A Thing or Two with Claire and Erica

Prepare to be charmed! We have writer, social strategist, and gal about the internet Peyton Dix hand-deliveringher Thingies. Also: This Ask a Manager post demanded discussion.   Peyton’s Thingies include Aesop Post-Poo Drops (available in Europe, pals), being bi, Kellyoke, Noihsaf Bazaar, having less screentime, and sharing your location. Peyton’s bonus-round Thingies: wired headphones, SLT, Todaytix, The Situation and the Story: The Art of Personal Narrative by Vivian Gornick, game nights, “Karma” by JoJo Siwa, and Ouai Curl Cream. Have any new Thingies? Share ‘em with us via 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, @athingortwohq, or our Geneva! Hire with Indeed and get a $75 sponsored job credit when you use our link. Source the good writing tools with ​​JetPens—free JetPens marker and washi tape with any $50 order when you use our link until 6/30/24. Amp up your garden with Fast Growing Trees—get an additional 15% off your first purchase with the code ATHINGORTWO. Do your own nails (well!!) with Olive & June—20% off your first Mani System when you use our link. YAY.

We are here to report on our experiences at TWO Major Cultural Events: an Olivia Rodrigo concert at MSG (incredible and moving!) and a screening of The Idea of You (really fun—lots of laughter!). Fans of the The Idea of You book—if you haven’t read this yet, let’s GO!— join us for a night of trivia on May 1 at The Crown Inn in Brooklyn.  The Idea of You lands on Prime Video on May 2, and you better believe we’re watching it again. If you, like most we know, consider Lauren Sherman’s newsletter Line Sheet required reading, tune into her new podcast Fashion People on Tuesdays and Fridays, too. When you watch The Idea of You, PLEASE share your thoughts with us at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq—or chat with other Bobs in our Geneva. We probably need to air some reactions, right?! Score the good writing tools with ​​JetPens—free JetPens marker and washi tape with any $50 order when you use our link until 6/30/24. Impress yourself and your nails with Olive & June—20% off your first Mani System when you use our link. YAY.

You want more Thingies? We’ve got more Thingies! This time with one of the most charming interior designers around, Billy Cotton, who has a stellar new collaboration with West Elm and a book we love, love, love. Billy’s Thingies include a Lorezi Milano toothpaste squeezer (paired with Marvis Toothpaste at the moment), Cowboy Carter (but of course), Hillstone (specifically the Bal Harbour location) Elephant and Castle (Michigan Star!), the city of Houston, and, of course, Fruit Loops.  A few of our favorites from his West Elm collection are this checkered rug, this pepper mill, this etched glassware, and this shell bowl for cereal or anything you please. Didn’t know we had to announce it, but we’re #teammascara. See: Kevyn Aucoin'The Volume Mascara and Lily Lolo Mascara…and let us know your faves at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq—or chat with other Bobs in our Geneva.  Give your hair a boost with Nutrafol. Take $10 off your first month’s subscription with the code ATHINGORTWO. Get the good writing tools with ​​JetPens—free JetPens marker and washi tape with any $50 order when you use our link until 6/30/24. Go green with Fast Growing Trees—get an additional 15% off your first purchase with the code ATHINGORTWO. YAY.

Editor-in-chief of Marie Claire, Nikki Ogunnaike, shares her Thingies including Uniqlo U white T-shirts and Vegamour GRO Biotin Gummies. They discuss running Thingies like Coach Bennett's guided runs and Fabletics shorts. Explore the concept of the closing shift and Mike Bise's Gap Store Playlists. Dip into their 2020 convo with Nikki and share your Thingies at 833-632-5463 or podcast@athingortwohq.com.

We’re giving some children’s programming rave reviews, digging into your trending Thingies, and reading a lot into an interesting story about Manhattan’s history.  Endorsed by Claire (and Cam!) Cosmic Kids Yoga (+ guided meditation!) and Numberblocks.  People love granola! Now more than ever, according to Global Newswire! If you’re in NYC, seek out the greenmaket seller Baker’s Bounty; if you’re anywhere else, make Bon Appétit's Vanilla-Scented Granola. Also, something that makes us giggle: this 2016 headline from The Cut: “Americans Still Believe Granola is Good for Them.” People are dyeing their brows at home! Specifically using henna or Just for Men, but Harper’s Bazaar recommends getting brow-specific products or going to a professional.  After one of y’all shared enstrual discs as a Thingie, we received several votes for Flex —they have disposable and reusable versions.  Lots of discussion about making natural deodorant actually work. Erica is using Megababe’s Soapy Pits plus Space Bar Underarm Soap. People like Nuud, which is its own ~vibe~. There’s also a lot of discussion about using CeraVe Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser for its 4% benzoyl peroxide—and LOL at the "How to Clean Armpits with Cerave" TikTok page.  Thoughts on deodorant? Vaginal discs vs. cups? Share with us at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq—or chat with other Bobs in our Geneva.  Hire with Indeed and get a $75 sponsored job credit when you use our link. YAY.

This week, we’re issuing some micro updates and corrections before we dive into the meat of this episode: grief. (A content warning, if you will.)  Some corrections: The Stanley cups are WEARING the backpacks (find a visual aid here), BonBon Swedish candy is having a nightlife moment, and the Pineberry also goes by Berry de Blanc.  On loss: The LA Times story "How Not to Say the Wrong Thing" by Susan Silk and Barry Goldman delves into the ring theory of grief, and All There Is with Anderson Cooper explores anticipatory grief. If you care about a person (any person), give Being Mortal by Atul Gawande a read—it offers much good guidance and framing for tough conversations. A couple planning resources: Policygenius for life insurance and Trust & Will for, you guessed it, trusts and wills. Share all of your thoughts with us at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq—or chat with other Bobs in our Geneva.  Refresh your wardrobe with Nuuly and take $20 off your first month’s subscription with the code ATHINGORTWO20. Treat your hair to Nutrafol. Take $10 off your first month’s subscription with the code ATHINGORTWO.

This week, we’re talking Thingies with Jo Piazza, author of The Sicilian Inheritance—exactly the escapist, immersive book we want at this very moment—and its companion true-crime podcast…because this woman is one of the most ambitious storytellers you’ve ever encountered, ok? Also: We raise a case for cold-calling your friends, expectations free.  Jo’s thingies include trad wives (or maybe that’s a Claire Thingie?), Oak Essentials moisture rich balm (s/o to the cleansing balm also!), Freda Salvador shoes and the Jada ballet flats in particular, The Other Two on Max (see also: The State, Party Down, and Girls 5Eva), the podcast Time Capsule: The Silver Chain.  There was a lot of food talk, naturally: Jo raves about Norah Ephron’s pasta alla cecca recipe, and some Philly restaurants she loves include Friday Saturday Sunday, Trattoria Carina, and Zahav. Jo’s Italian heritage liaison: Laura Lee of Digging Up Roots in the Boot. Want more Jo? You are in LUCK! Her new release The Sicilian Inheritance has an Elena Ferrante meets Gabrielle Hamilton meets Liane Moriarty vibe, and it pairs perfectly with this non-fiction podcast where Jo, NBD, works to solve a family murder. And dig into her other books We Are Not Like Them, You Were Always Mine, Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win, The Knockoff, and How to Be Married. Want something to listen to? Dive into Under the Influence, Wilder, Committed, Fierce, She Wants More, and Too Much Money. What are *your* Thingies? Let us know at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq—or chat with other Bobs in our Geneva. Change your clothes with Nuuly and take $20 off your first month’s subscription with the code ATHINGORTWO20. Hire with Indeed and get a $75 sponsored job credit when you use our link. See your garden thrive with Fast Growing Trees—get an addition 15% off your first purchase with the code ATHINGORTWO. YAY.

Greetings, Thingiemabobs! We have some wee updates, a Tokyo tour, and an important (to us) conversation about whether or not cropped pants are allowed.  People are loving the idea of a shower as a room (on of Emily Sundberg’s Thingies!) and were intrigued by this IG reel where @mrsmckennabarry installs a little shelf in her shower for a lamp and a speaker. In more offputting bathing news, Jessica Biel eats cereal in the shower.  Speaking of cereal! Jacqueline Tse of Mad Brooklyn makes compelling Lucky Charms sculptures. More tiny things!! LOL at this mini backpack you can put on your Stanley Cup; a case for mini soda cans. Erica just went to Tokyo and has thoughts on the Muji Hotel and Miffy’s dominance (see: a florist called Flower Miffy: Dick Bruna’s Atelier with Flowers, where the classic arrangement uses a mum for Miffy’s head). We also surfaced an important piece of lore about Miffy and Hello Kitty’s relationship via The Guardian.  While Erica was in Japan, Claire was reading Bride by Ali Hazelwood (NSFW discourse warning!). For those who don’t know what TF the omegaverse is, this episode of Fated Mates breaks it all down (and the show notes include lots of reading recs). Grappling with everchanging pant trends after a meeting with Katie Anderson of Mend Tailoring and reading Jonah Weiner’s New York Times Magazine piece about pants. TY to High Sport for continuing to make a strong case for the crop.  Do you eat or drink in the shower? Let us know at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq—or get into it in our Geneva.  YAY.

Take a stroll through the grocery aisles with us as we talk about some culinary updates featuring (metaphorical) sausage races and (literal) marshmallow innovations. The Milwaukee Brewers Famous Racing Sausages show us that we never know how any race will end. So many marshmallow innovations popping off these days, including but not limited to Stackers, Lucky Charms-shaped jet-puffed marshmallows, Just Magical Marshmallows, Jet-Puffed Bits,  Hello Kitty marshmallows, and, in a rare case of timeliness on our part, Lucky Charms™ Limited Edition St. Patrick’s Day Just Magical Marshmallows. We also can’t help but mention the MMX Marshmallow Crossbow we included in last year’s gift guide.  Peeps have also been up to some things. Our concerns include Dr. Pepper flavors, dog ropes, "Hanging with my Peeps" merch, and Pepsi’s Peep-flavored soda. For enthusiasts, check out Racine Art Museum’s Annual International Peeps Art Exhibition, and we have to admit we’re kind of charmed by Peepshi. Fruit innovation! We’re talking pineberries (great in a Marcella Hazan recipe for macerated strawberries with balsamic vinegar!), sumo oranges, raspberry oranges, cotton candy grapes,and pink lemons.  According to the NYT, chocolate chip ice cream is falling out of favor—very upsetting to us. What do you think we should name the fruit marketing revolution? Share your ideas with us at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, @athingortwohq, or our Geneva.  YAY.

We’re (gladly) diving back into the Miffy-verse, talking cover songs and fortune cookies, and asking the question: How did Google search lose its luster?? As expected, the @miffydances Instagram account is perfection.  Cover songs—having a moment! Beyond the epic “Fast Car” moment with Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs, 50 Cent's "P.I.M.P.”, by Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band in Anatomy of a Fall, the Kelly Clarkson effect aka Kellyoke, Pedal Steel Noah, Boygenius doing “Cowboy Take Me Away,” Leon Bridges performing Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song,” T Pain’s On Top of the Covers album, the Like a Version YouTube show, and Norma Fraser doing Sheryl Crow’s “First Cut is the Deepest.” The high five being 47 years old feels, stay with us, kind of like this tweet. Related: High Five by Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri is an excellent children’s book by the duo who brought you Dragons Love Tacos. Fortune cookie–related things include Coming Soon’s nickel-plated version, Chefanie’s giant ones,  and a recipe from Red House Spice. On the dismal state of internet searching, “The Tragedy of Google Search” by Charlie Warzel for The Atlantic. Other search engines out there: DuckDuckGo, Startpage, and Perplexity, seen in Laura Reilly’s installment of the Why Is This Interesting? newsletter. Favorite covers, favorite fortunes? You just let us know at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, @athingortwohq, or our Geneva.  Impress yourself and your nails with Olive & June—20% off your first Mani System when you use our link. Hire with Indeed and get a $75 sponsored job credit when you use our link. Gift Charles Chocolates—the good stuff!—and get 15% off your first purchase with the code ATHING15. YAY.