FMG Newsletter: East Coast Recs + Singles' Cornhole
plus books, obviously!
Happy Friday from me and my cold!
You may find yourself asking where I got said cold. Was it from my day-to-day activities on the autumnal streets of Chicago? Was it from last week’s perfect, beautiful, magical trip to Boston and Rhode Island? Or perhaps it was from my new Monday Night Singles’ Cornhole League. Yes, you read that right — I am now in a Monday Night Singles’ Cornhole League. More on all the above can be found below.
Books: To keep you in suspense (and reading til the end, obviously), I’ll begin with my latest reading material. I finished Ghosts by Dolly Alderton (3/5 stars) and The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop — and if you’re a Gilmore Girls fan and haven’t read the latter yet, I can’t recommend it enough. Kelly Bishop is exactly like Emily Gilmore and also nothing like Emily Gilmore, but in all the right ways respectively. It was a very quick audiobook listen, and Chapters 10 through the end are essentially a love letter to my favorite comfort show. Did you know she and Edward Hermann won their respective Tonys on the same night, over 20 years before they’d meet and play husband-and-wife for seven years? Ugh. What a joy.
I’m now flying through Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan. You may know Kevin as the author of Crazy Rich Asians (and its subsequent seriesmates), and I’m happy to say that Lies and Weddings is equally as delicious. It’s funny, it’s witty, it’s self-aware, and it’s suspenseful. I wish Kevin would write one new book per week. Please, Kevin!!!!
Travel: I’m the new queen of the East Coast! My friends Emily and Charlie got married in Newport, Rhode Island this past weekend, which gave my other friends and me a perfect excuse to spend an extra-long weekend in the northeast. Aside from the obvious highlight (celebrating love, joy, and commitment, of course), a few other highlights from Boston and Newport are below:
Union Oyster House (Boston): The Union Oyster House! Where JFK used to eat weekly for years! How could I not go in! We sat right at the shucking bar, had the signature Sam Adams that’s only available at UOH, and chatted with the shuckers. It was the perfect stop-in along the Freedom Trail*, even for someone as oyster-wary as myself.
Regina Pizzeria (Boston): Conveniently located along the longest blank stretch of the aforementioned Freedom Trail*, the Regina Pizzeria offers takeout pizzas that you can carry along with you as you walk from site to site. I am both very picky and not picky at all about pizza (in that I know what makes it good but I’ll eat the not-good stuff anyway), and I can confidently say it was one of the best pizzas I’ve ever had.
*The Freedom Trail (Boston): Despite committing to doing it weeks prior, I did find myself, right before we were about to set out for the Freedom Trail, hear my dearest Danae say the words, “What IS the Freedom Trail?” And you know what — I didn’t have an answer. But now I do! The Freedom Trail is a 2.5-mile pathway in Boston that connects nearly 20 historical sites. Some are massively important (Park Street Church was a well-known site for abolition activism), and some feel like they belong in that Stars Hollow Museum from that one episode of Gilmore Girls (a statue of Ben Franklin near the grass that his elementary school previously stood on? Could’ve been skipped).
It feels deeply wrong to refer to something as “The Freedom Trail” when, at the time that most of the stops along the trail were in use, only some Americans were truly free. I appreciate this resource, which notes the history of enslavement and the abolition work that took place along the trail.
Contessa (Boston): This restaurant was on literally every single “where to eat in Boston” list, so of course my friends and I made an evening of it and went on our second night in town. We had the single weirdest experience with a sommelier you could possibly imagine, but the food, views, and wine were worth it (I don’t normally do a lot of seafood, but the spicy lobster capellini was insane). I’m not saying that DeuxMoi picked it as their Restaurant of the Week because I ate there this weekend, but I’m also a believer that there’s no such thing as a coincidence.
Lobster Bar (Newport): For someone who says I don’t eat a lot of seafood, I sure did eat a lot of seafood on this trip. When in Rome! I got the lobster roll flight at Lobster Bar, which is exactly what it sounds like. I must say, I don’t really get the hype about the lobster roll. It feels like a glorified vehicle for butter — which I’m certainly not opposed to, but I can melt butter on bread at home for approximately 1/36th of the price. Nevertheless, this place felt like we were having lunch in a rom-com set on the coast, and the views and vibes were great.
Literally just all of Newport (Newport): Our time in Newport didn’t feel nearly long enough, and I already can’t wait to go back — but what I can say is that the views were beautiful and all the shops and restaurants looked so adorable. If I could re-plan the trip, I would’ve stayed an extra day after the wedding to
recoverexplore, but hindsight is 20/20.
The Monday Night Singles’ Cornhole League: Remember when I said I joined a Monday Night Singles’ Cornhole League? I joined a Monday Night Singles’ Cornhole League! It takes place at an indoor pickleball club, I’m partnered up with my friend Maryn, and it’s essentially a series of six 10-minute speed-dating rounds spent holding germ-soaked bags of fabric. And there’s beer! Hug your spouse extra tight tonight — it’s rough out here.
In full disclosure, I actually had a really good time. It was nice to be in an environment where I knew everyone was single and at least relatively intentional about dating, and I was reminded that I’m actually good at talking to boys and that I’ll take any opportunity to pretend I’m the Bachelorette.
And of course… Election Day is less than two weeks away, and I am literally begging you to vote. theSkimm has a really cool resource here, where you can put in your address and it will show you what your ballot will look like, so you can research candidates at all levels to make informed decisions. It’ll also help you find your voting location and (if interested) early voting dates. It’s go time!!!!
May your weekend be fabulous and may my cold go away.
XO, Gail