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!

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