Entertainment Weekly 2.4.17

So I'm really going to try to do this weekly-I might need y'all to help keep me on track to have it up Saturday mornings! I didn't even manage it today...but at least I'm making it not the right day, ha. Just a regular post about what I've been reading, listening to, watching...I don't know about you, but I'm always looking for more, especially books. I tend to read really fast, and I take the commuter train daily, so I require a lot of solo entertainment.

(and caffeine)

Reading: I finally finally finally am reading Jenny Lawson's second book, Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things. She is brilliant and honest and a little alarming at times, all in the best way. She has struggled with anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges throughout her life, and writes about this in a relatable and funny way, without trivializing it. This can be a difficult balance to strike, but it is consistent throughout all of her writing. She also has many hilarious anecdotes relating to such topics as taxidermy and the frustrations of women's clothing (where are the pockets??). As always, I linked to Amazon, but please check out and support your local bookstore if possible. You can also check out her blog-it's fantastic.

Listening: One of my favorite podcasts is back with new episodes: You Must Remember This. The tag line for it is "the lost and forgotten stories of Hollywood's first century". With each season, the creator has identified a theme, from the McCarthy era blacklists to this season's "Dead Blondes", the stories of actresses known in large part as beautiful blondes, who died in tragic ways. The first story this week was of Peg Entwistle, a stage and film actress whose death you may be more familiar with than her work.

Watching: Dad and I watch pretty much all the superhero TV shows. Supergirl was originally something of a hard sell for me, as many of the promos had framed it as far too much of a rom-com, with the perfect-except-for-being-clumsy female lead. Over time, though, it has done some awesome things, most recently the relationship between Kara's sister, Alex and the detective, Maggie. However as we watched Monday's episode and heard them call the female villain, Livewire, a "nasty woman" I couldn't help but be taken aback. This was said by the true "bad guy" of the episode, so I'm unsure of what their intent was but I cannot believe it was an accident. Melissa Benoit participated in the women's March with a brilliant sign, so there is no way that slipped past her either. I'm choosing to believe it was commentary on the complexity of our political figures, as Livewire had, in fact, been kidnapped and her powers were used against her will.

Any recommendations for commute entertainment? I am flying through Furiously Happy, so am definitely going to need another book soon!

xoxoxo
Emma

P.S. There's always more to do-even if it's just supporting J.K. Rowling in her brilliant fight against internet trolls!

Welcome to Providence!

Julia's visit this weekend was not only her first trip to Boston, but to Providence as well. As always, we ate a lot of delicious food, but we also made sure to do some walking to work it off!

We started the day with a pilgrimage to PVDonuts...and yes, it deserves that term. Because they are only open 8am-3pm (or until they sell out), you have to get there early. Both times I have gone we have waited in line for about 45 minutes-but it is worth it! Julia and I selected 5 donuts, plus the 6-pack of munchkins for a tasting with dad, his friend, and her 2 year old (we got the cereal milk flavor for her, but we all enjoyed it as well).

Creme brulee, raspberry filled, honey sea salt, brown butter Milky Way, and cereal milk...all delicious!

It's tough to say which was my favorite flavor, but this month I think the creme brûlée has to win out. They change the flavors every month, and I can't wait to try February's!

After pregaming with donuts (and talking superheroes with the donut tasting gang), Julia and I hit our next stop on the Providence Kennedy food tour: Nick's on Broadway. I try my best to bring everyone here as it some of the best seasonal and local fare to be had, but if they don't have significant patience it is not the place to go. Thankfully our donuts were able to tide us over until we were seated at the chef's counter, where we were able to watch (and listen to) all of the food being prepared. With brunch I usually opt for the adult coffee milk (a cocktail based on a classic Rhode Island beverage), but given our plans for later in the day, I figured I had better stick to fully caffeinated and nonalcoholic coffee. The frittata, potatoes, and pesto bread were all freshly made and perfectly presented. As always though, my eyes were bigger than my stomach-they made for excellent leftovers as well!

We then made our way to the RISD Museum-a staple in Providence culture, though I hadn't actually yet made it there. I have found since my NYU days that I have pattern of only engaging in the tourist-y activities until I have visitors-and then realize what I've been missing out on! There was a lovely selection of modern and classical art, including my favorite-textiles. The "Luxurious Lace" exhibit was beautiful, though I would have loved to see more.

The displays in Pendleton House were an excellent way to view these early American items in context. 

We of course took a walk through Brown's campus, and quickly ended up on Thayer Street. For those of you familiar with Ann Arbor but not Providence, it's essentially a combination of South U and State Street. For those who are not, it is a nice combination of student-type places (cheap eats and fun shops) and some nicer restaurants as well. We-ok I-did a little shopping at the secondhand store, 2nd Time Around. I mean, how was I supposed to pass up sparkly pink Kate Spade heels-with bows-at 80% off? We all know that wasn't happening!

We then headed home to get ready for dinner and our night out. I have been following the Beehive Cafe (in Bristol) on Instagram for some time and meaning to try it out, so Julia and I decided to make the drive down-it was absolutely worth it. The mushrooms on toast were delicious, though no photo could do them justice, and the kale salad was healthy and flavorful-a total win.

Two other friends joined us back at home for drinks before going out dancing-and they brought along dessert! An Oreo pudding pie and the cutest little red velvet cake to celebrate our girls' night.

While our time together was over too quickly-always!-we're already planning our next trips. Mine to Michigan, Julia's back here (in warmer weather)..and perhaps some shared travel to Denver and/or Nashville...I can't wait!

xoxoxo
Emma

Sunday in the city

My dear friend Julia visited this weekend from Michigan-and she couldn't have come at a better time. We had chilly but nice weather the whole time, and I find that one of the best ways to remind myself of love and value is to spend time with those who exemplify that. Julia and I met working at Michigania (the most magical place on earth...and Go Blue!). Our love of brunch and adorable things, as well as deeper shared values such as feeling passionate about our careers/jobs, being engaged in our religious identities, and prioritizing all important relationships in our lives have ensured an ongoing friendship.

This is the only picture we managed to take together all weekend...Sunday night. Whoops!

She arrived on Friday while I was still at work, so our weekend really started when we headed to dinner at Worden Hall, a delicious and conveniently located New American restaurant in Southie. (You will quickly notice that a lot of our activities revolve around eating.) It was quite busy, but even without a reservation we were seated within half an hour. While we waited we were able to get a drink at the bar-I had a delicious wintry cocktail called the Sure Bet, while Julia enjoyed a glass of Malbec. I didn't manage a picture of the drinks-it was enough to wrangle my purse, gym and lunch bags, and coat while standing. Once seated, I couldn't resist the tomato soup and grilled cheese. Don't be fooled by the simplicity of the name-while the tomato soup was fairly basic, the grilled cheese was Brie and apple on brioche. And how could we pass up the curly fries with garlic aioli? Obviously they were a key component of my 100% comfort food meal. Julia went a little healthier with the Brussels sprout salad-and I definitely would have stolen some if it hadn't had chorizo!

I'm going to skip right to Sunday, as I'll talk about our time in Providence in a separate post. On Saturday, we planned out our "perfect Sunday". This involved me driving into Boston for the first time-I know, that is ridiculous since I moved all the way back in August! I will say, that is the ideal time to try it out-there's almost no traffic when you're trying to arrive in the city at 9am on a Sunday. And yes, that does mean leaving Providence at 8am-a necessity to make it to our 9:30 Bar Method class! Julia and I did Pure Barre together back in Ann Arbor,  and I've been attending Bar Method 3-5 days/week since Halloween, so we figured we needed to do it! Plus my monthly membership allows me to bring a guest for free, so why not? The studio has showers and a locker room, and is conveniently located just a few blocks away from a Unitarian Universalist church I had not yet been to, but wanted to try out, so we were able to get ready and make it over for the 11am service.

The service was wonderful-beautiful music and meaningful words. One thing I love about UU churches is their dedication to service and social justice, and the Arlington Street Church is no exception. The sermon was titled "We are What We Do" and the minister reflected on the importance of being mindful while moving through the world, as well as in habits that seem to only affect ourselves.

Julia and I continued our perfect Sunday with brunch at Masa...when we first arrived, we were told it would be a 45-60 minute wait! We hovered around the bar waiting for seats to open there, but got lucky around 15 minutes later when apparently all the other groups of two had given up. The Bloody Mary was deliciously spicy, while the breakfast burrito merely met expectations. I was definitely satisfied overall (and it's probably good there weren't more potatoes in it!), but if we had waited an hour for it, I might have been a bit disappointed. The mac&cheese and some other dishes at neighboring tables looked a little more exciting...this might be more of a meat-eater's place, though I would definitely go back at least for drinks! ;)

We then walked back over to Copley Square/Boston Public Library and joined in the protest there-see my last post for more details and reflection on that. While Julia didn't get the photo of the Library steps she'd planned on, these events definitely added a lot of meaning to it. We walked through briefly as well-the courtyard is always worth a stop! Can't you just imagine Juliet on that balcony, waiting for her Romeo?

Lastly, we shopped Newbury Street-a lot of window shopping to be sure, but we definitely made some impulse purchases as well! I can never resist a gray dress (or the beautiful window displays at Anthropologie). I also maaaaay have gone ahead and purchased a new purse at Kate Spade...I had planned on it in the near future, so at least it wasn't 100% impulse! I reassure myself that I resisted all of the beautiful full-priced items at both stores-and just added them to my Keep account in the hope they'll go on sale soon!

xoxoxo
Emma

P.S. Keep resisting!

No Ban. No Wall.

Another day, another protest. Is this going to be our reality in this new administration?

Friday's executive order regarding immigration is (not even) the latest horrifying action taken by the Trump administration since he was sworn in just over a week ago. There's only so much I can say without merely parroting others-so many have spoken out in beautiful and moving ways. It's also simple in some ways-simply wrong. We are a nation of (mostly) immigrants.

And nowhere was this more evident than in the protests across the country this weekend. I had friends at numerous events (though not quite as many as at the Women's March), including so very many at DTW (the Detroit airport), about 15 minutes away from Dearborn.

I was lucky enough to be in Boston on Sunday and able to be a part of the protest at Copley Square, from Trinity Church to the Boston Public Library. There were chants of "hey hey, ho ho, President Trump has got to go", "no hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here", and of course "no ban, no wall". The signs were simple and straightforward-the best was possibly one that simply said "uuuggghhh". Agreed!

While I am heartbroken we have to continue this, I am inspired by others' swift and decisive action. The protests came together quickly and successfully. Lawyers are volunteering their services. The ACLU has received over 6x their average annual donation-in less than a month. Sally Yates, who until a few hours ago was the acting Attorney General, refused to enforce this unethical, immoral, and  illegal order.

This is our reality. We will keep protesting, we will keep fighting back. And we will keep taking care of ourselves and each other.

xoxoxo
Emma

P.S. As usual, ways to keep fighting.
       And ideas to take care of yourself.

How do you love yourself?

This question has been at the forefront for me since Friday. Between the inauguration and all that has followed-daily horrifying executive orders, continued reports of emotional and physical violence by those validated by our leadership's dangerous example, the individual tragedies of friends, and my own personal sadness, frustration, and exhaustion, I have to ask myself and others: how do you love yourself? When individuals and society tell you that you are not worthwhile, that you are not valued, and that they do not care-how do you convince yourself they are wrong?

I read. Anything that will help me escape from the current reality, even if it seems a little too relevant (I'm looking at you, 1984, Animal Farm, The Handmaid's Tale...). I'm lucky enough to have access to the digital library Overdrive through my library card, so I never run out of books to read-even if I don't think they are they highest quality literature. I'm also blessed in my friends-of-friends. I was at a gathering Sunday night and talking to a friend when the lovely hostess came up to me with two books. She said, "I don't know exactly what's going on, but I think you need these." They are two completely different books, but she was right. The (much) lighter read is Shit Rough Drafts by Paul Laudiero. You can read his blog here, but I recommend going ahead and ordering the book from Amazon-or even better, your local independent bookstore! 

The other is a book of poetry and prose, milk and honey by Rupi Kaur. Warning: do not read this on the commuter rail or coffee shop. You will cry in public and you will get weird looks. It is writing to savor, to read as you are swaddled in blankets drinking your favorite tea (or wine, no judgment here). Again, do yourself a favor and just purchase it here or go back to your equivalent of Literati Bookstore, one of my favorite places in Ann Arbor, MI. 

I listen to music. Whether I want to wallow, rage, or pull myself up, music can do it. This post will never end if I write about all the music I've been listening to, so I'll just name one-ok two-for each need. 

Embracing the sadness: Joshua Radin. Anyone who knows me can't be surprised by this-I've loved his music since high school and while I will always enjoy and appreciate it, his ability to speak to pain is amazing. Tristan Prettyman. Her album Cedar + Gold just has too much to relate to right now-even if the details are different, the emotions are the same. 

Fighting back: the soundtracks from Hamilton and Wicked. These may be cliche at this point, but oh well! Singing along to "Defying Gravity" and "My Shot" energize me on a personal and political level to keep going. We will win.

Simple cheer: this is when I get nostalgic. 90's pop, the a cappella music I listened to in high school, classic Disney...pure fun, and of course songs to which I can sing along.

Oh, and "No Man's Woman"...combines nostalgia (thanks mom!) and ass-kicking. :) 

The power held and imparted by art is truly amazing. There are other forms of self-care I engage in which I will come back to another time...but I never tire of finding more.
This is not a rhetorical question: how do you love yourself? Even if you don't want to share, take some time to think about it. And do it. 

You are worthy. You are loved.

xoxoxo

Emma

P.S. Don't forget to continue taking action: Rolling Stone has some ideas. 

Speak. Inspire. Act.

I was privileged to attend and engage in the Boston Women's March for America on Saturday. The speeches, signs, and individuals were inspiring in their creativity and call to action. Boston's march felt gigantic-and it wasn't even in the top 3 for attendance. However, all 175,000 attendees fit into the Boston Common and that was pretty amazing.

The speakers were wide-ranging in their styles, foci, and identities. Savannah Fox Tree-McGrath, a First Nations woman of Arawak descent, performed one of the most beautiful and moving renditions of Amazing Grace I have ever heard-first in Cherokee, then in English. Of course Mayor Marty Walsh had some strong words for the new administration, informing them that Boston-and Massachusetts-will not give up on the legacy of forward-thinking and social justice that has formed the area. Attorney General Maura Healey's closing line of "We will see you in court" rang true-we must not allow our rights to be trampled and rallies are just the beginning. I was incredibly moved by the President of the Boston Branch of the NAACP, Tanisha M. Sullivan, Esq. and her call to continue to work toward justice in all arenas, while acknowledging the work done by men and women of color before. There were many more speakers and performers, all of whom had important words to impart.

One of the most significant challenges to the success of this march, and so many others, was inclusivity and intersectionality. As people began to plan for the D.C. rally and beyond, there was an early call out to not just include women of color, but to collaborate with them in leadership. Feminism without the specifier of intersectionality often lacks awareness and acknowledgement of the complex-and not entirely affirming-history and current challenge in ensuring all who identify as women are being advocated for and supported by it. I saw a lot of success in some ways; a racially diverse group of performers, speakers, and attendees (though a significantly higher presence of white women than any other), a number of people with both visible and invisible disabilities, and a general respect for each other within the crowd. However, it does not serve individuals or the movement to dismiss the challenges; language excluding trans women from the conversation, continued racism, body- and slut-shaming of women on the other side(s) of the political spectrum (ex. Melania Trump), and the self-congratulations of "doing protesting right" without awareness of the privilege afforded to this movement.

The work doesn't stop there-but I won't say it's just beginning. People have been fighting for their basic human rights since time immemorial-and many of us are just waking up to it. Please fight back-by calling legislators, standing up for those whose rights are being taken, donating to and volunteering for organizations doing this work on a larger scale, and spreading love in the world. Don't give hate a platform. Practice radical empathy, for yourself and others. Show up-in every sense. I plan on it.

10 Actions. 100 Days.


xoxoxo
Emma

Oh hello there!

Hello friends (and friends-to-be)!

It's been a long time since I channeled any creativity into writing. I was actively involved in music (my beautiful a cappella group For Good Measure) and theatre (Ann Arbor Civic, Rosedale Community Players, Birmingham Village Players, the Brass Tacks Ensemble...) in the Ann Arbor and Metro Detroit area while I lived there. For the last few years, the most creative I've gotten in my writing has been coming up with different ways to articulate goals and describe building rapport with clients while working as a therapist.

However, since I moved to New England in August, my hours at work have shifted and my commute has increased such that any performance-related activity is currently impossible, so I'm giving this another shot. Now, for the classic introductory post...

I'm a 27-year-old lady who recently moved from my hometown of Ann Arbor, MI to my dad's home in Providence, RI. I commute on a daily basis to South Boston where I serve children and families as a social worker-and love it. I used to be a therapist (and definitely miss it) but am really enjoying getting to build more expansive relationships with the youth I serve in my new role.

I love living with my dad-we haven't been even in the same state since I was in high school-but I've finally started searching for housing in Boston. In the mean time, I will continue to enjoy getting to see my dad nearly every day-and having a dog again! I don't think my cat loves it quite as much...but she does appreciate having another person to take care of her when I have to work late or actually have some social time after work!

We love to take Binker to the beach! 

Triss is more into snuggles...

As I work toward finding my written voice again, I'll be exploring a number of my interests and passions, including vegetarian cooking, baking, (lots of) eating, binge-watching Netflix, social justice, books, shopping, travel, music, and exploring my new home with friends and family. So please forgive some jumping around as I find my niche...hopefully it will come quickly!

xoxoxo
Emma

P.S. The title of my blog is borrowed from the lyrics of one of my recent favorite bands, Us the Duo. I can't wait to see them perform in February! I chose it for how important I think the concept is for me personally as well as for the world...more to come on both, I'm sure.