April Endorsements

For new subscribers… I usually write about figure skating, but sometimes I write about other things. Today is one of those times! But you’ll find three figure skating tidbits at the end, so you can scroll ahead if you’re so inclined.

This time on The Nice Capades…

• Recommendations from April! Which was honestly NOT Enchanting!

• Three Figure Skating Things: Ice Dance is sort of busy, actually.

• And a Substack related query!

I usually love Atlanta in April: sweet spot for weather, worst of pollen is over, mosquitos not yet dominant, flowers quite lovely, arts & crafts fairs every weekend. But this year, the drier weather kept the air dusty with pollen and whatever else happens to be floating around. My eyes feel gritty; my fuse is short. Here’s what’s helped.

Just FYI— I’m not getting paid for any of this. No affiliated links or branded deals. Not that I am above that; I just don’t have it set up. So you can trust I am actually suggesting these things. Not that I would suggest things that I don’t like if was getting some kind of payment. Hopefully, I have integrity? Regardless, I’m working for free for any brands/products you see below.

The Brick

If you have the sinking suspicion that you’re losing your brain and your life to your phone, this might be for you. The Brick is both an app and a physical device. When you use the app to “Brick” your phone, you can’t open other specified apps on your phone; and you can’t override it by changing your settings, like when you use the Downtime feature on your iPhone. Once you turn on Brick mode, you have to actually walk over to the Brick device, which is magnetic and lives on my fridge, to UnBrick it.

My time-loss vortex usually occurs right before bed and when I first wake up, so I’ve started Bricking my phone at bedtime. I built my settings so that I still access the phone and text messages, but I can’t doom scroll unless I march up the stairs and into my kitchen to tap my phone against the Brick on my fridge. Once I am downstairs at night, I am deeply downstairs. Upstairs might as well be in Europe. There’s no way I’m going up there again for 8-9 hours. So once I’m Bricked, my social media apps are tucked into bed.

I’ve seen people online rolling their eyes at the Brick and scoffing, “Just be an adult and have some self-control.” Look, as evidenced by my obsession with property taxes and reviewing weekly Publix BOGO deals, I am very definitely an adult. But we are working against a powerful industry that set out to create a product that keeps us addicted because our attention is how they make money. We have to use every tool in our disposal to beat them.

Smoked Salmon Tacos

I simply cannot resist a Trader Joe’s recipe, and this one (Instagram) passes the test for low effort prep and satisfying taste. Right combo of flavors and textures; very little oven/stove use involved. I can tell this would be a hyper fixation meal if I lived closer to a Trader Joe’s and could collect the ingredients on a regular basis.

This trick to make white Gelly Roll pens actually work

I’ve always thought white gel pens are a scam; they never have the opacity you see in online videos. I’ve purchased and re-purchased white pens from different brands, always searching for my actual white whale. They are as disappointing as an ISU awards show, never quite living up to potential. But our dark days of weak ink are over; this trick actually works extremely well. (YouTube)Now I’m walking around my house looking for things to outline in white ink.

(BTW, if you’re trying to pull the end off a Gelly Roll pen and struggling like the artist in the video, I suggest using scissors. Position them like you’re going to cut off the end of the pen and then use them to wedge off the cap.)

Emma M Lion audiobooks

I don’t think the Emma M Lion books have quite broken containment, yet; I can still get the audiobooks from my library with minimal wait time. But I get the sense they’re going mainstream any second now.

Look, these are not going to be for everyone. But if they’re for you, you’re going to be delighted. The Unselected Journals of Emma M Lion are a series of books by Beth Brower about a spirited young woman living in the Victorian London equivalent of Star’s Hollow. Her neighborhood is quite quirky, complete with an elusive resident ghost left over from the Roman Empire, though don’t misinterpret that to mean it’s a supernatural series. There’s just a very light vein of magic running through the center; the rest is social commentary and hijinks. I get the sense that romance will become a central theme in later books, but I’m two books in and she doesn’t yet have a scorching crush on anyone. You can tell who will form her love triangle; but there’s a definite slow burn here.

The books are her journals, each covering about two months of her life, and they’re pretty breezy, perfect for listening while doing chores. I would describe them as Jane Austen meets Gilmore Girls meets The Princess Diaries (book version). I’m consuming them in audiobook form, which is expertly done by the actress who played Pansy Parkinson in the Harry Potter movies. The author plans to release about 16 books total; 8 of them are already available. There’s plenty of content to amuse you this summer. I think they would start to feel A Bit Much if I listened to them back-to-back, so I’m spacing them out between other audiobooks, and that seems to be the correct speed.

Pilot Juice Up pen

Some people buy shoes when they’re stressed. I buy pens. My latest favorite— the Pilot Juice Up pens in 0.3. I like a fine point gel pen, a smooth writing experience, and ink that doesn’t smear. Checks all three easily. Just wish it came in more interesting colors. My kingdom for a “dusty blue” needle tip gel pen.

(Because I know some of you are going to ask.. the notepad was a gift, there’s no artist branding on it, and I can’t find it online. Maybe the friend who gifted it will pop up in the comments to share where she found it.)

Three Figure Skating Things

• Surely, you have heard by now that Korean Ice Dancers Hannah Lim and Ye Quan announced the end of their partnership, all while glazing each other in their respective Instagram posts. They’re obviously really sad about their break up, so it doesn’t seem like this was a “I can barely stand to skate with you” situation. As for what actually caused it, I doubt either one will ever say for sure. My guess? Money and skill gap. Hannah supposedly gave an interview a while back that her family would stop financial support after the Olympics; maybe she needs to switch back to repping Canada to get more country funding? And there is an increasingly obvious difference between their skating skills; it’s clear even to me, someone who admittedly can barely tell which Ice Dance teams are better than others. Given the recent Canadian Ice Dance shake up, very curious to see where the two of them land in the game of musical chairs. My bold prediction: Hannah will return to skating for Canada; Ye will skate for another country, not necessarily South Korea, but maybe.

• While we’re on the topic of Ice Dance, Shoma Uno and Marin Honda might actually be serious about competing. Maya Bagriantseva managed to interview Romain Haguenauer at the Ice Academy of Montreal, who was pretty loose lipped about Shomarin’s plans. (Twitter) Sounds like they’re planning to compete at Regionals in Japan and see what happens.

• I guess all of our figure skating news is Ice Dance news today because my last Figure Skating thing is this: Emi and Vadym announced their 2026-2027 free dance music will be “Bolero.” (Instagram) This is a bold move. First, they might be the first major 2026-2026 music announcement of any discipline? They’re getting out early with their choice, staking a claim and showing confidence. Also, has ANY ice dance team dared to try “Bolero” since Torvill and Dean? We’ve seen it with plenty of singles skaters and a very recent Pairs team, but I’m not sure another Ice Dance team has attempted it (someone tell me I’m wrong in the comments). And" “Bolero” is a controversial war horse— some figure skating fans are psyched, some think it’s a terrible song and waste of Zingnik’s momentum post-Worlds. Personally, I’m reserving judgement. I think it’s an INTERESTING choice, which is more than I think we’ll be able to say about most teams next year. I’d rather they be interesting than boring/safe.

Before we part today, I’m curious about your Substack favorites. When people subscribe, I get automated emails where I can see a few of the other newsletters you subscribe to. I’m always flattered to see myself in the company of Drinks with Broads and Lainey Gossip readers, and of course I’m grateful to see some crossover with my pals at FictionMatters and The Kingdom of Ice-olation. But I am so curious— what are your Substack must-reads? What are the newsletters that you open IMMEDIATELY when you see them in your inbox?

What’s next: The slower pace of the off-season continues. I’ll be back next week with some off-season predictions, unless something really interesting happens and we need to debrief.