Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Talking About What Nobody Else Will

Last week on the podcast, we finally covered an issue that’s been on everyone’s minds for awhile now: the bar soap vs. body wash debate. And, to give you some time to decompress from such a heavy topic, we followed it up this week with an episode on pimple patches, fake condiments, and other can’t-miss contributions to this newsletter.

erica’s things

claire’s things

turn it up to 11 - from claire

  • Discovering a dry shampoo that actually makes my hair feel cleaner, not just...gunkier.

Read More
Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Putting a Little Spring in Your Socks

If you’re still working up the courage to get a little wild with your socks, this is the season—and this is the assortment—to make it happen. Take it from us: This trend is sticking around, and embracing it is a wildly satisfying way to feel like you put in more than just a jeans-and-tee level of effort. 

erica’s things

claire’s things

  • Walking back my policy on only eating sushi if it’s at Sugarfish—I’ve now added NYC’s Katsuei to the list of approved establishments.

  • Letting you in on a weird secret: The Amtrak magazine, The National, has gotten really, surprisingly good (and beautiful!) lately. Worth the price of a ticket, if ya ask me.

  • Owning up to my Instagram crush on this one. Her stories (and her @thetinybusinessman) are eminently dependable as my daily LOL.

  • Nodding at the sheer genius of The Hunt a handy, cheeky little guidebook for navigating the world of collecting art and design objects—everything from insider terms to gallery and flea-market etiquette. Just in time for a trip to Brimfield!

  • Testing out Turo—like an Airbnb for automobiles—on my next trip out West. Airport rental-car shuttle, I will not miss thee.

turn it up to 11 - from erica

  • Buying into the concept of a right-hand ring only for the excuse to get myself this.

Read More
Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Keeping you Current on the ‘Cast

A podcast half-month in review, right this way:

erica’s things

  • Losing it every time I even think of this bumper sticker.

  • Tossing all my spatulas except the one that’s technically made for fish but is, in practice, better for everything. I’m sure the salmon filets are down to share.

  • Diving deeper into the experience of children migrating to the U.S. with the slim, moving, and inquisitive read Tell Me How It Ends.

  • Plotting a return visit to the NYC Japanese comfort-food spot Bessou—go for the scallop hotpot; stay for the design. And let me know how brunch is?

  • Flagging this goodie for pregnant friends. I hear belly itch is a THING.

claire’s things

turn it up to 11 - from claire

  • Feeling like we’re going to need a sign-up sheet in the office to mitigate all the inevitable instances of twinning in this dress.

Read More
Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Letting You in on the Sleeper Hits

If there’s anything we’ve learned from seven-plus years of retail, it’s that no matter how much you learn, you never know what’s going to be the thing that sends people into a buying frenzy. Here’s a peek into what everyone’s scooping up these days:

• Dainty, unexpected little somethings like this choker.
• Simple and inexpensive home upgrades we can’t keep in stock like these happy-making hooks.
Easy, comfortable denim that feels dressy enough for the office (or, at least, our office).

erica’s things

claire’s things

turn it up to 11 - from erica

  • Letting my relationship with bar soap go to my head and using the stuff on my hair.

Read More
Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Trying Our Best to Answer Your Questions

Here’s what you’ve been missing if you haven’t checked in with our podcast in a minute…

Katonya Breaux, the woman responsible for our SPF obsession, talks about cosmetics for people of color and what it’s like to go from helming a construction company to launching a beauty empire. LISTEN

We share listener feedback on flossing (who knew y’all had so much to say on the topic?) and field a bunch of questions that we are probably not entirely qualified to be answering. LISTEN

erica’s things

claire’s things

turn it up to 11 - from claire

  • Stocking up on these because they make an A+ alternative to a bottle of wine as a dinner-party hostess gift.

Read More
Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Working on Something New

It’s no secret that when we’re not serving up goodness on Of a Kind (and in this newsletter...and on our podcast!), we’re lending our supreme talents to everyone’s favorite place to go to buy one thing but leave with six things—Bed Bath & Beyond, duh. And we have a big reveal on that front that we’re pretty damn proud of: It’s called One More Thing (because clearly we’re gunning to own the “thing” universe), and it’s chock-full of stories about wonderfully designed homes, talented illustrators, tricks to improve your life, and so much more. Check it out, give it a follow, and tell us what ya think. (And, for a little BBB insider intel that’ll really make your day, take a listen to our interview with their bestiepreneur founders.)

erica’s things

claire’s things

  • Whoooooaing over this video-game-meets-journalism mashup that puts you in the driver’s seat as...the owner of a shopping mall.

  • Spending a cozy weekend doing absolutely nothing but reading by the fire, playing games, and eating (lots of eating) at The Debruce in Upstate NY.

  • Following a really silly Twitter account called Wu Tang Financial that, every once in ten tweets, drops something that has me chuckling to myself all day...like this and this and this.

  • Cheering on Stacy London for her bare-it-all honesty about going broke. A useful read and reminder.

  • Reaching a new high (or low, depending on who you ask) in my Vanderpump fandom by subscribing to—you guessed it!—the Sexy Unique Podcast.

turn it up to 11 - from erica

  • Convincing myself a boring sweater-and-jeans outfit is far dressier when I put either of these on.

Read More
Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Galentining

Galentine’s Day is upon us and, boy girl, are we prepared. We pulled together some of our most charming little gift sets yet, took to the podcast to interview a legit expert in female friendship, and even brought you the most modern take on a BFF necklace (and a BFF card) possible. Now go on and spread the love to your coven.

erica’s things

claire’s things

turn it up to 11 - from claire

  • Washing my hair just once a week, but always with this and this.

Read More
Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Getting Cracking

On this week’s podcast ‘sode, we discussed the funniest writer on the whole wide internet, the saddest egg yolk in the Sanrio universe, and a few other things that, sure, have shown up in this newsletter but really deserved a whooole talk-out.

erica’s things

claire’s things

turn it up to 11 - from claire

  • Smiling every time I catch a glimpse of this thing on the wall in our office.

Read More
Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Yoga-ing with the Cool Kids

Any yoga spot that claims a jumbo stuffed giraffe as its mascot is one we’re interested in knowing more about. This week’s podcast ep features Sky Ting co-founder Krissy Jones, who, along with her #workwife Chloe Kernaghan, runs the show at a pair of NYC studios that attract all the hippest and limberest yogis around—including one Ms. Erica Cerulo, the coolest and stretchiest of them all. (Says Claire, who is wrong, says Erica, who is flattered.) There’s also an infrared sauna involved, and we’ll wager you’re going to want to know more about that. 

erica’s things

claire’s things

  • Embarking on my 300th attempt to become someone who flosses daily and enlisting this guy as my accountability partner. He’s fun.

  • Slacking Erica, like, twelve different quotes from a fist-pumpingly honest piece by Ellen Pompeo about how she became the highest-paid actress on primetime.

  • Stocking up on these things so my wonderful, laundry-doing husband will stop dyeing all of my underwear blue-gray.

  • Making miles on the dreadmill infinitely more bearable by doubling up on distractions: playlist in my ears, closed-captioned Suits on the iPad. More workout-ready TV shows (from the experts) here

  • Feeling truly mystified by the fact that it took me this long to get an auto-refill Metrocard—missing a train while standing in line for a semi-functioning machine is no way to start a day.

turn it up to 11 - from claire

  • Celebrating the fact that the CBD rub I swear by now comes in a subtler—lavender!—scent that still offers up plenty of migraine-soothing wonder.

Read More
Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Talking About the Best Things

Happy MLK Day, guys. Have you seen the premiere of David Letterman’s new show on Netflix? There are some poignant and moving moments of reflection with John Lewis and Barack Obama on civil rights and how far we have and haven’t come. Elsewhere on the internet—specifically on this week’s episode of our podcast—we discussed things we have strong feelings about but that are perhaps just too obvious to put in this newsletter. Among them: Michael Jackson’s most underappreciated single, the most beautiful boarding pass in the entire airport, and the second coming of Bratz dolls.

erica’s things

  • Reading up on an aspirational-as-all-hell job I’d never considered for a minute: ski-map designer.

  • Getting a shiver down my spine every time I think about the dark, sorta mystical short stories of Her Body and Other Parties. If you really feel like falling for its author, listen to her here.

  • Appreciating this education in black women and traumatic birth experiences, sparked by Serena Williams’s openness about hers.

  • Marketing this cocktail to myself as suuuper healthy, what with its ACV and all. It’s like a wintertime whisky sour (esp. if you go significantly lighter on the maple syrup).

  • Trying out Ellevest, a platform that is working to help close the gender investment gap with an approach that feels welcoming and never condescending.

claire’s things

  • Remembering how easy and cozy and fun it is to just make your own damn pizza sometimes (hey, snow-day activity), helped along by this v. v. v. good jarred sauce.

  • Making a case (with the help of Janet Mock) that the most fascinating Jenner is actually Kris.

  • Deeming the wait times at L.A.’s Kang Hodong Baekjeong well worth it...and I say that as someone who used to think I didn’t even like Korean BBQ. (I imagine their NYC spot is deserving of the same praise.)

  • Making a promise to you that whenever a great interview with Terry Gross gets published, I’ll always make sure it shows up here.

  • Being surprised by just how much joy an Instagram account called @90smovieclips could bring me—this is no amateur internet nostalgia.

turn it up to 11 - from claire

  • Swooning over this whenever my husband wears it. (Is that a creepy thing to say? So be it.)

Read More
Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Resolving to Keep Podcasting

We get that you’re trying to leave a lot of shit behind in 2017, but our podcast definitely deserves a spot in the “keep” pile. There’s so much good stuff happening for the year of the dog, starting with this you’re-definitely-gonna-love-it ep featuring the amazing Jen Gotch. And if you were too busy doing, ya know, holiday stuff in December, catch up on our thoughts on charitiescurriespilates, and parties.

erica’s things

  • Resurfacing this workplace-sexism romp that came out during my movie-consuming heyday but that I managed to miss.

  • Obsessing over two New Mexico café-slash-shop thingies: Modern General in Santa Fe and Manzanita Market in Taos.

  • Struggling to put into words exactly what I found to be so downright charming about How to Behave in a Crowd, about the youngest sibling in a family of overachieving French intellectuals and the only one who cares about people more than books.

  • Doubling down on pears for dinner. With salmon! With brussels sprouts!

  • Relying on something called a pimple patch when a zituation gets really gnarly. I hear they’re pretty fantastic no matter what brand you go with, but I can only vouch for the gunk-absorbing powers of these ones.

claire’s things

  • Cutting out alcohol for January but downing so much hot fudge in its place—specifically this Nancy Silverton recipe. (Sans the coffee bit, but you do you—the only thing I insist on is Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Bean as a base.)

  • Remembering what it feels like to never want to leave a bookstore thanks to Arcana in Culver City, California.

  • Answering the question of WTF to wear over your shorts for the five-minute, five-degree walk to the gym. Key character trait: no shoe removal required to put ‘em on or take ‘em off.

  • Going deep on Tiffany Haddish because she makes me happy. I endorse: her book, her NYTimes interview, and especially this acceptance speech.

  • Wishing it hadn’t taken the occasion of her death for me to learn about Zubaida Tariq, aka the Martha Stewart of Pakistan.

turn it up to 11 - from claire

  • Taking this beauty with me on my holiday travels and vowing to never vacation with anything other than a crossbody bag again—it makes everything immeasurably easier.

Read More
Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Shopping our Major Sale

Time to put reading this email on pause for a minute and to bang out a quick command-T because our semi-annual 30% off sale is raging on, and things are selling out fast. Use the code YEAROUT at checkout—oh, and don’t forget to explore the markdown section, too. 

erica’s things

claire’s things

  • Planning to spend less time struggling over how to pen the perfect thank-you note this holiday season by following this totally straightforward formula.

  • Asking myself every single time I use a frying pan how anyone manages not to splatter the contents of it all over their countertops...and thinking I finally may have found the answer.

  • Celebrating the fact that Brooklyn finally got a nail salon that makes the boredom of sitting through a manicure a little prettier.

  • Telling fidget spinners to move over—splat balls are way more satisfying, IMHO.

  • Curling up with the wonderfully weird and funny Made for Love, perhaps the closest I’ve ever gotten to enjoying something sci-fi(-ish).

turn it up to 11 - from erica

  • Surviving -5℉ temps—and having this wonder pretty much entirely to thank.

Read More
Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Wrapping Things Up

Guys, it’s time. Time for you to close out the rest of your holiday shopping, and time for us to hit our Q4 revenue goals. So let’s just take care of this thing right here, right now. Your impossible-to-please brother is definitely not going to turn his nose up at this thing. That niece of yours who already thinks you’re the coolest is going to lose it when she unwraps this box. Maybe 2017 can be the year you finally top what your BFF gives you with this instant favorite. And you might want to stock up on a couple extra of these, just in case your mom forgot to tell you about how she invited your step-cousins over for dinner on the 24th? 

erica’s things

  • Running all of my holiday movie viewing through Rotten Apples—luckily, Love Actually and Elf are watchable still.

  • Pining for a pepper mill.

  • Wondering if Gudetama, a seemingly exhausted and downtrodden egg yolk, is the Sanrio character we deserve right now. Either way, it’s cracking (heh) me up.

  • Degunking my coffee grinder—something I, uh, quite possibly have never done before?—in two minutes flat.

  • Considering hopping on this idea for a side business.

claire’s things

  • Making a donation to Higher Heights, an org that supports black women running for office and is working to harness their collective economic and voting power, too.

  • Patching up a leak in my winter boots with the magic of Aquaseal.

  • Very much digging this real-life realization of one of my fave concepts and books, The Power of a Positive No.

  • Wasting a lot of time (and, um, money) ogling beautiful Shaker design pieces all over the internet—everything from chairs to kitchens to random objects.

  • Feeling like I have two new smart and in-the-know British BFFs thanks to the extremely bingeable podcast The High Low.

turn it up to 11 - from claire

Read More
Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Tricking Out Our Sale Section

Checked out our sale section lately? It just got some new goods, and it’s looking fresh.

erica’s things

  • Having the hots for a a menorah.

  • Urging ya to rush out to see School Girls; or, the African Mean Girls Play if you get the chance. (Related: Loving a production without an intermission.)

  • Preparing to road-air-test these tips for sleeping on a plane a bunch in the coming weeks.

  • Falling for every single person mentioned in this article and Tonya Harding most of all.

  • Using poor judgment and spreading the word about MeMe’s Diner, the exceptionally pleasant, comfort-food-y spot a stone’s throw from my apartment where I probably won’t be able to get a table in a couple of months.

claire’s things

  • Delighting in so many moments of genius from TabloidArtHistory.

  • Sharing big news: I’m finally winning the toilet-scrubber war. (Background on this historic conflict can be found here.)

  • Enthusiastically co-signing Erica’s endorsement of this tinted SPF—feels great, looks great, is great.

  • Running into conversations about the latest New Yorker short story in every corner of my life, and with good reason—it’s a fantastic piece of writing that is remarkably, chillingly familiar. (Call me a narcissist, but I googled the author to try to figure out if she’d dated one of my exes.)

  • Applauding The Cut on a truly genius concept for a column and spending way too much time pondering what my take would be—I’m thinking “How Borderline Deranged Zoobilee Zoo Was, Especially for a Children's Show.”

turn it up to 11 - from erica

  • Buying presents that don’t even need to be wrapped.

Read More
Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Putting All the Deals on the ‘Gram

Are you not following us on Instagram? First of all: We accept your apology. And, second of all: Get your thumbs ready—we’re rolling out IG-only discounts for five straight days. Don’t miss ‘em. 

erica’s things

claire’s things

  • Ticking one of these off my shopping bucket list—best of the best.

  • Getting a lot of guff for trying to convince people at the office that owning a box cutter is a legitimately life-changing thing in this era of too many ecomm shipments...but putting it in 10 Things anyway. Try it. You’ll see.

  • Thinking I wasn’t the fancy-romance-y, lacey underwear type until I tried on some stuff from Simone Perele that managed to change my mind right quick.

  • Perfecting a recipe that is the embodiment of all my favorite things about Asian flavors—brought to life in a single, simple sauce.

  • Knowing I already told you once but now telling you again: Do not sleep on R. Eric Thomas.

turn it up to 11 - from claire

  • Finding myself wearing this thing upwards of twice a week—never was there ever a more perfect top for layering under sweaters.

Read More
Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Taking 15% off the Greatest Gift Sets on Earth

Sometimes even the best people on your gifting list are a pain in the ass to buy for. Not because you don’t know ‘em well enough and not because they don’t mean enough to you—but just because they’re tough to pin down. We created our gifts sets for those people. (And, okay, we also created them for your cousin-in-law, who, frankly, you don’t know well enough and doesn’t mean enough to you.) Use the code GETSET to take 15% off any of these perfectly put-together presents—but hurry because that offer ends tonight at 11:59 P.M. ET, and we promise you this: A more fitting gift is not going to suddenly reveal itself on December 23rd.

erica’s things

claire’s things

  • Convincing even the most aggressive orange-wine-skeptics at the dinner table to order this stuff by the bottle once they’d had a sip of it.

  • Inching closer to to a cell-phone-free bedroom by pulling the trigger on a good-looking alarm clock.  

  • Trying to remember the last time I went on vacation without Bananagrams in tow.

  • Listening to a lot of Longform these days ‘cause they’re really on a roll featuring a roster of badass women with incredible stories to tell, including Kara SwisherJodi Kantor, and Maggie Haberman.

  • Taking my newfound sneaker enthusiasm one step further with a seriously beautiful (but also legit fascinating!) book that helps make the whole realm feel a little less frivolous thanks to first-person deep-dives into the business and design details of the classics.

turn it up to 11 - from erica

  • Declaring this the wackiest face wash I’ve ever massaged into my pores. (Its bizarreness also makes it a very good gift, by the by.)

Read More
Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Asking 2018 to Hurry It up Already

Oh, 2017, you’ve really known how to push our buttons—especially when it comes to our sanity and sense of calm. So, it is with a healthy mix of anticipation and trepidation that we march forward towards 2018, armed with, if nothing else, a goddamn great-looking wall calendar. That’s right, friends, the Of a Kind 2018 wall calendar has landed, and, like each one before it, it is even better than last year’s. Chock-full of original prints from Of a Kind designers, it makes the perfect gift for the person for whom there is no perfect gift—your office secret santa, your next-door neighbor, your bodega guy. Oh, and you’ll want one for yourself, too. Obviously.

erica’s things

  • Getting so much out of this podcast interview with Ina Garten that I recapped the bulk of it to Claire live. (She’s welcome??)

  • Raving about something called a delicata squash burrito bowl that doesn’t seem like it could possibly be as delicious as it is.

  • Witnessing many a new baby contraption over a wedding weekend and coming home especially impressed with these, which seemed to make dancing to “Summer of ‘69” a lot more enjoyable for a three-month-old.

  • Getting a real kick outta this one and this one, who need to be followed on IG as a pair.

  • Convincing myself that I can put a third food-related item in 10 Things this week because this is really, actually about America (and Thanksgiving, but mostly America).

claire’s things

  • Keeping this tab open on my browser all week long because it requires, like, ten tries to take it all in.

  • Appreciating the beauty of this simple reminder.  

  • Steering clear of most Instagram accounts that fall into the category of oddly satisfying (see: pimple-popping, back-waxing, or, um, bread-facing)...but getting a reeeal rush of excitement whenever Elle beauty editor Emily Dougherty posts a new lipstick-smashing vid.

  • Taking a moment to appreciate the golden era of newsletters we’re living in, as exemplified by Racked, which, in addition to their regular (really good) routine, is also offering a four-week series just on closet-cleaning. Genius!

  • Hoping to have an opportunity to use the line “These are not $2 billion shoes” sometime soon.turn it up to 11 - from claire

  • Wanting this real badly for myself—still!—after giving it as a gift years ago.

turn it up to 11 - from claire

  • Swearing up, down, left, right, and center that this hydrating goodness is worth every penny—it was the only thing that worked to salvage my aggressively dry skin after an overdose of retinol, and it’s been keeping me fresh-faced every day since.

Read More
Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Bringing Our Professional Enthusiasm to Sweater Weather

In case the news didn’t make its way to you yet: Professional Enthusiasm got a whole lot cozier last week with the release of our hand-embroidered cashmere sweater, made in partnership with the geniuses over at Lingua Franca, a line with a hell of a backstory. All proceeds from this puppy go straight to Her Justice, an org we love that provides legal support to women living in poverty in NYC—many of whom are survivors of intimate partner violence. Lingua Franca founder Rachelle Hruska came on the ‘cast to talk to us about her socially conscious line that’s straight-up exploded over the last year.

erica’s things

claire’s things

  • Coming to rely pretty heavily on this this hair stuff, which does double-duty as heat protectant and humidity shield.

  • Stocking up on simple little stacking stools because there are never enough convo corners at a party, and these solve for that in the easiest way possible. (And, okay, also double as ottoman, plant stand, place to perch your coffee cup, and god knows what else.) 

  • Putting my money on Gossamer, a smart, timely, woman-led media company nailing the lifestyle and sensibility at the center of cannabis culture.

  • Admitting that somehow this, more than most things, makes me want to eat more fruits and veggies.

  • Still riding high on post-marathon vibes (but you knew that, right?), aided in part by the realization that Shalane Flanagan is a GD case study in Shine Theory.

turn it up to 11 - from erica

  • Encouraging Claire to buy one of these for herself because 1) they’re so beautiful and 2) if she did, she’d have to stop making fun of my alpaca stuffed animals, surely.

Read More
Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Remembering Air Bud

The list of things we’ve toyed with including in this newsletter on a slow week run the gamut from Moana to piña coladas to well-publicized Apple products and a TV show that the whole country is already watching. More on those last two on this week’s podcast! Listen to us wax enthusiastic about things you already know about—but somehow still might not be sold on—here

erica’s things

claire’s things

  • Realizing I’d totally forgotten about the time Brandy was Cinderella and Whitney Houston was her fairy godmother, the oral history of which is a seriously fantastic read.

  • Wondering if I’m allowed to describe an exercise mat as “chic.” What if it is not the requisite ugly shade of royal blue, folds up neatly for storage, and has a really classic logo on it? 

  • Climbing aboard the emotional rollercoaster that is this creepily accurate, full-of-surprises, personalized musical time capsule.

  • Taking a few minutes to drag all my favorite newsletters to my primary inbox so I won’t miss them in the mess that my promotions tab has become. (Don’t you wanna do that with 10 Things? And, hey: Add info@ofakind.com to your contacts list while you’re at it—think of it as an altruistic move ‘cause it’ll help make sure others get it front and center, too. Your good deed for the day is almost done.)

  • Thinking that dumpling-making really oughta be the new fondue—i.e., a participatory, hard-to-screw-up dinner-party activity that feels like the perfect answer for entertaining even the motliest crew of guests.

turn it up to 11 - from claire

  • Wondering if it’s going overboard to get all three of these but feeling like I have enough coffee stains that need covering to justify doing so.

Read More
Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Reading the Room

hat odd sense you have that reading has somehow become all the rage lately? It’s real. And you have Lisa Lucas, executive director of the National Book Foundation and bona fide cool girl, to thank. We snagged her on the podcast just as she was getting ready to throw the literary world’s most important party of the year. Best thing short of an invite, right this way

erica’s things

claire’s things

turn it up to 11 - from claire

  • Jazzing up any outfit in one step (or two, depending on how you do your math?).

Read More