issue #58 - the 'i've become a cliché' one

I started a garden this weekend.

Granted, it’s in pots and I have zero confidence in keeping the tiny tomato, eggplant, basil, and pepper plants I bought alive. Rho gleefully danced around me as I filled cavernous pots with soil, plunged stakes into the pots, and secured the saplings with twine. He ran in and out of the water spray when I gave our plants a much needed drink.

We, like so many other folks trying to find some semblance of control in this world, have started a garden. And I will stop typing because I would be more than happy to write an entire essay on my very elementary horticulture adventures.

Instead, I’ll leave you with these - an interview I did with FOX 5 on racism in influencer culture (and a BoF interview on the same topic), and why we should call male entrepreneurs ‘dadpreneurs’.

And if you’re tempted on the whole gardening front, I highly recommend Ron Finley’s MasterClass (which I binge-watched and what started this whole compulsion to start a garden. Next up - demanding a composting bin on our block from the City)

If this is your first e-mail from me, welcome! In addition to writing the book How To Pack, I'm an entrepreneur and angel investor, an avid reader, and a mom of two boys (a 5 year old and a 1 year old).

Every Saturday, I share the 25 best reads from the Internet (culled from the daily shares on my Instagram), the books I've read that week, and things I'm generally loving at the moment. You can join the conversation on all these articles - and more! - in my Facebook group.

Looking for my packing list template? Here you go!

#ThingsILove This Week

• When I need cardio, I swear by Peloton and Forward Space. When I need strength and toning, I swear by DRYP. The method is created by my dear friend Soha, and it will make you sweat and hurt in the best way. It’s SO good.

• There’s oil, and then there’s Brightland. And then there’s Brightland’s chili oil, which gives the most delicious buttery, spicy, delicious addition to every dish you add it to. From dal to homemade hummus to chili cheese toast to eggplant parm, it’s just perfect. Their lemon oil is also delicious, but you should start with the duo if you’re a Brightland newbie. Because there’s oil, and then there’s oil that’s so good that I invested in the company (and their vision for what a modern food brand should be).

• If you haven’t seen it yet, Padma Lakshmi’s Taste The Nation is the best thing I’ve seen on television in a long time. It’s thoughtful, deeply researched, and downright delicious. It’s also deeply empathetic and just shows the best of America, and I hope that there will be many, many more seasons to come.

• I’ve resumed our Splendid Spoon subscription this week. There’s been too much Taco Bell and Wawa, and not enough vegetables and whole grains in my diet. I made sure to request my favorites this week - the Mexican tomato chili, the mint chip smoothie, the kabocha congee (I love adding a fried egg to it for a savory breakfast), the raspberry cacao smoothie, the Ikarian stew, and the red beet Buddha bowl.

• We’ve hit the ‘been in Pennsylvania longer than we were in New York’ point of the year, and it got me thinking about the things I wish I packed with me. My HigherDOSE infrared sauna blanket is at the top of the list. It melts the tension and soreness of muscles away, and is the only thing that makes me feel good about sitting still for 45 minutes. It’s worth every single penny.

• A few other things I miss from home - my Amazon nightgowns and the lace half-tanks I layer underneath, the BEST sandals ever, my backyard, all of Rho’s Avengers action figures (he misses them more), and my whole kitchen. And my whole home. I can’t wait to get back.

What I read this week

• Ties That Tether(ARC provided by NetGalley, out September 29 - continuing the Black authored romance kick I’m on, Ties was a WONDERFUL read that transports you to Canada (and slightly to Nigeria and Spain) and on a magnificent love story intertwined with a family conflict that I could empathize with all too much. It’s an extraordinary story from an incredible author, and I can’t wait to read what Jane Igharo writes next.

• The Kingmaker, The Rebel King - after devouring Queen Move last week, it’s only normal that I dive into the prequel duet - aptly titled All The King’s Men - to learn more. And IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT. These books focused on Lennix (Kimba’s best friend and business partner) and Maxim, and their decades-long love story that had me swooning and fanning myself and Googling all the things I didn’t know about how Native American women are the biggest targets of SVU crimes - and the most unresolved ones. Kennedy Ryan is an extraordinary author, and I’m so glad I have so much of her backlist to continue reading.

I’m building outmy Bookshop store, which will house all my favorite books in all the categories. Please consider purchasing your books throughBookshopandLibro.fm(use code HITHA for 3 free books when you start a membership) to support independent bookstores!

Hitha’s Favorite Things

• Libro.fm is my favorite audiobook app (it credits your favorite independent bookstore with the sale). Use code HITHA to get 3 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you create a monthly membership. Please choose one of these bookstores to support through your membership!

• PLEASE purchase your books from independent bookstores! I recommend The Lit Bar,The Bronx Is Reading, Semicolon Bookstore, Uncle Bobbie's which are all on Bookshop.org.

• I use the BOM to order a lot of our household products. Highly recommend this cleaning spray, this laundry detergent, and these wipes. Use this link to get $10 your order!

• my favorite vitamins (both their pre-natal and their essential one for women). Use code HITHA for 10% off your first 3 months.

• CBD has been a lifesaver for me. Get 20% off your first order with code HITHA.

• my favorite produce delivery company that supports small farms in the process. Use code COOKWME-NM5DMZ for 25% off.

• Brightland makes the BEST olive oil you’ll ever taste (and it’s one of my portfolio companies). This link will give you $10 off The Duo!

• Small Packages (one of my portfolio companies) is the curated gift box company I’m always talking about - get 15% off your order with the code HITHA

• Use this app to save #5SmartReads to read later

• MasterClass is worth every penny. I watch them while cooking meals, when I need a break, and when I’m feeling unmotivated and I’ve learned so much from it.

• the notebook that has changed my life (see how I use it here and here). Get 15% off with code HITHA15.

• the marriage check-in my husband and I do every single week

• my favorite workout - and why. Use code G37YVV for $100 in accessories (spin shoes, weights, headphones - oh my!). You can also follow me on the app (I’m hithaonthegogo) to see what workouts I’m doing, and join our tag #smartnsweaty.

The Top 5

1. I’m Skeptical Of All These White People Resigning (BuzzFeed News)

2. Treating Mild Coronavirus Cases Could Help Save Everyone (New York Times)

3. Racial Wealth Gap in the United States (The Balance)

4. What Is Juneteenth? (The Root)

5. The Subtle Significance of ‘Nadiya’s Time to Eat’ (The Ringer)

The Catch Up

Monday

• The Best Thing I Can Do for Harlem Right Now Is Feed People (Eater)

• How Apples Go Bad (The New Yorker)

• “I’m a bit of an overwriter”: How Carly Rae Jepsen whittled 200 songs down to 12 for her new album (Vox)

• Transgender Health Protections Reversed By Trump Administration (NPR)

Tuesday

• How America’s Hospitals Survived the First Wave of the Coronavirus (ProPublica)

• I Was One of the First Black Women to Attend the Virginia Military Institute. This Is What I Know About Patriotism (Glamour)

• Oluwatoyin Salau: Activist Found Dead After Tweeting About Sexual Assault (Essence)

• Talking Veganism and Self-Care With Tabitha Brown (Zora)

Wednesday

• With a new series of her own, Padma Lakshmi is at the top of her game (Washington Post)

• Yemen was facing the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Then the coronavirus hit (Science)

• Black Trans People Need Critical Support and Care Right Now—And Forever (Vice)

• Don’t Call It Rioting (The Cut)

Thursday

• Supreme Court rules Trump administration illegally ended DACA (Axios)

• From Activist To Congresswoman, Lucy McBath Talks About Her First Term In Office (Essence)

• The Minnesota Freedom Fund Raised Over $30 Million After George Floyd’s Death. Now It’s A Target. (BuzzFeed News)

• Brittany Davis on Becoming General Partner at Backstage Capital (Medium)

Friday

• How a Texan showed L.A. the way to celebrate Juneteenth (Los Angeles Times)

• They All Fall Down (Jezebel)

• In the face of coronavirus, female world leaders stood out. These women are spurring change on a local level. (The Lily)

• Tracee Ellis Ross Talks Mantras, Massages, And Launching New Styling Products For Curly Hair (Women’s Health)