Weekend Reads for April 19, 2025

Today is another day of national protest. Due to events scheduled prior to the protest, I will not be in DC but hope to be home in time for the gathering in my neighborhood. Consider joining in; you can find your closest gathering at this link. It's motivating to be surrounded by others who are questioning what is going on, are reacting in different peaceful and creative ways, and haven't given up in defending democracy.

Weekend Reads

Yours truly was interviewed for this piece: eShakti ghosted workers and customers alike, and the dream of something better than fast fashion died with it. (Andrea Grimes for The Flytrap – gift link)

Tariffs or not, now is the time to break your bad shopping habits. (Washington Post – gift link)

Cajun Shrimp fans – OPI has allegedly changed the color of a cult-favorite shade. (The Everygirl)

What the New York Times got wrong about Gen X. (Small Talk)

Why women pay the price for caring for and understanding men. (The Noosphere)

Is it perimenopause or is it aging? (The Vajenda)

What the bankruptcy of Weight Watchers says about the death of diet culture. (More to Hate)

How to be a good friend when no one's hanging out anymore. (Swimming Upstream)

And for local yokels, my friend Julia Coney, a wine consultant and journalist, is hosting what looks to be a very chic and beautiful plated champagne brunch on May 4th, at Top of the Gate.

Sale Alert & Style Inspo

So many retailers right now have cobalt and royal blue, it's exciting. This is a beautiful, clear, bright blue that is a perfect pop of color all four seasons of the year. Pairing with other brights, any neutral from olive to tan to gray, pastels, and jewel tones, being blue this season can be a stylish investment for your wardrobe.

earrings | phone case | glasses | headband | bag charm | pants | wallet | lipbalm | skirt | swimsuit | sandals | dress | belt bag | shorts | espadrilles | cardigan | tote

For more cobalt and royal blue, check out Athleta, Chico's, Ralph Lauren, Gap, Gap Factory, Banana Republic, Banana Republic Factory, Lululemon, Boden, Lands' End, Universal Standard, Portland Leather (also seek out ‘Joni Blue' for suede), Ann Taylor, Sonnet Shores and Liz Claiborne at JCPenney, Dillard's, White House Black Market, Torrid, and Tuckernuck (all links go to the blue options currently available).

Bombas was kind enough to send me a gift card to use however I wish. I bought my husband some socks (one of the few places selling XL men's socks), and I decided to try their undies. I got the Ribbed Seamless Brief and I gotta say I like it! It's not that thin silky fabric, but a stretchy modal that's kinda spongy and doesn't stretch out and is breathable.

As a curvy petite person, briefs are often too high on me. I wear Modern Briefs at Soma because any others go up past my belly button. The Bombas Seamless Briefs are not too high, they don't go wedgie on me, but they aren't frumptastic. They haven't rolled down while wearing with loose shorts or a dress, and I don't feel them digging or shifting anywhere. I know undies are personal, but also tough to find good choices so wanted to share my experience.

See/Hear/Read

I Who Have Never Known Men was originally published in 1995 French as Moi qui n'ai pas connu les hommes. It was republished in 2022 in English and gained a whole new audience. I believe it was recommended to me after reading Parable of the Talents and Parable of the Sower, as it is another dystopian novel with a female protagonist. I listened to it via Libby and was riveted.

I was so riveted that I dropped my daughter off for her 45-minute piano lesson and just sat in the parking lot the entire time listening, then came home, went upstairs, put away laundry and then reorganized my closet and cleaned my bathroom just to have time to finish it.

I believe the less one knows going into a book or movie, the better. All I will share it what I knew – this is a book that takes place in the future, time uncertain. Thirty-nine women and a young girl are held captive in a windowless cell. They do not know how they got there, they do not know where they are, how long they've been there, why there is only one child and only women, and the male guards never speak to them, only control them with the crack of a whip.

What does help to know is author Jacqueline Harpman is a half-Jewish woman whose family moved to Casablanca when the Nazis invaded, and returned home after the war. She was born in 1929. This book was only published in 1995, and in between that time, Harpman studied French literature, trained to be a doctor, contracted tuberculosis, qualified as a psychoanalyst in 1980, was married to an architect, and had two children. I learned this after the fact, and I think this really brings depth to parts of the story.

I Who Have Never Known Men isn't a long novel; the audiobook is a hair over six hours and the paperback a hair over 200 pages. When I shared that I read this book in my Instagram Stories, many replied that this was a selection for their book club, and it created many animated conversations and debates.

For Your Entertainment

My latest obsession is Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso, an Argentinian experimental electronic/hip-hop/pop group (pronounce Ca7riel as if the 7 is a T). These two friends gained fame thanks to their Tiny Desk Concert and gained even more fans this month through their appearance on Jimmy Fallon and their performance at Coachella.

So you may not speak Spanish, so you may find contemporary music meh, but I still think you should check Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso out. It's hard to categorize them: a hint of Weird Al or Tenacious D, but more danceable music, heartfelt lyrics, and just utter joy with their creativity, vulnerability, and sense of humor.

CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso's video for “EL DÍA DEL AMIGO” came out a month ago, and I've watched it a couple of times. Each time I catch something else utterly random in it, and the song is a true earworm.

After seeing their Tiny Desk concert, if you like what you saw, I encourage you to watch their short film, PAPOTA (it's only 16 minutes long). Yes, it was made with AI, but this is how I dig AI being used. These guys are so creative and don't take themselves or this industry too seriously. I wish them much success and am happy to see such quirky groups gain international fame!

Is it just me or does Paco look like Lady Gaga?