Monday Musings

^{Photo by Nikola Đuza via Unsplash}

Currently Reading

I am all aboard the Substack train – so many writers from previously great publications (R29, WSJ, Vogue, etc) have found a home over at Substack. Here are a few of my recent favorites:

• Musings of a Merchandiser by Evonne Sturm – Recent articles include “Madewell: How a beloved brand lost its way” and covering the very buzzy opening of French department store Printemps in NYC.
• Cafe Anne by Anne Kadet – Snapshots into different corners of NYC and its residents from a former WSJ columnist. Such as “I Spent 24 Hours on the NYC Subway” and “The Ultimate Ranking of NYC’s Secret Public Restrooms”.
• The Purse by Lindsay Stanberry – Written by the original founder of from R29’s Money Diaries. Mix of money diaries and very relevant personal finance pieces, such as “The Cost of Having Friends”
• Xue – Lots of great standalone posts such as “What I’m Watching When I’m Tired of Being Sold To” and “What I Can’t Afford and Why That’s Changed My Style”
• The Molehill by Viv Chen – A California-based writer, if you’re in the SF Bay Area you may have seen her recent “What are people wearing at Berkeley Bowl?” post, which was hilariously accurate.

Question:

For those who subscribe to several Substack writers — how do you guys balance the cost? On the one hand, I do enjoy supporting writers directly. But the minimum monthly subscription is $5, which adds up very quickly. Feeling deja vu with the subscription fatigue plaguing streaming platforms as well.

Currently Following

• @chloes.looks on Instagram & TikTok: Mid 30’s mom of two, biology teacher with fun! styling videos. Dance moves + styling tips combo energy first drew me in. Love her “short girls fact check” videos showing how the same styles can work for petite ladies as well. And tons of achievable styling tips, like this one on layering button-up shirts.

Currently Listening

For almost a year now, I’ve been focusing more on strength training vs. pure cardio, and I’ve really enjoyed the additional variety and how I feel afterwards. Turns out, strength training is also great for women as we age! I’ve since listened to a lot of podcasts on this topic, and found the following two most helpful:

• Dr. Stacy Sims: Female Specific Exercise & Nutrition for Health, Performance, Longevity
• Iron Culture: Lifting During Pregnancy

More topically, news adjacent podcast episodes to highlight:

• NPR: Fast fashion vs. Trump: why women may pay more in the tariff wars – I had no idea the US is one of the few countries with gender-specific tariffs; on average, women pay 3% more on tariffs than men. Which will be exacerbated with the chaotic tariff updates happening currently, even if shoppers turn to domestic channels like secondhand shopping.
• Diabolical Lies by Caro Claire Burke and Katie Gatti Tassin – “A long-form culture and politics podcast […] that aims to make you smarter, saner, and exponentially more unbearable at family get-togethers.” I took the leap on a paid subscription, originally drawn in by their “Evie Magazine, Ballerina Farm, & the Yassification of Christian Nationalism” episode.