hot girls shop small

a handful of things I bought recently and loved, from small businesses

source: Paramount

Floor Time​​

/flôr tīm/
noun

1. the 15-60 minute time period spent laying on the floor in the middle of the work day, typically as a relief from the soul-sucking reality of corporate America. 

We were spendy in February. Perhaps because I looked in my closet and thought, “everything is heinous.” Or because I found that I’m still hoarding jewelry from 2010 (shoutout to my girl Claire’s! I love your work!) and felt the need to refresh. I got the shopping itch and knew I had to proceed with caution.

Luckily, last year during my lull in client work, I started keeping a “money wishlist.” (I know it may sound materialistic but listen—I’m a 30 year old woman. I’m the sitting duck of marketing targets. I will buy the things!!). It’s basically what it sounds like—whenever I see something I like and want to purchase, I add it to my notes app and wait. Then, I revisit it in a month. And this practice has worked wonders for me. There have been things on the list I have revisited and thought, what was I thinking? But with others, I’ve thought, wow I can’t wait to get this, and now it’s in the budget! So I wanted to share the things that have made it off the list, into my cart, and into my home. I also am proud to say that everything below is purchased from a small business. Shop small the next time you want to treat yourself or others!

rceramics

Price Range: $20 - $150

I’ll disclose that this is a friend of a friend’s pottery studio, and I genuinely love his stuff. I finally got my hands on a bowl at a Lunar New Year craft market, and I will find an excuse to use it for everything (I’m literally eating lentil chips out of it as I write this). As you can see on his website, he creates the pieces and draws all the art by hand (do we call it glaze? I know nothing of pottery oop). It requires incredible artistry, and I’m super happy with my purchase of my snake bowl (because Year of the Snake). Given how meticulous and thoughtful this work is, the pieces are well-valued.

my actual snake bowl

Monty

Price Range: $47 - $66 (+$20 shipping to the US)

This is the oldest member of the “money wishlist.” I love the color combination of these bags, the idea that they’re made of recycled materials, and the fact that they do color drops all the time (not unlike Telfar). I finally treated myself when they restocked a color way I love, and it arrived last week! I got the medium shoulder bag, which feels functional for a Saturday at the farmer’s market, while also acting as a sensible statement piece for summer travel.

source: Monty

ANOTHER

Price Range: $65 - $90

This winter in New York has been colder than a witches tit. As a result, the weather forced me to finally reckon with the fact that I have been woefully unprepared for any non-California winters for my entire life. I went on a base layer journey, bought my first pair of snow pants, and got the first knee-high boots I’ve owned since college. The final step was something to cover my head and face, especially because I’m stubborn as a blood stain and bike everywhere in 20 degree weather (5 with windchill, nearly died—long, sad story). My friend Eli found this balaclava (made in Latvia, so the shipping time was…a month), and it has changed my life for the better. I feel like my head is getting a constant hug and my nose and mouth are actually covered when I bike around the city. Also, it’s super chic and comes in a million colors.

I source: ANOTHER. I literally own this outfit with my puffy red jacket lol

Keating & Co. Condiments

Technically, I didn’t purchase this myself—my friends Ruby & Raph went to Australia at the end of last year and brought me back a bottle of the Jalapeño Jammerhead. It is a delectable hot sauce (me and this hot sauce are like Lisa and the pickled garlic Hot Ones sriracha sauce). The flavor is good on anything, and I love their branding and story. Unfortunately, they do not ship to the States, but I am leaving this here in case anyone is headed down under in the next year...

source: Keating & Co. Condiments

Ringland

Last year around my birthday, my sister visited and we had a Williamsburg day. We popped into Baggu, and saw an odd-looking shop next door that had recently opened. It had tables filled to the brim with accessories: rings, necklaces, sunglasses, hair clips, scrunchies, you name it. When I asked the shopkeeper what material the jewelry was, she said they were silver with gold-plating. She followed up with her seal of approval—she had worn her ring in Greece, swam in the ocean, and showered with it, and it didn’t tarnish. I’m always skeptical of these claims—I have yet to see a gold-plated piece of jewelry that doesn’t eventually tarnish and shed its plating. To my delightful surprise, almost a year later, my ring is still gold and in perfect condition. It’s crazy that this random shop has maintained its plating better than my Miansai ring (the second most resilient gold-plating I’ve owned) at a fraction of the price. I’ve gatekept this spot all year, and now that I’ve done quality assurance testing, you can know about it :)

Note: the reviews for Ringland on Google are AWFUL. I have never tried their silver jewelry, so I can only vouch for the gold (looks like most of their complaints are about the silver). Also, I didn’t know they were a sister of Female Form until now (FF to me is a cheap, fast-fashion wasteland, so I also can’t vouch for that).

I am not a (hand) model, but obviously Klaus is—face card NEVER declines

Something I Thought of in the Shower

When was the last time any of us had a baked potato and should we be having them more often?

Something for Clarice

Hey! This newsletter is free and I intend to keep it that way. That said, if you love it and want to show your appreciation, buy me a coffee :)

Something Pretty

As a kid who religiously watched HGTV, I am deeply passionate about home decor. This Oakland home came up on my feed, and I can’t stop watching this tour of it. Pretty sure it’s my dream house.

source: @lydiasunhomes

By the way…I’m reading this.

The book that—and I quote—”I bought for every man in my family 2 years ago” - My roommate, Lizzie.

source: NPR

And I’m watching this.

I’m only watching Severance in terms of new television (and I am stressed and sad and have read/watched too many theories about what Lumon does and it’s making me lose my mind), but I have been rewatching parts of Younger and my oh my, Darren Star really can make good TV, huh? That said, I think he botched the entire Charles character—#TeamJosh forever.

source: TV Land

Have a great weekend, everyone! I’m traveling again this weekend—really excited to share for what in next week’s Floor Time :)

‘Til next time, Jammerheads. Your friend,

Clarice