A Thing or Two with Claire and Erica Dear Media

It's time for a grab bag featuring a *measured* celebrity fan account, a cooking north star, our POV on holiday cards, and a grand Notes App follow-up. 




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!




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It’s time for the (whopping) second half of our 2023 gift guide! We tackle dads, sisters, in-laws, friends, coworkers, and some ideas for presents to ask for yourself when that feels like a necessary thing. 




For the full link-rich rundown, you’re best off heading over to our site: athingortwohq.com/gift-guide-episodes




If there’s someone on your list that we didn’t get to this year, let us know who you’re shopping for in our Geneva! And share more gift ideas with us at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, and @athingortwohq.




Tackle all that holiday shopping at MoMA Design Store and take 10% off your purchase when you use or mention promo code ATHINGORTWO online and in US MoMA Design Stores  through November 23, 2023.  

Give your hair the gift of Nutrafol. Take $10 off your first month’s subscription with the code ATHINGORTWO.

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Gifts for YOU!

My in laws are great people who will buy exactly what ask for as long as it's 1) not personal care or appearance-related AT ALL, 2) not a ""luxury item"" or a splurge version of something (ie no fancy candles), and 3) under $100. I'm a dedicated audiobook listener and | don't need any more cookbooks or board games. They won't do a donation in lieu of gift. Gift giving is their love language but only if the gift is very practical or they got it on a significant discount. We're fortunate to be in a financial position where I'm generally able to buy practical as they're needed, but my in laws hear ""I don't need anything!"" as a snub. Help!"Uniqlo HeattechSomething YamazakiCookbooks (like The Lula Cafe one!)A traditional restock (plants, PJs, etc.)Directing them to a go-tostore like MoMA Design Store and Zingerman’sDinnerware/cookware to build on every yea—Le Creuset, vintage Fiestaware, Dansk, Heath, etc., etc.Charms for a charm bracelet/necklace like Jet Set Candy passport stamp charms (+ their NYPL card one is also very good)


Dads & Fathers-in-Law

My Dad sounds more like a brand persona than a real person. He's very cosmopolitan/urbane, lives in the city center even though he's 60, takes public transit, legitimately does his weekly grocery shopping at boutique cheese/bread/specialty food stores, always dressed impeccably. OWNS a beautiful specialty meat slicer that he has in his kitchen and uses for fresh/thinly sliced prosciutto (before you go there I've done ham hocks more than once). Interests: art, food and entertaining, culture. Loves to read, usually big sweeping historical books. Always the hardest person to shop for on my list because his taste level is very out of my price range and I'm tapped out on the specialty food theme. Dad recently become a grandfather (2 grandsons and one more coming in Jan) and it was a little weird for him - he loves my sons but the image of an old guy in a rocking chair teaching kids how to whittle didn't jive with his understanding of himself. He's starting to settle in. Has a very unique grandpa name with many indecipherable layers of historical context and family history that the grandkids will probably never understand. Buys them beautifully made clothes that they would immediately ruin. Talks to them about their shared interests: boats, planes, and other well-designed machines.Hoste Bottled Cocktails Regalis Black Truffle Microwaveable PopcornNordic Ware Indoor/Outdoor Kettle Smoker Custom OpinelBerea College Intersections Charcuterie BoardBig Nights PlannerSuzanne Sullivan Porcelain Playing Cards or Bone Inlay Domino SetBlackwater & Sons Return Address StampBillion Oyster Project donationRex Design Oyster Plate


My dad. 82 years old. Loves to read serious nonfiction but bus all the books he wants. Loves French and Italian wine but his taste is too expensive for me and he has all the gadgets. Generally expensive taste that's above my pay grade. He dresses pretty dapper and lives in NYC. Gets lots of compliments on his glasses and clothes. Grills meat for dinner nearly every night but stuck in h

Part 1 of our gift guide is here! We have an abundance of recs for stocking stuffers, boyfriends, husbands, moms, sons, and kids! 




Share any gift ideas with us at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, @athingortwohq, or in our Geneva!




Gift yourself professional counseling with BetterHelp and take 10% off your first month with our link.

Tackle all of your holiday shopping at MoMA Design Store and take 10% off your purchase when you use or mention promo code ATHINGORTWO online and in US MoMA Design Stores through November 23, 2023.

YAY.




Stocking Stuffers

“We are only doing stockings for adults this year - all the fun stocking stuffers, please.”Opinel key chainsNoso patchesScout Regalia sticky hooksFavorite musician merch - Olivia Rodrigo Perfect All-American Bitch hatCustom family matchbooksNutscene Colorful Tiddler TwineRose Los Angeles x Gossamer CBD Rosin DelightsRedecker Hedgehog Table BrushSilk Daisy Chain KitNata Concept Store Farfalle CandleHinoki Drawer BagLisa Angel bottle stoppers / Annie Raysee wine stopperTheWhiteStreetMarket wick trimmerKahawa 1893 Single Serve Coffee PacksBrightland Olive Oil minisSqwigl StrawsCuraprox toothbrushes


Boyfriends/Husbands

My husband, 34. Senior web developer manager. Likes home projects, sci-fi books/tv, awesome dad to our 4 year old and 8 month old. He hates spending money and “doesn’t want gifts” but wants gifts. It’s historically been a damned if you do, damned if you don’t type situation. His favorite gifts from me ever have been a car washing kit, a woobles crochet kit, and a Dyson vacuum. Wtf do I get him now?!Sven-SawHoto Brushless Drill - .like the Dyson hairdryer of drills!Yuns Hardware gift certificateSinger Heavy Duty 4423 Open Studio: Do-It-Yourself Art Projects by Contemporary Artists by ​​Sharon Coplan Hurowitz and Amanda BenchleyHarvest Label Sling BagSlate FlosserCamper wool Wabi slippersSigned Ursula Le Guin or Octavia Butler


My graphic designer husband who likes quality over quantity, is picky and lives in fear I might buy him clothes as a gift.An architecture or design book from a city you visited over the last year—make it an annual thing?A piece of art or a study from an artist he likes (for something more accessibly priced, depending)Marjolein Delhaas 2024/366 PlannerHigonokami KnifeRose Gold wrenchBalmuda toaster Bruno Munari Pencil Holder (with a set of Blackwing or Pineider pencils)Saint Olio body oil


Husband - new dad, hates buying himself anything. He's bookish and British, and his interests include cycling, cooking, video games, F1 and the Tottenham Hot Spurs. Everything nice he wears is because I bought it for him. Want to get him something good this year because he's been so underslept and overworked, juggling baby and a new job.Lewis Hamilton AlmaveTottenham Hotspurs vintage gearBook repair (as recommended by Lauren in our Geneva last year)WhiteSpacePress on Etsy for vintage Penguin Classics, etc.Fog Linen Brass Cookbook stand or Puebco Cookbook StandPersol 714 - Original (foldable) sunglassesBlackstock & Weber Loafers


Asked for gift ideas for a quar romance a few years ago. We bought a house together this year. He's wonderful. His favorite drink is espresso. He loves Guy Fieri. He plays an Irish sport called hurling. We go on bike rides together and love exploring new places. We both lost our grandmothers this year. Air Fieri crewneck sweatshirtPillowsPostersPapers Guy Fieri Fan Sequin Pillowcase -we all just need to know this existsIvo Angel Italian splatterware espresso cupsOaxacan espresso cupBaba Tree bike basketNocs Provisions BinocularsWren Off-Road GrowlerSafety PizzetaThe ExpertGrounded Gift CardKabin Bonfire BuilderA custom print of something meaningful to him of his grandmother’s from The Heirloomist


Sons

Help! I'm desperate for gift ideas for my 22-year-old son. He's a new grad; job hunting, close to securing his first job, just moved home from Montreal. Uni girlfriend relocated from o

French-cuff your pants and open your Notes app because this week we’re diving into some cooking thoughts, new vocab, Nora Ephron lore, and more! 




Cookbooks! S/o to this tweet from Jen Rose Smith and Ali Slagle’s I Dream of Dinner, which has been Claire’s dinner salvation of late. As for the It veggies of the season, we present Grub Street’s “When Did Cabbage Get So Sexy?” and T mag's ”Radicchio Is in Season — And in Style.”




New terms to use in a sentence: biz rizz, friend-in-law, and RFP, as applied to dating. 




Fall reading material: I’ll Have What She’s Having by Erin Carlson. See also: I Shock Myself by Beatrice Wood and No Crying in Baseball about the making of A League of Their Own.




Now a question: Is “How ‘bout that?” a thing outside of the Travis Kelce cinematic universe? Let us know at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, @athingortwohq, or in our Geneva!




Find more weeknight dinner recipes at Pillsbury.com. 

Discover so many more natural diamond truths at naturaldiamonds.com/thankyou.

Learn from the best with MasterClass and get an additional 15% off an annual membership with our link.

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We’re back to talk Thingies with Karah Preiss, the co-founder of Belletrist, an online reading community and production company she started with Emma Roberts. She’s an executive producer of Tell Me Lies and First Kill and so many things you will watch IN THE FUTURE, and she’s also just an absolute delight. 




First things first, we gotta discuss Doppelgänger by Naomi Klein. 




Karah’s Thingies include The Cockmark (somehow reading-related), May December (out November 17), Rosie O'Donnell (and the taxi announcements of yore and her Friend of Barbie doll), Jenna Lyons, and Tumblr (and, related, the Pop Culture Died in 2009 account and the Swipewipe app). 




Share *your* Thingies with us at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, @athingortwohq, or in our Geneva!




Count on Shopify for all your ecomm needs and get a free 14-day trial with our link.

Give your hair a boost with Nutrafol. Take $15 off your first month’s subscription with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Start professional counseling with BetterHelp and take 10% off your first month with our link.

Discover so many more natural diamond truths at naturaldiamonds.com/thankyou.

YAY.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We’re pursuing some new interests this week including picking apart oral-care TikTok, attending monster truck rallies, and finding angry aunts that give incredible advice. OOOH, and don’t forget to hit us up with your gift-guide requests—the phone lines are open!




Need noise-cancelers for your next monster truck rally (or Eras viewing)? We’re fans of Loop Earplugs. And! Zach Helfand on Monster Jam for The New Yorker.




Highly recommend The Brooding column by Kathryn Jezer-Morton for The Cut, 

Especially the pieces "Raising Kids Is the ‘Best Job in the World.’ Why Is Caring for the Elderly the Worst?" + "My Mom Is Selfish. Do I Still Have to be a ‘Good Daughter’?" + "Are Helicopter Parents Actually Lazy?" Kathryn Jezer-Morton is also behind Joanna Goddard’s post-divorce Q&A and "What If You Just Didn’t Clean That Up?" Related-ish: Tamar Adler’s food scraps advice newsletter The Kitchen Shrink, Maddie Coleman’s newsletter Wait Have Your Read This?, and the site Girlhood.




For oral-care recs, we were inspired by this Claudia Sulewski TikTok, Curaprox toothbrushes (this travel set!), and the Slate Flosser. 




Which True Citrus are you? Did The White Gown traumatize you as much as it traumatized us? Please let us know at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, @athingortwohq, or in our Geneva!




Discover so many more natural diamond truths at naturaldiamonds.com/thankyou.

Look into an MBA from The Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business.

Join Book of the Month and get your first book for just $5 with the code SPOOKY.

YAY.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.