Weekend Reads for March 21st & 22nd

Weekend Reads

Woman charged with attempted murder under Georgia abortion law. (The 19th)

They Didn’t Want to Have C-Sections. A Judge Would Decide How They Gave Birth. (ProPublica)

This Fall, Florida Students Will Be Forced to Take “Anti-Communist” Classes. (truthout)

YouTube Face Has Infected the Internet. (The Ringer)

Cursive is back. But should students be learning the skill? (NPR)

Oh snap, look what's back just through March 23rd. Those colors! I need!

Women’s “ick” for AI isn’t technophobia or a gap to close. It’s wisdom to act on. (How Not to Use AI on Substack)

How to Talk to Someone Experiencing ‘AI Psychosis'. (404)

I really like this top. Do I need it? No. But imagine with white or tan or even hot pink linen wide leg pants…

What I learned at the club. (The Yale Review)

‘It Feels Like There’s No Jobs’: 12 Gen Z Voters on the U.S. Economy. (New York Times – gift link)

The Women Leaving the New Right. (Intelligencer)

My journey from foreign correspondent to Uber driver in [this administration's] America. (Navigating the Drift on Substack)

Forget Influencers. Welcome to the World of the ‘Alternatively Influential.’ (Wall Street Journal – gift link)

Local yokels, curious about ALLY shoes? They're coming to DC in April, and you can book a free appointment at this link (and meet founder Samantha Dong)!

About Gen Z Women and their Gender Wars. (I Was Thinking The Other Day on Substack)

I Caught a Secret Right-Wing Influence Operation Running In My Feed. (Emily in Your Phone on Substack)

Years ago, I got these earrings from One Edit at Nordstrom that look like crumpled gold metal. I love them so much, wear them often, and loan them out to friends often. Trying to find photos, all I found was this time I wore them to the theater and this time I wore them to a masquerade fundraiser. I realized later they may have been attempting to be Alexis Bittar, but mine are lighter weight, a different shape, and cheaper. And no longer available. I've looked for similar and just found these from Marlyn Schiff. Again not trying to be a dupe, and a more reasonable price!

Style Inspo & Sale Alert

The Rag and Bone Friends & Family sale is on with 25% off sitewide. I need to draw attention to this sale because this is a brand that is often ignored because it seems too pricey for the items… but the quality and durability is pretty stellar. And this sale makes the price much more palatable. I'm kinda sorta totally in love with the Miramar collection; it loos just like denim, even up close, but is soft and comfy and stretchy. I may get a pair of the Miramar shorts for this summer!

Today (Saturday) only, Ruti has 20% off all denim. While I love my Ruti barrel jeans and my Ruti slouchy jeans, I am currently in love with this denim trench. How freaking cute is it?

You know me and capsules… everything in here is Lands' End!

Lands' End has 50% off sitewide with promo code UMBRELLA. Y'all know my love for Lands' End; I've recently featured the brand as a great place for swimwear, had Lands' End outerwear in this capsule wardrobe and this capsule wardrobe, and several pieces of clothes in this capsule wardrobe. Above a collage of some of the items I'm eyeing (I already have this dress in 14 petite). Hello pretty Easter/wedding/event dress, do I need this for Oscar, and OMG the Maryland in me loves this sweater!

Mango new arrivals that caught my eye: brown dress | fringe bag | cream skirt | black flats | red sweater | brown earrings | cream & black earrings | striped top | black dress | woven bag | red dress | zebra tote | brown clutch

Mango is a Wardrobe Oxygen community favorite, especially for summer and accessories. I just learned of three promo codes for Mango:

• MNG30 – 30% off your entire purchase if you spend $230+
• WELCOME10 – $10 off for new customers on orders of $100+ (not valid on already discounted items)
• HELLO10 – 10% off on orders of $100+ (not valid on already discounted items)

Remedy Skin, one of the new darlings on the scene with high-performing but not high-cost skincare, is celebrating it's 2nd birthday with 20% off bundles + 15% everything else with code THANKS2YOU. They are also offering a free mini vitamin C ($14 value) and free shipping on orders $50+.

Johnny Was has its Friends & Family sale on through the end of the month with 25% off sitewide. I did not know that when I went down a Johnny Was rabbit hole; the post on it will go live this coming week, but for some spoilers check out the collages/mini capsules I made at ShopMy; one of them is above.

As an FYI, spoilers and additional content is always on ShopMy. I like it because you don't need the app to visit, you don't even need to log in. It feels less… QVC than LTK, it keeps me organized, and I enjoy being able to shop by creator and curator and make “circles” for different topics and then see what these folks are linking and seeing out there. Far less sales pressure, more inspiraiton!

See/Hear/Read

I was in need of a light book with a happy ending, and grabbed the audiobook for The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren. It was available on Libby, the cover and summary sounded like just what I needed. Romance, a tropical locale, a bit of a My Fair Lady makeover… I'm down.

This was cheesy, but enjoyable. Manic Pixie Dream Girl meets very serious billionaire who never smiles. But she makes him smile and he makes her horny. She's a starving artist who recently got fired from her hourly job at a convenience store, he's a college professor who is estranged from his family until his little sister plans her wedding at a private island.

MPDG joins Gruff Guy on the trip, fully equipped with a fancy-dancy wardrobe, waxing job, and a full set on her fingers. Of course, her body is banging in the Chanel, and of course she has pink hair. This book reminded me of romcoms from the early 2000s with JLo and Matthew Mcconaughey and Kate Hudson and Jennifer Garner where faking it has them make it together. And I didn't mind that.

I did mind the cliché mentions of paint colors, the multiple Twilight references, and the lack of detail with the makeover wardrobe. I also felt that the author had never been around wealthy people nor even watched Succession. And there was a lot of times when he was touching parts of her body (his head on her ribs, he massaging her calves) and I couldn't figure out what position they were in to make this feel natural. But these issues didn't stop me from enjoying this book. Oh, and the romance has just the right amount of spice that you enjoy it without being uncomfortable listening in the grocery store.

As for TV, we're catching up on the latest season of Shrinking (Apple TV). This has been a favorite show for us, that feel good family-friendly vibe of Ted Lasso, but taking place in a California suburb. The familiar faces in the cast add to the charm.

But this season feels like the “Black Hole Sun” version of the past seasons. Everything feels a bit too much. We're still watching it, and I still think Harrison Ford and Wendy Malik are phenomenal, but some of the lustre has worn off.

For Your Entertainment

Lizzo is back, baby! This week she released a video for her song, “Don't Make Me Love U” which she has performed on SNL and a few other places in recent months, but had yet released. Having a bit of an 80s Tina Turner/Chaka Kahn vibe, this song could be seen as a song about a love interest. In an interview with Kelly Clarkson, Lizzo shared that the song was about her relationship with the public.

The video “gives a surreal and visually striking look into a familiar relationship of grappling with your past self, reflecting and eventually evolving through learning and growth,” according to a press release.