Consumption Lounge: Dope People Doing Cool Stuff December Digest
Distractions worth digesting
Hey everyone,
Everything feels pretty FUBAR culturally right now and I just don’t have it in me to address any of it, so I just wanted to give a shout out to a few folks I love doing great stuff that you should know about and some things that have made me happy. —C
Consumption Lounge December
Big thanks to Ridgewood vintage shop Protection Spell for including The Weed Witch as part of their Wilson Stop Fest at Father Knows Best (that makes a mean spicy kale Caesar salad!). Such an honor to be among such an amazing line-up of local vendors in a cozy setting keeping the spirit of DIY culture alive!
Huge congrats to Dark Matter Coffee and Sleep Walk Chocolateria for making their NYC debut with Adios Amigos: a love letter to the LES—on Bowery no less! No one really acknowledges this but New York is saturated with mostly utilitarian coffee (and a surprisingly thin skin about being called out on this or anything having to do with its overpriced and mediocre restaurant scene), so having a coffee shop with a lot of heart is a massive win for everyone (but also me, specifically). Check their limited edition Holidank collection.
Gotta gas up my West Coast babes over at Decant Bottle Shop for expanding with their first satellite shop in Napa! Decant is a very cool queer/femme owned wine shop with a fun, approachable vibe for people who want to drink delicious, reasonably-priced wine without feeling intimidated—as well as killer exclusives that will impress your snobbiest friends. Bonus: excellent outdoor patio!
THE Rikki Lake is now a farm-to-bong weed poster girl for Stone Road Farms! Go Ricki! Go Ricki! Go! Check out our interview with Stone Road founder Lex Corwin here.
I’m teaching a bunch of pop-up Pilates classes coming up at Core Pilates NYC. All levels welcome! Book via MindBody and ClassPass.
Rachel Lichtman’s analog world of Programme 4 returns with the “Easy AM 66 Promotional Album Vol. 3” on Bandcamp as a digital download OR as a limited edition LP. Contributed talents include: Rich Koz (Svengoolie), Tammy Faye Starlite (check our interview here), Michael McKean, Randy and Jason Sklar, Ted Leo, Aimee Mann, Michael Penn, Chris Murphy, Dag Juhlin, Kelley Stoltz, Trace Beaulieu, Frank Conniff, and Patton Oswalt.
Ceramic smokeware pioneers Miwak Junior have quietly reappeared with a new collection worth getting your paws on.
Rest in power, Nikki Giovanni. You were a real one.
Other consumables for December
Get Millie Black - HBO just launched a black detective mystery in Jamaica-England with complex family dynamics and generational abuse, grief, that’s cinematic and moody, a strong female protagonist with a sexy situationship and interesting trans characters living on the fringes of society—why is no one talking about this show?!
Le Petite Occasion Caramels - I mentioned these briefly in the last Consumption Lounge, but I just want to underscore that these Hudson Valley caramels from a former EMP pastry chef are fucking amazing and you should buy them immediately.
JoJo’s Dark Chocolate Peppermint Pretzel Bites - As many of you may know, I have been on a wellness journey that you never asked about but I told you anyway. These low sugar, gluten-free, keto-friendly chocolate bites are so good that you might have to secretly hoard them lest the skeptics find them—mostly because they’re kind of expensive because they’re made with legit ingredients that taste better than your average chocolate bar and satisfying enough so that the suggested serving size of two to three is actually doable.
Divine Bean to Bar Hanukkah Gelt x T’ruah - One of my biggest pet peeves about Jewish traditional foods is that many of get so stuck on the “tradition” part (OK, Fiddler) where we stick to shitty products without an ethical backbone just because they’re familiar or our grandparents ate it. Which is why I love this collaboration between bean-to-bar brand, Divine Bean and T'ruah: the Rabbinic Call for Human Rights to promote Kosher Fair Trade gelt promoting the human rights of all workers, empowering farmers, and ending labor abuses in the cocoa industry. Eat better chocolate!
Pepperidge Farm Rachel Antonoff Collection - Did I fall for this adorable holiday collaboration? You bet I did! Milanos were the obvious cookie choice, but I settled for the Linzers for aesthetic purposes.
Cosori 11-in-1 Air Fryer Oven with Rotisserie - As someone who usually buys at least one rotisserie chicken a week, obsessed is an understatement to describe how life-changing this recent purchase was. Best $99 I have ever spent. It replaces my toaster oven, air fryer, and has a rotisserie with fry basket that roasts a chicken in about 40 minutes.
Vitamix Food Cycler - New York has been rolling out a compost program, but I ended up getting this food cycler on Black Friday that has been rewarding to turn my scraps into soil-rich fertilizer for my houseplants.
Knapp Cast Iron Scrubber - How many years have I been cleaning my cast iron without this?! This has radically improved my cast iron cleaning routine, effectively getting all the bits off the pan without destroying it. Plus, it’s one-time investment and infinitely easier to clean than a brush. Get it, get it, get it.
Kush Queen Delta 8 Chocolate Chip Cookies for “Santa.”
If you live in a state that carries them, the Dr. Norms Chocolate Chip Cookies are pretty good, too!
I forgot to mention mainly because I’ve been too lazy to get my medical card and haven’t tried it yet, but Incredibles has teamed up with Magnolia Bakery for a limited edition Banana Pudding cannabis chocolate bar in New York and New Jersey dispensaries.
Onsen Secret Nail Buffer - My nails were looking a little scraggly after all my stylin’, so I picked up this nail buffer and oh boy, is it a game-changer. It actually makes your natural nails shiny instantly and healthier to help them restore.
After you get nails looking good again, time to ruin them with silver French tip press ons (use the KISS PowerFlex Maximum Speed Nail Glue instead of the stuff in the box because it’s amazing and only $1). When you need to take everything off, use this Mineral Fusion Non-Acetone Vegan Nail Polish Remover which is gentle on your body and the environment—but somehow better than regular polish remover, too?
Winter is finally here and I am oh-so-glad I got this responsible down puffer jacket from Quince that has built-in hand warmers! I kind of wish I had gotten the one that’s just slightly longer, but the cropped is pretty cute!
MORE FROM THE CONSUMPTION LOUNGE
Consumption Lounge: Holiday Shopping, From Danksgiving to Green Wednesday
Consumption Lounge: October is for Lovers
Consumption Lounge: Spark Joy This September
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