The things I've been buying while I still can
Kitchen storage! Shoes! Vanilla! Stockpiling for the apocalypse I guess?!
How panicked are we about these tariffs? And how is that affecting our spending now? These are the questions I mutter under my breath to no one in particular. I can’t decide if I should be buying gold and burying it in the backyard or buying the goods and services I need/want now before prices skyrocket. I’ve chosen the latter simply by virtue of it providing more dopamine to my brain. So I have lots to tell you about.
I bought some furniture.
I’ve been looking for a kitchen storage solution to fill an awkward space and add some structure to my overwhelming pile of cookbooks. This space, specifically:
After months and months of looking for something that 1. Was wide enough and tall enough to fill out the space, and 2. was within my budget, I went with the Nathan James Mid-Century Arched Bookshelves. They look like this:
While they were a pain to assemble, or so I’m told by the man I’m married to who did the assembling, I’m very pleased with how they came together and how much I’m enjoying the extra storage space to show off the things I like and hide the things I don’t behind the bottom doors.
Speaking of cookbooks, yesterday I pre-ordered the Wishbone Kitchen cookbook. Meredith Hayden is one of my favorite creators, if not my all-time favorite creator on TikTok. I started following way back when she was a private chef in the Hamptons, and now she’s a legit celebrity chef with book deals. I’m so proud of her.
Every recipe of hers that I’ve tried has been an absolute slam dunk so I have no doubt the cookbook will enhance my life culinarily. But even more importantly, I believe strongly in supporting the creators whose work you enjoy, which is why I want to kiss each of our paid subscribers on the mouth.
Speaking of kissing on the mouth, I bought a fresh pack of Burt’s Bees lip balm. It’s the only lip balm I use, and I panic if I don’t have a tube near me at any given time.
I order a new pack every few months or so when all the balms from my previous pack have gone missing. I later find these balms in forgotten jacket pockets and special occasion handbags, which is always a fun surprise.
Speaking of fun surprises, I got the Madewell Gretta Ballet Flats. They’re available through Shopbop on Amazon right now, which is a fun way to get fast shipping.
I got them in the color Southwestern Clay, and they’re the perfect orangey red to complement any shade of denim and add a little spice to everyday looks.
Speaking of a little spice, there’s one Trader Joe's item I will go to my grave believing is better than any other similar product on the market and that’s the Bourboun Vanilla Bean Paste.
I tend to think of Trader Joe’s as the place to go for cooking shortcuts. I get the pre-made pizza dough, jarred lemon curd, pre-washed and cut veggies, etc., for a little assistance in dinner and treat prep. It’s not where I go for gourmet goods. But the vanilla bean paste is the one item I buy because it’s superior to all other vanillas. I think it’s the actual vanilla bean flecks that make it so good, or maybe the richness of the bourbon. Whatever it is, it adds the most delicious dimension to baked goods, frostings, custards, ice creams, or even just some sliced fruit. It makes a great little hostess or neighbor gift, and so long as it’s on the shelves at Trader Joe’s, I’ll be buying two to three at a time.
Speaking of two or three at a time, I was so blessed to receive TWO bags from Freshly Picked — The Zurich Crossbody and the Zurich Backpack. All I’ve ever wanted is for people to send me cute things so receiving TWO cute things was a rush. Is this how influencers feel all the time? I could maybe handle knowing there were Reddit snark threads dedicated to how much the public hates me if it meant free bags. Maybe not. I dunno.
Anyway. I love the shape of the crescent. It’s big enough to hold my wallet, phone, nine lip balms, and my keys, but not cumbersome. It feels very on-trend but also like I’ll be using it for years.
And the backpack is the perfect size for carry-on.
Whether or not I’ll be able to afford to go anywhere in the forthcoming economic climate remains to be seen, but I’ll be happy to have both bags either way.