Sweet Treats
Hi all, happy Wednesday! December has really flown by — can you believe Christmas is next week? What’s everyone’s holiday plans?
Zit Zappers
I started getting acne around age 12-13, and of course I wasn’t thrilled about it, but I wasn’t too distraught either; I really believed that it was just a phase I’d grow out of and that by the time I graduated college all my skin woes would be a mere speck in the rearview mirror. Ahh, how young I was, how sweet and naïve! It’s definitely improved since puberty, but the past 9 months of exercising minimally, stress-eating Hot Cheetos, and overall existing in a constant state of low-level anxiety have done a number on my skin. These hydrocolloid pimple patches from Starface have been a godsend; I slap one on whenever a new spot emerges, and it works to calm the irritation and prevents me from picking and making matters worse. Plus, sporting a face full of stars is certainly a lot cuter than a constellation of angry spots.
Puzzle It Out
PARADISE FOUND PUZZLE - PIECEWORK PUZZLES
My family and I don’t really do game nights — we don’t own a single Scrabble, Monopoly, or Clue board — but we do do puzzles. We quickly worked our way through our modest stash of Ravensburgers, so I’ve been on the lookout for something a little more modern and trendy. This Vox article about how jigsawing is all the rage right now turned me on to the plethora of Insta-friendly, millennial-minded D2C puzzle brands that have sprung up to supply the demand. I liked Four Point Puzzles’ graphic gradients and Puzz’s charming plant prints, but in the end it was Piecework’s bountiful baroque still-life that spoke to me the most. If you’re looking for a family bonding activity that won’t dissolve into tears or shouting, I highly recommend puzzles.
Just Desserts
6” 2-LAYER CELEBRATION CAKE - JEJOCA
I could literally feel my salivary glands kick into overdrive the moment I stumbled across Jessica-Joan Causing’s cakes on Instagram. Causing is a Brooklyn-based Filipinx designer whose artistic confections are a feast for both the eyes and the tastebuds; eschewing boring old vanilla in favor of flavors like oolong, mugwort, pandan, and black sesame, her cakes are then garnished with marzipan pearls, candied fruit slices, and delightfully Seussian flora. Unfortunately the cakes can’t be shipped across the country and are only available for pickup, so all my New York friends, please stop by and let me live vicariously through you!!
Tried one of my recs and loved it (or hated it)? Wanna get something cool on my radar? Drop me a line at kittylguo@gmail.com or swing by my Twitter @kitguo!