This email has a new look! We have so much to catch up on.


It's great to be in your inboxes after three weeks off. I really enjoyed re-thinking this newsletter and all that it can be. If you've been getting my emails for awhile, I don't think you'll feel like it's that different. And if you're new(er), hey! I wanted something new and fresh to re-engage myself, honestly. I think this evolved format will let me share more of me. And expand more on the things that I link out to! I hope it feels like a friend date where we only have an hour but we try to cover all the things that make up this life. Where you start to look for your keys and you sign the receipt but you say, "Oh, also..." and you talk a bit longer.

You know what I discovered?

A feature on Thingtesting where you can enroll in trying new things and then get reimbursed within a few days after submitting your receipt! This week I’ll be trying Paro (their offer isn’t active anymore) and Heyday beans.

Work's been great...

My company helps publishers (think: chefs, writers, podcasters, etc) own and self-host their own platforms. Last week I read that Substack will continue to let Nazis or extremist speech unless it incites violence (uh what?). It’s something I’ve been monitoring for awhile. We’ve recently helped Mark Bittman move off Substack and we have more launching in quarter 1. It’s a big task and it’s not cheap so I don’t think it’s a quick or easy move for people who bring in a lot of revenue from their writing and publishing. Casey Newton wrote about it: “The moment a platform begins to recommend content is the moment it can no longer claim to be simple software.”

Outside of work?

I designed my personal site (for the first time ever) and had my friend and colleague build it! You’ll find my decade+ blog archive (decided to make my email about losing your dog a public post), all of my personal art projects, and my (now not so secret) AI Instagram account that I started last summer.

I've been trying not to shop but two things I bought:

  • Indielee Squalane Facial Oil: I felt like I needed something more moisturizing before bed and I had a $50 Amazon gift card so I got this and I really love it. By the way, if you’re buying skincare on Amazon (which I rarely do but I had a giftcard) please be sure you’re buying it from the actual brand!
  • The Linen Relaxed Shirt from Everlane: We’re going to Costa Rica this year and I wanted a linen shirt for when I don’t want any more sun so I used a $50 credit at Everlane for this one. I really like it and it’s on sale!

You know those little moments that make you smile?

Like the way my 2 year old niece softly pats my arm after I pick her up. Having all the ingredients for an impromptu recipe is thrilling lately. I love it when the shower is really hot. And I love leaving my bright pink Christmas tree up because it is the ultimate lamp.

I've been trying to read before bed

I think I’m going to finish the Audre Lorde biography that I started reading last year. I don’t think I finished a single book last year. As my friend Rachel said, “You can totally accomplish your goal of 1 book in 2024.” I like this reframing.

No, I haven't seen anything new in theaters

BUT my friends Bryan and Catherine have a tv show on the Magnolia Network and I hear that I’ll be in it (as well as the branding we created together)! It’s only playing on Magnolia/cable every Saturday but should be streaming at some point. I pay too much for Hulu and so I can record live television.

Ah, have you heard?

Investment banking company, Piper Sandler, is getting rid of company lunches because it cost them $1,500,000 last year. (head explodes) Someone let them know that I will make them lunches for half that amount. :)

I'm trying to be even smarter with money

For The Wonder Jam / Wonderly and we use the profit first methodology. It essentially splits all your rev based on percentages to force profit (and stay in budget based on your gross revenue). BUT this is a smart thing to do for my personal life and another smaller LLC that I own. Sequence will do this and my bank account with Mercury does the same. I’m sure there are countless more. It cuts down on manual tasks and fills the right buckets and bank accounts without human error.

Oh also! Let me send you those things I saved on Instagram

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This has been great. Let's do it again next Sunday!

Oh Also!

Oh Also! is a weekly email that feels like a lunch date with a friend that runs late because you keep thinking of more things to talk about. No affiliate links or sponsored content, ever.

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