Awww, Shukette! And old ladies getting up to no good.
Got my Fam Jam fix this week! Thank you, Nikki C! Also, I’m finishing this newsletter on the tail end of a migraine, so please pardon any typos (I’m especially talking to you, DAD), and let’s just roll with it. Fun.
1.
So, speaking of Fam Jam, when I met up with Nikki to pick up my two jars this week, she showed my pics of the gorgeous oyster mushrooms she’d just cultivated with this cool, at-home kit from SnoValley Mushrooms. I’m feeling pretty confident about my horticulture skills, given the houseplants I’ve managed to not murder these past few months, so let’s see if my “green fungus” is just as good. ;)
2.
It’s always fascinating to read others’ takes on singlehood or being child-free, mostly because of the eye-opening way each is so different from my own perspective, and yet there are always these underlying, whisper-thin strands of commonality that imperviously bind us together. In her recent op-ed for the New York Times, “What Does Marriage Ask Us to Give Up?” the author Kaitlyn Greenidge writes: Those who panic over the rise in the number of single Americans do not see that this statistic includes lives of hard-won independence — lives that still intersect with a community, with a home, with a belief in something wider than oneself. The people clinging to old narratives around singledom and marriage can’t yet see these lives for what they are because, as Ms. di Prima puts it, they are not “an objectively valuable commodity.” Their meaning is “a currency that cannot cross borders.” Though this isn’t a reaction I experience too often these days, I knew exactly what Greenidge was talking about.
3.
Here’s another one I’m adding to the list of books I hope to someday read before I perish (that timeframe kinda takes the pressure off, doesn’t it?): An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good. The title is just SO bloody brilliant! It came strongly recommended by my friend Ann, who said she laughed her way through it. I think we could all use a little wicked humor right now—always, yeh?
4.
I’ve now eaten at Shukette two weeks in a row, which I never do—most especially not at a restaurant beyond my local neighborhood, and definitely not during the dark, cold days of winter—but the Middle Eastern-based flavors are just so brashly in-your-face tremendous. This is chef Ayesha Nurdjaja’s second NYC restaurant, which she and her team have sometimes described as the “younger sister to Shuka” (Nurdjaja’s Soho-based eatery). HOWEVER, as an individual with many siblings, I’d say that Shukette is more like the super-cool new kid who just moved to town, blasts the best beats, and everyone suddenly wants to hang out at her house after school. Most especially because…the snacks.
5.
Definitely beats wedding-registry table settings! And honestly, I can’t think of a better way to get a Louise Bourgeoise for one’s dining room. Check out the 45 big-time artists who contributed to this timely plate project, with proceeds benefiting the Coalition for the Homeless. It’s ending soon!