I used to think a good weekend had to be planned like a project. A theme, an itinerary, something I could screenshot for the group chat. Now my Saturday plan is roughly: cannonballs in a friend’s pool, a long walk, and enough quiet time that I don’t feel guilty about any of it.
This weekend, my second cousin Jimmy is visiting, so we’re heading to a friend’s house in Connecticut to cannonball in her pool. My kid has been counting the days. I have been counting the deep breaths I plan to take while he’s underwater. It’s going to be lovely.
So — what are you up to? Here’s what’s on my radar this weekend, in no particular order.
Things I’m watching, reading, and stealing ideas from
The trailer for Sharon Horgan’s new show looks great — it’s on my “watch after dinner with tea” list.
A New Yorker essay called There’s No Place Like Group Chats” class=”internal”>There’s No Place Like Group Chats made me cry a little. “Someone is having a baby. Someone’s dear friend dies. Someone cooked a meal. Someone got a new pair of shoes.” It’s about how group chats keep old friendships alive — the baby news, the toy-swallowing hospital story that becomes funny in the end. Read it slowly, with a warm mug.
There’s a woman who drives a bus for dogs. Some have a favorite seat. One poodle has a meltdown if another dog is in her pod on the front row. That’s the whole thing and I’m already emotional.
“Emotional support tuna melt” is the phrase I’m adopting this week, for whatever lunch crisis comes next.
And a note on the flowers: a San Francisco photo of dahlias in full bloom is going the rounds this weekend (it’s behind a gift link on the NYTimes, so take it from me — they’re gorgeous, and that’s the point).
One thing I’m being honest about: an obituary piece titled “Remembering Gloria Steinem” was making the rounds, and it implies she’s passed. I haven’t confirmed it from a source I trust yet, so I’m flagging it rather than repeating it. When anyone thanked her for changing the world, she’d wave it off. “Look around, not up,” she liked to say of heroes. “We build solidarity side to side.”
Reading chair season has arrived — oxblood, bouclé, and sheepskin — and all of them are on sale somewhere. I’m not promising prices, just saying: look at them before you sleep on it.
The weekend sales (with an honest asterisk)
A quick note before the list: these are the numbers from the source I’m pulling from, and weekend sales move fast. By the time you read this, some may be gone. I’d rather tell you that than have you disappointed.
- Our favorite mattresses are 30% off. We have them on every bed in the house.
- AYR is up to 60% off. I packed their jeans and pants on every trip this summer — the kind of pack light, wear everywhere, don’t think about it clothes I actually recommend.
- Ruggable is up to 30% off. I’ve had my eye on one for the dining room for months.
- Activewear at Fabletics is 80% off. Their fleece looks exactly right for the first cold fall walks.
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Two reader moments I’m keeping
Sarah B. on what to do when people say they’d “never pull it off” a little headscarf: “No one thinks they can pull anything off the first time they do it. I felt very stupid and self-conscious the first time I wore a little headscarf! Every time you wear something outside of your norm, you have to be a little brave, but then it’s great. It’s just a scarf on your head, it’s cute.”
Anna on reading while walking: “One evening, I, a middle-aged woman, was walking through the quiet streets of my neighborhood reading a library book. I looked up to avoid an oncoming walker and met the eyes of another middle-aged woman, looking up from her library book so as not to run into me. We both grinned and instinctively tapped our books together in a sort of literary cheers, then walked on in our opposite directions without saying a word.”
That’s the weekend for me: cannonballs, a good essay, and one brave little scarf on your head.
a note from Hazel — I’m the kind of person who once timed her morning routine like a race. Now a “perfect” weekend is just a pool, a long walk, and permission to do nothing for a while. 80/20 is enough. What are you up to this weekend? Tell me in the comments.