What We’re Reading and Watching

• I’m reading The Mothers by Brit Bennett and I can’t tell where it’s going, which is making me nervous but is also the sign of a compelling read. Nadia is a teenage girl in Southern California, she’s a smart and beautiful girl who’s earned a scholarship to Michigan, when her mother unexpectedly kills herself. This event has a ripple effect on her life and her choices the summer after high school and I’m only halfway through the book and very stressed about where it’s going to go. -E

• I’m so over winter and ready for spring, but the weather has just not been cooperating with me! To get myself out of my winter slump, I’ve been trying to eat more healthfully and I really enjoyed listening to the Kelly Leveque’s interview with Dr. Will Cole on her podcast Be Well By Kelly. It was all about switching up intermittent fasting and how to maximize your metabolic flexibility, which was a term I had never heard before but which made so much sense to me. -E

• I am about halfway through Friends and Strangers by J. Courtney Sullivan and really enjoying it! It’s a little bit longer than anything else I have read so far this year, but I’m excited to see how the different threads come together. The book switches between two characters, Elisabeth, a new mother who just moved from Brooklyn to a small college town in upstate New York, and Sam, her babysitter who is a senior at a local all-women’s college. The book looks at serious topics like money, relationships, success and economic disparity, alongside college parties, conspiracy theories and Facebook mom groups. - D

What We’re Buying

• The girls are finally going to back to school two days a week starting in March and I’m so excited about it. We just ordered one million masks from Old Navy so that they would always have something that matched their outfit, and Old Navy has so many styles of masks and patterns that everyone found something they wanted. - E

• I’m definitely going through a love affair with Biossance right now. I just tried their Squalane and Glycolic Renewal mask and followed it with a moisturizing sheet mask. The next day my skin was clear and smooth-it was so satisfying. -E

• Even with weekly Olaplex No. 3 treatments, my hair has been feeling very dry and crunchy lately. I got my latest BirchBox last week and it included the Perfect Repair Leave In Treatment from NatureLab Tokyo. I had never seen a conditioner in mousse form, but it’s actually perfect for my fine hair because it doesn’t weigh it down at all while also giving good shine and getting rid of the straw-like feeling. I am definitely planning to buy the full size! -D

• Um did everyone except for me know that Mariah Carey has a cookie delivery company? A co-worker ordered them through UberEats and while I can’t imagine Mariah making or eating cookies, they actually tasted great! Such a fun idea to send them to a Mimi fan in your life for a special occasion. - D

What We’re Making

• I made the Thai Coconut Soup with Kale and Sweet Potatoes from the Love and Lemons Everyday cookbook and it was so good! I skipped the rice and lemongrass and used spinach instead of kale because I didn’t have any of those ingredients and it was still delicious and filling and flavorful. I think I’m going to make it again this week. -E