The Week In Recommendations 11.20.24

On getting to work and then getting cozy.

This is the free edition of Rich Text, a newsletter about cultural obsessions from your Internet BFFs Emma and Claire. If you like what you see and hear, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Our latest podcast was about Netflix’s unhinged holiday rom-com “Hot Frosty”! Rich Text is a reader-supported project.

Claire has come down with a gnarly stomach bug, so this week’s recs will just be Emma’s! Send healing vibes Claire’s way ❤️‍🩹

Emma has been reading… 📖

Rebecca Traister’s NYMag piece, “The Resistance Is Dead. Long Live the Resistance?,” which digs into what the mass mobilization of women looked like for Trump 1.0 and how it has evolved into something new — more settled, more practiced, more clear-eyed about what work needs to be done and how to do it — ahead of Trump 2.0.

“The legacy of the past eight years is not simply a gutting presidential loss,” Traister writes. “There are tools and mechanisms in place: shield laws and sanctuary states. People new to engagement now have had practice at losing and getting back up again; that is crucial.” The directive feels clear: Less aimless marching, more pointed action.

Emma has been watching… 📺

The new season of “Bad Sisters,” Sharon Horgan’s ingenious show on Apple TV. Season 2 is just as sharp and dark and wryly funny as season 1 — no easy feat, given how final the ending of the premiere season felt. But it turns out that the Garvey sisters’ troubles didn’t end with The Prick. We open the second season with a two-year time jump: Grace is getting remarried to a man who seems much softer, more loving and handsome than her deceased ex. Everyone else is also trying to move on and find joy. And yet… it’s not so simple for the Garvey sisters. The show takes some big — and devastating — swings in its first two episodes. But having seen the full season already (thank you, screeners!) I can say that it pays off.

Photo Credit: Apple TV

Also, I watched a screener of the forthcoming Hallmark Kansas City Chiefs holiday rom-com, and I’ve gotta say… it exceeded my (low) expectations??? The central couple, played by Tyler Hynes and Hunter King actually have chemistry, which is saying a lot for one of these made-for-TV rom-coms. Plus, the Donna Kelce cameos are hilariously forced.

Emma has been listening to… 🎧

Gracie Abrams’ “That’s So True” on repeat. What started as an earworm on TikTok has morphed into a full-blown obsession. I am now dedicated to learning all of the words to this song. If you pass me on the street muttering “made it out alive / but I think I lost it / said that I was fine / said it from my coffin / remember how I died / when you started walking? / that’s my life / that’s my life…” NO YOU ABSOLUTELY DIDN’T.

Emma has been buying… 🛍️

Lately, I’ve been feeling an overwhelming urge to get cozy. Nothing sounds better to me that sipping a hot beverage in bed or on the couch, wrapped in PJs or a fluffy robe. Maybe it’s the changing weather, maybe it’s the post-election desire to shore up my energy for what’s coming down the pike, maybe it’s the fact that now it gets dark before 6 p.m. in Brooklyn. Maybe (probably) it’s all of the above.

I recently got a pair of Forever French’s bamboo pajamas and they are so soft and comfy! (Adam says this particular set looks like a prison uniform but he has not deterred me from wearing them as much as possible.) I also love this brown lounge set — so chic! I’ve also been living in my Ugg Neumel Zip Booties — they are so warm and look so cute paired with slouchy jeans or leggings! — and I am wondering if I should add a pair of the Tazz slip-ons in Hickory or Chestnut to my shoe collection.

I put a bunch of my cozy recs into a little ShopMy gift guide. (Do you guys like these? Are they useful? Annoying? Should we share more of them?)

Emma has been making… 🧶

My go-to cold weather soup. This Creamy Cauliflower Soup With Rosemary Olive Oil from Lidey Heuck tastes indulgent, like it’s full of heavy cream, but it’s actually dairy free! (Very good for my Ashkenazi Jewish stomach.) The rosemary oil is so flavorful, and the recipe made enough for us to keep in the fridge and have for lunches for about five days. And I *highly* recommend not skipping the homemade croutons. Toasting them in the same rosemary olive oil that goes into the soup is truly elite.

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