February W.R.A.P.P.E.D.

Everything I've been wearing, reading, admiring, playing, planning, eating, drinking, and generally loving this month

This year, for me, has been all about organizing my work flow. Coming up with recipes for all of my various tasks. A way to determine where to focus my attention and when I’m actually done working. Ideally, I’d have these “recipes” for every aspect of my life—weekly workout schedule, Scratch Made responsibilities, social media to-do’s, etc, etc. I have ADHD and I find that with a physical task, I’m super focused and productive. But, in other areas of my life, I have a strong inclination for getting lost in sauce if I’m not careful. Right now, for example, I’m writing this when I should be slicing beef for bulgolgi because this is just when inspiration struck.

I heard recently that dealing with ADHD is ultimately about building trust in yourself and for me, that rings very true. Can I trust myself to follow through on the plan I’ve laid out?

Ultimately, yes. But, the lists definitely help—and the “recipes” or formulas help even more. So far, I’ve been honing in on my workflow with social media. ADHD aside, this is a line of work that can feel sort of nebulous in nature. When exactly are you finished working for the night or week, or ever for that matter, if you’re meant to be constantly engaging with it? For me that recipe is as follows:

1 substack recipe

1 stories post to announce the recipe

1 video or post in feed

Maybe this sounds sort of sterile, but I like a container to be creative within. Too much freedom, is exactly that—too damn much.

That brings me to the new format for this monthly roundup. I’m trying something new (tell me what you think). Rather than a random smattering of stuff I’ve been into, I’m creating the container.

W - Wearing

R - Reading, Watching, Listening

A - Attending or Admiring

P - Playing

P - Planning

E - Eating

D - Drinking or Discovering

But first, here’s a roundup of all the recipes I posted from the month:

Chili loaded sweet potato

Focaccia pizza

What to make for the Super Bowl

Braised chicken Tinga tacos

Pistachio Tiramisu

Wearing:

• The softest pjs ever. Wearing a pajama set makes me feel like I have my shit together whether I do or not. These ones are perfectly soft and oversized. Also eyeing this pair for warmer weather.

• Cotton underwear. Sorry to talk about my underwear on my cooking Substack (uncalled for, I realize), but every time it’s time to re-up on underwear I’m met with the same question: where are we buying them these days? Are we still hitting up Aerie for the 5 for $25 deal (do they even do that anymore? probably not) or…is Victoria’s Secret still a thing? In recent years I’ve landed on Skims, but lately I’ve had the thought that it would be nice to switch to a cotton alternative. Not in a MAHA way, just in the spirit of using less plastic. I tried this brand and I love them. Super comfortable. No cutting into weird places or digging, rubbing, etc. I think they run slightly small so if you’re in between I’d order one size up. Perfect, perfect underwear and they come in a pack too.

• An extra chunky turtle neck sweater. I’ve been wearing this Tory Burch one constantly since I found it at a consignment shop before going to Chicago on what would be the coldest weekend in recent memory and it’s been my go-to for the last two months. When I first got it, I thought it leaned a little cheesy. Like someone going to Aspen who doesn’t ski. Maybe it is but I think it’s pretty damn cute. Kind of makes for a simple outfit with white or blue jeans and a cute boot. I found one on The Real Real here and can see it on other online resale shops.

• This perfectly oversized micro puff. It packs up super easily and is the perfect thing to throw over a workout fit. I like that it’s a little boxy. I wear a large.

• I’ve worn my hair in a slick back almost every day this month. It’s easy and feels put together. My recipe is one dollop of this (cheap from the drug store), brushed through my hair with a stiff boar bristle brush. Once secured, I spray the whole thing down with a little bit of this (expensive from Sephora but so, so worth it). Both are light hold so you can brush them out and wear your hair down later.

Reading, Watching, Listening:

• My current obsession is Alone. This show is so good!! It’s a competition show that follows a group of self-proclaimed survival experts who are plopped into the Alaskan wilderness to survive on their own for as long as possible. There are grizzly bears, wolves, and freezing temperatures. As someone who would survive exactly one minute out there, it’s fun to watch and critique the way that they spend way too much time on their shelter or fail to build a fire. Amateur!

• This month, I replaced podcasts with listening to Ina Garten’s memoir. It’s free if you have a premium Spotify subscription and she reads it herself. I started it thinking that it would be boring in a comforting way. I was wrong. It is comforting, but it’s also inspiring, and so interesting. Takeaways are: this chick also has ADHD, is bad with money, but is so incredibly charming, and good at being herself. Jeffrey is a king and I love learning about the way that they’ve navigated big goals and opportunities between the two of them.

• Reading The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden. I’ve tried describing the plot of this book to two friends recently and ended up giving away the whole ending. So, I’ll spare you and instead leave you with this—this book will suck you in.

Admiring:

• This pair of thick stretchy pants from Buck and Mason. Every time I’m getting dressed to go to the airport, I wish that I had a pair of pants exactly like this. Not workout pants, but certainly not jeans and something that I could conceivably wear in an outfit later on in the trip. These fit the bill. Also considering this less expensive option from Gap that look very cute. And while we’re on the subject, also eyeing (read: lusting over) this shrunken rugby shirt. It’s the perfect elevated basic.

• Noise cancelling headphones. Specifically, these ones from Bose. I’m a corded headphones girl, but sometimes I wish I had an over the ear pair to help me lock in and focus. If you have these, are they worth it?

Playing:

• Getting back into working out! I’ve been off my rhythm with this for a few months now and just haven’t had the motivation to get back into it. My friend told me about this video she saw recently that was a vegan content creator saying that many people write to her saying that they’d love to be vegan but they just can’t give up bacon. Her advice: so go vegan but still eat bacon. I’m applying this line of thinking to many aspects of my life. So I don’t want to get up any earlier? Fine. So wake up at the same time and do a shorter workout. Attempting to ditch the all or nothing approach when it comes to working out. 20 minutes or whatever I can squeeze in every day is what I’m aiming for these days and that’s been working for me.

• This month I’ve been busy adding cozy little touches to our house. Entering antique shops like a magpie looking for the perfect shiny trinket to place on the dresser. Highlights include pretty baskets for storage under the tv console and this gorgeous, whimsical lamp to go on top (who knew my favorite clothing brand also makes lamps too?), an old drawing of a naked lady above our bed, arctic blue linen pillow cases, and plush new towels that make me feel like we’re in a hotel (These ones are a rec via Nancy Meyer’s daughter’s instagram. If anyone knows good towels, I feel as though it would be her.)

• Doodling in my journal with silk crayons. I’m very ok at drawing but by no means great and these crayons are so fun and casual. They glide easily over the page in a way that makes even the most rudimentary sketch look kind of charming. Highly recommend.

Planning:

• Our trip to Arizona next month. I’m SO excited to see the sun, I can’t even tell you. I would love to make this an annual pilgrimage.

• My garden! Speaking of summoning spring…this feels like the ultimate example of that. This year, I think that I’m going to outsource some of the work and hire someone to help me design and execute. I started from scratch last year, never having gardened before and made a good amount of progress but I want to call in some help this year to get it done right. I’m dreaming of big hydrangea bushes lining our yard

  

Eating:

• This month we put curried chicken salad on the menu, and haven’t stopped thinking about it since. I started with my girl, Ina’s recipe as a base. I tweaked it in a few ways. For one, we buy our chicken boneless and skinless and she calls for bone in, skin on breasts. I poached the breasts according to this method in a poaching liquid seasoned with a little bit of salt, white wine, and bay leaves. I also season with a little bit of lime juice and add in thinly sliced scallions in addition to finely chopped shallots. The key to this recipe is the mango chutney that adds the perfect amount of sweetness. This is the one I get. Nicole Rucker, who owns Fat+Flour in LA, recommended that I try this curry lime curry blend. I haven’t tried it yet but she says it’s magic and that’s all I need to know.

• Go-to weeknight pasta. Start by sautéing 1 lb of fresh Italian sausage in a little bit of oil in a hot pan. Season with a pinch of salt. Meanwhile bring a pot of salted water to a boil and trim the ends off of 2 big bunches of broccoli rabe. Drop them in the boiling water and allow them to cook for a couple of minutes before removing them and running them under cold water. Squeeze out the bunches and finely chop. Add to the pan with the sausage. Then add a cup of your favorite pesto (mine is this one from Gotham Greens) to the pan with the sausage and broccoli rabe. Cook your pasta of choice—I like orecchiette, mezze rigatoni, or casarecce. Add the cooked pasta to your pan along with a ladle full of pasta water and bring to a simmer. Serve topped with lots of finely grated parmesan cheese and proceed to over-eat.

Drinking

• I’ve talked about this many times here, but I love a cocktail. Recently I got introduced to this one by Aplós. It’s bright and floral but still feels like a cocktail—skippable but not exactly chug-able, if that makes sense.

• I’m still on my kick with drinking a mug of hot chicken stock in the morning seasoned with salt and lemon. I love making my own, but when I can’t, I’ve been using this dehydrated version. Sounds weird, but I love it. Such an easy option.