the weekly report, 05.10.25
A little nostalgia, a few upgrades, some self-reflection.
No big preamble to this one, because this week has been relatively low-key. It feels restorative, but I’m also ready to bop around again. Here’s to defrosting in time for summer. - Ella
R eading
My friend and former coworker Chelsea Fagan’s newest book, The High Dive. She hosted a party to celebrate its launch this week so I snagged a copy early. Also on my reading rotation: One Golden Summer, Project Hail Mary, and The Bullet Swallower.
E ating
This week, it’s less about eating and more about how I’m preparing the thing I’m going to eat.
The older I get, the more I realize, it’s not that I didn’t like cooking when I was younger. It was that I didn’t have the right tools to cook the way I wanted to. Things stuck to the pan without searing and charring, or the pan’s nonstick coating flaked, or the knives were dull and didn’t cut properly, or the cutting board warped and permanently smelled like garlic. It sucked. And then things changed: A few years ago, I impusively bought a nice set of ceramic pans, and I inherited some of my grandma’s Le Creuset, and yeah, okay, I went off the deep end entirely and worked with my super to re-install the counter that was missing from half of my kitchen. It made cooking easier, and more pleasureable. It was great.
All of this to say, I recently splurged on a stainless steel skillet from Made In and audibly gasped when I unboxed her. She’s shiny, she’s substantial, and she could probably be used as self-defense in the zombie apocalypse. She is also very easy to work with and to clean. There’s a charred cabbage with dan-dan noodle sauce recipe I saw on TikTok that I can’t wait to try — I will report back later.
Also, finally got some of what were concisely referred to as “ice cube trays, but for food” in my home. Immediately made a batch of mole and stuck them in there. 10/10 life decision.
P laying
Went on a deep dive of ‘00s music videos, and particularly the ones by the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC. It always feels a little bit like the most vulnerable kind of show ‘n tell to make someone sit down in front of a computer screen and say, “Watch this, because this foundational text will help you understand the core of me better.” (More or less vulnerable than like, revealing a core trauma? Probably not, but what if they don’t get why you were a JC girl, you know?) Of course, this then led to my playing the “Celebrity” album nonstop for approximately 36 hours, and it is both shocking and sobering that I remember every lyric, every riff, every transition from bop to banger to slow jam. Also? Holds up. Perfect album.
O bsessing
It’s been pretty quiet around these parts with respect to “things I will not stop yapping about.” Which is rare for me! I’m sure I’ll have a new fixation next week but for now, why force it?
R ecommending
Going through your closet and being really, truly honest with yourself about what you wear, what you don’t, what you can donate, and what you keep on buying in the hopes that one day it will work for you but which really amounts to wasting your money on hopes and prayers and pipe dreams. I do this once a year, and at no point have I learned. Maybe this year, the self-reflection will stick.
T reating
Splurged a little this week and got the major moms in my life flowers for Mother’s Day. Mother’s Day is today. This is your reminder, in case there’s a mom in your life who you want to buy something for but haven’t yet. You’re welcome.
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