Things I Can't Live Without: Mom Edition
Ripped off directly from The Strategist because New York Magazine is amazing and totally worth the subscription fee.
Spotify Premium - $12.99 a month for a two account subscription
Music is a huge part of our life and we try to encourage Will to listen to and love the same stuff as us. This means no Baby Shark because it’s goddamn terrible.
Lately, we’ve been listening to a lot of Harry’s House. So much so that Will requests Grapejuice and Daylight by name. Kid’s not a fan of Music For A Sushi Restaurant (“Mommy, no sushi”) but I’m working on it because that song is a jam.
Splurge on the paid version - No commercials, a wide variety of excellently curated playlists (including one called Spanish Tapas Bar which is perfect for cooking and a fantastic official High Fidelity playlist which literally what the fuck, Hulu? Why would you cancel something so good?) and a bunch of great podcasts for me to obsess over. Wait. Holy shit. There’s a New Girl podcast? Subscribe.
Amazon Essentials Belice Ballet Flats -$19.50
Being 4’11”, I used to live in heels.
Then, I got rheumatoid arthritis which made it feel like there was no padding between my foot and the floor - just bone - and then, I had Will.
Have you ever tried to run around after a toddler while wearing wedges? I do not have the coordination for that. I mean, my insurance is good, but not that good.
So, I made the switch to these super comfy flats and now, I look a little more put together. I have a pair in bright pink and rose gold. I used to have a camel-colored pair but they got destroyed when we were in France. I will 10,000% be buying more pairs of these shoes.
Yes, I know Rothy’s and Tori Burches are amazing but Mommy doesn’t have Rothy’s and Tori Burch money. She has I Currently Work Part-Time For A Non-Profit money and these fit that budget nicely.
Fatima’s Garden Argan Oil - $12.99 for a 30ml bottle
We went to Morocco for our honeymoon and I noticed that a majority of the women we met were staggeringly gorgeous. It was all just glowing skin and kohl-rimmed eyes. Then, I found out their secret - argan oil all day.
I don’t have time for a skincare routine. I have time for a quick scrub of Cetaphil and a generous slathering of argan oil before I collapse into bed at night. As a result, I look younger than I am and way less terrifying considering I’m a woman who doesn’t sleep well and has the eating habits of a trash compactor.
The jasmine-scented one is my absolute favorite. As Raymond Chandler puts it, I smell the way the Taj Mahal looks by moonlight.
Melissa and Doug Pizza Cutting Toy - $27.99
Will is obsessed with watching people cut fake fruits and vegetables on YouTube, so we got him a bunch of those and then, found this awesome toy by Melissa and Doug, purveyors of super adorable toys.
Now, Will makes us little pizza slices topped with fake pepperoni and walks around trying to feed everyone meaning the dogs are super disappointed that the slices aren’t real.
Best of all, it helps his fine motor skills and keeps him occupied while I’m making dinner. Wins all around.
People have told me that this interest might result in him being a chef. To which my response is, “Hey bud. Cutting sure is fun, huh? You know who gets to do all sorts of cutting all the time? Surgeons!”
CloudLibrary - Free
In a perfect world, I would take a paperback to some adorable cafe, order a double decaf, non-fat latte, medium foam, dusted with just the faintest whisper of cinnamon, sit in the sunshine and read.
I assume we all fall asleep to Frasier reruns? No? Just me? OK, well, y’all should know that falling asleep to Frasier is totally A Thing.
I do not have that luxury so I indulge my reading habit on my phone in between telling my kid not to jump on the couch. The CloudLibrary app connects to your local library and has been a lifesaver for the past few years.
I love reading with my kid and think it is fundamental to his academic and social development but sometimes, Mommy needs to read a little less about grumpy monkeys and more about noir-y crime in 1940s Los Angeles (Right now, I’m reading The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler and Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradel).
Raspberries - Whole Foods has them on sale right now - two half pints for $7
I have watched my child eat an entire punnet of raspberries in the course of 30 minutes and ask…no…demand more. Survival without snacks is impossible. Luckily, my kid loves fruit so I’m happy to let him devour as many berries as he wants. It was even better when I could drink and was able to sneak a couple for my prosecco.
Saffron - $21.69 for a 1gm jar at Penzey’s
When you grow up with an Indian mom and an Indian grandmother, you’re basically guaranteed to be treated like a teeny maharaja. So, of course I put a few strands of the world’s most expensive spice into my son’s milk due to the belief that it will help him sleep better.
Does it?
Well, he was up at 3:15am wailing for me, so you tell me.
Google Keep - Free
My entire life is on Google and split between Gmail, Calendar and Keep. The latter features:
Groceries - beans, cheese, raspberries
To-Dos - check out local Montessori schools, call indoor soccer place
Shit I Need To Check Out - Wesley Bright and the Honeytones,
A list of gin-tasting notes
Quotes I love from Springsteen to Rob Sheffield to Nico Walker on Biggie:
“The DJ played “Juicy.” Everybody still liked that song. The song has held up. Probably because it has never gone anywhere. There has never been a night in all the 30 motherfucking years, almost, that it’s been since that song came out — not one — that 100 DJs didn’t play that song in 100 venues in this city. Not even during the lockdowns. People were at it then, too. And if there are parties in Brooklyn, Christopher Wallace may well come through. He appears when he’s summoned.”
And I would be lost without it. Need to scribble down an appointment? Keep and then, add it to Calendar and color-code later. Idea for the novel I’m writing? Keep. Idea I had for rasam ramen with spicy pickled carrots, corn and paneer? Scribble it down in Keep and add paneer to the grocery list.
It is my favorite thing ever and lets me keep my tenuous grip on sanity.
