The Weekly Edit: Shooting for the Stars

I moved to D.C. in December 2004.  It was almost a year before I went home to Montana again.  I vividly remember getting out of the car and seeing all the stars above me.  When you’re used to living under the Big Sky, you take them for granted.  But when you haven’t seen them in months, thanks to city light pollution, they suddenly look spectacular.

Standing in that driveway, breathing the crispy winter air, looking up at the stars is probably the most peaceful moment of my life.  It was also the first time I really appreciated Montana.

In 1961, 13 women trained to enter the space program.  They were called the Mercury 13.  And like so many women who were pioneers and trailblazers, there names almost ended up lost to history.

This Netflix documentary covers the journeys of these women — all accomplished pilots — who went through the early testing phases of the astronaut training program.  Eventually, the government cancelled the program, and it was another two decades until Sally Ride became the first American woman in space.  But hearing their stories was a delightful, interesting, and empowering way to spend an hour.

My favorite moment was when someone asked Janey Hart why she wanted to go to the moon: “Well, if you had eight children, you’d want to go to the moon, too.”  The best.

I never considered myself a choker person.  Perhaps, living through the tattoo chokers of the 90s ruined them for me.  But last week, I was at Nordstrom and spotted the cutest Star Choker Necklace on the sales clerk.  To my surprise, it looked incredibly chic, with a dainty minimalism that felt very current.

I also love this simple layered chain from Jules Smith and this $18 rose gold option from Francesca’s.

I was a luxury fashion reporter, $100,000 in debt.

Tell me that’s not the most attention-grabbing headline you’ve seen in a while.  Bethany Biron talks about the strange world of high-fashion journalism where women with $50 in their bank account write about fashions for the 1%.  And sometimes, get caught up in the catwalk melee.

The fall is the time to start wearing dark nail polish.  But while I love my eggplant and navy tips, this season, I’m feeling warm, cozy neutrals.  Here are three of my favorites.

OPI Set in Stone ($12)

OPI Tickle My France-y ($12)

Essie Merino Cool ($9)

 

A few months ago, I discovered that I love, love, to bake bread.  Like many bakers, I was doing cookies and cakes and muffins, and thinking that bread wasn’t as fun or as much of a treat.  But I was wrong.

The best thing about homemade bread is how fresh it tastes. The second best thing is that, unlike dessert bakes, you don’t feel like you’re doing something totally unhealthy by making your own loaves.  If you’re eating bread anyway, why not?  And the third best thing is how cheap it is.  I can make a standard wheat bread for less than $1 a loaf.

My new love of bread baking can now extend to my Instant Pot.  I think I’ll make this raisin bread from Kara Lydon’s recipe for Sunday brunch.  I also found this simple Artisan Bread and this interesting alternative to sourdough, a yogurt whey bread.

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