We Like You. We Really Like You.
It's award szn, and we're making the official Oscars Governors Ball NA cocktail, binge-eating popcorn, and giving ourselves trophies for having the perfect amount of gratitude.
News on Tap: Quit Like a Cali-Sober Woman
Quit Like a Woman author and sober force of nature
announced last weekend that she is now using cannabis. Love it or hate it, taking this personal truth public was bold and brave and you have to respect that when there’s so much at stake.In other 🤔 news:
Tom Holland tried to buy his own beer at Target and got carded (some states prohibit minors from purchasing non-alcoholic beer) and didn’t have an American I.D. so had to leave empty handed (People).
The Church of England has banned both gluten-free crackers and alcohol-free wine (The Independent).
A woman went viral on Reddit for getting sloppy drunk at a work party, but the punch was non-alcoholic (Vice).
Pour Decisions: The Thespian
The official drink sponsor (a different kind of sponsor, hehe) of the 97th Oscars Governors Ball is everyone’s favorite fancy pants tequila, Don Julio. The Academy’s official bartender, Charles Joly, has created a thematic drink menu with names like “The Class Act” and “The Clear Winner” to wash down those Spago truffle chicken pot pies. There’s also a zero-proof cocktail on the menu called “The Thespian.” We love the reference, but we aren’t pretending guys, we’re just like this.
We slipped into Charles Joly’s DMs to ask for this year’s Thespian ingredients and he told us it’s Margarita-inspired (a departure from past Thespians) with the following elements:
Seedlip Notas de Agave, Seedlip Garden, Mango, Lime, Smoked Salt and a Three-Pepper Spiced rim. As for the recipe, you’ll have to improvise.
Binge-Worthy: Popcorn
Can’t lie, we’re popcorn heads. One of us used a large popcorn tin to hide handles of Bacardi Rum in their boarding school dorm room, so in a waaaaaay, popcorn is part of the origin story of this newsletter. We love popping corn because it’s binge-able and healthy, satisfying yet light, and high in fiber. It’s good on its own, and it’s great doctored. We love the snackable prepackaged versions that include nutritional yeast for that cheesy-nutty flavor, but we also love popping a batch at home in a big pot with coconut oil. Nothing better than grating a little parm and cracked black pepper on top of a big bowl of warm popcorn and then settling into watch some masterful cinema out of the corner of one eye while phone scrolling with the other.
The Ultimate Gratitude List: A Thank You Speech
We’d like to thank…gratitude. Gratitude has been a buzzy word in the wellness and recovery spaces, and regularly listing out what you’re grateful for has become a daily mental health routine of millions, as well as a coping mechanism (Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer gratitude-journaled through kidnapping and assassination attempts 😳). And then there’s the in-vogue practice of thanking your food before you eat—which we [checks notes] believe has been known for centuries as saying grace. Another option is looking in the mirror a la Stuart Smalley and accepting a big award—who and what would you thank? Are you a 1985 Sally Field? Or a more controversial 1980 Dustin Hoffman?
Whatever you call your gratitude ritual, the idea is legitimately backed by science: Gratitude changes your biochemistry—and makes you healthier by rewiring the brain. When we feel gratitude, dopamine and serotonin are released which are linked to improved sleep, mood regulation, happiness, reduced stress, better cardiac functioning, less anxiety and more resilience.
Of course, because we live in this manic world of too many opinions, we must also share that it is apparently possible to have too much gratitude and that can set you back professionally. So don’t go overdosing on gratitude, babe.
Song of the Week: Tighten Up
By Archie Bell & The Drells, from the 1988 flop film Clean & Sober starring Michael Keaton.
...And Scene
Tara Wine-Queen shared the best responses to the question: What are some things you do to be more whimsical? Definitely some life hacks in here where acting can save the day. (s/o to MK for the DM)
