Happy Hour Hack: What you wear matters, a magazine for kids, and how to stop murdering herbs
The Corliss Elizabeth Williams edition
Welcome to Happy Hour Hack! Each Friday, I share a tip from my interviewee of the week, along with any ideas or inspiration I receive from readers, plus some things that are piquing my own interest.
Hack
Our hack of the week comes from the incredible Corliss Elizabeth Williams, who is the proprietor and stylist at The Lowry Estate, a vintage boutique store. And the tip is…WEAR COLOR.
When I was in my dark hole, I wore black ALL of the time, which goes against my intentions for Lowry. I felt like a hypocrite because my purpose is to have pieces that women wear with confidence—colors, patterns, conversation pieces!
One day, [my daughter] Amelia called me out on my wearing black too much and told me to wear a dress and color, so I picked this one. It was that first day of spring when you revisit your warm wardrobe, and I remember putting it on to discover that I had that purse from a local shop and those sandals I’d thrifted, and when I walked outside to get coffee, I got stopped by like five people (which used to happen ALL OF THE TIME), who stopped in their tracks and complimented me and asked where I got my clothes from, which of course sparked a conversation leading to my being a small business owner on the outskirts of our little town of Farmington.
That day was a rebirth of sorts. Amelia was also with me at the time, and she was so happy to say that she was right in telling me to start wearing color again.
You can read more of Corliss Elizabeth’s wisdom on starting over, the retail effect from the BLM movement, and paying it forward here.
The Forum
A woman (Hi, Amy!) sent me the below insta post from Joy Sullivan, a poet and writing instructor in Portland, Oregon. It’s a really beautiful post about the torment between having and not having a child.
A friend (who does not have children) once told me how she gets frustrated when women with children tell her how awful and hard it is and that she’s not missing anything. But then when she looks at their Instagram, it’s all photos of beautiful moments with their beautiful children.
So which is true? Torture or ecstasy? Well, I’d say both. Both are true. Motherhood is a strange realm where you constantly exist in the midst of two opposing truths. You’re at the playground and bored out of your mind but also being filled with joy every time your kid spots you and waves. You drag your exhausted ass down the hall to find a pacifier for the umpteenth time in the middle of the night, and yet when you kiss that warm, squishy forehead, you’re glad you’re there. You’re crying in the bathroom, berating yourself for having lost your temper, and resenting this person that you’re forced to be who you are not, but then when you leave the bathroom and your kid is all forgiveness and love, you realize you’re lucky to be around such goodness and hope you can learn from it.
Kant said (yeah, I’m quoting Kant), “Thought has a natural tendency to issue in contradictions…whenever it seeks to apprehend the infinite.” I think that can be applied to the relationship of mother and child. So whether we don’t have children and struggle with whether we do or don’t want them, or we have them and struggle with the resentment of being someone we didn’t want to be, it all helps us understand a teeny, tiny bit more about this infinite existence and this strange, finite life.
Magazine
Corliss introduced me to the magazine Kazoo, and I’m so glad she did. It’s an ad-free quarterly magazine geared toward girls ages 5 to 12. I happen to have a girl who falls in that range, so I immediately subscribed and just received their new Motion Issue. (The mag was also just named an ASME finalist in three categories: General Excellence, Best Print Design, and Best Print Illustration. The ASMEs are basically the Oscars for the magazine world. They’re a big deal.)
First of all, my daughter was so excited to get her own mail. The magazine is chockfull of games and activities, but there’s also a comic, a story, interviews, and plenty of educational stuff. Everything is woman-positive, and it’s all beautifully designed. You can subscribe here.
Kitchen hack
Anyone else out there kind of hate herbs? I mean, they’re delicious and all, but ugh, they cause me so much guilt. I feel like if I had my life together, I would have some system in place where I was always growing them and could skip over to some beautiful pots on the windowsill and trim what I need.
But I’m the kind of person who buys herbs. Which, if they’re not parsley or cilantro, come in PLASTIC CONTAINERS. Which is utter madness. And then I use what I need for a recipe and let the rest turn to brown sludge, which should be a hangable offense. To me, herbs smack of failure and environmental degradation.
But I have recently acquired some herb preservation tips (shout-out to Jean!) that I’m psyched to pass along in case you’re like me and break into a cold sweat every time a recipe calls for them.
Here’s what you need to know:
Wash and dry your herbs. A salad spinner is good for this so you don’t have to waste paper towels. Trim the ends like you would for flowers. Place them in a jar of water and fasten a plastic bag over them with a rubber band. It gives it a greenhouse effect. Then put them in the fridge and give them fresh water every few days. (Yes, I cringed at the use of a plastic bag. But at least this one can be used pretty much forever. It would just need the occasional wash. But if anyone has a non-plastic method, let us know!)
Basil is a rogue herb! (It’s apparently a warm-weather crop.) Do all of the above, but do not refrigerate it. Leave it on the counter, out of direct sunlight. And Epicurious says you don’t have to cover the basil with a plastic bag. Which, if it’s going to be displayed on your counter, is preferable.
For “hard” herbs, like rosemary and thyme, clean them and wrap them in a damp paper towel (this seems like the perfect time to use reusable paper towels) and put them in a sealed container in the fridge.
Thanks for the fun lunch break read, and for the herbaceous high-five! So glad to share the tip. Wishing you all the bright colors and everlasting cilantro! 🌱