A Thing or Two with Claire and Erica

It’s time to let your inner Larry David out because we have THOUGHTS to SHARE!  Gen Alpha has a new (jarring??) way to learn their alphabet.  We were suspicious of isitpacked.com for planning a Disneyland trip, but we’ve changed our tune. Things we won’t shut up about include OSSA phone straps and Goop Kitchen.  Let’s discuss Uggs, shall we?  Do you/kids in your life have daily affirmations? If so, send them in at 833-632-5463, [email protected], @athingortwohq, or pop them in our Geneva!   Learn from the best with MasterClass and get up to 50% off when you use our link.  

Call it a classic grab bag from this time last year! Please note that we are still in the market for your Notes App intel…    Gained some wisdom from @OlsenOracle, a perfect fan account (that is maybe even Olsen approved???).   We’re having a Marcella Hazan moment, thanks to, as Food & Wine put it her “radical simplicity.” Some recipes we’ve been cooking: THE tomato, onion, and butter sauce, grilled fish romagna style, pesto, rice and smothered cabbage soup, and chimney sweep’s gelato.    Speaking of cooking, we must discuss this Julia Child gas stove story by Rebecca Leber for Vox, which pairs well with “How the Fossil Fuel Industry Convinced Americans to Love Gas Stoves,” which she wrote for Mother Jones.    Your Notes Apping!! See: this packing-list  revelation from@rileejsmith (um, the template). We also love this TikTok from @kiramackenz.   What weird things are you up to in the Notes App? Let us know at 833-632-5463, [email protected], @athingortwohq, or in our Geneva!   Give your hair the gift of Nutrafol. Take $10 off your first month’s subscription with the code ATHINGORTWO. YAY.

In a rerun of an *absolute hit* episode from last holiday season, we’re talkin’ Thingies with Alison Roman, the woman behind a SLEW of recipes we cook all the dang time. We know you know her, but JIC, she’s the author of NYT bestselling—and gifty!—cookbooks Sweet Enough, Nothing Fancy, and Dining In, she doles out the most delightful kitchen content in A Newsletter and on her Home Movies YouTube channel, and she delivers guidance of all kinds on her Solicited Advice podcast. In essence: She’s full of thoughts, and we want them all.   First things first, what we would bring to a pilot kid-gift swap (thx, Leslie!): Spirograph, Yellow Owl Workshop DIY Pin & Flair Kit, Bastien Contraire Stencil Kit, Majo Ideas Art Pack, and Pop Tubes.   Alison’s tabletop Thingies include beeswax candles (try Greentree Home Candle—maybe in the sangria color?!), candle holders *in general* (e.g., this Sophie Lou Jacobson one), and interesting serving platters including Bordallo Pinheiro's. For the bod, she loves using Laneige’s lip mask as lip balm, and Davines’s Vegetarian Miracle Mask for her hair. On the food front, how about chopped fermented chilies—use them to make her Brothy Chickpeas with Calabrian Chili (and/or these chickpeas)—and, for dessert, Kolsvart gummies.    Share your Thingies with us at 833-632-5463, [email protected], and @athingortwohq, or drop them in our Geneva!   YAY.  

Are a majority of today’s topics serendipitously eighties related? Yes. Are we inadvertently excited about that? Indeed.      Pizza Hut updates! Tomato-basil Pizza Wine and American Girl’s Book It! Set.    Someone barefoot 24/7: Buffalo Bills wide receiver Mack Hollins.     And spotted! Cutie eyes on Kacey Musgraves merch.    We are loving Rivals, which is based on a novel by Dame Jilly Cooper. See also: her takes in this Financial Times interview and “It’s Family ‘Sex Scenes’ Night” by Anya Kamenetz for The Cut.   If you’re in NYC soon, check out Luna Luna at The Shed, and read Joe Coscarelli’s piece on it in the New York Times for more backstory.    Share your follow-ups and/or recommendations at [email protected], @athingortwohq, our Geneva, or our Substack comments!   Count on Shopify for all your ecomm needs and get a $1-a-month trial with our link. Learn from the best with MasterClass and get up to 50% off when you use our link. Download the free Zocdoc app and book that doctor’s appointment now. YAY.