Monthly Intake (March)
inspiration, recipes, books, and other things from March
March has ended, closing the first quarter of 2024 along with it. This passage of time usually freaks me out, but I’m finding some comfort in it today. The year has been challenging for me (and the world at large), and I feel some pride that we keep pushing through it. I’m grateful that the sun is shining and the dogs are sleeping and there is breakfast on the stove.
For a few minutes of distraction from everything going on, here are some things I was into in March.
One Thing To Inspire
The month started on the heels of Chloé’s Winter 2024 debut led by Creative Director Chemena Kamali, the first of her collections since she took over last fall. The pieces are such a fun, joyful celebration of the feminine and feel acutely nostalgic as someone raised on Mary Kate and Ashley’s boho-chic days of yore. If Poor Things’ Bella Baxter and our favorite twins had a baby (à la Dr. Godwin Baxter), it might be this Chloé collection.
Two Things To Watch
I just got around to the Netflix show One Day, and I binged it in three nights. It’s a beautiful, poignant show of love, loss, and resilience. I loved that the writers took their time establishing the characters and their lives, both separate and together, and I especially loved the casting of Ambika Mod. I was so drawn to her.
You’ve probably already seen Jacqueline Novak’s much-anticipated special Get On Your Knees, which was released in January this year. I rarely watch stand-up specials since I work on so many of them, but I was encouraged by others who’d worked on this one to watch it. I really liked it. It’s chaotic and rushed and poetic and precise. Novak’s nonstop pace and inhuman ability to take absolutely zero breaths made me a little anxious, but her performance and writing are truly dazzling.
Jacqueline Novak’s Get On Your Knees
Three Things To Eat
Play an album that reminds you of being a child and spend a few hours making Alison Roman’s stewy chicken and dumplings. The recipe takes some time, but it’s simple and meditative (and so worth it). I didn’t have leeks, celery, or buttermilk when I made it, but I mixed some lemon with whole milk for a buttermilk sub and didn’t miss the rest of the ingredients. Evan obsessed over it for days.
The orange tree in our backyard is dropping oranges at a rate we can’t keep up with, so we’ve been trying everything we can to make use of them. I found this recipe for Portuguese Orange Cake, annnnd yum. Highly recommend if you’re looking for sweet-but-not-too cake that doubles as breakfast or dessert or if you also have a million oranges to use up.
I saw this cabbage shakshuka recipe on Instagram and was so excited for a fresh way to use up the head of cabbage I had sitting in my fridge. I ate the entire thing in one sitting by myself. I also added tons of fresh jalepeño and feta cheese. It’s. So. Good.
Two Things To Read
Clare Sestanovich’s Objects of Desire is my favorite story collection I’ve read in years. The stories are layered and mundane and paint a living picture of women in all their dullness and vivacity. I barely came up for air once I started it. You can read some of her stories in The Paris Review, The New Yorker, and Harper’s.
I’m reading Zadie Smith’s Swing Time right now and loving it. It’s a story of two girls navigating friendship, culture, and race over decades. It’s thick with social commentary but a really fun, captivating read.
Five Things to Buy
Maybe it’s because all of the girlies suddenly have butter yellow bedding, but I’ve been into soft yellows lately. My most recent yellow purchase were these Adidas Samba OGs in Oat. They’re made with recycled materials and nylon, so they have a crinkly texture that I like a little more than the leather Sambas (though love those too). I can’t say this color was a great personal choice since I don’t have much that goes with it, but I love how they look on my shoe rack.
Another yellow thing I want to put on my body is this gauzy set (and matching swimsuit) that Gil Rodriguez just dropped. Would it look terrible with my skintone? Absolutely. But I have an active imagination, and in my imagination, it looks great.
I’ve never met a Grown Alchemist product I didn’t love, and this sunscreen just joined the list. It’s a mineral sunscreen that doesn’t leave a white paste on your skin, and it’s light (almost fluffy???) and not greasy at all. It’s knocked all of my other face sunscreens out of the running. Bet you can’t guess what color the tube is.
I just rediscovered a scent I’ve had for years and fell in love with it all over again: DedCool Fragrance 02. It’s so warm and sweet and fresh and inviting. I’ve been rolling it on my wrist at night so I can smell it while I fall asleep. It’s so good.
I’ve been on the natural deodorant journey since 2015 and have yet to find one that works as well as the aluminum counterparts (sorry to everyone close to me), but my list of best-ofs is growing. For the last two years, the Kosas AHA deodorant has been my top pick, but I recently got the Necessaire Deodorant (also with AHA) and I’m a fan. It dries quickly, actually works (pretty well), and it doesn’t stain (so far).
That’s all for now ♥️
Thank you for reading and a happy April/new Taylor Swift album release month to all.
XO! Claire