Ready for a grab bag? ALWAYS, right? We surprise ourselves by endorsing record players, we bemoan how few catalogs are getting it right, and we share some coming-of-age retail thoughts. Oh, and we break down the term “business hygiene,” which doesn’t involve deodorant at all.    Two record-player recs: Technics by Panasonic Direct Drive Player System (Craigslist is a good place to shop for this!) and The+Record Player for an all-in-one option.    But how ‘bout the records themselves?! Check out a Vinyl Me, Please subscription—and maybe make vintage ones a vacation souvenir? Also, hello, Sesame Street Fever.   The catalogs we love right now are from Zingerman’s, David Austin, and Tracksmith. If you’re still nostalgic for dELiA*s (

We’ve road-tested a whole slew of the Thingies recent guests recommended, and we have much to share! Join us for this and some extremely entertaining voicemails responding to our question “What’s the sorority version of ‘praise and polish?’” From our episode with Rumaan Alam, Claire was inspired to listen to the audiobook version of Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe, and Erica has been using Fitbod (but only doing the exercises she wants to).  Thanks to Harling Ross Anton’s recs, Erica’s gotten indigestion aid from Deglycyrrhizinated Licorice (DGL).  Claire took Kelly Wright’s suggestion and subscribed to Ronny’s Seltzer (which is a great supplement to her at-home Aarke seltzer maker).  Erica’s been very into Jessica DeFino’s The Unpublishable newsletter, which Val Monroe raved about. A great installment to start with: Bella Hadid's Old Nose. Related content: The Glossy Podcast and the newsletter After School. Whose Thingies picks do you want to hear? Let us know at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq. And for more recommendations, try out a Secret Menu membership.   Shop our spring gifting faves from MoMA Design Store and use or mention the code ATHINGORTWO online or in U.S. stores for 10% off your purchase now through May 29 Arm your immune system with Athletic Greens and get a one-year supply of Vitamin D and five free travel packs with your first purchase when you use our link. Upgrade your piercing and earring experience with Studs and take 20% off your first order when you use our link. Support a business of any size with Shopify. Dig in with a free 14-day trial with our link. papaya reusables (CB)  Cut back on paper towels with Papaya Reusables and get 20% off your first order with the code ATHINGORTWO20. YAY.   Produced by Dear Media

It’s party (discussion) time! We get into games, snacks, drinks, desserts, and—but of course—tricks. Also, you know we love the airline culture and lifestyle beat: We have to dig into the NYT profile of Janis Burl, the brains and puns behind the incredible TSA Instagram account.    Our fave party games include quizzes about the guest of honor, custom crossword puzzles,  Mölkky, and whatever this filling-up-a-cup-with-water game is called.   We have a lot of thoughts about the snacks to which we are accustomed, which include The Good Crisp Chips, Torres Chips, YuBuns, Yossy Arefi’s Vegan Onion Dip, Smitten Kitchen Corn Salad, Corn Salad with Feta and Walnuts from Real Simple, Fromage Fort from Julia Turshen’s Small Victories cookbook, Cacio E Pepe Kale Salad from Lemon, Love & Olive Oil cookbook. Also: Don’t sleep on cute cocktail toothpicks and vintage oyster/relish forks—and Sophia Roe’s advice on how to do a crudite situation.   For dessert, we love an ice cream cake, Blueberry Cornflake Crisp from Bill Clark’s fantastic A Piece of Cake newsletter, Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp from Barefoot Contessa, Ipsa frozen cookies, Levain frozen cookies, Magnolia Bakery Banana Pudding, and Jeni’s Street Treats.   When it comes to drinks, how about a big batch Palomas, Bloody Marys with McClure’s or Stonewall Kitchen mix, non-alcoholic Ghia or De Soi, and/or Lunar hard seltzer?   Share your favorite party tricks with us at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq. For more recs, sign up for our Secret Menu.   Get what you need for a business of any size with Shopify. Dig in with a free 14-day trial with our link. Give professional counseling a shot with BetterHelp and take 10% off your first month with our link. Download Best Fiends—it’s free!—on the App Store or Google Play. Book that doctor’s appointment today: Download the free Zocdoc app. Take your vitamins in whole-food form with GEM and take 30% off your first order with the code ATHINGORTWO.  YAY.   Produced by Dear Media

Time for another Thingies ep with a dream guest: We’re graced by Laura Stylez, co-host of the best radio show in all the land, Ebro in the Morning. We talk music, hangover cures, and baby toys—you know how we like a good mix.   Laura’s Thingies: Mombella Mimi Mushroom teether, which both little ones and their parents love, and the ultimate, travel-friendly hangover cure: coconut oil, turmeric, and activated charcoal, all in pill form. On the music front, Rihanna's Anti, Beyonce’s Lemonade and Beyoncé, Kelis's everything, and Lil’ Kim's Hard Core. Laura also recommends God Save the Queens: The Essential History of Women in Hip-Hop by Kathy Iandoli (who also wrote Baby Girl: Better Known as Aaliyah, and Lil’ Kim: The Queen Bee, which is out 2024) and My Voice: A Memoir by Angie Martinez.    Your notes on the TV shows  you're consuming without actually watching them, please!! Get us at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq. And for more recommendations, try out a Secret Menu membership.   Grow thicker and healthier hair with Nutrafol. Your first month’s subscription is $15 off with the code ATHINGORTWO. Ditch paper towels with Papaya Reusables and get 20% off your first order with the code ATHINGORTWO20. Get your sunscreen and skincare at once with Murad's Correct and Protect Serum Broad Spectrum SPF 45. Save 20% and get free shipping with your $60 purchase when you use the code ATHINGORTWO. Have a stellar piercing and earring experience with Studs and take 20% off your first order when you use our link. YAY. Produced by Dear Media

Per a listener request—which: We welcome them!—we’re talking about weddings. Specifically, our weddings, from our favorite and least favorite parts of the planning process to how it all went down day-of. Plus: a stand-out dining experience (two, if we’re rounding up).   Check out Dept of Culture Brooklyn for excellent Nigerian food and the opportunity to talk to strangers! Also, when in Joshua Tree: La Copine.   If you’re considering an NYC City Hall wedding, Fox Fodder Farm has the flowers.    If you have wedding questions ‘n thoughts to share, let us know at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq. For more recs, sign up for Secret Menu.   Try professional counseling with BetterHelp and take 10% off your first month with our link. Get your sunscreen and skincare at once: Shop Murad to save 20% and get free shipping with your $60 purchase when you use the code ATHINGORTWO. Replace your paper towels with Papaya Reusables and get 20% off your first order with the code ATHINGORTWO20. Dramatically improve your piercing and earring experience with Studs and take 20% off your first order when you use our link. YAY.   Produced by Dear Media

For your consideration, we’re sharing some thoughts about buying things, including a letter of recommendation for shopping in person and takes on sourcing made-in-America products, participating in One Fit February, and acquiring things while traveling. If you have tactics or conundrums, we want to hear them: 833-632-5463!   If you’re interested in the idea of One Fit February (or the less alliterative One Fit April), score yourself some cool points and check out this installment of the Blackbird Spyplane’s newsletter by Jonah Weiner.   A rundown of some cool made-in-America brands here, and, if you’re looking for something specific, check out stillmadeinusa.com.   A couple standout MiA brands include the only whisk manufacturers in the U.S., Best Manufacturers based in Portland, Oregon, (more on them), and Libman mops and brooms based in Arcola, Illinois, since 1896 (the mayor Jesus Garza's story also!).     Do you have opinions about buying things? Share them with us at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq.   Grab a Secret Menu membership for more, more recommendations.   Eat your vitamins with GEM and take 30% off your first order with the code ATHINGORTWO.  Cozy up to Ettitude sheets: Get 20% off your order plus free shipping when you use our link. Swap your paper towels with Papaya Reusables—20% off your first order with the code ATHINGORTWO20. Have the best piercing and earring experience with Studs and take 20% off your first order when you use our link. YAY.   Produced by Dear Media

This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode. This ~bonus Thursday ep~ is brought to you by the heroes at Nyssa, a company providing products that support women through the most transformative times of life, from puberty to post-menopause. (Hit their site and use the code ATHINGORTWO for 15% off everything, including absolutely ideal postpartum gifts for a friend who had no idea she might need this stuff!) We’re diving into a discussion of “unmentionables” and, duh, Thingies with two of Nyssa’s charming and game-changing cofounders Mia Clarke and Eden Laurin. Oh, and just a quick note: Miscarriage and pregnancy loss come up at the end, in case those are topics  you want to skip today.    The one that started it all: Nyssa FourthWear Postpartum Recovery Underwear.   Mia and Eden’s Thingies: Betty’s Co., which kicks off women’s healthcare at a young age, Nyssa VieWear Period Comfort Underwear and Nyssa VieVision Between Legs Mirror, Dame (see also: “Sexual Wellness Brand Dame Settles Lawsuit With MTA, Debuts First Subway Campaign” from Adweek), the book Designing Motherhood by Michelle Millar Fisher and Amber Winick that features the story of Margaret Crane (who invented the first pregancy test!), the menopause-care hub Elektra Health, "My Miscarriage, in Photos" by Becca Leitman with photographs by Casey Kelbaugh for The Cut.   How great is this free, downloadable teen period guide-slash-checklist?!   Share your Thingies at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq. If you’re looking for more recommendations and more fun, a Secret Menu membership is for you.   Head on over to Nyssacare.com and use the code ATHINGORTWO for 15% off.  YAY.   Produced by Dear Media  

Why haven’t we been talking about JLo more here? Well, we’re about to remedy that—and fill ya in on more, more, more design trends that are speaking to us right now.   The women artist biographies/books Claire will be picking up include Ninth Street Women: Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell, and Helen Frankenthaler: Five PaAnne Truittinters and the Movement by Mary Gabriel, Daybook: The Journal of an Artist by Anne Truitt, and Everything She Touched: The Life of Ruth Asawa by Marilyn Chase.   If you’re also looking to do a JLo deep-dive, we recommend reading How to Fake It in Hollywood by Ava Wilder, Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman, the story of the full-page ad Ben took out back when, Vulture’s Peoria, Illinois, analysis re: Marry Me, and this GQ article about THE dress. Also, listen to Just Like Us: The Tabloids that Changed America hosted by Clare Malone and watch the music video that Ben made to “On My Way To You” for Jen for Valentine’s Day.   In the home-design realm, some inspiration comes from two incredible New Orleans hotels, Hotel St. Vincent and Hotel Peter and Paul.    Fellow lovers of yellow furniture should bask in Billy Cotton space for Grace Morton, Sophie Ashby’s giant yellow velvet couch, and this kid’s room.    If you’re thinking of doing some furniture-painting on your own (inspiration: Matilda Goad’s London home!), see Erin Boyle of Reading My Tea Leaves make-over a dresser on IG and read her guides for refreshing trim and kitchen cabinets.    Wood paneling—SO COOL. See: Sound View Hotel, ​​Les Arcs ski resort, Jane Hallworth for Tinder co-founder Sean Rad and his Wife Lizzie Grover Rad, and Wall for Apricots.    On the Swedish tile stove front, we love painter Mary Nelson Sinclair’s dining room, Victor Hugo’s fireplace, Lindholm Kakelugnar, and this explainer from Messy Nessy Chic.   Your favorite niche JLo stories need an audience! Share ‘em at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq.   So many more recs coming at you with a Secret Menu membership!   Get professional counseling with BetterHelp and take 10% off your first month with our link. Download Best Fiends—it’s free!—on the App Store or Google Play. Grow hair that’s thicker and healthier with Nutrafol. Your first month’s subscription is $15 off with the code ATHINGORTWO. Help those muscles chill: Try Theragun for 30 days. YAY.   Produced by Dear Media  

Ooh, what a joy it is to talk Thingies with Véronique Hyland, the fashion features director at Elle who coined the term millennial pink and has a brilliant new book, Dress Code: Unlocking Fashion from the New Look to Millennial Pink, that checks so many boxes for us. But first, can we discuss cooking motivation…or lack thereof?   A smattering of dinner-making inspo if you need some too: 1) Brothy soup recipes—vegetarian lemon rice soup, beans and greens soup with harissa, and Helen Rosner’s Roberto specifically 2) The Magic of Tinned Fish: Elevate Your Cooking with Canned Anchovies, Sardines, Mackerel, Crab, and Other Amazing Seafood by Chris McDade 3) @glucosegoddess.   Véronique’s Thingies, coming through! Joe Iconis & Family, beach noir films + TV shows (including but not limited to Inherent Vice, Night Moves, Cutter’s Way, Veronica Mars, Terriers, and Moonlighting), and entertainment podcasts like I Saw What You Did, Junk Filter, and Nostalgia Trap. Key Twitter follows: @the_80s_man and this one account that recaps Paul Schrader’s Facebook posts. Her music recs: atmospheric YouTube videos (see: Music in an Empty Mall) and Mother Earth’s Plantasia. And when it comes to fashion, she needs you to know about Dauphinette by Olivia Cheng—amazing coats and other incredibleness also. You can find Véronique at @niquepeeks,  veroniquehyland.com, and, of course, in the pages of Dress Code: Unlocking Fashion from the New Look to Millennial Pink   Book events—something we love and have missed! See Véronique in conversation with Robin Givhan in D.C. on March 19 and chatting it up with Marisa Meltzer in NYC on March 25.   Share your Thingies at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq.   Get all the recs, all the weeks with a Secret Menu membership!   Download the free Zocdoc app and book that doctor’s appointment today. Feel oh-so-fresh with Native and get 20% off your first order with the code ATHINGORTWO. YAY.   Produced by Dear Media

It’s time for an update on how we’re doing with our (non-work-related) creative practices, and—hey, while we’re at it—we’ll go ahead and share some thoughts on what it's like to live in a shoe household vs. a shoeless one.    Claire’s creative resources: Wendy MacNaughton’s DrawTogether podcast, The Artist's Way (plus this New Yorker interview with the author Julia Cameron), and Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman.   Erica’s creative resources: Jami Attenberg’s #1000wordsofsummer and Refuse to Be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts by Matt Bell.   Share your creativity thoughts and feelings (and shoes-in-the-house musings) at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq.   Get more recs in your inbox with a Secret Menu membership!   Try professional counseling with BetterHelp and get 10% off your first month with our link. Understand your reproductive health with Modern Fertility—$20 off your test with our link. Support your business of any size with Shopify. Get a free 14-day trial with our link. Get your birth control online with The Pill Club, which will make a $10 donation to Bedsider.org when you use our link. YAY! Produced by Dear Media