"Dial Drunk," rainbow o'clock, and the burrito method

Spring 2023 Round-Up

Those who have been subscribed to my newsletter for a while might remember an end-of-year feature called, “Shohreh’s Favorite Things.” I’ve decided that rather than making y’all wait until the year is almost over, I’m giving you 4x the fun with a quarterly round-up. Every three months, I’ll put together a list of my favorites (which will include some affiliate links, each clearly marked with an asterisk) across a handful of categories.

So, without further ado, it’s time to jump into the Spring 2023 Round-Up!

Music I’ve Been Vibing With

Noah Kahan’s Stick Season was one of my top albums of 2022. Recently, Noah released the deluxe edition, Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever) and phewwwwww. It’s a perfect continuation of the Stick Season universe. I’ve been spinning “Dial Drunk” for weeks.

Janelle Monáe’s new album, The Age of Pleasure, is fantastic. It’s been a while since I’ve heard an album that flows so seamlessly from song to song to create such a harmonious listening experience. Plus, the subject matter (explicitly queer sexuality, Black artistry, freedom, and authentic expression) is *chef’s kiss.* And it doesn’t hurt that the music video for “Lipstick Lover” broke my sapphic brain.

Lastly, boygenius recently released their much-anticipated album, the record. My personal fave songs are “Anti-Curse,” “Not Strong Enough” (excuse me while the lyric, “Always an angel, never a god," repeats in my brain over and over for the rest of time), “True Blue,” and “Emily I’m Sorry.” I can’t wait to see them live at Red Rocks in August!

Besides those full albums, here are some songs I haven’t been able to get out of my head:

• “Padam Padam” by Kylie Minogue, which I swear is currently imprinted on the brain of every gay

• The updated version of Taylor’s Swift’s “Snow On The Beach,” now featuring more Lana Del Rey

• “Hate Me Harder” by Kesha

• “Tattoo” by Loreen

• “Modern Love” by All Time Low

• “SNAP” by Rosa Linn

• “King of Hearts” by Kim Petras

• “Colorado” by Reneé Rapp (sentimentally so because we just moved to Colorado)

• “Eyes Wide Shut” by ILLENIUM, Avril Lavigne, and Travis Barker

• “What a Time To Be Alive” by Fall Out Boy

What I’ve Been Watching

Two excellent Freevee shows I watched this past quarter were Jury Duty (everybody is an actor on the jury for a trial except one guy—the very lovable Ronald) and High School (from and about Tegan and Sara!).

We, of course, watched The Ultimatum: Queer Love on Netflix in all its messiness and ridiculousness (big trigger warning for toxic relationship dynamics). Though let me also make a plug for the queer season of Are You The One? (Season 8), which features a cast of folks who are all sexually fluid and is available to watch on Hulu. I had never heard of it, but Jessie suggested we watch it and it was so fun.

I was late to watching The Big Brunch on HBO (now called Max, I guess?), but I staunchly recommend it. The vibes are immaculate (hello, Dan Levy!).

We’ve also been working our way through Season 2 of Yellowjackets (it’s SO good, but it is also SO difficult for me to watch because of the gore) and doing a full rewatch of The O.C., taking me right back to my high school days. And by myself, I finished both seasons of Hacks and both seasons of Euphoria.

Products I Recommend

I have been loving this NewAir Beverage Refrigerator*. In our old house, our drinks tended to take up way too much space in the fridge, so I wanted a designated separate space for drinks in this new house. Compared to a lot of the options on the market, this fridge was more affordable and was consistently included at the top of lists of the best drink fridges. The shelves are adjustable, and there’s also space at the bottom for wine/bubbly bottles.

I’ve had to familiarize myself with more devices for security lately than I’d prefer. Unfortunately, we experienced something really scary when we moved into our new place. As a result of that, one of the things we’ve added to all of our doors (including our bedroom door) is an extra security door lock*. They’re also (apparently) great for childproofing.

In addition, since car and license plate theft are common crimes in Colorado, I stocked up on anti-theft devices for my vehicle. I now use this steering wheel club* in tandem with this seatbelt steering wheel lock* whenever I need to park downtown or at a trailhead. I purchased anti-theft license plate frames* as well, except they only came in black, which was not going to work for me. So I bedazzled them with spray paint and glitter. ✨

Probably my most prized addition to our new place is the rainbow privacy window film* I purchased to apply to a handful of windows that are a little too close for comfort to a neighbor’s windows. Now, we get to celebrate what I have dubbed “rainbow o’clock” every single day. I’m so obsessed with this stuff that I’m planning to make a whole TikTok about it.

On the left is the film on a window in our primary bedroom, and on the right is a picture of the film in our laundry room casting rainbows down the hallway.

We decided we wanted to get more into puzzles this year (they’re a great accompaniment to watching trash TV 😆), but our living room setup didn’t have a great space for it. So we purchased a puzzle table*! The only con about it is that it takes up a decent amount of room, but we haven’t minded. We bought some puzzle trays* too (to make sorting the pieces easier), and they fit nicely on the table’s bottom shelf.

Our current in-progress puzzle.

For my fellow writers and aspiring authors, there are two craft books I read recently that I found so, so helpful and informative: (1) Before and After the Book Deal by Courtney Maum*; and (2) Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody*.

Other products I’m loving right now include:

• Two different items that have taken my eyelash game to the next level: (1) the YSL Beauty Lash Clash Extreme Volume Mascara (best mascara I’ve ever used); and (2) this inexpensive but effective eyelash separator set*.

• The Gerard Cosmetics Clean Canvas Eye Concealer and Base* in white. I have it in another color too, but the white is perfect to make sure that lighter eyeshadows can actually pop on my olive skin.

• This bamboo makeup brush air drying rack*. I HATE cleaning my brushes, but Jessie appreciates that I no longer steal the utensil rack from the dishwasher when I need to let my brushes dry. 😅

• My new favorite brand for loose-leaf tea is Palais des Thés.

• Since discovering my hair is quite wavy, I’ve been wearing a bonnet to bed on at least the first couple of nights after washing. I have these YANIBEST bonnets* in three different colors because the adjustable strap means they actually stay on my head through the night.

• I bought this 10-pack of sparkly rainbow pinwheels* and put them all over my front and backyard, and they bring me so much joy.

• Now that I’m an engaged girly, I needed something to clean my engagement ring with. These CONNOISSEURS Diamond Dazzle Stiks* are the shittttt.

Miscellaneous

Anything that doesn’t fit into the other categories has a home here:

• A few months ago, I saw this video on TikTok that teaches the “burrito method” for getting your duvet comforter back into your duvet cover, and I’ve been using it ever since. It takes a couple of times to get it down, but once you do, it’s so worth it!

• I have taught quite a few people about the awesomeness of high-yield savings accounts (HYSAs) over the last few months, so if you haven’t heard of them, this is for you. The reason HYSAs tend to be a better option than traditional savings accounts is that they accrue more interest (the rates change depending on what’s going on with the economy at the moment—as of this writing they’re at about a 4% annual percentage yield), and many of them don’t have minimum balance requirements or fees. They’re great for money you want to have on hand but don’t plan to use immediately (like if you’re building an emergency fund or saving up for a big purchase). There are tons of different banks that offer HYSAs, so I recommend researching to compare. I closed all of my traditional savings accounts and now exclusively have HYSAs at Marcus. If you like what they’re about, you’re welcome to use my referral link* to open your first HYSA, which will get both of us a 1% referral bonus for 3 months.

That’s all for this round-up, folks! If you have questions or want to chat about anything I included, don’t hesitate to comment (if you’re a paid subscriber) or reach out via email.

Queerly yours,

Shohreh

*Links with an asterisk are affiliate links. If you purchase items using those links, I earn a small commission which helps support my writing and other content.

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