P.S. I made you a mix CD.
Plus: a haunted bathroom, a vintage diner, televangelists, and other assorted Americana.
But Wait, There’s More is a blog + newsletter that features careful musings on culture, lifestyle, design, nostalgia, and how they all intersect.
P.S. is like the little sister to But Wait There’s More – a weekly-is, bite-sized love letter filled with things I’ve read, watched, enjoyed, or contemplated that week.
Dear Friend,
I just got back from a quick but lovely trip to Kansas to visit my best friend (with my other best friend in tow). I’d never really considered Kansas as a destination, but I really enjoyed it. My favorite part was driving through the Konza Prairie and encountering a herd of bison with all their new babies.
While in Kansas, we visited Lawrence (insert 50 Supernatural jokes here) and stopped by the cutest store called Wonder Fair. It was a visual smorgasbord of small brands and artist merch – cards, prints, stationery, stickers, tote bags, pins, you name it, they had it. Plus they also had a shop cat named Dave, and a HAUNTED BATHROOM. Which was mostly a roadside gimmick but very cute and fun.
We also went out to several bars and ended up at karaoke with my friend’s 23-year-old coworkers which was a trip. And yes I had a raging hangover the next day, thanks for asking!
It was a lovely and restorative break spent with my two oldest friends, and I loved every minute of it. (Even the hangover).
Required Reading
Articles, links, essays, social media posts, or listicles I think you should read, presented largely without context.
Do Patients Without a Terminal Illness Have the Right to Die? by Katie Engelhart for the New York Times Magazine – a fascinating look into the ethics and real faces of Canada’s amended MAID legislation that allows non-terminally ill patients to opt-in to physician assisted suicide. Not exactly a feel-good read, but still important.
how to get smart again from postcards by elle – an amazing primer on things you can do to stave off the brain rot and the endless doom scrolling.
Advice for Making Life More Whimsical & Joyful by Feeling! Magazine – does what it says on the tin.
Notes On: How to Romanticise June by Notes On – for fellow summer cynics who need a leg up to enjoy the hot and sticky season.
How I’m Fixing My Broken Attention Span by Rebecca Jennings for Vulture – I’ve really been struggling with these feelings as well (as evidenced by a lot of reading list this week). I miss being able to think deeply, to not rely on computers to know everything for me (autocorrect and spell check have made me lazy – in 2007, I was the state-level spelling bee champion, and the other day I struggled for a good several seconds to spell a word correctly. And now I can’t even REMEMBER THE WORD.) Indeed, I found myself checking my phone, switching to other tabs, and answering emails multiple times while I read this article. Pitiful.
Filing Cabinet
Things I’ve saved, screenshotted, lusted over, or laughed at this week.
I’m considering leaving everything behind and starting a new life as the owner of this vintage diner in the Hudson Valley. I just need $1.2 million. Easy peasy.
I’m kind of obsessed with this chic striped doggy sofa. I think Phoebe needs it.
I finally bit the bullet and splurged on these gingham trousers from Sézane that I’ve been lusting after for ages. Now I just need to figure out how to style them.
I’m late to the party by about six years, but I finally started watching Righteous Gemstones this past week, and I’m obsessed. Also why did no one tell me that Jennifer Nettles was in it? I had a signed poster of Sugarland on my wall for YEARS as a tween.
Hey, if you ever want to consider how much progress you’ve made as a writer (and how much your frontal cortex has developed) I highly recommend you to reread some poems and essays you wrote as a 22-year-old. I accidentally did this just now and WOOF. I was verrrrrryyyy preoccupied with the concept of red lipstick and menthol cigarettes as metaphor for … ??? Not sure actually. Anyways, thank god that melodrama is far in my past now.
Mind if I lib out for a second? I definitely got goosebumps watching the Hamilton original cast 10 year reunion performance at the Tonys. Is Lin Manuel Miranda kind of annoying? Yes. Is he also a generational talent and a genius lyricist? Absolutely.
And finally, here’s that mix CD I promised you: