the report | vol. 31

Well, well, well… here we are, over a week into June, and I’m just now getting to the report.

Pretty much since I started on Substack over two years ago, I’ve released something nearly every Sunday, with very few exceptions. But over the past few months, this cadence—this format—hasn’t felt right to me.

Initially (and still a little currently), I was frustrated by this. I felt like my consistency was a huge driver of my success here. But the truth is, my life looks wildly different now than it did two years ago.

I’m different, too.

I took this frustration to my therapist: Why, after freeing myself up to write, can’t I write as much as I used to? I won’t bore you with a play-by-play of the conversation, but from it, I got some advice worth sharing:

You have to treat this time like an internship. When you’re in a phase where things aren’t so clear, and you don’t know what to do, that’s when it’s time to fuck around and find out. Play, experiment, learn. Sometimes it will feel like nothing’s happening, especially when you’re holding yourself to the standards of yore. You’ll be wondering why you’re fetching coffee, feeling like it’s a profound waste of time, but everything you do in your self-directed internship is there to teach you something, and something will come out of it.

We are not meant to repeat the same patterns forever. Things change. We (hopefully) change. And peeling away the past to give way to the future is never comfortable.

So, I’ll be playing around with different formats here. Call it a part of my internship. There will be more paid content, maybe an interview series, different types of essays (journalism?!)… Maybe this thing will start to resemble something that looks vaguely like a real publication—who knows! What I do know is that I’m excited to shake things up.

xx Erin

Here’s what I got into in May….

Famesick by Lena Dunham | There are times when I eschew the zeitgeist, and then times when the buzz is so loud that I just have to find out for myself. This was one of those times. I’ll admit, I went into this book with a critical lens (I love to be a contrarian, sue me), but I can’t say a bad thing. Lena Dunham is as good at the craft as everyone says, and if nothing else, it made me a little nostalgic for my 20s, when I had Girls on heavy rotation because it made me feel like less of a fuck up. Now in my 30s, Dunham’s honesty in Famesick is still making me feel less alone.

Jungle Keepers by Paul Rosolie | Deep inside me (but if I’m honest, not all that deep) is an ardent environmentalist. Although I don’t talk about it explicitly (yet?), my love for this miracle of a planet and desire to repair our relationship with it is the undercurrent that motivates 90% of what I do. And this book… let me tell you… I’m already a big fan of Rosolie’s work. I’ve enjoyed following on Instagram for years, and will listen to pretty much any podcast he goes on, but this book… I can’t stop telling people to read it. He’s an incredible storyteller, and you’d be hard-pressed to find someone more passionate about the natural world. It moved me deeply.

If you’re unfamiliar with Rosolie’s work, he’s a conservationist and founder of Junglekeepers, a nonprofit organization working to protect rainforest in Peru’s Madre de Dios region. To date, they’ve saved around 140,000 acres of Peruvian Amazon from being cut down. You can join me in contributing to their mission here.

citrus pistachio olive oil cake | Every year, my husband requests an olive oil cake for his birthday, and I use it as my once-a-year opportunity to develop a cake recipe and go all out. This one did not disappoint. Light, moist, not too sweet.

I formatted the recipe for your pleasure here (tip! if I were to make this again, especially for a group, I would double the recipe and make it a layer cake)

grasslands bbq | We went to Hood River, OR on a mountain bike trip with a group of friends and had lunch at Grasslands BBQ, and it was, without exaggeration, the best BBQ I’ve had in my life… by a lot.

Lord Huron | Per usual, whenever I go to a concert, I get obsessed. This one’s been in my head for a solid week+:

Welcome to Wrexham | Maybe it’s because all the old players are gone and they haven’t really established a connection with the new ones, but I’m so underwhelmed by this season.

Project Hail Mary | Was expecting it to be good, but wasn’t expecting to bawl my eyes out?? Suffice it to say, I loved it.

hydration | As the weather gets warmer and I’m out in the sun sweating more, I’ve been really trying to step up my hydration game. Turns out, just chugging plain tap water doesn’t cut it, and can actually deplete your body of critical minerals. If you’re someone who guzzles water all day but still feels thirsty, this may be why. Now, hate is a strong word, but I’m really not a fan of any of the electrolyte powders on the market right now. They have too much salt for me and not nearly enough potassium, magnesium, calcium, and other trace minerals, and they generally taste way too sweet or artificial for my palate.

So, in my quest to become deeply hydrated without overpriced powders, I’ve been making this herbal electrolyte drink from Sophia Esperanza, and drinking Sun Days coconut water—a local brand that is truly the best coconut water I’ve ever had (I personally recommend the pineapple one).

libraries | In a rare moment of “I’m so happy my tax dollars are funding this,” my city built a GORGEOUS new library less than a 10-minute bike ride from my house, and it’s my new favorite work spot. I’ve never been a library person, but I’ve been using the hold system to help me pick what to read next—it’s a great system to reduce decision fatigue (and motivates me to read more to meet the return deadline).

oio lab skincare | In my “posting a photo of my face for 30 days” experiment, I realized that it’s probably a lot easier to just learn to accept my rosacea instead of fighting it so hard. That said, it is uncomfortable and can be quite painful, and I’ve long been searching for the right topicals to calm it.

Deep in my search, I came across the Oio Labs Forest Retreat Calming Facial Emulsion, and I’m floored by it. It’s so hard to find a product that is both clean and effective, and I’ve had little to no flare-ups since using it. I use it at night under my YFE Sensitive Skin Facial Lotion, and it’s the perfect pairing.

I’m keen to give some of their other products a go as well!

rosehip relief | After last month’s low-histamine diet experiment, I, for better or for worse, found that I do indeed have an issue with histamine (I felt SO much better). Now, my task is to help my body to better process histamine on its own. I’ve been playing with different herbal remedies and supplements, and one of those is the rosehip extract from Organic Olivia. TBD on its effectiveness, but I’ve been mixing it with sparkling water and a touch of apple cider vinegar, and it’s delightful, nonetheless!