A Bucatini Shortage

Life during COVID times is weird. My mom keeps telling me I need to write about what it’s like to live in a Pandemic in my journal, and I keep telling her that it would be boring to both write and read later because I don’t do anything. I wake up, I eat breakfast, I walk my dog, sometimes I work out, I eat lunch, I scroll on the internet, eat dinner, watch TV, and then go to bed. And repeat. There’s not much to it. Sure, I could talk about the nuances of time and how the toilet paper shortage warped my perception of reality, but, to be honest, it’s all already been said. And not in a negative way, I just think that, collectively, we’re going through this time and we won’t know how it changed us or changed our outlook on things until it’s over. If it ever ends.

It’ll end.

In the meantime, so I can keep myself from getting too philosophical, I’ve decided to share a few links I’ve discovered recently. I feel like it’s always been too easy to stumble down an internet black hole, but, lately, it’s even easier.

I recently read this article on the Bucatini shortage in America. It’s poetically written and well worth reading in its entirety. Pasts, like toilet paper, was and is a hot commodity in these COVID times. My grandfather and I stocked up on it back in our hoarding days back in March. The first March of COVID.

If you haven’t already seen Malcolm & Marie on Netflix you need to watch it. Zendaya can do no wrong in my eyes. This film is beautiful. It’s mysterious. It’s sad. It’s enlightening. It’s in black & white. It made me feel like I was eavesdropping on an actual couple. Every single scene could be a photograph in a museum. It was filmed during quarantine with around 20 people in 14 days. Amazing, truly. Also, the soundtrack. Pure gold.

I keep seeing this Shacket around Instagram. It’s from Amazon and under $30. I’ve been on a no shopping diet recently, but honestly, might have to bite the bullet for this one. It’s perfect. Style it with a white ribbed tank, straight leg light wash denim, and gold hoops. Easy. Cute. Trendy. Love it.

Ok the no shopping diet doesn’t mean that I haven’t been looking. The last thing I need is another pair of sweatpants. But hello, these are perfect. Imagine the light blue with literally any color top; black, white, tan, BLUE. Blue? Yes. I’ve been extremely into monochromatic outfits lately. They look so put together and effortless at the same time. Into it. Very.

I entered the Golden Coil design challenge, and I’m so eager to see if I’m picked as one of the top designs to be voted on. The winner gets a cash prize along with 5 printed planners with their design. I’ll do a giveaway if I win so one of you can have it!

That’s all for now! 

Thanks for reading,
Chloe

Thanksgiving Recipe Roundup

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and it’s making me think about how fast these past few months have flown by. I mean, March seems like it was ten years ago, but July?? I swear it was just July fourth, like, yesterday. Since Thanksgiving is sneaking up on us faster than you can say “green bean casserole” I’ve decided to help you out in compiling a list of recipes that are bound to be a hit. I’m sure you have your ride or die recipes that your family makes every year, for us, it’s the stuffing and sweet potato casserole, but maybe this year you want to try something new out for those Friendsgiving festivities or smaller scale Thanksgiving dinners you’re having this year — I, for one, am going to miss my great aunt’s cranberry sauce. So good.

photo via

You can thank me later, or just say you’re thankful for this blog when you’re going around the table saying what you’re thankful for. Word of mouth advertising is what I’m going for here. Kidding…. kind of.

I’ve categorized the links based on the type of dish it is, but if you need me to point you in the direction of something specific, don’t hesitate to leave a comment! I’m no chef or recipe master so they’re all links to outside sources. Sharing the love! Some recipes might be classic Thanksgiving dishes and some might be a little different spin on Thanksgiving foods. Thanksgiving is all about appeasing the masses and staying away from politics, right? Right! Also, please note, I tried to list everything that seemed do-able for me. And I’m not a chef. I burn all pans and most foods, but these items all looked like something even I could manage. That being said, I’ve only shared sides and desserts. Turkey is something I just know I would never be able to manage alone.

photo via

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SIDES

• Wild Mushroom Risotto

• Kale Salad with Apples and Pumpkin Seeds

• Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes

• Roasted Brussel Sprouts and Squash

• Cranberry + Brie Bites

• Classic Deviled Eggs

• Mashed Potatoes

• Mac & Cheese

• Another Mac & Cheese (easy)

• Green Bean Casserole

• Brown Butter Stuffing

• Sweet Potato Bake

• Corn Bread Biscuits

• Sweet Potato Casserole (could be dessert)

• Cranberry Sauce

• Roasted Baby Carrots

• Vegan Biscuits

• Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

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DESSERTS

• Classic Fudgy Brownies

• Pecan Pie Brownies

• Cinamon Swirl Bread (definitely on the more difficult side in my opinion)

• Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

• Pumpkin Bread

• Pumpkin Pie

• Cranberry Orange Buns

• Chess Pie

• No-Bake Brownie Bites

• Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

• Cookie Dough Bites (vegan optional)

• Apple Cider Bundt Cake

• Cinamon Roll Bread

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DRINKS

• Apple Cider Sangria

• Cucumber Cooler

• 5-ingredient Sangria

• Thanksgiving Margarita

• Caramel Apple Cider Mimosa

• Pumpkin Pie Martini

• Blood Orange Champagne Punch

Whew! That should at least cover a few of your bases. I’m not sure what I’ll be cooking this year, but I’m sure I’ll use this post as a toolkit if I need a few recipes handy. If you’re more in charge of the table scape and place settings than the actual cooking (aka me) I’ve linked a few cute items that I’m inspired by below.

That’s all for now! Stay tuned for Thanksgiving outfit ideas coming soon!
Thanks for reading!
xo
Chloe

book review: daisy jones & the six

Here we are with another book review. It’s a good one. A really, really good one. But before I get started, I want to share a fun story. During my second semester of senior year in college I interned at an advertising agency in Denver. There were six interns in the program and we formed our own little “mini agency” of sorts. We had our roles, I was the copywriter, but there was also an account manager, an art director, analytics director, new business/pr, and a UX/UI gal. We made a solid team. On the first day of the internship, we were assigned desks and I happened to be placed next to the analytics intern who also went to the same college. We had never met, but we instantly hit it off. Throughout the day, we ended up sharing our schedules for the semester and realized that we had the same Monday night class: event planning. The first day of our internship fell on the first Monday of classes so we had class together later that night.

We both had other friends in the class so we didn’t sit next to each other, but during the class the teacher assigned random groups of 2-3 people that we’d be partnered with for the entire semester. If you’re thinking that we were partnered together, then hey! you’re right! Good guess! Ever since that first Monday of meeting each other, we spent a majority of our days together, we were instant friends, and we always joke (slash seriously say) that we were meant to be friends. Something in the universe knew that we needed each other in our lives. So, Natalie, if you’re reading this, I’m thankful for you ;)

By now, if you’re not Natalie, you’re probably wondering why I’m sharing this story. Well, you’re in luck because I’m about to tell you. Natalie and I decided that since we’re living in different states now (sad, very sad) we should start our own little mini book club made up of only us. We decided that we’d read a book a month and then have FT fates to discuss them. I was in charge of picking the first book which was A LOT of pressure, but, after an hour and a half in the book store, it turned out to be ok and we both finished the book within a week and a half. A good read. A great read, really.

I picked Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid because I had a very long conversation with a woman in the airport about it a few weeks back. She convinced me that it was a good one, and I trusted her, luckily.
It’s a book about a band from the late 70s. It’s all about sex, drugs, and rock and roll. But, despite that, it’s not cliche. It’s written in the style of an interview which I didn’t realize until I started reading it (obviously) but I fell in love with this style. It’s almost like reading the juiciest Rolling Stone article out there.

While this book is fictional, I constantly had to remind myself that these people and this story isn’t real. It’s that realistic which is kind of disappointing because I want to hear the songs that they describe. I don’t want to give too many details away but if you liked Once Upon A Time in Hollywood and if you like music and if you like the 70s vibe, you’ll dig this book. It’s dramatic, but not overly so if that makes sense. Also, the ending was pretty cute which makes a difference in my humble opinion. If the ending sucks I just leave the book with a sour taste in my mouth, and I hate it.

My favorite quote in the book goes like this, “And that terrified the hell out of me. I didn’t want to push him in. I would never push him in but…. it scared me that the only thing between this moment of calm and the biggest tragedy of my life was me choosing not to do it. This really tripped me out that everyone’s life was that precarious. That there wasn’t some all-knowing mechanism in place that stopped things that shouldn’t happen from happening. That’s something had always scared me. And that’s how it felt being around Daisy Jones.”

My Rating: 4.5/5 stars
.5 off of a 5 because while I' loved it a lot, it’s not THE BEST BOOK I’ve ever read. They can’t all be 5’s, unfortunately.

Natalie’s Rating: 5/5 stars
I’d rate it a 5/5 bc it gives an inside perspective to what rock n roll bands were made of back n the day. And it’s also a love story between two people that you don’t want to be together but you also want them to be together.

If you’ve read the book, let me know your thoughts in the comments or DM me on Instagram! Let’s chat about it.

Thanks for reading!
chloe

improving a little

I don’t blog enough. There. I said it. It’s the sad real truth. I love writing even though I’m not that great at it, but there’s that 10,000 hours rule that says if you do something for over 10,000 hours then there’s a high chance that you’ll become good at it. And I want to become good at writing. So in order to do that, I have to write.

And here we are. Here I am…. writing.

I’m challenging myself to write at least one post everyday for the rest of time. It’s something I really want to do, and I’m pretty good at following through with things if I want to do them enough. Some of these posts might be sappy some sad some weird some boring some short some extremely long. I’m not sure, but I want to write more so I’m going to. 

For today’s post I want to share a little detail of my day. 

I had my photography class this morning and we did the first round of critiques for the first draft of our first project. A lot of firsts if you didn’t pick that up. That being said, I didn’t really know what to expect from the feedback or from other people’s projects. I was pretty confident going into the critique but I left feeling pretty defeated. My project was essentially eaten alive in the most respectful way possible. I’ll share the photos below, but what I got out of this critique today is that it’s important to be beaten up. Maybe not physically (definitely not physically), but it’s important to feel destructible, to feel like you're at the bottom, to feel eaten alive. These feelings should push you to move upwards. It’s also important to know that your bottom, your worst possible situation might not be someone else’s. In fact, your worst case scenario might be someone else’s best efforts yet. You have no where else to go but up and that’s amazing. Sure, I felt defeated after class, but I thought about people’s comments and now I’m inspired to create something better, something people will have nothing but great things to say about. And even if other people don’t like it, because they most likely won’t, I’ll have improved my work just a little. 

That little improvement is what we should all strive for in every aspect of our lives. 

So let’s all improve a little together.

Thanks for reading.
xox
Chloe 

My Gals

I can’t put my finger on the reason why, but lately my friends and I have been very sentimental. I think as our junior year of college is winding down and we’re gearing up for senior year, we realize how fast our time together has flown by. 

We all met through college, none of us knew each other before and I think that’s one of the reasons why we truly treasure our friendships with each other. My friend group is small, strong, and very familial. We treat each other like sisters. We love each other endlessly, we bicker often, and we ALWAYS have each other’s backs. 

I was talking with one of my best friends the other day about how much we love our friend group. We were saying how, since we all live together, we’ve come to be more than friends. We’re family. And I know that sounds extremely cheesy, but there’s something special about living in a house with five of your best friends. You learn more about yourself than you ever thought possible, and therefore learn about each other, so much so that we might know each other better than we know ourselves. 

It’s a weird dynamic. I love my friends more than I think possible. We each have our strengths, our weaknesses, and our priorities, but somehow we mesh flawlessly (even on the days we all seem to be fighting). There are the ones of us who chat about anything, always. There are the ones of us that are the silent glue that keep the peace between us. There are the ones of us that can always light up the room when others are down. We’re just, well, us. 

I know I have another year with these gals, but honestly, I want more. The first three years of college have flown by, and I can’t even imagine how fast this next year is going to go. 

Here’s the best friends. Here’s to college memories. Here’s to the future.

Live in the Moment

I think sometimes, we go through life living for the future. In middle school all we want is to be in high school. In high school all we want is the freedom of college. In college we just want to live a life without homework and studying. It’s this dreaming of the future that keeps us from living our best in the moment. 

Sure, I’m guilty of laying in bed waiting for time to pass. I’m guilty of not enjoying the moment because all I can do is dream about how great the next hour or tomorrow or the next day is going to be. But, I’m challenging myself to enjoy every little second and every little moment. For example, last night I was walking to meet a friend. Usually, on my walk all I do is think about how excited I am to get to my destination and see my friend. But this time I changed my mindset. I enjoyed my walk through campus. I took in all the buildings, the people, the stars in the sky. It was one of the best walks I’ve ever been on. It allowed me to feel more peaceful, more content, and more inspired by the moment. 

So next time you find yourself wishing away the present because you’re so involved in focusing on the future I challenge you to pause. Pause your thoughts and become content with the moment. Breathe. Think. Be Mindful.