A Thing or Two with Claire and Erica

Happy Valentine’s Week! Let’s celebrate with a cat-neutering campaign, to-go Velvetta, Jibbitz vision boards. Oh, and Santa.   We’re super charmed by CUNY’s callout for couples who met on campus and want our alma mater to do the same. And: Please take note of River Kitty Cafe’s ‘Neuter Your Ex’ initiative.    How do we these Vans in adult sizes?    If you’re in NYC and looking for Galentine’s Day plans, come to our event about the bonkbuster on Feb. 13. Dream panelists!!   Back to the onions: Pauline Chalamet advocates for putting a cut one under your bed when you start to feel sick.   Live La Dolce Velveeta with Vel2Go, lol.   Fiber! See: Floura.    Also, are we manifesting via Jibbitz now?   Friends, the fire-proof bag.   Do you know who Claire’s Secret Santa is? Let us know at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, @athingortwohq, or in our Geneva.   Learn from the best with MasterClass and an additional 15% off any annual membership when you use our link. Support a balanced gut microbiome with Ritual’s Synbiotic+ and get 25% off your first month with our link. YAY.  

It’s time to treat ourselves to a good, old-fashioned catch-up. Ready for some updates on workouts, hair styling, hot dogs, and marriage?   Kayleen Schaefer’s Elle article “How 50 Pushups a Day Helped Me Cope In an Uncertain World.”    Three hair recs: Ranavat Fortifying Hair Serum, the Dyson Airwrap, and Christophe Robin Temporary Color Gel.   Shoutout to PDT, the speakeasy behind Crif Dogs, and the Turkey and the Wolf Cookbook by Mason Hereford and JJ Goode. High-end fun?!    Claire’s beloved Kikkerland back scratcher; Cam’s beloved Champagne poppers.   “62 Extremely Passionate Recommendations” ℅ Harling Ross’s Gumshoe Substack.   Looking for a little pick-me-up? Share what’s been cheering you up lately at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, @athingortwohq, or in our Geneva.   Launch your store on Shopify and get a $1-a-month trial with our link. YAY.  

Ah, we can’t wait for you to get to hang with Upasna Barath! We chat *THINGIES* with the author and playwright—and also discuss her experience writing Comedic Timing, a modern bi-awakening with exceptional dialogue and the most charming friendships. It’s the next exceedingly delightful 831 Stories release, out tomorrow!   Upasna’s Thingies include incense in the mornings (Upstate Stock’s Albany Black Spruce, specifically), scented body oil over perfume (Nuxe FTW), a red lip with no makeup ( Violette Bisou Balm—and maybe she’ll try Ilia Lip Sketch Hydrating Crayon?), Italian hand gestures, a heating pad, meaningful apologies, and Opsin Archive ceramics.    Also, onions are approaching A Moment in untraditional formats (as in, on feet?)?    Keith Haring helps us define cutie eyes—shoutout to Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring by Brad Gooch—and even if you can’t make it to Luna Luna, check out the original posters and merch.   What does a meaningful apology look like to you? Share at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, @athingortwohq, or in our Geneva.   Treat your hair to Nutrafol. Take $10 off your first month’s subscription with the code ATHINGORTWO. Launch your store on Shopify and get a $1-a-month trial with our link. YAY.  

In the throes of everything 2025 is throwing at us, we’re discussing how we approach wellness and the small things we do to take care of ourselves (at least a little bit!!!). Major thanks to OSEA for bringing us this episode—10% off your first order with the code ATHINGORTWO!   Can we start with some praise for OSEA’s Undaria Algae Body Butter? It absorbs quickly, it feels excellent, and it’s making Claire actually moisturize every day.   Claire is also exercising with Cam, opting for phone calls over Zooms, going on “do not disturb” more often, making lunchbox drawings, and watching TV on her phone while doing other things.   Erica’s getting an actual desk setup, eating a fulfilling lunch (shoutout to Chris Gayomali’s Heavies Substack about soup), revisiting her five-year journal, maintaining a saved sentence archive practice, and having high-end fun and heavy snacks.    How are you taking extra care of yourself right now? Let us know at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, @athingortwohq, or in our Geneva.   Give your skin a New Year glow-up with clean, clinically tested skincare from OSEA and get 10% off your first order sitewide with code ATHINGORTWO. YAY.  

Before diving into the newness of 2025, we wanted to reflect on our top Thingies of last year. Fashion, framing, food, and a full-blown flurry of favorites ahead!    Claire’s best-of Thingies include the PJ Library, Wisp, Épice Paris, Bluesafe24 glasses, Caro Chambers, and the Natori Bliss Girl Brief.    Erica’s Thingies of the year include Biryani Bol, Nelle Atelier (specifically their Laura style), Susan Orlean’s Wordy Bird Substack, Framebridge, Buena Vista Social Club the musical, and, of course, Josh Hartnett’s return.    What were your 2024 Thingies? Let us know at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, @athingortwohq, or in our Geneva!   Download the free Zocdoc app and book that doctor’s appointment now. Launch your store on Shopify and get a $1-a-month trial with our link. YAY.  

Explore the quirky evolution of the alphabet for Gen Alpha and the joys of planning Disneyland trips using crowd-tracking. Delight in the cozy comfort of Goop Kitchen meals and UGG boots as the hosts share their favorites. Discover the playful world of trendy accessories like puffer boots and OSSA phone straps while navigating the transformation of smartphones from mere devices to stylish essentials. Join in on humorous reflections on birthday traditions and personal growth through MasterClass!

Call it a classic grab bag from this time last year! Please note that we are still in the market for your Notes App intel…    Gained some wisdom from @OlsenOracle, a perfect fan account (that is maybe even Olsen approved???).   We’re having a Marcella Hazan moment, thanks to, as Food & Wine put it her “radical simplicity.” Some recipes we’ve been cooking: THE tomato, onion, and butter sauce, grilled fish romagna style, pesto, rice and smothered cabbage soup, and chimney sweep’s gelato.    Speaking of cooking, we must discuss this Julia Child gas stove story by Rebecca Leber for Vox, which pairs well with “How the Fossil Fuel Industry Convinced Americans to Love Gas Stoves,” which she wrote for Mother Jones.    Your Notes Apping!! See: this packing-list  revelation from@rileejsmith (um, the template). We also love this TikTok from @kiramackenz.   What weird things are you up to in the Notes App? Let us know at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, @athingortwohq, or in our Geneva!   Give your hair the gift of Nutrafol. Take $10 off your first month’s subscription with the code ATHINGORTWO. YAY.

In a rerun of an *absolute hit* episode from last holiday season, we’re talkin’ Thingies with Alison Roman, the woman behind a SLEW of recipes we cook all the dang time. We know you know her, but JIC, she’s the author of NYT bestselling—and gifty!—cookbooks Sweet Enough, Nothing Fancy, and Dining In, she doles out the most delightful kitchen content in A Newsletter and on her Home Movies YouTube channel, and she delivers guidance of all kinds on her Solicited Advice podcast. In essence: She’s full of thoughts, and we want them all.   First things first, what we would bring to a pilot kid-gift swap (thx, Leslie!): Spirograph, Yellow Owl Workshop DIY Pin & Flair Kit, Bastien Contraire Stencil Kit, Majo Ideas Art Pack, and Pop Tubes.   Alison’s tabletop Thingies include beeswax candles (try Greentree Home Candle—maybe in the sangria color?!), candle holders *in general* (e.g., this Sophie Lou Jacobson one), and interesting serving platters including Bordallo Pinheiro's. For the bod, she loves using Laneige’s lip mask as lip balm, and Davines’s Vegetarian Miracle Mask for her hair. On the food front, how about chopped fermented chilies—use them to make her Brothy Chickpeas with Calabrian Chili (and/or these chickpeas)—and, for dessert, Kolsvart gummies.    Share your Thingies with us at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, and @athingortwohq, or drop them in our Geneva!   YAY.  

Are a majority of today’s topics serendipitously eighties related? Yes. Are we inadvertently excited about that? Indeed.      Pizza Hut updates! Tomato-basil Pizza Wine and American Girl’s Book It! Set.    Someone barefoot 24/7: Buffalo Bills wide receiver Mack Hollins.     And spotted! Cutie eyes on Kacey Musgraves merch.    We are loving Rivals, which is based on a novel by Dame Jilly Cooper. See also: her takes in this Financial Times interview and “It’s Family ‘Sex Scenes’ Night” by Anya Kamenetz for The Cut.   If you’re in NYC soon, check out Luna Luna at The Shed, and read Joe Coscarelli’s piece on it in the New York Times for more backstory.    Share your follow-ups and/or recommendations at podcast@athingortwohq.com, @athingortwohq, our Geneva, or our Substack comments!   Count on Shopify for all your ecomm needs and get a $1-a-month trial with our link. Learn from the best with MasterClass and get up to 50% off when you use our link. Download the free Zocdoc app and book that doctor’s appointment now. YAY.

You ready to talk about romance, feminism, and monsters? We sure are, and so is Sanjana Basker, a psychology PhD student and bookish content creator who we’re obsessed with (in a totally normal way). Also: some animal updates, thank goodness.    Animal Updates! Kacey Musgraves is an NYC rat defender (join the club), the raccoon at LaGuardia has captured our hearts, and Claude has arrived at Erica’s house (by way of Long Island Rabbit Rescue)!   Sanjana’s Thingies are Rivals on Hulu, mass-market paperbacks, Calzedonia tights, @poetssquarecats (see also: @catworkers), and L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil.   Some authors mentioned in this ep include Lisa Kleypas and Libba Bray, and books mentioned include Left of Forever by Tara DeWitt, Office Hours and Sabbatical by Katrina Jackson, Creep: Accusations and Confessions by Myriam Gurba, and Dead Weight: Essays on Hunger and Harm by Emmeline Clein.   Want to more of Sanjana? The way she talks about romance on TikTok is an absolute delight, and her episode of the Care So Much Podcast is fantastic.   What romances are you loving right now? Let us know at podcast@athingortwohq.com, @athingortwohq, our Geneva, or our Substack comments!   Treat your hair to Nutrafol. Take $10 off your first month’s subscription with the code ATHINGORTWO. Upgrade your cleaning experience with Blueland and get 15% off your first order when you use our link. YAY.