Things I Loved This Month
Content, food, and product recommendations from the heart (and to expand your ideas)
Starting this month, I’ll publish a newsletter every last Monday with my top picks from that month.
From content, to music, to food, to products… anything that I thought was really worth it, that made me feel something, or expanded my mind.
This is for people who want to expand their repertoire but don’t always know where to find good content, and for those who are tired of being blasted with ads on social media and just want some good recs they can trust.
Something that made me think
I’ll share 2 on this one:
This Big Think video with Yuval Noah “Why advanced societies fall for mass delusion”
This post by Trung Phan “How does Docusign have 7,000 employees?” about why B2B SaaS won’t automatically cease to exist in the age of AI coding agents.
Something that made me happy
I found out that Pergamino Coffee delivers in the U.S!!! I absolutely love their coffee and it's shipped directly from Medellin, Colombia.
Also, Bad Bunny winning the Grammy's and performing at the Superbowl. Absolutely iconic. If you're starting your Bad Bunny fan era right now, I recommend listening to my podcast episode “Bad Bunny, Identity, and the Power of Authenticity” to understand why he became so popular over the years.
Something that made me cry
Eric Dane’s final interview on Netflix’s “Famous Last Words“ series. The part where he says that he “finally feels like he’s enough” hit me hard.
Something that made me laugh
Hasan Minhaj’s interview with Neil deGrasse: Why AI is Overrated. The beginning was pretty funny. It's one of these things that as a podcast host I wish I had thought of myself.
What I’m reading
Machado de Assis’ Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas (The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas): I'm halfway through, so I'll have more of a formed opinion on the story once I'm done reading it. So far, the writing has blown me away.
Michelle Obama’s “Becoming”: I’m only 8 years late to this one (clown emoji), but I’m glad I finally got to it. I’m actually listening to it on Audible, and I love that it's narrated by Michelle herself. The part where she talks about her Princeton experience and the burden of assimilation really resonated with me as an immigrant.
What I’m eating
My favorite Chicago discovery this month was Uncle Mike's Place. The breakfast is phenomenal. We've had it pretty much every weekend since trying it.
What I’m listening to
Brazilian artist Alceu Valença's Saudade de Pernambuco album. For some very random reason, I started to have recurrent dreams with him when I first moved to the U.S 4 years ago.
I then came across this album, which was written during his self-imposed exile in Paris, during the Military Dictatorship in Brazil.
This album is about being homesick. This month I remember it existed and have been playing it consistently.
Products actually worth buying
I've been on the market for a reliable black purse for probably 3 years (a stupid amount of time for something that should be easy. I know).
I just kept going back and forth! I didn't want to splurge, but at the same time wanted something of high quality.
But I didn't want one that everyone has, or one that I would quickly get sick of.
Then I came across the Verafied Silver Noir Éclair Bag purse on Jenna Litner’s page and got it for Valentine's Day! It just got delivered last week and it's all I want to wear.
It's absolutely gorgeous and can be worn in 3 different styles: as a clutch, with short straps, and with long straps.
Excuse the average picture, I haven't taken any good ones yet lol. But I'm stoked about it.
The other product I repurchased this month is Lolavie's Perfecting leave in conditioner. I had forgotten that this product existed, but I'm so glad I remembered.
The photo below is from a day I washed my hair with regular shampoo and conditioner (literally Suave shampoo) and applied just the leave-in afterwards.
I got it at the same time as the Olaplex Nº 6, and I will say I like this one on my hair 10x better.
That's it!
I hope any of this is useful. If you read/tried/watched/listened to something amazing this month, I'd love to hear your recs!