ready to see if I can entice baby brother to come out and play. I DO NOT want to be induced like I was with Ziggy. I had no choice and it was sprung on me in triage with the dirtiest fucking hair I hadn’t washed in over a week, and I refuse to let that happen again (if I can help it). I want this baby to come on his own, but also with some gentle nudging from me, so we’ll see what happens. If he’s a true Aries, he’ll be ready to roll sooner than later. But if he’s a Taurus as he’s meant to be, he’ll hold strong and stay stubborn.

Enough about me. Let me shower you in my opinions and hot takes.

READING

Okay. The Knight and the Moth is REAL GOOD, guys. If you were an ACOTAR fan or anything of the sort (I’ve yet to dive into the Throne of Glass series), this is right up your fairie alley. There’s just enough magic, sexual tension, female badassery, and speaking gargoyles to tickle your fantasy fancy. I am blowing through it and really enjoying it. Sometimes a girl just needs a magical fantasy book to lose herself in, ya know?

WATCHING

Amy Poehler interviewing Steve Carrell on her podcast last week is one of the most important pieces of media in my lifetime, so I did something I usually never do — I saved it and WATCHED the podcast episode on a full-size TV screen, and it was the joy I needed. Steve has always been and will continue to be one of the best in the biz in my eyes (actually probably the best), and I learned something new from this interview that I hadn’t realized before but probably should’ve: Steve is shy! I am a dunce and totally assumed he’s probably the life of the party in group settings, but no. Someone with that kind of ingenious comedic timing and acting chops would never be the loud/funny one IRL. It makes total sense that he’s shy and soft spoken. Makes me love him even more.

Also, Amy had to be sick that episode, right? She was super nasally and didn’t sound right. It bothered me they didn’t address it.

If you’re jonesing for more Steve, The Office Ladies replayed their episode with him on their podcast this week and it’s even MORE of a delight than Amy’s.

LISTENING TO

I am not a Toast “swirlie,” but I saw that they actually took the time this week to explain the whole Amanda/West/Ciara thing to those of us who don’t watch any reality TV and are completely out of the loop but kept seeing the drama flood our IG feeds this week, so I tuned in just to get some background on the whole scandal. My takeaway: I literally don’t care and I still hate reality TV.

However, Ike Barinholtz has a new podcast called “Funny You Ask” and his first guest was Mindy Kaling, so I had to tune in and see what it was about. While Mindy is and will always remain by #1 idol in terms of female comedy writers/producers/directors/etc., her changing image (and the lengths to which she’s gone to lie about the “how” behind it) have bothered me a lot the last few years. Alas, she’s still fucking hilarious, biting, sarcastic, and cusses a lot so the love is still very much alive, and I really enjoyed her back and forth with Ike.

MAKING

These oatmeal pancakes look exactly like turkey burgers, but taste like delicious oatmeal pancakes. I wouldn’t say they’re necessarily “healthier” than a typical pancake; I just had a craving for oatmeal pancakes for some reason, found this recipe, made them, and was very pleased with the outcome!

I also made these cottage cheese and bacon bit egg bites for Zac as a grab-and-go breakfast this week and he’s been feasting on them. The cottage cheese offers extra protein, and the bacon bits are a delicious salty addition. TIP: Skip the 1/4 tsp of salt. It is NOT needed when using bacon bits, trust.

Sometimes a bean and cheese taco just sounds so damn delightful, so I made ’ Refried Bean Tacos this week and they really hit the spot (like all her recipes do). The refried beans themselves are SO good; you can absolutely make them as a side dish if you’re wanting a meat taco instead. Either way — DELISH.

SHOPPING

• I had several people suggest the Chom Chom for pet hair removal from cushions and the like, and HOLYYYYYYYY. It is as good as all of them said it is! Cannot recommend it enough if you have shedding dogs (or cats. Do cats shed? I have no idea. I’m cat-dumb).

• We are a shoes-off household because the amount of dirt and germs you track in and around your home with shoes is distressing, so I got a pair of these slide-on, open-toe house shoes from Amazon this week and uh… they are MARVELOUS. They’re so damn comfortable, have great support, and I love that they’re open-toe because my feet don’t get too sweaty.

• My MIL and SIL treated us to a rocking chair for the new baby, and I genuinely feel bad because of how much nicer it is than Ziggy’s rocker. I thought Ziggy’s was incredible, but then I sat in Pottery Barn’s Lullaby Swivel Glider and realized what we’ve been missing out on. It’s the coziest, softest, cloudiest, most delicious recliner ever, and I am so grateful Zac’s family is so amazing. I have a feeling Zig and his brother will be fighting over that chair for years to come.

• Speaking of my children, just this morning I purchased this multicolor checkered shower curtain for their bathroom and it is already bringing me so much joy. It’s a measly $20 and I LOVE CHECKERS.

• I also got the new baby this adorable farm animal-themed crib sheet that I can use in Ziggy’s crib, too. That’s an upside of having 2 under 2 — SHARED CRIB SHEETS!

• Last but not least, just wanted to give a shoutout to one of the best everyday lippies of all time: Fenty’s High-Shine Gloss Stick in “Highbiscus.” If you’re looking for a bright, happy pink for spring, this is it.

That’s all she wrote this week. Have a good Easter weekend and we’ll chat later.

xox,

EGM

But wait! I’m going to include a very short story at the end of this Digress for paid subscribers. It’s about something very touching that happened the day I had to get Ziggy from school because he was throwing up, and I feel compelled to share it.

READING

I started and finished Life, and Death, and Giants in about a week and a half and it was absolutely fantastic. It was an Ellen recommendation, which almost never steer us wrong, and this one definitely didn’t. It’s a beautifully written, narrative-heavy novel about how the birth of a literal giant affects a small town and is told from multiple POVs including the town’s resident vet, a local bar owner, the high school football coach, and the giant’s devoutly Amish grandmother. It’s so different and so, so, so good.

For my next book, I completely shifted gears and started The Knight and the Moth. I found this book by scrolling through Goodreads one random evening and being intrigued by the extremely rave reviews it has. It’s a fantastical kind of book and it’s the first in a series, so I decided to give it a try since I loved ACOTAR so much. I’m only about 10% in, but I am really liking it. I have no idea where it’s going, but I’m excited to find out.

WATCHING

We’re in a good enough spot with the house that we’re finally able to watch a little TV at night again (it’s hard to take that time when there’s so much to do and you’re living amongst chaos). So this week, we started the new Bill Lawrence comedy starring Steve Carrell called “Rooster” and holy shit — IT IS SO GOOD. The writing is fucking hilarious and the plot is different and engaging. To summarize (but not spoil): a bestselling beach-read writer ends up taking a short-term job on the campus of his alma mater to keep an eye on his daughter who also teaches at the college, but is going through a recently failed marriage with her husband… who also teaches on campus. It’s just so damn good and laugh-out-loud hysterical. 10000/10 recommend! Watch on HBO.

MAKING

No one loves a raspberry crumble situation more than my dad, so to help his very broken shoulder heal (he already got surgery and is on the path to recovery), I made him these Raspberry Crumble Bars, and they were better than I could’ve ever imagined. My dad lost his mind over them, and that’s exactly what I was going for. Of course, I kept some for me and Zac, too (I’m not a psycho) and Zac also couldn’t believe how incredible they were. They’re easy, too. And served a little warm with a scoop of vanilla? GTFO.

Last weekend, I made Butternut Bakery’s Lemon Poppyseed Muffins since we had company staying with us and I wanted to pull a Cher and have something freshly-baked when they arrived. They were SOOOOO good. A perfect muffin. And, again, super easy.

As far as dinners go, one standout in the last week was this Peking-style Beef dinner by Simple Home Edit. I didn’t do the cucumber part — I just made rice and roasted broccoli to serve along with it and it was very tasty! And super quick and easy for a weeknight meal.

SHOPPING

Okay. Now for 1 million links.

• I only use velvet hangers for our clothes so nothing slips, and I do the same for Ziggy’s clothes and I’ll do the same for Baby Bro’s clothes. While organizing Zig and Bean’s stuff, I realized we needed more of both shirt and pants hangers, so I ordered a bunch!

• Speaking of organizing kids’ clothes, these drawer dividers are everything when it comes to separating out shirts from shorts, etc. Got a set for both boys’ dressers and they’re amazing.

• One more closet organization thing — this belt hanger. It’s perfect.

• In case you missed my World Market stories last week, I found this funky ottoman to use for seating at my new vanity (that is now apart of our family) AND this crazy-cozy throw blanket that is so soft and sparks so much joy because of its color scheme.

• If washing dishes is part of your daily repetoire, you need a thick, cushioned mat to stand on at the very least. Love this one in this pretty sage green color from Target.

• Can’t believe I’ve been sleeping on Trader Joe’s hand cream this long. It’s INCREDIBLE? So thick, so creamy, and smells so divine. And it’s only $5. WTF? Same goes for their hand/body cream that comes in a bigger bottle. I got one for every bathroom. In fact…

• In every bathroom of this home, I have these three products lined up on a vanity tray. All bathrooms have this rattan tray with a matching waste basket (both from Target, so cute) except for one, which has this brass vanity tray because it just made more sense in this one particular bathroom. GIVE ME ALL THE TRAYS!

  

• I treated our guest bed to some new sheets (she needed them) with this super pretty floral set which is on sale right now! Also got a set of their standard-sized pillow cases because who actually uses king-sized pillows on king-sized beds?

• The guest shower also needed a curtain, and I was so pleased to discover that Target is still carrying this exact one I got for our old house’s shower! I love it so much. It’s simple but has a little something going on.

• Lastly (for today), I got this Malin + Goetz lip balm for Zac last year and, true to form, he threw it in a drawer and forgot about it. But I didn’t. While unpacking our bathroom, I rediscovered it and y’all… it’s the best lip balm I’ve ever used? It’s so thick and hydrating and STAYS ON ALL NIGHT? I swear to G. I wake up and my lips still have a thin coating of it on. I like it so much that I think it’s going to replace my Laneige balm that I’ve been using for a good 5-7 years now.

And now a quick story about the unspoken language of mothers.

Read more

Things are coming together at the new house bit by bit. It’s a process and it’s exhausting, but we’re settling in a little more every day. Someone recently asked me on IG what my favorite part of the new house is and my honest answer was EVERYTHING. I can’t choose. I just love it so much and feel beyond grateful to be here in a gorgeous home, with my gorgeous family, in a gorgeous and extremely friendly neighborhood. It all just feels right.

I’ve been purchasing little things for the new house non-stop. ICYMI, I put together this list of everything I’ve ordered from Amazon since we moved in two weeks ago, and that list has naturally grown this week. But it’s not just Amazon getting all my money lately; it’s everywhere, which I’ll cover in this Digress’s “Shopping” section, so let’s go.

READING

Last we spoke, I was having a hard time getting into Project Hail Mary, but was going to try and keep going. Plot twist: I never got into it, and once he met the alien, I was out. I’ll say it again – I do not understand why/how this book has the accolades it does. I am not even kind of a Sci-Fi girlie, but I was under the impression PHM was more than that and it probably is, but I’m out. I’ll see the movie, but with all the science talk and the flashback format of the book itself, I just couldn’t and can’t and won’t.

Another book I got about 3% into and could not finish is Theo of Golden. I had a handful of readers tell me if I loved The Correspondent, I would love ToG, but they were wrong. So, so wrong. I immediately hated the writing and, honestly? The premise isn’t a strong one. While I love a book that covers multiple stories and weaves them together, I could just tell right off the bat I wasn’t going to like this book. I’m so sorry to anyone this offends; I’m just speaking my truth.

Fret not, though! Ellen came through with an absolute winner per usual called Life, and Death, and Giants, and having just started it a few days ago, I am blowing through it. The writing is phenomenal and mostly narrative, and the story itself is so different and intriguing and original. It takes place in a small town in the mountains of Wisconsin where a boy-giant is born into a community made of the Amish and the English who have very differing ideas about what life should look like for him. So, so, so good. EKB (Ellen Knows Best).

Check out Life, and Death, and Giants

WATCHING

We haven’t had much time to watch TV the last few weeks, what with moving and all. But when we DO have time, we are blazing through Homeland and THIS SHOW IS SO FUCKING GOOD. WTF. Claire Danes’s and Damien Lewis’s acting is off the fucking charts. They are some of the most complex characters I’ve ever witnessed, and the spectrum of emotions and mentalities they tackle each episode is truly mind-blowing. That goes for Mandy Patinkin, too. Ugh, it’s just so good. We finished season two last night, which had me on the edge of my fucking seat. The only thing is how eerily similar the show is to present-day even though it’s been 15 years since it aired. We haven’t evolved much. So… that’s cool. Watch it on Netflix.

MAKING

A lunch I made a few times in the old house before we moved was Stanley Tucci’s Tuna Bean Salad. It is fast to assemble, packed with flavor and protein, and absolutely delicious when eaten with a thin, crispy potato chip.

The first meal I made at the new house was one of my easiest go-to’s by Brocc Your Body: Chicken Teriyaki Meatballs. Nothing fancy or complicated — just simple, delicious food. I always serve it with this perfect stovetop rice and roasted broccoli.

The second, more elaborate meal I made was this caprese grilled chicken with lightly dressed pesto noodles. I’d made it once before and remembered how filling and fresh it was, and I’m pleased to say my memory served me well.

The THIRD meal I made in this house was ’ Vodka Sauce, which I paired with this breaded chicken recipe that was FUCKING AWESOME. It was such a good meal, and the chicken was exceptionally good.

For my baby sprinkle, my sister made all the drinks and snacks, two of which I have to share with y’all because they’re so amazing.

The first are these Rice Krispie Treats. To make them special, my sis added three different types of sprinkles on top in sections, and her note about that is “Put sprinkles on when you are all done. Don’t mush them down too hard — that is the trick.”

The second is this Piña Colada recipe that is legitimately the best I’ve ever had in my life? And I’ve been to Mexico. And Hawaii. It was literally INCREDIBLE and will be highly dangerous this summer when I can have it with rum. The recipe provided only makes 1 cocktail, so here is Allie’s recipe for a full batch:

    •    4 cups pineapple juice 🍍

    •    2 cups cream of coconut 🥥 (Coco Lopez, to be precise. Listen to me — you’re gonna want to really shake the shit out of this. You’ll prob have to warm the can up in hot water and shake your tits off. I dumped it out into a mason jar and put THAT in warm water and shook and shook until it was all dissolved!)

    •    2 tsp vanilla

    •    2 tbsp lime juice 🍋‍🟩

    •    1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

    •    2–3 tbsp honey 🍯

    •    pinch of salt 🧂

Whisk or immersion blend.

Refrigerate overnight.

Stir again before serving.

Blend with ice to make it frozen, or serve as-is over ice!

SHOPPING

Target has a knock-off of the highly coveted (and highly expensive) Anthro Primrose mirror, so I grabbed one. I’m not sure where it will live in the house yet, but I have it and that’s all that matters.

This is the powder blue dress I wore to my baby sprinkle last weekend. For Ziggy’s baby shower, I wore a shapeless comfy dress, so I wanted to go the opposite direction this time and wear something fancier and more form-fitting even though the occasion itself was extremely casual. I felt gorgeous, and that’s what matters.

We’re trying to be a sourdough-only household (store-bought, not handmade), so I treated us and our new kitchen to a handmade wooden bread box from this creator on Etsy. It’s stunning!

This runner rug by Ruggable should be arriving any day now, and I’m very excited to lay it down in the upstairs laundry room. It’ll bring some much needed happiness and color to an otherwise stark-white room. Use my code EMMASTHING15 for 15% off any Ruggable rug!

Speaking of rugs, this one by Ruggable x Iris Apfel is exactly what I was looking for for Ziggy’s room, but I couldn’t justify the $800 price tag. Not right now. BUT THEN, I found a nearly identical dupe on Target.com??? They basically flipped the image horizontally and cut the cost by $700+ and BOOM. The quality may not be as high, but that’s okay because it’s for a kids room and will ultimately get worn down real fast.

I’ve been eyeing this Dorai bath stone for a long time and decided to celebrate our new house by buying one for our bathroom. Bye-bye, bath mats!

Also, ICYMI: I got these expandable shoe racks from Amazon to make the most of my shoe storage space in the closet, and I’m so happy with the purchase. Now, instead of being able to fit just three pairs of shoes on a shelf, I can fit six — 3 on the shoe rack and three below. I might be able to display all my shoes all the time for the first time in my life because of these racks. No more storing by season!

Enjoy your weekend and talk next week!

xox,

EGM

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As a mother (which is so annoying to say but it really applies tenfold here), both companies have never been more important to me in terms of supply and convenience. I, like so many, am an absolute slut for convenience and instant gratification. We come by it honestly — it’s the world’s fault. Not ours. We’ve been conditioned. Blame it on Bezos (BIOB).

We started moving a week ago today and, since then, I’ve ordered nearly $500 worth of things from Amazon as I’ve needed them. So today, I’m going to share everything I’ve ordered to our new house over the last week: the organizational, the everyday, and the down right boring.

Let’s go.

P.S. I shared a full house tour and lots of pictures in this letter for paying subscribers if your nosiness gets the best of you.

Organizational

Tiered Spice Rack

In this new house, we have a true walk-in pantry and it’s… sexual. It’s what domestic wet dreams are made of. In our last home, I kept all our spices in a big drawer with a spice drawer organizer, which worked super well. Alas, our new pantry and kitchen setup doesn’t call for that; it calls for spices being organized on the pantry counter for quick access all the time. Therefore, I ordered this tiered spice rack so I can see all my spices at once, and it’s perfect.

Cutting Board Holder

Again, in our last house, we made a special spot for our cutting boards during our 2024 kitchen renovation by adding two beautiful, tall drawers on either side of our range with built-in slots to stand them up. This house doesn’t have that, so instead, I ordered this cutting board holder to display the 3 cutting boards I use the most. I need them out and at-the-ready, so I’m happy with this decision and fine with it taking up counter real estate.

Magnetic Knife Block

Our knives have been living nestled comfortably in an in-drawer knife organizer, but I decided to switch things up for this kitchen setup and ordered a magnetic knife block that will live on the counter. It was super simple to put together and the magnetic force is strong with this one (yes, Star Wars reference).

Under-the-Sink Organizational Baskets

I’m trying to remember where I saw these. I want to say it was an Instagram ad (they are targeting the shit out of me right now). Or maybe my friend who does professional organization for a living, Emily Aull, posted them? Either way, they are everything and more. The satisfaction I felt after putting them together and seeing how perfectly they fit under our sink was intense. R-rated, if you will. The way they PULL OUT for even more convenience just sent me over the edge (of glory). And they’re totally adjustable, so you can make them as tall or as short as your space calls for.

Expandable Shoe Racks

These I DEFINITELY saw via a video Emily Aull shared and was immediately intrigued. Our new closet has built-in shelves for whatever you desire, and I’m definitely going to store my shoes there. I have small feet (size 7), so I think adding an additional “shelf” to each shelf would work well and allow me to fit 6 shoes on one shelf as opposed to just 3. I haven’t put them together yet, but am hopeful about my plan to expand!

Ceramic Berry Baskets

You’re supposed to store berries in the fridge with NO lid (as to not trap the moisture), which is what I’ve been doing for a long time. Our new kitchen inspired me to get fancy with it and order actual ceramic berry baskets to create a totally unnecessary but really nice aesthetic when you open the fridge, and I have no regrets.

Lifestyle

Baby Gates

We have a second floor! Which means we have stairs! Which means Ziggy and his brother (and the dogs, honestly) need to be contained in a new way! Therefore, I ordered two of these baby/dog gates to control the traffic the best I can and try to avoid anyone hurting themselves. Ziggy has quickly become an expert on climbing up and down the stairs, which is great but he is but a 16-month-old who cannot be trusted. So gates it is.

Submarine Bath Toy

Speaking of Ziggy, he was NOT a fan of his new bathtub at first. The first two nights, bath time was full of tears. So I asked one of my besties who is known for her bath toy collection about what I should get him to make his new setup more exciting, and she suggested this incredible submarine toy. You fill it with balls and water, press the button, and watch them pop out the bottom! He’s obsessed and so are we. He hasn’t shed a tear since we set it up.

Velcro Shoes

Ziggy also got a new pair of velcro sneakers because all he wants to be is outside, always. And we have a big backyard now with lots of ground to cover, so he needs good shoes that won’t slide off. These are GREAT. Velcro for the win.

Hanging Shower Squeegee

Okay, this SEEMS boring but hear me out. IT’S NOT. If you have a glass shower door, this silicone squeegee is amazing. We had a metal one in our old shower and had to attach it to the wall with adhesive and all that jazz and it got rusty and shit. This squeegee is, dare I say, pretty? And I LOVE that it has a built-in hook so you can hang it at the top of the door and be done with it. I got the sage green color.

Facial Hair Remover

Mine crapped out right before we moved so, to add insult to injury, I was walking around with a pretty mean mustache during the Move from Hell™️. I finally remembered to order a new one and am happy to say Zac is the only family member with a ‘stache around here.

Jojoba Oil

Speaking of skin, I LOVE dermaplaning my side burns and jawline and usually just use my moisturizer as a shaving barrier but I looked it up, and saw that jojoba oil is recommended for dermaplaning and promptly ordered some like the good student I am.

Boring

Now for the boring shit.

Dawn Dish Soap

We needed a new BIG ASS refill bottle for our automatic soap dispenser, so I got us one.

Spray Away Glass Cleaner

The very first thing we did when we moved in was have a company come out and frost our glass front door. To think that anyone ever lived here without any sort of tint or privacy on the front door glass is insane to me. Maybe they had a curtain up at one point, but there’s no evidence of that. Anyway, the guy who installed the film told us to only use Spray Away to clean it and said it’s great for all glass, so I ordered a 6-pack to keep us stocked up.

Antiseptic Wipes for Dogs

Sigh. Just… Cece’s butthole and overall private area is… not pretty. That’s all I’ll say.

Forever yours and Bezos’ bitch,

EGM

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All that said, I’m taking a few minutes this fine Thursday morning to sit here with my coffee and go over what I’ve been consuming with my five senses these past few weeks!

READING

I started and finished The Correspondent in less than 2 weeks, which is FAST for me as I literally only read at night in bed. Granted, it’s a shorter book but still. This book was phenomenal. The storytelling through letters and e-mails was unique and perfect, and the author’s way of being able to weave it all together through personal correspondence was fantastic. I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m a big fan of hefty narrative and minimal dialogue, so a book written entirely in letters is so up my alley. It’s a beautiful story about an older woman coming to grips with who she is and how her life has shaped her, and I loved every page of it. 10/10 recommend!

I then very quickly started Project Hail Mary. I’ve been wanting to read this for years and the teaser trailer during the Super Bowl for the movie adaptation starring Ryan Gosling reminded me of that. This book is beloved by many and has incredibly high reviews across the interwebs, but I have to say, I’m about 85 pages in and I’m not sure how I feel about the format. To be fair, this book and The Correspondent are light years apart (pun intended), so it’s given me a bit of whiplash with the genre switching. But I’m just not totally digging the writing or storytelling. Also, the fact that the main character is all “Fudge! Gosh darnit! Dang!” deeply irritates my sailor’s mouth. I also typically don’t enjoy the Sci-Fi genre in general, BUT I know a lot of people say the message of Project Hail Mary goes deeper than that, so… I’m gonna keep going but I’m wondering if anyone else here didn’t enjoy it?

WATCHING

If you share a love of comedy with me, you HAVE TO watch Free Bert on Netflix. I knew of Bert Kreischer but have never watched his standup. However, THIS SHOW? It’s incredible. Seriously one of the funniest shows I’ve watched in a minute. The writing is absolutely brilliant, and his two daughters steal the entire show as far as I’m concerned. Supposedly, his real daughters are exactly like his show daughters, which makes me jealous I won’t ever raise a daughter, but I digress. It’s just so fucking funny, and I think we could all use some brevity.

Zac and I never got into Yellowstone, but someone wrote me on Instagram the other week and said if I loved Lonesome Dove, I have to watch the Yellowstone prequel, 1883. It’s basically Taylor Sheridan’s homage to LD. So we started and HOLY FUCK, WHERE HAVE I BEEN? This show is phenomenal. First of all, I had no idea Tim McGraw and Faith Hill could act and act well. Second, the daughter played by Isabel May is just so stunning and mesmerizing to watch and listen to. Thirdly, I love Sam Elliott. Fourthly, Faith Hill should always be brunette. The production level of 1883 is mind-blowing, and it’s all just so good. There’s only 10 episodes, so we’re taking our time and loving every minute of it.

Lastly, we’ve been watching the new GOT spin-off, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. As any GOT fan knows, this genre is typically extremely dramatic, violent, and heavy, so I was taken aback that Knight was almost comical? Like funny. Jokes on jokes. It kind of threw me, but there’s a pretty big plot twist in episode three that shifts the entire vibe of the show into GOT mode, and now it’s gotten REALLY GOOD, so we’re going to keep on keeping on.

MAKING

This extremely simple mashed potatoes recipe is perfect. It’s so easy, comes together quickly, and you can doctor them however you want. I will say, I added A TON of salt to ours to get it to where I needed it to be, but Ziggy housed them. And, again, it’s just such a simple, fast recipe.

Cailee Fischer’s Scallion Chicken is SO GOOD and satisfies takeout cravings in a cleaner, more delicious way. I made it for us the other week and we ate the entire thing between the two of us?

It’s official: ’ Vodka Sauce and Pasta Al Limone are Zac and I’s go-to comfort pasta dishes, no contest. I’ve already written about the Vodka Sauce, but I made the new Limone recipe this week and holy mother. Literally feel like I should get down on my hands and knees and thank Caro, God of Food. It’s also a no-mess recipe because you do it all in one pot. It’s honestly genius. MAKE IT.

What To Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking

one-pot spaghetti al limone

This one-pot spaghetti al limone is a fast (20 minutes!), easy, cozy meal that you can keep in your back pocket for when you’re exhausted and/or the fridge is totally bare. I bet at least half of you already have the ingredients needed to cook this recipe (all you need are spaghetti, lemon, cheese, butter, and garlic!), and I promise you have the energy…

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3 months ago · 312 likes · 45 comments · Caroline Chambers

SHOPPING

Hopefully, you caught my foundation debacle via IG stories the other week. LSS: I was unknowingly wearing a shade that was much much much too orange for my skin, and it was not cute. I went into Sephora and fixed it with NARS Light Reflecting Foundation, and I’M IN LOVE. This foundation is buildable, gorgeous, and offers the perfect luminous finish without being shiny or too dewy. Not only that, but it’s literally my skin tone in a bottle? I just love it and think I’ll be using it for a LOOOONG time. FWIW, my shade is M1 (AKA “Punjab,” AKA a city in India. I feel like the name may be inappropriate, but makeup companies name their products some crazy shit).

East Fork sent me this popcorn bowl and absolutely perfect 9x9 cutting board, and my new life goal is to replace every bowl and dish in our home with East Fork bowls and dishes. They’re just so beautiful, and I love that it’s a small shop out of Asheville, NC.

I never thought I’d see the day, but we have completely moved on from pajama onesies and are only outfitting Ziggy in two-piece sets for bed. I am OBSESSED with Little Sleepies. The bamboo fabric is so soft and amazing, and I know Ziggy is super comfortable sleeping in them every night. I’ve gotten him four different sets recently, all of which are on sale. I only shop their sale items!

I’ve gone full Ms. Rachel in terms of these knotted headbands. I don’t care if they’re not trendy or cute to wear anymore; my frizzy ass hair NEEDS them, especially on days when nothing else will tame the frizz. These ones I found on Amazon are thick and comfortable — my two requirements for any headband — and I’ve been wearing the shit out of them.

I also decided to treat myself to an updated day/night pill organizer, if you even care.

In terms of moving, a follower suggested I order these heavy duty moving bags for clothes and whatnot, so I listened and I’m so glad I did. They have already come in handy and will continue to. ANDDDDDD… I ordered our first new items for the new house!!! Kinda boring, BUT the boys will each need a dresser (THE BOYS 🥹) so Zac and I settled on two of these. Simple, straightforward, and enough of a blank canvas that we can paint them and change the knobs whenever we see fit. Ziggy’s room has built-ins so we haven’t had to worry about a dresser, but now we do!

All right, y’all. That’s gonna do it for today’s Weekly Digress. Even though I won’t be sending another one out for a few weeks, I’ll be taking diligent notes in my phone to ensure the next one is worth the wait.

Also, another little nudge to consider upgrading to a paid subscription not only to support my writing/sharing, but also to get an exclusive first look at the new house next weekend! I’ll be doing a walk-through video and sharing lots of photos, too.

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xox,

EGM

I don’t know how your part of the world is holding up weather-wise, but we’ve been iced-in since Saturday. It was super cute at first, as most hunker down situations are, but by Tuesday, my friends and family seemed to all be collectively losing our minds.

The good news is the ice finally seems to be melting, bit by bit. We even braved the neighborhood roads yesterday to venture to Walgreens, which was a mostly fruitless trip because they still haven’t been able to fill Ziggy’s maintenance inhaler his doctor prescribed him for the rest of flu season, but we did walk away with plenty of heart-shaped Snickers1 and a bag of Sour Patch hearts that are exceptionally delicious.

Anyhow. I’ve been slowly collecting things to run across your desk for The Weekly Digress, so let’s get to them.

READING

I’ve taken my sweet time deciding on what my first book of 2026 will be. I was re-reading Lonesome Dove for comfort, but felt safe enough this week to start a new book: The Correspondent. I’ve heard wonderful things, and at over 50 pages in, I’m really enjoying it. It’s a novel comprised entirely of letters and emails, which is a great format and fun way to read a book.

A fellow writer I love and always have is . She was the Man Repeller’s righthand woman for a long time, which is how I first discovered her. She wrote this piece about motherhood recently that took my breath away.

“The more important I become to my children, the less adept I feel at other things besides mothering. The more relevant I am to them, the more acutely I perceive my irrelevance elsewhere. It’s an exchange that feels, somehow, correct — even if it also stings at times. I have anticipatory nostalgia for this season of being so essential, my purpose whittled to a razor-sharp point. Early motherhood leaves no space for mistaking it.”

Read the rest here:

Gumshoe

My shrinking brain

In the weeks after my daughter was born, I developed an annoying habit of writing to-do lists and forgetting that I’d written them. Or where I’d written them. I’d start new ones and forget those, too — sometimes in the middle of writing them. Even now, when I try to type a sentence, I trail off thinking about whether the room the baby is napping in is t…

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3 months ago · 1280 likes · 218 comments · Harling Ross Anton

WATCHING

Lonesome Dove — in 1989, Robert Duvall, Tommy Lee Jones, Angelica Houston, and Diane Lane starred in a miniseries adaption of Lonesome Dove. It’s four parts, with each episode running an hour or longer. Not to be that person, but the book is eons better. There’s really no comparison because Larry McMurty’s writing is so detailed and verbose and engrossing, and I’m not sure there’s any way a TV adaption could capture that. I liked it enough, for sure. I thought they did a pretty decent job, and I loved how everyone portrayed the characters (especially Robert Duvall. He was SO good) but the book did way more for me. Now, if Taylor Sheridan wanted to do a 2026 remake, I’d freak the fuck out. I think he could really blow it out of the water, and it is his favorite book so… never say never.

Sinners — This has gotten so much buzz and has been nominated for so many Oscars, I felt the need to see it. I enjoyed it a lot, but I’m not sure it’s necessarily Oscar material. It took a wild turn I sort of expected but not to the extent of the turn itself. I loved the beginning a lot, and then things got very sci-fi, which was wild. All the acting was great, and it was highly entertaining for sure. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ that’s my summation! Also, I love Hailee Steinfeld.

The Pitt (season 2) — WHYYYY IS THIS SHOW SO GOOD. It’s so insanely graphic and I have to cover my eyes for half the scenes, but I LOVE IT. It’s really fun having a bestie who’s an ER nurse because she has said she’s never seen a medical drama depict real-life more accurately, and I love texting with her about each episode to better understand what I just watched. I can’t wait to find out why the new attending zoned out so bad about the abandoned baby… WTF is going on there?

The Rip — It’s the millennial in me talking, but I just will always love the Damon/Affleck duo. No matter how big a piece of shit I think Affleck may be IRL (he’s highly intelligent, but has issues). I love anything they do together, and The Rip was great. Very fast-paced, the 2 hours flew by for me. It wasn’t like the most monumental piece of cinema I’ve ever seen, but it was entertaining as hell. I will say, the amount of F-bombs was wild and that’s coming from someone who doesn’t even hear herself say it anymore. It was A LOT. But other than that, it’s a good 2-hour shoot ‘em up cop drama if you’re in the mood.

LISTENING TO

When I write, I cannot listen to music with lyrics. It’s just not possible. I’ll end up accidentally writing lyrics into copy, which is never a good look. Typically, I lean on jazz or classical as writing music, but sometimes I want the upbeat nature of pop songs without the singing. Therefore, this instrumental playlist of popular songs is perfection!

MAKING

Believe me when I tell you that this Sunshine Veggie and Chicken Curry by is better than anything you’ll get from a restaurant, and YOU CAN MAKE IT. I promise you can. It’s simple.

We needed some muffins for the week, so I made these Maple-Sweetened Banana Muffins for something “better for you” and they are great. Zig loves them, and that’s really my goal with any and all muffins I ever make.

If you love ranch dip but don’t love all the unhealthy shit that comes with it, this cottage cheese ranch dip is DIVINE and so easy. You just throw CC, lemon juice, a few tsp of ranch seasoning and some milk into a food processor, blend it up, and dip away! So good.

Lastly, this taco meat??? SO EASY, SO GOOD. I think I might have sent it out before, but whatever — it deserves a resend. I made it last night and used Siete’s mild taco seasoning packet in place of all the spices it called for and we devoured it.

SHOPPING

I realized I need a thicker moisturizer for this time of year, so I bought First Aid’s Ultra Repair and it’s truly luxurious. It’s oatmeal-based making it a great choice for sensitive skin, and the consistency is like a thick whip, so it’s silky in the best way. I legitimately look forward to applying it — it’s like a 30 second moment of indulgence every day.

I also got these “zero pore” pads from medicube. Korean skincare is all the rage, and since I can’t use tretinoin while pregnant, I decided to try these out to see if they can’t help some of the KP that’s crept onto my lower cheeks/jawline. I’m honestly not looking at myself in the mirror super hard right now, but my skin physically feels good so that’s something?

The last new skincare thing I’ve added to my rotash is this eye gel by Good Molecules. Again, unclear if it’s done anything because I’m not studying my face very closely right now, but it FEELS great and is slightly tacky before it really soaks in, which I feel means it’s truly getting in there.

Some other Amazon purchases as of late include this milk frother that has 4 settings (hot froth, steam milk, cold froth, and hot chocolate) and is GREAT, these flat hair clips by Kitsch that I just love, more maternity leggings by PoshDivah because they’re the best and have pockets, these extremely thick and fluffy slippers, and my new laundry line-up!

Besides Amazon, I’ve been leaning heavily on these fabulous sunnies to make me glamorous when I couldn’t be farther from it, and using the best lipstick balm literally ever created by Charlotte Tilbury to bring some life to my face even on my most exhausted days (get it in Pillow Talk! The perfect everyday shade).

That’s all for this week’s Digress. Very Big Things are happening in and TO the Miller household right now… I talked about it all in the Voice Note I sent last week to paid subscribers and have big updates for y’all this week. Let’s just say the next month is gonna be a lot of moving parts, but stressful in the best way. Life is changing very fast between now and April (baby 2’s birth month), and we’re ready. I think. I hope.

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xox,

EGM

Brothers, sisters, everybody saaaaang.

Hey, guys. It’s been a hot, horrible, sickly, tearful, torturous, sleep deprived, anxious, miserable minute BUT I’M BACK. After that holiday we had, writing was the very last thing on my mind, but all is well (for now) so here I am, back in your inbox and ready to chat.

I’ll be writing about our holiday experience later this week for paid subscribers if for no other reason than catharsis for my brain, so stay tuned for that. OH WHAT FUN!!!

Today’s Digress is loooooong because I haven’t written one in a whole ass month, so my list of content to share is bulky. You may need to click “View entire message” at the end of this email to read the rest, so get cozy and let’s talk.

READING 📚

The very last thing I wrote before the Holiday from Hell™ was an in-depth review of all the books I read in 2025. I had such a great time writing it; it was joyful for me to revisit all those books.

My last read of 2025 has become my first re-read of 2026: Lonesome Dove. I’m not sure I’ll actually read through the entire book again; all I know is I started it over the second I finished it because I fell so in love with this novel. It’s also quickly become a comfort-read for me, which is what I’ve needed these past few weeks. I think my sister and I will start up our 2-person book club again soon, so I’ll let y’all know what our first true read of 2026 ends up being!

WATCHING 📺

Ok, strap in.

We’ve watched exactly one episode of the Diddy documentary and haven’t had the time or energy to revisit it since, BUT we will. It’s not high on our watchlist, but it’s there so we’ll get back to it. Just after one episode, though, we were like… whoa. This guy is a psycho. So can’t wait to see how much crazier he gets!

I am a slut for any and all holiday baking competitions during the season, so I ate up every second of Holiday Baking Championship. I was gunning for Ashleigh the entire time, not only because she’s a local girlie, but because she seemed to have true grit and a wall up that is penetrable only by doing great work and being praised for it. I’m still shocked that Charles took it; he really bothered me all season and wanted it too bad, ya know? That’s never a good look for anyone. Tarek’s expressionless persona made me giggle, and Nico’s quirk was highly entertaining (also really proud of all he’s overcome).

Zac had to pop out of town for a few nights right before Christmas, so I took the opportunity to watch Shiva Baby, a 2020 arthouse film and Rachel Sennott’s first ever acting role (I don’t really like her, and I want to talk about that but some other time). It was good! Better than I was expecting, actually. The anxiety was very real throughout the entire movie, and I appreciated how it was shot. Also love Molly Gordon, always.

I don’t know how, but Zac and I somehow found ourselves watching a Mark Twain documentary at some point over the last few weeks? Probably because it’s a Ken Burns film and we love those. Anyway, I’ve never read any of his work, but after watching the first 30 minutes of episode one, I can’t wait to read his work and feel like a fool for not. What a life and what a witty man.

I’ve been told I’d love the show Loot with Maya Rudolph, so I started it and eh. I mean, it’s cute but it isn’t must see TV for me. With how much there is to watch, this show doesn’t fall high on my list, and it didn’t really grab me right away. Love Maya. Love Adam Scott. Love the premise and the cast, but again… eh.

The night of the day we were discharged from the hospital (🙃🙃🙃), Zac and I made a bizarre choice and decided to watch Misery. Yes, the 1990 hit based off the Stephen King novel and starring Kathy Bates and James Caan. The name alone felt suiting, so we dove in and what a wild ride. I loved the build-up to her full craziness and also how James kept his cool as long as he could. It was a good movie.

A movie we started and couldn’t finish was If I Had Legs I’d Kick You. It’s a new one from A24 starring Rose Byrne (who I LOVE and is an advocate for aging naturally, which makes me so happy), and no mother anywhere should watch it. Ever. For any reason. It’s an extremely anxiety-driven, suspenseful film about a mother’s exhausted helplessness with her life in general, and I’m pretty sure my heart rate was in exercise mode for the entire hour we watched. Maybe I’m a pussy, but it was just all too much for me. Motherhood can be hard, but it’s mostly beautiful and seeing this depiction of it and Rose’s character’s inability to handle it without drugs, alcohol, and being in a constant state of duress made me unwell. She was incredible from what I saw and will be nominated for an Oscar, but that doesn’t mean I liked or recommend this film. Just not for me. Zac would’ve kept watching, but I couldn’t do it anymore.

In between all of this, we finished The Beast in Me (SO GOOD) and Pluribus (SO GOOD) and are working on season two of Landman (SO GOOD). Looking forward, I’m pumped for Shrinking season 3 to start, as well as The Pitt season 2. LET’S GO!

LISTENING TO 🎧

Honestly, not a lot. Mostly the thoughts in my head, TBH.

But, really. The only music that has sounded good to me as of late is Billy Strings, specifically his Renewal album. Zac played it a lot over the holidays, and I loved every minute of it. Especially “Show Me the Door.”

MAKING 👩🏻‍🍳

Again, strap in. Mama cooked a lot the last month.

Beef Fried Rice — a staple around here and so damn good. All ingredients available at T.Joe’s.

Shepherd’s Pie — first time ever making it, and it was fantastic. Zac wants it to be a staple. Truly, what’s better than beef, potatoes, and veggies in one big PIE?

Creamy Tortellini Tomato Soup — SO FUCKING GOOD. Creamy, rich, absolutely delicious.

Fancy Momofuku Noodles — for those nights you want Asian, but don’t want to spend the money and don’t want it to be complicated. This semi-homemade recipe was delish.

Butternut Bakery’s Life Changing Chocolate Pie — no, but seriously. This pie was one of the only things that got me and Zac through holiday hell. It is so fucking incredible. Rich, yes, but the Oreo + salted butter crust cuts the sweetness and it’s THE PERFECT BITE. It’s also very easy to make. It tastes professional on every level.

Vodka Sauce — THIS IS THE MOST INCREDIBLE VODKA SAUCE I’VE EVER HAD IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. DO YOU HEAR ME? I’M SCREAMING SO YOU CAN HEAR. Zac and I were GOBSMACKED. Perfect flavor, perfect texture, perfect everything. I just. Phenomenal. Exceptional. Award-winning.

What To Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking

pasta alla vodka and the best caesar

Click here for the WTC recipe index, and scroll to the bottom of this post for a printer-friendly version of today’s recipe…

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3 years ago · 478 likes · 61 comments · Caroline Chambers

Crockpot Chicken Enchiladas — BRO. If you love tasty SLOP, this was amazing. I had my doubts because enchiladas in a crockpot? But the flavors were absolutely delicious. So much so, we actually ate the leftovers (something we don’t do a lot because we’re lazy and stupid). So so so good.

Best Brownies Ever — I found this recipe on Reddit and will never look back. They’re so fudgy, so gooey, so rich and have the perfect bite of salt. I’ve made them twice already. Save this doc!

Skillet Orzo and Feta Fish — I made this last year toward the end of the year when Zac’s mom was visiting and, since she was here the last week of the year again this year, I made it again and it was a hit. It’s so easy, SO flavorful (shallots and tomato paste forever), and clean. It’s really really really good, trust.

SHOPPING 🛍️

• I’m sort of having a love affair with e.l.f. right now. Between their makeup brush cleaner, this mascara, and their sculpting brow gel, I’m impressed with all their (extremely affordable) product.

• Dermaplaning at home is a luxury, and these disposable razors are fabulous. Super sharp, get the job done, and you get 12 razors for under $10. No brainer.

• So, funny story — I loved my FitBit for a week and, after our hospital stint, realized how much I missed my Apple Watch and needed it back. Being able to talk and text from your wrist is kind of necessary when you’re a mom whose hands are often very full. I was holding Ziggy so much of the time in the hospital, which made me think about how much I held him as a newborn, which made me think about how much I’ll be holding our new baby soon, which ultimately led me to returning the FitBit and buying a new Apple Watch (mine was 1st gen from 2020), and I’m super happy with it. It’s wonderful and I especially love the new sleep tracking capabilities. It’s the first thing I check every morning like a weirdo. FWIW, I got the SE because I need the bare minimum in terms of technology and it’s great!

• A few very cute Target finds: this impossibly happy mouse pad and these throw pillows I got to spruce up our otherwise pretty drab couch.

• I ordered these cutie little earrings for myself as a “you survived” present and love them so much. They’re the perfect amount of everyday sparkle near your face. I sleep in them, even.

• Mama needed some new house slippers, and these fit the bill. They’re great quality. Thick soles and very cozy. Highly recommend!

Feels good to be back, guys.

Happy fucking new year x 100.

xox,

EGM

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Monday, I got Ziggy from daycare and we headed to Target (his second home) to kill some time before meeting Zac at Home Depot to pick out a Christmas tree (we’ve been getting our trees from HD for forever, especially after the one year we tried to buy from a locally-owned place and they were asking $500 for a tree. I’m dead serious). We then dined-in at Chick-fil-A where I recorded a commercial parody I’ve been meaning to do for a long time now.

On Tuesday, we started decorating the tree some and I made soup.

Wednesday, I got Ziggy a bit early from daycare and we ran some errands together and then met Zac at Campisi’s (a Dallas staple) for pizza and Shirley Temples the size of my head. It was Ziggy’s first time there and he loved it. Boy can house some pizza.

Thursday was another quiet night at home and now it’s Friday. Fuck me.

Anyway, let’s chat about content I consumed this past week!

LONESOME DOVE!!! I am 82% through and, even after reading over 600 pages, I don’t want it to end. I can confidently say this book has moved into my top five of all time. Every plot line, every character, every bit of dialogue — it’s all so good. I completely understand why it’s a classic, and I am SO excited to watch the 1989 TV series once I’m done with the book. Like, SO excited to see it come to life on-screen. I know I will love the book more, but I’ve heard amazing things about the show, too. I’m very in love with Augustus McCrea and wish I could name baby brother after him, but I don’t love “Gus” and one of my best friend’s kid’s names is August. I’m sort of into McCrea, though. McCrea Miller. I’m not sure I’m selling Zac on it, though. We’ll see.

Two random older movies we’ve watched recently are Funny People and The Switch. We had both seen Funny People years ago when it first came out but didn’t remember it very well, so we wanted to revisit it and damn — it’s so good. I miss the days of Apatow-led comedies so much. BRING THEM BACK!

The Switch we had both never even heard of and it’s beyond random of us to have chosen to watch; alas, there we were, watching Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston get into an incredibly far-fetched situation that actually ended up being kinda touching and sweet? Fun fact: I have never liked JA. She doesn’t do anything for me, but I liked her in this movie. It was an easy watch, which everyone needs from time to time, ya know?

We started The Beast in Me and HOLY SHIT. We’ve only watched episode 1, but I was immediately hooked. Claire Danes AKA Queen of Crying is always amazing, and Matthew Rhys is FUCKING BRILLIANT. I never watched The Americans, but Zac did and when he saw Matthew was in this, he was like “Oh, this is gonna be good.” We’re trying to move through it very slowly because I can tell it’s gonna be stellar and I want it to last!

Y’all aren’t going to believe this, but I’m JUST NOW getting on the Las Culturistas train, and I’m pretty ashamed of myself for not boarding this train years ago. It’s literally everything??? Like. IDK where I’ve been, but I’m just glad I finally came-to and want to be a Kayteigh so bad. Bowen is just the absolute best and Matt is incredible. Their dynamic is perfection, and their “rules” and “I don’t think so, honey” bring me unending joy. I’m YEARS late to this party, so forgive me. But it’s sort of fun because I have SO many episodes to listen to, and I’m slowly working my way through them. J.Law’s recent one was incredible, and so was Amy Poehler’s. Oh! And Allison Williams? She is so intellectual, it’s crazy. UGH. I JUST LOVE IT SO MUCH!!! I kinda want to start an IDTSH segment in each Weekly Digress, but I don’t want to be a copycat. Should I?

Soup szn calls for the Unstuffed Cabbage Soup I’ve been making for 5 years now. It’s truly everything and hits every.single.time. Also, if you can’t find a bag of pre-shredded green cabbage and don’t want to deal with a full head of it, a bag of coleslaw works just as well!

I made Ina Garten’s Roasted Chicken last Sunday, and it was perfection. Don’t sleep on taking the roasted garlic head out of the chicken once it’s done and eating those cloves along with the chicken. SO GOOD.

First and foremost, we have roughly 3 weeks until Christmas, so if you haven’t browsed this year’s Gift Guides yet, get to it!

SHOP GIFT GUIDES

🛍️ This minimizer bra from Amazon. Fits like a glove and is under $30. I got a few colors and am praying to the gods that my chest doesn’t get any bigger before I birth this child. I’m at capacity. Please have mercy on me, boob gods.

🛍️ This baby outfit from Sofia Grange x Amazon comes in many colors, but I got Ziggy the “butter” yellow and he legitimately looks like a stick of butter in it, and it’s delicious. He’s delicious.

🛍️ Old Navy has some cute ass shit for men. I grabbed this sweater in the red/white color for Zac, and it fits like a glove and is so great. It’s giving Alex Mill but for a fraction of the cost and not cashmere, but oh well. Definitely gonna get him another color (or two). Also, these waffle knit shirts are the perfect winter layer. If your dude is tall, get the “tall” size — otherwise, they’re pretty short.

🛍️ I’ve also treated myself to a few things this season so far:

• The Emily signet ring by cupcakes & cashmere. Very true to size!

• This FUCKING ADORABLE button down from Anthro. HOW COULD I NOT? It runs big, but I got a large anyway and am hopeful it’ll fit over my bump right now and then I can style it when I’m not pregnant come the spring/fall. It’s just too cute.

• Also these earmuffs from Anthro because I need something for my ears and beanies just do not look good with my curls. I keep trying and failing.

• This peppermint stick candle because I just know it’s gonna smell incredible.

• The greatest PJs ever from Target. I want another pair, they’re so good. They’re NOT maternity, so I got an XL to fit the bump from now until the end of winter!

That’ll do it for this week. Enjoy your weekend!

xox,

EGM

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I am working on finishing up 2025 gift guides this weekend (!!!) and am super excited to share them with everyone next week. Fortunately for you and notsomuch for me, I found A LOT of good shit this year, much of which I want and have added to my own Christmas wi$h li$t. There are six guides: For Her, For Him, Splurge, Under $50, Babies/Kids, and Home. Of course, these are just labels — you can buy anyone anything from any list. There are no rules in this house; I’m not like a regular influencer, I’m a *cool* influencer.

But before we get into all that, I wanted to send a quick Digress your way. Not a ton to report on from the last week, but enough.

We are watching Pluribus, the apocalyptic dramaedy from the creator of Breaking Bad, and it’s really good. So different. A very high-level summary is when a mysterious force takes over literally every human’s brain save for a random dozen people in the world, Carol (one of the dozen) is determined to figure out how to reverse the curse. It’s extremely well-written and Rhea Seehorn is very captivating as the main actor. Watch on Apple TV.

Landman season two is out and we wasted no time diving back in. The son’s love interest still can’t act for shit and Ali Larter’s character is more batshit than ever, but the first episode was fantastic. A lot of season two takes place in Fort Worth, and they filmed quite a bit of the first episode at a hotel called Bowie House. I just happen to know someone who works there and was told that the entire cast and crew couldn’t be lovelier, and it was such a fun experience having them film onsite. Also, the daughter vs. dean scene? SO GOOD. Watch on Paramount+.

On Monday night, I met up with my sister and a few of her friends to see an early showing of Wicked 2. Now, I like Wicked plenty but I don’t LOVE IT like I love Hamilton or Les Mis. As it goes with most musicals, Act One has way more bangers than Act Two, and that was definitely evident in this movie. The cinematography and visuals were epic as usual, but the story itself felt very jolty and disconnected. Regardless, it was entertaining as hell and, although I wish someone would do a wellness check on Ari (she is seriously disturbingly thin), she was a star in this. Marissa Bode (AKA “Nessa”) absolutely ruined it for me, though. Her screaming “BOQ!!!!!” will haunt my dreams for a long time.

Honestly, nothing to write home about this week. But I will say that I fully plan on making this Chocolate Peppermint Pudding Cake by Butternut Bakery soon (maybe even for Thanksgiving?). I’ve found that, this pregnancy, I am a slut for seasonal desserts. At the start of fall, all I wanted was apple-themed everything. Now, I want peppermint chocolate-themed everything. BRING IT ON.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, my sister is hosting this year but I will be contributing this stuffing recipe from Brocc Your Body and am pumped. My family wasn’t a stuffing family, so I discovered it late in life and love it.

I mentioned a little while ago that I wasn’t going to shop maternity stuff until I popped, and BOY HAVE I. So, I’ve gotten a handful of maternity things I wanted to share for those that can relate:

• These long sleeve tops from Old Navy are so great. I got the v-neck and square neck (trying to adhere to my styling rules where I can while pregnant) in a few colors to tie me over for fall/winter. Plus, they’re on sale for $14.99 right now. Highly recommend!

• These sweatpants are s0o0o0o0o comfy, OMG. 10/10 recommend.

• I found myself on Quince (which I’m usually not impressed with) and ordered these leggings that are actually pretty stellar. Love the pockets and LOVE the fabric. Buttery soft, if you will. Will probably buy another color.

• These wide leg pants from Amazon are great and even come in an ankle-length for shorties like me!

• I got this sweater dress to wear for Thanksgiving and it’s real cute. SUPER cozy, too. It’s pretty form-fitting, so I got an XL for my XL titties.

• Lastly, I got these ADORABLE PJs from Old Navy for the holiday season and they are so fun and soft, they make me very happy. I will say, they were sold out of my size but Ellen kept an eye on them and grabbed a medium the second they were restocked/returned, so miracles CAN happen!

IDK what it is this pregnancy, but I seem to be killing the lipstick game (probably because I feel out of control of my body but not of my face card). My two combos lately have been the following:

L’Oreal Colour Riche Original Satin Lipstick in “Worth It Medium” + e.l.f. glow reviver melting balm in “Wild Cherry” on top

and

Makeup by Mario SuperSatin Lipstick in “Tribeca” + Clarins Lip Comfort Hydrating Oil in “Cherry” on top

Obviously, the glosses are interchangeable. As long as it’s a red-tinted gloss, you good.

The only other thing I have to write about for this Digress is my new phone case, which I am thoroughly enjoying for the season. I haven’t switched my phone case out for a hot minute, but was intrigued by this wavy burgundy number Fashion Jackson shared the other week. It’s fun, cute, and functional!

Have a great weekend and I’ll meet you back here Monday for GIFT GUIDES!!!!!!!!

xox,

EGM

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Can I just say that I stupidly forgot how horrible pregnancy exhaustion is? I know I’m growing a human and give yourself grace and blah blah blah, but it sucks. It sucks harder with a 1-year-old, not because he wears me out, but because I am now carrying extra guilt on top of my always-there mom guilt about not being able to be 100% for him every waking moment. I’m rarely if ever operating at full capacity nowadays, and it’s just very frustrating. I know that’s only going to grow with trying to divide my attention (and heart) between two little boys, but damn. Just another motherhood quandary to navigate, I guess.

Anyway, my point is that I was saying to Zac “It’s just fucked up that pregnancy sleep sucks because you go from 9 months of shitty, sucky sleep straight into X amount of months of newborn sleep deprivation, and it’s honestly rude.” Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever feel “well rested” again in my life. Probably not. I’ll sleep when I’m dead.

Also, the trope about a woman saying she doesn’t want any fries and then eating all your fries is so tired and simply not true. I’ve never once in my life refused fries for myself, then mooched off my partner’s who had the wherewithal to get the good stuff. I feel like that happened one time in the history of woman and this stupid ass narrative about it was born and blown way out of proportion. If I want fries, I’ll get them and I’ll eat them. If I don’t, I won’t. Can we stop stereotyping women as fry-deniers who then become fry-stealers?

Okay, let’s talk about more interesting shit.

Still going very strong on Lonesome Dove, and gosh dern, I LOVE IT. I had no idea I was a Western kinda girlie, yet here we are. There are a lot of characters to follow and learn about, but I don’t find any of it overwhelming. It’s incredible writing and great storytelling, and I’m locked in for this long journey west to Montany from Texas.

We finished this season of the Great British Bake Off, and I won’t spoil anything except to say we all saw that coming from a mile away, and I would give anything to try Tom’s raspberry chiffon cake. ANYTHING. FUCK. I just love baking shows so deeply. They’re corny as hell, but that’s the joy of them. Y’all can keep your Bravo housewives and shit — I just want to watch people panic-bake and be judged on it.

Speaking of, I wasted no time diving right into the Holiday Baking Championship on Food Network (via HBO) and was floored to learn that we have local representation this season!!! The Dallas Cowboys executive pastry chef is competing, and she looks and seems as bitchy as I could’ve hoped. Obviously I want her to win! I also got Zac to watch the first episode of the new Harry Potter Wizards of Baking season with me last night (it’s 90 min!!!) and I WAS GEEKING TF OUT. The creations these people put together are truly mind-blowing, and it’s so fun to watch.

We’re in dire need of a new series to become obsessed with, but we’re being really slow to the draw. I guess after finishing The Wire and Task, we’re not in a committal kind of mood, but we’ll decide on something soon I hope. In the meantime, this video about today’s dating conundrums came across my internet last week and, while I’m nearly 6 years removed from the nightmarish dating pool, it still hit home and made me want to stand up and cheer. I don’t listen to Chris Williamson regularly, but sometimes he has good points and this is one of those moments. I genuinely die for every single woman out there reading this; shit is fucking brutal. BRUTAL. It was brutal when I was in the shit, but it’s somehow gotten 10x worse and I’m just sorry. Really, I am.

My only critique is that I wish he had titled this “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?”

I don’t listen to Jake Shane’s podcast religiously; it’s solely an episode-by-episode thing that depends entirely on the guest. Now, I of course was a Lizzie McGuire lover back in the day, but never a Hilary Duff fan. However, I decided to listen to her episode with Jake last week, and I have to say — I like this girl. I just loved all her answers and how down to Earth she seemed. She also spoke to how she’s the extremely direct, blunt friend for better or worse, and I relate to that so hard. It was a fun listen!

Otherwise, I found this Jazz for Autumn playlist on Spotify and it’s been my background music as of late. It’s lovely.

My sis turned me onto these parmesan-crusted chicken cutlets paired with this classic Giada lemon pasta recipe, and YUM. Both were so delicious — we had leftovers the next day!

• I’ve lusted after this Staud sweater for a minute, but didn’t pull the trigger because I kept only seeing the cropped version, and I’m not supposed to be buying or wearing cropped things anymore per my stylist friend. BUT THEN I found it in a normal, longer, oversized fit and immediately purchased it. The only problem is the full-length one is sold out everywhere, so you have to get real scrappy to find it. I found a few on Poshmark and The Real Real, so you just gotta look!

• My hair life changed over the weekend because I used this new Curlsmith Curl Wand for the first time, and I was legitimately blown away by the results. Freshly washed and styled curls only last a day or so, and I’ve never been able to master the “refresh,” so the fact that this wand does all that for me is a miracle. For curly girls, I fear this is more than worth the money. I also bought and used their heat shield cream before using the wand, which helped a ton. Today is the last day of the Sephora sale, so act quick!

• Speaking of the last day of the Sephora sale, I did several IG stories about my new makeup purchases and saved them to a highlight so you can revisit them any time!

• I haven’t bought a pair of UGG boots since roughly 2008, but these clogs stirred something up in me that I couldn’t quiet. I love how you can either wear the strap or not, and they’re incredibly, extremely comfortable. Plus, they’re called “Goldenstar.” Meant to be. With UGG, always size up a half size! I’m usually a 7 and took a 7.5

• This super chunky gold ear cuff is a look, but I love it. Did my sister refer to it as my “pirate earring”? Sure. But she’s a bitch. We know this. It’s a loud statement, which I love making so it’s quickly become my new favorite throw-on accessory that makes me feel super hip even when I’m in my mom uniform of sweats.

• My bump seemed to explode overnight, so I quickly ordered these maternity jeans from Amazon and was thrilled by how cute they are. There are tons of washes and styles, but I went for the “B02 Dark Blue 26’‘ which is basically a medium blue with a frayed hem. Love love love and will most likely be ordering another wash before this pregnancy is over.

Thank you for reading The Weekly Digress! We’re so glad you’re here (“we” as in myself, my dogs, Ziggy, and probably Zac).

xox,

EGM

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Today’s Digress is food-heavy because I’m pregnant and I be cooking. YA BITCH IS HUNGRY.

But that’s not all. I have ground to cover re: things we’ve been watching, the book I finished and the one I started, and a few things I’ve been shopping (not much though because, again, pregnant). Let’s go.

So I finished Wild Dark Shore and absolutely loved it. It was such a moving, well-written novel with a relatable main theme around parenthood and the love you have for your children. The plot was just so different than anything I would normally read and very unique. It’s a drama, for sure, and will definitely tug at your heart strings. It was a quick read for me because of how into I was, so I definitely recommend it!

For my last book of the year, I went in a very random direction and started reading Lonesome Dove. I’m not sure why this title has been stuck in my head for as long as it has; if I had to guess, it has something to do with the fact that Holly Flax (from The Office) has read it 3x. It’s a classic Western written in 1986, and a pulitzer prize winner, too. I’m not even into the western genre, and yet here I am? Reading an 800+ page book about two retired Texas Rangers — Augustus McCrae and Woodrow Call — who undertake a perilous cattle drive to the untamed plains of Montana. It’s really fucking good so far, though. Like so good. Lots of narrative, lots of description, lots of characters. My goal is to finish it before year’s end.

WE FINISHED THE WIRE. Whew. What a series. I’m glad I waited to watch it until now because I was able to really pay attention and get super passionate about the storylines and characters. I loved how they wrapped the series and was extremely satisfied with how everything turned out (for the most part). The parallels between Omar and Michael and Dookie and Bubbles had me geeking the fuck out at the end. And, if The Wire taught me anything, it’s that the streets don’t care who you are and that politics is just as fake and nasty as we all suspect it to be. Some things never change, ya know? Follow the money and see where it goes…

To stay in our serious mood, we’ve been watching Ken Burns’ Vietnam War documentary series, which is phenomenal but extremely involved and the episodes are super long. We have to really be in the mood to sit up straight and pay attention because there’s so much information, you don’t want to miss a beat. So far, my takeaway is: war is so fucking dumb, and we should NOT have been involved.

For comedy, we watched the first episode of Tim Robinson’s new absurdist comedy series, The Chair Company. I have no idea how they’re going to make an entire series around the plot, but it’s so very Tim Robinson and all you can do is laugh so you’re not in a perpetual state of “what the literal fuck am I watching?” the entire time. It’s so bizarre, but very entertaining as you’d expect.

Lastly, we watched Zooey Deschanel and Jonathan Scott’s Arch Digest home tour the other week, and I’m still thinking about the living room setup. I am such a slut for pairing prints together, and the custom floral couch with the custom black and white striped window treatments literally made me gasp. And gave me serious inspiration for our next home. Color and pattern-clashing is so sexual to me. Their entry space is also incredible.

‘🎶 Cause you don’t know the life of a showgirl, babe

And you’re never ever gonna ‘🎶

I mean, obviously Tay’s album has been on repeat for me since it dropped a few weeks ago. I don’t care what the people say, I love it (except for Canceled!, Wood, and Elizabeth Taylor. I HATE Canceled, Wood is ok just a little too poppy for me, and ET has its moments, it just needs to grow on me).

Otherwise, my second most played playlist right now is this Brown Noise for 10 hours. HAHA. I love my sound machine, but sometimes I need a little something more (for my insomnia) and this loop is just what the doctor ordered.

I made this High Protein Tomato Basil soup last night and HOLYYY. It is absolutely divine. He has the recipe written out in the caption; follow it exactly and you’ll be very pleased. It’s super easy (you just have to roast the tomatoes for an hour), too.

Simple Home Edit is a new-to-me home cook that I am now fully onboard with. I made her Caesar Salad Sandwiches with Chicken Schnitzel Friday night and, while food doesn’t move me to tears, these almost did. I’m gathering that all her recipes seem complex to the untrained eye, but are actually quite simple — they just taste like you did some serious work. Plus, I now have several frozen Chicken Schnitzel patties in the freezer for the future!

This Chicken Tortilla Soup sounded almost too simple and I worried it would have no flavor — boy, was I wrong. It’s SO easy and so insanely delicious. We devoured it.

And finally, it’s Spice Cookie season. If you weren’t subscribed to my Substack last year, you must make these perfectly perfect spice cookies that hit every time. They are simply incredible — perfect spice level, chewy on the inside, crispy on the edges.

I know I’ve gone on about this faux fur blanket ad nauseam on IG, but I LOVE IT. We had the OG from Anthropologie but stupidly let Bowie lay all over it, so it was ultimately covered in his stink and fur and became unsalvageable. This one from Amazon is identical and whereas the Anthro one is only a “throw” size for $98, you can get a queen size from Amazon for $94. So, you do the math.

I’m trying to get ahead of being super pregnant during the winter clothing-wise. While I will be able to happily rely on leggings and oversized sweaters I already own, I know I’m going to want a few new pieces and I loved these Old Navy henley sweaters so much. They’re not maternity, but I’m going to make them so the colder it gets. I got three colors!

Since I’m officially a Boy Mom, I had to get this shirt to lean into my new identity (JK, I promise not to be annoying about it. But also… ???).

I’m back to hating all bras, so I ordered these halter-cut ones by Cosabella to treat my jugs to something nice and LOVE THEM. I’ve found that a racerback or halter cut really helps support the girls, and they’re extremely comfortable.

I’m also supposed to steer clear of crewneck and drop shoulders but I feel like maybe that’s on pause while I’m with-child, no? Therefore I ordered this striped top in the Chocolate Sea Stripe color because I never see blue and brown together and loved it.

Thank you for your subscribership and readership. I love having you here.

xox,

EGM

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Anyway. October starts this week, which means we’re full steam ahead for the holiday season and things are about to get super shoppy and busy. Someone asked me the other week if I’m going to be doing my acclaimed gift guides this year and the answer is FUCK YES. Last year, I was way too freshly postpartum to even consider it but this year, IT’S ON. In fact, I’ve already started an Excel spreadshit for it. So gird your loins (and wallets).

Ok, let’s get to the point of this letter. Enough chitchat.

I started The Road to Tender Hearts last week and am already 70% done (that’s fast for me since I only ever read at night in bed). It is such a good book and such a cute, engaging story with a really captivating cast of characters. The first few pages setting up the story were SO WILDY GOOD that I actually told Zac all about it? Like sat him down and asked if I could please recap it because it was too good not to share. He has no skin in this book and I probably won’t even tell him how it ends, and even he was like “Damn, that sounds like a movie already!” In fact, it’s very Little Miss Sunshine vibes, so if you’re into dysfunctional family road trips, you will love it.

We started the new Charlie Sheen documentary and were enjoying it, but haven’t finished episode one yet because I got tired and wanted to go to bed and we haven’t picked it back up. He’s an entitled asshole for sure and always has been, but the stories being told were entertaining nonetheless so we might see it through.

We watched the first episode of the new drama, Black Rabbit, starring Jude Law and Jason Bateman, and eh. I don’t know. It’s essentially about two brothers, one of which is a gambling, thieving, lying fuck up who’s about to get his successful, hard-working brother into a world of shit with his shit. I wasn’t really captured and can’t decide if I care enough to keep going. Its Rotten Tomatoes score is 65%, so again, eh.

BUT THEN, we watched the first episode of ANOTHER new drama, Task, starring Mark Ruffalo and Tom Pelphrey and were IMMEDIATELY hooked so I guess I have my answer. There’s just too much TV to settle on something you feel so-so about. If I’m gonna get into a show, I wanna be INTO IT, and by episode two of Task, I was like “Damn, if I didn’t have a baby, I would insist we binge at least a few more episodes before bed.” Task is about a family man who also happens to be a garbageman who also happens to moonlight as a robber, but only targets trap houses. A deeply depressed, alcoholic FBI agent who’s dealing with his own familial drama has to put together a task force to stop the serial robberies. When one robbery goes wildly wrong, the stakes are raised tenfold. Rotten Tomatoes score is a deserved 95%.

I’ve always liked HAIM, but I guess when it comes down to it, I’m not a huge music listener? I go through phases, I guess. Ever since podcasts, I always choose to listen to a podcast over music. I don’t know what that means; if you wanna analyze it, let me know. Anyway, HAIM’s new album that dropped this summer is SO GOOD. “Relationships” is a fucking banger, but I also love “Down to be wrong,” “Gone,” and “Everybody’s trying to figure me out.” They’re just the coolest sisters.

Well, first and foremost, the Apple Cider Coffee Cake. This shit was so good that I drove 40 minutes across town last week to drop a piece off to my best friend of 22 years because I needed her to understand how good it was. Make it this week before we’re fully into pumpkin-everything season, I implore you. Note: It’s a THICK fucking cake, so mine took about 65 minutes to bake all the way through. Having a trusty little cake tester on hand instead of relying on a toothpick or knife is such a hack.

I also made this incredible Creamy Tuscan Unstuffed Shell soup from the same cook (Brocc Your Body) last week and HOLY MOSES. Such a rich soup with so much depth of flavor. We devoured it. HOT TIP: I was at Target when I was buying ingredients for this soup and they don’t carry raw chicken sausage, so I pivoted and got precooked chicken sausage that was basil/tomato flavored (to match the soup) and chopped them up and ground them in the food processor to create a ground sausage effect. Worked perfectly.

I’m very into chai tea right now, so I made my own chai tea concentrate at home and it’s a delight!

Supposedly this suede bag from Old Navy is all the rage right now, so I promptly ordered it in brown and have to admit it’s pretty pretty. The “style” is to hold it by the short handle, which creates a whole vibe and look. The brown is super deep and chocolatey, too. For under $40, why the fuck not treat yourself? I also went ahead and got a medium-sized purse insert to give it shape and keep my crap organized. I’m excited to sport it soon.

I have no idea who amongst my readers has a baby boy to buy things for, but at the off chance a few of you do, here are some things I’ve gotten Ziggy lately: this bolt set OBVIOUSLY, these overalls that I want in adult size, this little sweater that is insanely soft, grey joggers because duh, and Ellen got him this adorable tee for Halloween that I love so much. Also, a few months ago when Zac’s sister was in town, she bought Ziggy this bulldog-themed outfit (shirt, pants, and hat) and I feel like he may wear it for our upcoming fall family pics.

With our house on the market, I haven’t decorated for fall the way I normally would but I DID treat myself to this one irresistible neon light-up pumpkin from Target and it brings me a lot of joy.

I also got this gorgeous set of steak knives by Material because we have a complete hodgepodge of non-matching steak knives, and nothing says adult like a matching set, right? I love them. The handles are gorgeous.

I realized I’ve gotten pretty lazy with my curls and they’ve suffered from my neglect by being extremely fucking dry. So last week, I bought this 3-in-1 protein-rich conditioner by Curlsmith and this co-wash by Curlsmith and already, my curls are revived. The protein conditioner is incredible. I’m using it once a week as a mask, and then every time I shower as a leave-in. Sometimes I think I can get away with using your run of the mill hair products that don’t cater specifically to curls, and I’m always proven wrong.

Last but not least, after months of pretending otherwise, I finally admitted that the lalo high chair is not only $225 (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) but FUCKING SUCKS. We got it for free, and it’s the adirondack of high chairs — deep and slanted in a way that serves no one, especially not Ziggy. One of my besties has sung praises about the $25 IKEA high chair and how it’s a workhorse, so I made the trek out to IKEA last week and upgraded Ziggy for under $30. Moms or moms-to-be: don’t get caught up in the sexy modern high chairs. Just get this one and call it good. It doesn’t come with a foot rest, so you have to order one separately on Amazon but that’s easy.

That’s gonna do it for this week’s Digress. Thank you for being here and catch you on the flippity flip!

xox,

EGM

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My main anxiety, though, is bedtime. Zac does bedtime every single night. It’s their thing. Some nights, it goes pretty quickly because Ziggy is both hungry and tired so he chugs his bottle and is ready to go night night after just one book. But most nights, he takes his bottle in segments and, in between those segments, has to get the day’s extra energy out by crawling and rolling around the room for a solid 20 minutes or so. Not a big deal; however, I am a) damaged from Ziggy’s first few months of life when feeding him was a lot more trying than I imagined it would be and b) a lot less patient than Zac.

But, I can do this.

I have to do this.

I will do this.

So what if bedtime takes a solid hour from bath to actual bed? So what if he doesn’t chug his bottle on the first go and we gotta work at it? It’s not life or death. I’ll do the best I can to appease my 10.5 month old and get him fed and cozy for a good night’s sleep, and that’s my vow.

These are my anxieties.

Anyway, this week’s Digress is shorter because I haven’t been consuming as much content as usual I guess? Or really cooking much? If you’re a paid subscriber, you know why (I realize how annoying that is to write but it’s the truth ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ). My head just… isn’t there right now. I have other things I’m worrying focusing on. But! I have a few things to share, so here goes.

📚 I finished Demon Copperhead at the beginning of the week, and wow. Just wow. What a brilliantly written novel, truly. It was so good. I will say I felt it ended sort of abruptly and the very ending twist shocked me a bit. I don’t want to give anything away, but if you’ve read it, I’ll just say… I didn’t see that coming? At all? I thought it wasn’t like that with them. So that sort of confused me a bit, but hey — I’m not complaining. Just commenting. Anyway, as far as Barbara Kingsolver goes, The Poisonwood Bible is definitely on my TBR list now.

📚 My next book will be The Road to Tender Hearts (an Allie pick). I haven’t started it just yet, though. Instead, I’ve been using Sapiens to lull myself to sleep every night. I’m not even kidding. My brain doesn’t do nonfiction — like, it has a very hard time staying awake and alert while reading history and facts, so a nonfiction book is as good as Ambien for me. Sapiens is actually very interesting, but I fall asleep holding my kindle most nights when I attempt to read it. I am who I am.

📺 Bro, this season’s Halloween Baking Championship is CAH-RAZY. There are some fucking characters. The first episode was so wild, even Zac was gasping and like “THE FUCK?!” alongside me. Way more drama than the class act that is GBBO, that’s for sure. But that’s America for you, no? You can always count on us to be sloppy bitches!

👩🏻‍🍳 Although baby-led weaning makes me homicidal more days than not, I still try. I try so hard. Example: I made these ABC (apple, banana, carrot) muffins for Ziggy recently and they were ACTUALLY a hit, believe it or not. They were fun to make, too. Tip: this mandoline is probably the most handy kitchen tool I own. It can slice and dice literally anything to any level of thickness or thinness, and it’s super easy to clean. Just be sure to buy a protective glove or two — I never slice without one on!

👩🏻‍🍳 The only other thing of note I’ve made recently is this Lemony Greek Chicken soup. I would add more orzo next time — IMO, a 1/2 cup is nowhere near enough. Otherwise, it was a lemony hug of delight and the leftovers were bomb.

🛍️ As much as it pains me to say this, the rag & bone sweatpants and shorts that look like denim are worth the money. I’m so sorry. I really am. It’s not the kind of price tag I like to promote, but fuck me. THEY LITERALLY LOOK EXACTLY LIKE DENIM, BUT ARE SWEATPANTS? What more could you possibly want??? I got a pair of shorts and the joggers and will be living in both until they invent something better. Look at me: you deserve these. Denim is hard and these make it easy. Super true to size, BTW.

🛍️ Speaking of denim, the FRAME jeans I fell in love with this summer are 25% off right now through next week. FRAME is really good denim, and I guess I’m realizing that you kind of have to spend good money on good denim. I love the fit of these jeans so much; they’re relaxed and comfy and I highly recommend ordering one size up to really lean into that look. Otherwise, they’re true to size!

🛍️ These mid rise, pull-on, SOFT barrel leg pants are SO GOOD. Like, just adorable. Also made for shorties with a 27” inseam, which is my kryptonite. I got them on sale and love them so so much.

🛍️ We’re considering doing some family pictures this fall since we have never taken one professional picture of or with Ziggy. Thinking it could be a good opportunity to get a Christmas card shot + some one-year-old pics? Anyway, I got this dress from Anthro this week in anticipation of said fall family photos. The color is perfect as is the thick, velvety material. It’s pretty true to size, and maybe even runs a little big but not enough to size down. The best part, though, is that my stylist gave me an A+++

If you’re newer here and missed my letter where a stylist broke down my body type and gave me a fully detailed outfitting guide, check it out here.

🛍️ While at Anthro, I also scored this very adorable generic “game day” shirt. I love the longer sleeves. Definitely true to size. I probably could’ve used the large on my chest, but the girls just fit into the medium and it looks good, so we good.

🛍️ I had never heard of Loup, but they reached out to me via ShopMy and offered me a piece from their lookbook and I immediately fell in love with these overalls. I am literally obsessed. They have a side zipper at the waist, which cinches you in and actually accentuates your waist instead of hiding it like most overalls do, and once you get the tie-straps knotted to the length you need, they easily slip off your shoulders for bathroom access. IDK, I just love them and you’ll probably see me in them A LOT this fall.

xox,

EGM

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The world at war. Starving children. Innocent lives being lost. Mass shootings. School shootings. Assassination attempts and actual assassinations??? The tragedies are not only endless, but daily. DAILY. And I know we’ve all seen this sentiment somewhere before, but just to reiterate, we were not meant to know so much. To be so clued into every single bad thing going on around us. Bad things happen every single day, but before social media, the events were delayed and there sure as shit weren’t eye-witness videos recorded on someone’s smartphone of these things happening in real time readily available online immediately following the event.

And it feels so twisted to go about our daily lives as normal, but what else can we do? If I walked around every day and let the terrors win, I wouldn’t function. None of us would. If you’re a decent human at all, you probably struggle daily on how to care and stay in-the-know but also protect your peace with a bit of ignorance. It’s an impossible balance to strike, but you’re never alone in the anxiety of trying to figure out how the fuck to strike it. It feels impossible.

The world is not well. The general person is not well. So try your hardest every day to, at the very least, not be an asshole. Whatever “asshole” means to you, be not that. It’s literally the very least anyone can do.

Now let’s talk about some extremely frivolous bullshit.

I am about 85% through Demon Copperhead, and the turn it took midway was not at all expected. It’s gone down a road I didn’t foresee. It’s an absolutely incredible read, and I am eager to see what becomes of our redheaded lost boy. He feels close to a breakthrough, but I’m not counting my chickens. I’m fully prepared for a depressing, tragic kind of ending, so I hope Barbara Kingsolver surprises me.

One of my favorite comedians, , started a Substack recently and it’s made me realize how desperately this platform is in need of more brevity. His letters are all pay-walled and personal journal entries, and it’s genuinely lovely to know what someone you like is up to BTS. They aren’t serious letters, and I love that for him and us. He’s also an avid music lover and shares what he’s obsessing over every week, so I’m discovering new-to-me music which I love (P.S. His comedy special debuts on HBO later this month, and I’m excited. It’s the same set he did here in Dallas last year and it was one of the funniest nights of my life).

We blew through season 4 of The Wire like nobody’s business. What an extremely poignant yet depressing season of television, my god. I grew very attached to a few of the kids they featured and most of their endings were pretty devastating. It was a hard season to watch, but brilliantly acted and written. We didn’t waste much time rolling into season 5 but are gonna go slower because it’s the last one. Can I just say, though… fucking McNulty. People don’t change. It’s infuriating. Also, I STG if Bubbles doesn’t catch a fucking break…

We also finished season 1 of Big Boys and I can’t recommend it enough. It’s the perfect combo of hilarious and heartwarming and it’s such an easy watch. There are some heavier subject matters but the way the characters work through them is satisfying. It’s just really cute?

Of course, we started the new season of Great British Bake Off and OMG the cast of characters this season! There are so many. Characters, I mean. We’ve got small Irishmen, drag kings, bald ladies, ticks, cartoon voices and so much more. Very interested to see who stays and who goes. Also, I want Prue’s entire closet.

Guys, listen. You know what I’m gonna say here. I’m not trying to be all swim fan with but like… ??? Her taste in food and recipes speaks directly to me and Zac, even. Like, I’ve maybe made one subpar recipe of hers out of 100. In fact, almost every time I do make her recipes for dinner, Zac claims “this is better than a restaurant.” She has a gift, and it should be celebrated. Plus, on top of being an incredible tastemaker, she’s cool? And funny? And down to Earth? What’s not to like?

Someone recently wondered if I use her cookbook or Substack for recipes, and the answer is both. I use both an equal amount. So if I were you, I’d buy her cookbook and pay for her Substack recipes because you will never eat so well in your life. Her meal plan letters are my absolute favorite because I use them to pick that week’s dinners, and it’s so easy. This past week, I made this sunshine veggie curry and HOLY GOD. No literally I’ve never even had curry out and about this good. I STG.

What To Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking

one ridiculously impressive complete-meal recipe delivered to your inbox every saturday morning that dirties minimal dishes and requires under an hour of time.

By Caroline Chambers

• Have you heard of this brand, Geometry? I hadn’t but found these super happy kitchen towels through them and am now obsessed. We have no less than 25 kitchen towels but none of them match, so I got us two of these to have some sense of direction in the kitchen.

• I can’t stop wearing these FRAME jeans. I know it’s an expensive brand, but damn, dude. Expensive denim is worth it, hands down. They are perfectly relaxed, mid-rise jeans that I feel super confident and comfortable in and that’s saying a lot.

• I ran out of my expensive contour stick, so I grabbed this one by NYX from Target and have actually been pleasantly surprised? I use the medium shade and a little goes a long way!

• During that same Target run, I got this e.l.f. lip liner in “Truth or Bare” because I’m down to the nub on my more expensive, neutral one. It’s fucking $3 and fabulous??? And has a ton of 5-star ratings. And comes in 100 colors. Something to think about.

• I ended up leaning into my current Bills fandom and ordered this sweatshirt for the season, along with this baby tee to represent UGA, and this ball cap that covers all my bases. If you’re wondering why I didn’t get Kansas gear, it’s because football is not our thing.

• One last thing that is so extremely random, BUT. This lip balm by Ulta is so good??? Like, I grabbed it on a whim a few weeks ago and actually get angry when I misplace it because it’s my favorite balm now. I got “Watermelon,” which has a hint of color as does Berry and Mango. I think the two lighter ones don’t have color. Anyway, it’s extremely hydrating and feels so good.

Thank you for your readership. I appreciate you.

And now I have a little Easter Egg for the paying subscribers who I teased earlier this week with some big things coming that I’m not exactly ready to speak to right this moment. But soon. Ish.

Read more

— Hey. Whenever I feel I’m lacking on paid content, I feel the need to address it so you don’t feel I’m completely unaware or aloof. My goal is to always send one paid letter a week, but sometimes I fail myself in that respect, and I hate to imagine you sitting at home thinking “what a stupid bitch for taking my $5 and not even sending me exclusive content when she says she will.” I understand if you do have that thought, though — I probably would. Not making excuses, HOWEVER, the past few weeks of acclimating Ziggy to daycare and figuring out my schedule has been tricky. So much so, in fact, that I keep trying to write about it and keep having to pause.

All this to say, after the holiday weekend, we’ll be back with August’s TIBAR, my internal eternal struggle with self-employment and motherhood, and maybe a surprise or two. Thank you for supporting me and my words month after month and understanding that this shit ebbs and flows like everything else. —

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As for everyone else, this week’s Digress is going to focus solely on shopping and making because it’s almost 2pm and we’re heading into a long weekend and I have a lot of links to share with you and limited time, so the reading/watching/listening to can wait until next week.

Now let me unload all the things on you.

I’ve been Amazon-happy lately (when am I not?) and need to sort of just vomit up all the little random things I’ve bought recently that have improved the quality of my day-to-day life. So here goes:

A new doormat: My sister got this for their new home and I ordered it immediately after seeing it. First of all, green is both Zac and my’s favorite color. Second, it’s THICK. It’s not your typical cutesy, walk-all-over-me doormat. She’s thicc, she’s sturdy, and she’s not gonna just take your dirt laying down. This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever gone on about, but I really love it that much. It’s the little things, right?

Trash Pourri: I have a strong sense of smell and am grossed out easily. Therefore, any time I throw something away in our kitchen trash and push the drawer back in and the trash-air blasts my nostrils, I want to die. Scented trash bags only mask so much, so I got this Home-Pourri spray specifically for trash cans and it’s helping.

Diaper Pourri: Same story as above, but with Ziggy’s diaper pail. This is a bizarre thing to admit, but when it comes to my child’s poo, I ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS breathe through my mouth. It’s automatic. I do it in public restrooms, too. Ellen instilled it in me from a young age and it’s become my norm. But at the small chance I’m caught off-guard and get a nostril whiff of Ziggy’s shit, nah. Therefore, I got this Baby-Pourri for his shit pail.

Shopping cart cover: I should’ve known this was a thing but I somehow didn’t until I started seeing moms with it everywhere. I’ve just been relying on the good ol’ cart wipe to sanitize Ziggy’s rides, but this cart cover is fucking genius? Plus, super comfy for them and their little bums. Use it, wash it, and use it again. So smart.

Magnetic cord holders: The way I go fishing for my phone cord every night before bed? No more. I got this pack of magnetic cord holders and they’re fantastic. So easy to use and so incredibly handy. I love the magnetic snap — I’ve never felt so secure.

Baby backpack: I’m genuinely surprised at the quality of this baby backpack I got Ziggy for daycare. He’s not wearing it, obviously (if he was, I wouldn’t even be alive right now writing this. I would die from cuteness). I use it to bring his bottles and food to school every day, and it’s just a great little bag!

Mattress topper: told me to get this, so I did and it’s seriously the most comfortable, delicious added layer of love to our bed. Couldn’t sleep without it!

Portable playpen: Realized we needed to keep one of these at Allie’s if we want to spend full weekend days over there without having to rush home for Ziggy’s naps, and this one is perfect! Great quality, great size.

Cake tester: I’ve been using toothpicks or a knife to test the doneness of my baked goods FOR YEARS. Why I never thought to get a legit cake tester confounds me. But I finally did? And it’s great.

Large cookie scoop: Lastly, I got a large cookie scoop because the best chocolate chip cookies literally ever that I make quite often call for BIG cookies and I was tired of measuring them out on my own. This scoop will make things a lot easier, methinks.

If you lose these links, you can shop my Amazon Storefront whenever, wherever.

Outside of Amazon, here are a few things I’ve bought1 for myself lately:

These gold ribbed hoops that Ellen found first and that match my wedding band (which was originally hers in the 80s).

This plain black modest mini skirt by Madewell on way sale from Nordstrom Rack that runs large and is such a solid closet staple.

These red, ankle-length leggings (by the way — this whole nonsense about leggings being out and working out in WIDE LEG pants being in … no).

This slick stick by Briogeo for manipulating my edges and controlling all the frizz (gifted).

These Warby Parker sunglasses with polarized lenses because I’ve been dying for some Bob Dylan-esque shades because they’re so timeless and go with everything (gifted).

This FREAKING PERFECT sweater by Cleo Bella that I am jonesing to wear right now. It’s cropped, so I got a large (gifted).

These adorable black overalls by Loup that I also cannot wait to wear this fall. Y’all know I’m a skank for overalls. They’re fitted, so I got a large (gifted).

First of all, since this is the last weekend of summer, I IMPLORE YOU to make this Key Lime Cookie Pie to send the season off. It is everything and more. Like really and truly, the perfect key lime pie. You can find the cookies at any Kroger, Tom Thumb, etc. DO IT. I even ordered them from Amazon once.

I’ve been relying heavily on for meal ideas this past week. I made the enchilada stew from this letter and am making the sheet-pan gnocchi tonight (THE STEW WAS TRULY OUT OF THIS WORLD), and made this SUPER DELICIOUS spicy cherry tomato pasta over the weekend with the basil balsamic grilled chicken she suggests with it. If the letters I’m linking are pay-walled, do yourself and your kitchen a favor and pay for her recipes. There’s nothing like them and they deserve all the money!!!

As always, thank you for your readership and I hope everyone has a restful, happy, fulfilling long weekend!

xox,

EGM

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Switching our routine up a bit around here and starting with the MAKING section because I have something for today’s letter than I literally never have: A SPONSOR! ¡Yo Quiero! foods reached out to me a while back and asked if I’d be down to try their array of Tex-Mex dips and because everyone knows chips and good dips is the ultimate girl dinner, I said yes. They sent us both their traditional queso, queso blanco (my fave), black bean dip, guacamole (what they’re known for), and the most delicious avocado salsa verde I’ve maybe ever had? We had a feast last Taco Tuesday, using the best taco meat recipe I’ve EVER found, and their dips took our tacos to the next level.

Check out the ¡Yo Quiero! website to see where you can find and buy their delicious dips, and give my cute little reel the love it deserves!

These brownies by Butternut Bakery are not sponsored, but if you’re like me and need a sweet bite after a salty meal like Taco Tuesday, these are the some of the most epic brownies I’ve ever made. The steps are involved (read: super precise) and completely worth it because what you end up with are homemade gourmet brownies. Thick, too. Thicc. Thiq.

Lastly, these crispy potatoes I made as a side dish over the weekend are SO damn good. Like the brownies, they have a few very specific instructions and “tricks” in order to come out just right, and if you follow the directions closely, you’ll be extremely happy with the results. Will definitely be claiming side potatoes as my dish for any future family gatherings.

Both my sister and I finished The Grocery Store of Heaven & Earth and, while we agreed it was a great book, we feel it ended way too abruptly. That’s something I’m starting to notice about certain books, specifically the long, sweeping ones I like. They go on and on and on and on and provide so much detail and get you so engrossed, and then it seems the author runs out of steam at the most pinnacle moment and can’t find the energy to wrap it up the way it deserves to be. For those who’ve read this and without giving anything away, I would’ve loved a much larger backstory on Nate or perhaps even a whole other book?! Also, the rescue scene we’d all been waiting for being tucked into the epilogue was not cool.

We wasted no time and promptly rolled into Demon Copperhead, and I can’t wait to get going.

Too Much

Maybe I’m in the wrong headspace right now, but this show, a new Lena Dunham creation, does nothing for me. I like Meg Stalter as a comedian, but I’m not exactly buying her as a leading woman in this. And she’s not even that “much”?! Like if you’re gonna be TOO MUCH, be too much. But from what I’ve seen so far, her theatrics and flair for dramatics are mild compared to today’s manic pixie dream girl or w/e the fuck. Will Sharpe is fabulous, although I don’t know much of his other work besides White Lotus season two, but Meg’s character doesn’t do much for me and neither do any of the supporting characters. She’s actually much more together than I expected this character to be. There’s some great dialogue, though. Lena was always good with words. Anyone else? Thoughts?

Project Runway

I haven’t watched this show since it made its debut all those years ago, but the advertising for Heidi Klum and Nina Garcia coming back to judge got me, I guess. Then they hit me with Law Roach as the third judge, and I was in-in. We all know I don’t love a reality show, but I do love a competition show when the subject matter is food, clothes, makeup, hair, or really anything besides love and lust. This new season of Project Runway has quickly become our kind of watching but not really background show. Like, we throw it on if one of us have some work to finish up that evening but we want to be in the same room, you know? My takeaways so far are Law Roach is PETRIFYING and I would hate to be on his bad side, and I hate manufactured drama as much as always. Like can we just focus on the fashion and not the attitudes my god!

Boogie Nights

This is one of those classics I was too young to see when it first premiered (1997) and never got around to viewing as an adult, so Zac and I grilled some incredible steak Saturday night, poured some wine, and I got to experience Dirk Diggler for the first time. I absolutely loved this film. No notes. 100/10. Paul Thomas Anderson almost does no wrong (don’t get me started on The Phantom Thread), and I immediately understood why this is a cult classic. Such a star-studded cast, too. AND! Mark Wahlberg’s young acting chops??? I was impressed! Oh, and the soundtrack is killer.

• Still obsessing over Zac’s best friend’s new candle company and everything they’re creating BY HAND. I feel very lucky to have a direct line to someone so passionate and innovative and experimental like Justin and his wife, Zoë. They keep coming up with new product and keep sending us free samples, and every single thing is of the highest quality and smells so good. Shop small and shop clean wax candles and the like with Room Candle Co.

• All of Ziggy’s clothes have been hand-me-downs from my sister up until this specific point in time (9 months, nearing 10). We have so few hand-me-downs that fit him right now and he’s a tall baby, so I took it upon myself to order him a bunch of basics from a few different brands like Primary (THE BEST stuff, and obviously I had to get him a few bolt shirts) and Colored Organics (more muted stuff). But of course, I also grabbed a few things at Target like this adorable long-sleeve tee, this blue set, and of course, this bolt set! How could I not?!

• Never not looking for comfortable underwear and love these “Superchill” boy briefs and thongs, both from Aerie.

Last thing today are these 5” shorts from Amazon. I hate a bike short; they’re too long for me and I don’t like where they tend to cut my leg length in half. 5” or shorter is my vibe, and these shorts have pockets, are THICK in a good way-not that buttery luxe fabric that can feel flimsy and not supportive-and are $20 each. For how well they fit and how good they feel, that’s a steal in my book. I love them SO much and they come in a million colors, which I will have a hard time not buying all of eventually.

Way more next week. Promise.

xox,

EGM

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I’m about 65% of the way through The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, but I love it. Especially because every single character you meet has a backstory and that backstory is told through and through. You never just meet someone and that’s it, and I really like that writing choice.

Season 3 of The Wire finally picked up. It was a slow beginning for me personally, but now that the focus is back on Stringer, Avon, and their wars, I’m hooked back in.

Zac and I watch Hard Knocks before every football season. It’s sort of a tradition. This year, they documented the Buffalo Bills training camp, so the focus is on Josh Allen. I really enjoy seeing sports teams BTS — it adds so much more to the game for me. I can’t decide if Josh Allen is hot or not, though. Sometimes I think he is but other times, I think his eyes are maybe too close together? IDK. What’s important is that Hailee Steinfeld is fucking stunning.

For whatever reason, we decided to watch The UK Office this week. I remember what a hit it was across the pond when it aired, and how it became a cult-favorite for the hottest, coolest, funniest American boys, but I was a little too young for the humor when it was live. It’s pretty wild seeing the original show and how it was adapted for the US. And speaking of…

The trailer for the long awaited “Office” grandchild, The Paper, dropped this week and while I don’t want to get my hopes too high, it does look promising. Greg Daniels is at the helm and a lot of Office writers and producers are in the background, too, so I’m very excited to watch it when it airs on September 4 (Allie’s birthday!).

It really bothers me how grating many female podcast hosts’ voices can be. I love women, but the vocal fry and lilt of some many of these hosts’ voices is bad. Can we admit that? It’s just really bad sometimes, man. Anyway, one of my favorite comedians, Lauren Lapkus, was a guest on Allison Williams’ new podcast called Landlines, and while Allison and her two besties all have somewhat unpleasant voices and three hosts is a lot, I found myself actually really enjoying the episode. So much so, I started following their show. It’s all very mom/parent-centric, and I think I realized I may actually need a podcast like this in my life. It’s extremely relatable and extremely of-the-moment for me.

Not much. Zac’s sister and niece were in town over the weekend, which rolled right into Allie’s wife’s (Jill) birthday, so we dined out for like five days in a row, much to my dismay. Therefore, I haven’t been cooking much at all in the last week. I did make these always-fire Chicken Teriyaki Meatballs on Wednesday, and Ziggy GOBBLED them down. This age is so fucking fun, P.S. He is trying every food we put in front of him, and when he loves something, watching him shovel as much as he can into his mouth in a feverish manner is incredible.

It probably goes without saying (but I’m gonna say it anyway) that with my newfound styling/dressing guide I wrote extensively about earlier this week, my closet is in for maybe one of the deepest purges ever. Having this guide, created for me by Riley Shonka, feels like finding out I’m a wizard. Like suddenly I hold this unbelievable power to actually maybe finally feel good about myself as I put outfits together postpartum. All this to say, I will be shopping A LOT in the coming months (I always shop a lot, but this is going to be extremely focused shopping to essentially replace my closet). You’ve been warned.

These ribbed v-neck tops from Old Navy are everything. I’m pretty sure they’re technically for yoga or some shit, but they’re thick and flattering and I will be wearing them with normal clothes. They’re cropped (which is a no-no for me and my short ass waist (SAW)), but they don’t look cropped on me (because of my SAW) so I got the white and the black.

Even though summer is coming to a close, it’s gonna stay hot in Texas, so I’m still trying to find denim shorts I like. A follower wrote me about these 4” mid-risers from GAP, so I ordered them and love them. They’re a great length, are super soft, and look good. I also tried these girlfriend shorts on in-store and really liked them a lot. You have to have varying lengths and fits and washes when it comes to denim shorts and jeans, so the more the merrier in my opinion!

One last GAP short find: There’s something about a slightly flared khaki short that I find cool when outfitted the right way. Khaki doesn’t have to be dressy or preppy if you don’t want it to be. I tried these on in-store and DAMNNNNN. They fit so well and are a perfect mid-rise, too. LOVE!

Since crewnecks aren’t my most flattering fit, I’m loading up on all approved necklines, including v-necks and these cotton classics from GAP fit so well. I got a white and a gray and took a medium in both.

For these next two, please try your best to ignore my unsupported breasts (I had a sports bra on, so I took it off to try clothes on).

This button-up short sleeve cardigan from Madewell is E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. The buttons allow me to wear it as a v-neck, the sleeves are fitted/set in (meaning not wide or loose), and it’s not cropped. I am obsessed with it and can’t wait to wear it this fall!

Okay but also this sweatshirt/cardigan I spotted at Free People would’ve haunted my dreams if I hadn’t tried it on and promptly purchased it. They don’t have the blue/yellow color scheme online, but it exists, as proved by my photo. I am beyond obsessed with it — the fit, the material, the daisy buttons, the color.

Lastly, I’ve been doing A LOT of walking this summer, which means I’ve worn my Hokas out faster than usual and just got a fresh new pair to ruin immediately. I love Hokas so much. Is it Hoka? HOKA ONE? IDK, whatever. I’m tired. Anyway, I got some new Clifton 10s in the “Stucco/Cerise” color scheme (they’re in the pic above. It’s like a cream, red, and gray situation?) and dig them.

That’s all for this week’s digress. Early next week, paid subscribers will be getting an update on Allie and my’s summer of unapologetic weight loss, so if you’re into that kind of stuff, stay tuned.

xox,

EGM

also… from EMMASTHING

Not to mention we surprised and celebrated one of our best friends on Friday, which involved 5 hours in a pool, two straight tequila shots, two margaritas, two piña colada-type drinks, one beer, me barfing into my own Owala water bottle poolside, a group bedtime of 10:30pm, and trying to recuperate ever since as a 38yo mother.

A lot is going on.

But not too much that I can’t give you guys the DL on what I’ve been consumerizing lately.

READING 📖

Going strong on The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store and loving every page of it. It’s a lot of narrative description rather than a lot of dialogue, which I always prefer. A borrowed Amazon synopsis:

“In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of the long-held secrets kept by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side and shared ambitions and sorrows…”

After the initial discovery of the skeleton, the story jumps back in time to the mid 1930s. Lots of characters, lots of stories, lots to read. I’m really enjoying it thus far. The writing is wonderful.

Read it

WATCHING 📺

If you didn’t/haven’t watched the season 27 premiere of South Park, you probably should. Just when you think they can’t take it any further, they say “hold our beer” and give you Trump and Satan in a gay relationship, a la Saddam Hussein and Satan of the South Park I grew up on. Long live South Park.

Watch on Paramount+

While we’re still using most of our downtime to watch The Wire, we did start a UK dramedy last week called “Big Boys” that is so incredibly English and so cute/funny/smart/touching, etc. The premise is two incredibly different college-aged men, each dealing with grief, are assigned as roommates and their differences both challenge and bond them for life. The cast of characters are all so engaging and hilarious in their own right. It’s absolutely worth a watch.

Watch on HULU

LISTENING TO 🎧

I am, for all intents and purposes, a comedy nerd. Especially when it comes to improv and SNL. Anything that has to do with any of that, I’m in. That’s why it’s bizarre to me that I just started listening to The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers podcast. I was on The Lonely Island back in the early aughts when they were nothing but three hilarious, awkward guys making hilarious, awkward videos during the dawn of YouTube. Hearing their behind-the-scenes of writing/starring on SNL is so fun, and the podcast has quickly become a new comfort, go-to for me. Please enjoy one of the first Lonely Island videos I ever saw almost 20 years ago:

MAKING 👩🏻‍🍳

Three words: Bell pepper nachos. Four more words: A lot of poop. Two more words: Worth it. For real, these bell pepper nachos were SO damn delicious. The taco meat seasoning and everything else that goes into this recipe makes you almost forget you’re eating peppers instead of nachos. But, don’t worry — you’ll be reminded the next day when you can’t stop shitting. FWIW, this recipe with actual tortilla chips would also be absolutely fire.

I have a mostly hate relationship with cottage cheese UNLESS it’s served savory OR baked/cooked into something so I don’t even know it’s there. Regardless, I made Zac and I the viral cottage cheese taco bowls last week and holy fuck, these are delicious. Sure, when you zoom out, it’s just a bowl of mush. But it’s delicious mush nonetheless.

I spent 45 minutes chopping up and making ’s Green Goddess Chicken Chop yesterday, but it was worth it. I cut the recipe in half to feed myself lunch for three days and am looking forward to leftovers this week!

The perfect stovetop rice recipe DOES exist. Melting the butter into the water is a genius move and does WONDERS for plain white rice, OMG. So so so good. I won’t be straying from this ever.

SHOPPING 🛒

• No two boobs are made alike (not even on a person. My left is huskier than my right), so I understand that this Hanes bra may not fit or look good on everyone. But FOR ME, it’s an incredible $15 bra. The support and shape are both exceptional for a measly fifteen bucks IMO.

• We slept on this baby porch swing a bit too long, but it’s no never mind because we made up for it this weekend with Ziggy. He LOVES this thing, and it provides a solid 15-20 minute of entertainment when you need it most. It’s a little confusing to put together (definitely watch the video they provide), but simple once it’s done.

• I am a Roach Pussy (La Roche Posay) loyalist now and have overhauled my entire skincare routine to their products only (more on that in a future letter). I added to the collection this past weekend with their Anthelios Melt-In Sunscreen and it is fabulous. Like, forget SuperGoop or whatever the fuck —this stuff truly melts into your skin, protects the shit out of you, and works on both your face and body. All of us 38-40somethings used it during our drunken pool day, and no one got burnt.

• Every now and again, I remember we have a Marine Layer brick and mortar store nearby and venture in. I did this last week and left with a classic ribbed, scoop neck tee that fits like a glove, and this awesome sleeveless, extra long vest that I plan to wear with shorts for a cute summer look. I didn’t love the fit of the matching pants, so I threw them to the side and bought the vest as its own thing.

• I then bopped over to Anthropologie (since it’s a few blocks away) and got this fucking adorable football tee for the upcoming season, and this awesome jersey knit dress with cinchable sides, which I greatly appreciate. Let ‘em out when you’ve had too many chips and salsa, cinch ‘em in when you’re feeling extra skinny and rich. It also will transition into a pregnancy dress beautifully whenever the time comes (again).

As always, thank you for being here. Your presence is the present.

xox,

EGM

Turns out that getting the feminine urge to record a video of how it feels to be caught bra-less on my front porch then posting it to social media speaks to the masses, so I’ve had quite the pop of new followers on the ‘gram and some of those have even trickled over here to my Substack. So, hi! Welcome.

I’ve been blogging since 2010, but blogs are obsolete at this point, so I moved myself over to Substack about 2.5 years ago. I try to strike a solid balance of free and paid content; I offered free content for 13 years and, as a writer before anything else, it’s been really validating and empowering to have a paid audience for once and monetize my more personal stories, thoughts, feelings, etc. I put my most vulnerable pieces behind a pay wall to protect my peace, which came in super handy when I was going through pregnancy loss back in 2023 and then the newborn phase in late 2024.

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There’s no real cadence to my Substack. I send The Weekly Digress once a week, which is a free letter that goes in-depth about what I’m reading/watching/listening to/cooking/shopping. Everything outside of that varies on topic and category because that’s who I am as a person — a variety show. I can be posting about my swinging tatas one day and lamenting about motherhood the next.

I’m in the process of rebranding my Substack, actually, to a name that is much more all-encompassing of the variety show that is my content. Keep yer eyes peeled for that!

TLDR: Welcome to the variety show.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This week’s digress is pretty slim. Usually they’re super bulky and full of links and content, but I’ve been returning way more than I’ve been purchasing and I’ve been going back to old standards in the kitchen rather than trying new recipes.

READING

I finished the most ridiculously titled book of all time: The Do-Over: A totally laugh-out-loud, feel-good romantic comedy. I’m not a huge RomCom fan; I used to be, for sure, but in my old crotchety age, I’ve come to love sweeping generational familial dramas way more. Alas, after reading so many of the latter so far this year, I needed a quick breather so I read The Do-Over and it was just as trite, predictable, and surface-level as I expected it to be but an easy, entertaining enough read nonetheless. I actually really liked the main character but felt like the author didn’t dive deep enough on her and the supporting characters. I wanted more to make the story even more involved and the conflict even deeper, but that wasn’t this book.

Next up: The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store. This has been on my radar for a while now, so here goes nothing!

WATCHING

Not to be extremely boring, but we’re going so hard on The Wire that we don’t have time (or interest) in much else. We flew through season one and are doing the same with season two. For anyone who cares, I started out really not liking season two but have come around tenfold.

LISTENING TO

Amy Poehler’s podcast, Good Hang, continues to make my week every week. So long as she doesn’t have anyone on that she isn’t actually friends with (looking at you Dakota wet blanket Johnson and you, ageist Renee Rapp), it’s the best part of every week as far as I’m concerned. Her episode with Andy Samberg was too adorable and hilarious, and her most recent chat with Cole Escola was so funny, I listened twice.

MAKING

If you’re into tuna salad, I made this spicy Japanese inspired version this week, added about a half cup of brown rice to it, and scooped it into my mouth with a package of seaweed strips and it was a perfect lunch. So freaking delicious.

I also tapped into ’ no-recipe recipes throughout the week to make easy, fresh, healthy summer dinners. Definitely worth checking out if you’re feel uninspired to cook in this heat.

Because we all need a reminder of THE best CCC of all time every now and again, I made a batch for a going away party we stopped by yesterday and, I shit you not, I set them down on a table, walked away for 20 min, and when I came back, every single last one was gone and people were raving. My only adjustment to the recipe - AND IT’S A VERY IMPORTANT ONE - is that I use a combination of milk chocolate, dark chocolate AND semi sweet chocolate chips all by Ghirardelli.

SHOPPING

Truly, besides this Target swimsuit, I have been returning WAY more than I’ve been keeping. Styling for summer is hard enough because of the heat and not wanting to wear, well, anything, but it’s especially trying with where I am postpartum. It’s not that my body composition has changed that much; I have the same body composition I’ve had for a while now. And it’s not even that I have more weight to lose or anything like that. It’s really my chest and also trying to figure out the rise/inseam/etc of pants that look best on my body. Styling myself how I used to just doesn’t feel right or comfortable anymore, so if I’m not in athleisure, I’m almost always in a plain t-shirt and jeans or jean shorts. Not that there’s anything wrong with that; in fact, it’s one of the more classic, cool looks out there. But I need variety and I don’t know how to get it right now.

All that said, a follower who is a personal stylist reached out and wants to work with me to help me understand my shape and what I feel most confident in and I’m so excited to get going. If the experience goes well, I’ll be writing about it in-depth!

Like I said, today’s digress was extremely short but hey — maybe Sundays are meant for short, quick reads.

Until next time,

EGM