Notes from a Chronically Online Mom

Over the last couple of weeks, the people I follow for progressive yet non-alarmist politics have started to sound the alarm. Jimmy Kimmel’s sudden suspension also had a lot of people who don’t normally talk politics raising their hands as well. As you guys know, I used to talk politics quite a bit, but over the past couple of years, with the exception of the 2024 election (in which I was firmly Team Kamala), I have avoided the topic as much as possible. It just felt to me like it became impossible to speak up without opening a door to a shit storm of hate. I still feel that way. But I’m also beginning to recognize that silence from people like me is doing our country a lot of damage.

Who are “people like me?” I think it means center left. People who want change, but believe in our institutions, believe in the power of slow progress over time and have no interest in burning it all down. I think we are probably the large majority of the party, but we have the weakest voice online. I saw a video with Jameela Jamil the other day that really hit home with me. She basically said that on the left, you can have almost every belief in common, but if there is one thing you disagree on or if you say one thing even slightly wrong, then you are cast out or called out of touch. I’ve watched this happen to so many liberals I agree with. So, as a result, “people like me” stay quiet. The problem is, then all anyone hears is extreme rhetoric and then they don’t think they belong on either side.

I’m still not really wading in, just sharing my thoughts as things in our country get scarier and scarier. I wanted you all to know I’m paying attention, even though I don’t know how to talk about it.

Okay, now that that’s out of the way, can we talk about some fun stuff?

Let’s start with Harlow who is currently reading The Outsiders for school. She was in the middle of chapter two when she had a very important question for me…

“Are drag races something different than what I think drag races are?”

“What do you think they are?”

“Like Rupaul’s Drag Race?”

Then I had to explain to my 12yo that Sodapop and Pony were not gang fighting in lipstick and heels as she imagined, they were having unofficial car races.

“Are the cars dressed up in drag?”

“No.”

“That is so much less fun than what I thought was happening.”

Sorry!

If you haven’t come across it on your own, you should probably know that Mazzy started a public tiktok page. Her first post got 1.6 million views. We have not figured out how to proceed. I’ll leave it at that.

Frankie attended her first New York Fashion Week fashion show and I went along as her +1. You can see the full video here. She almost ruined it by barking right at the moment when everyone got quiet before the models started walking, but thankfully was well behaved for the rest of the show. I genuinely think she had the best time.

In tech news, Instagram made the most exciting update ever, but I don’t think it’s available to everyone yet. It’s the ability to move posted photos around in your grid. I’m not sure how to properly explain how much this means to me, but if you still curate your grid like it’s 2016, then maybe you understand. The aesthetics of my grid have had me in chokehold since I joined Instagram (what is life, if it is not organized into complimentary squares??), which means that I employ a separate app to plot my grid and regularly tell clients I can’t post their sponsored content today because “I posted a dark piece of content yesterday which doesn’t look good next to [insert brand here], so I need to post a light piece of content today and then I’ll post yours tomorrow.” Now I can just flip them around after posting. Do you guys have this update yet? I didn’t realize I did until I tested it out. Just hold down on a photo on your grid (it has to be a photo, not a reel) and see if it gives you the option to reorder.

Mike and I binged Black Rabbit in two nights. That’s the Jason Bateman and Jude Law drama loosely based on the Spotted Pig in NYC. It isn’t nearly as good as Ozark, but if you like stories about the seedy underbellies of NYC nightlife, I recommend.

If you were super into The Summer I Turned Pretty, then you know the finale episode was actually a trailer for the movie. Although I love the characters, I don’t think the movie was necessary and wished they had just wrapped up the series as planned. All they needed to do was have everyone at the house when Belly and Conrad returned and we would have tied up everything in a bow. But nope! If you are interested, I have a full 8 minute dissertation going through all my thoughts on Tiktok.

Remember the “Dear Harlow” videos I made while Harlow was away at camp, giving her all the pop culture updates? Many of you wanted me to find a way to continue that series even though camp is over, so I made my first attempt over the weekend. You can see the video here. But I’ll also use this newsletter as a place to relay all the pertinent info…

Jimmy Kimmel went back on air (although it will still be banned by several local networks), Jerry left Ben & Jerry (because it sounds like they were making it harder for him to use the brand to speak out about what he believed in), Trump’s beef with Tylenol has me siding with a pharmaceutical company, Selena and Benny got married, Rhianna gave birth to a baby girl, Taylor Swift turned down the Super Bowl, Harry Styles ran the Berlin marathon, and Cardi B announced a world tour.

As for what’s making me laugh on Tiktok lately, there’s a trend where women find a large rock, put it in a box and then gaslight their boyfriends into thinking they bought it for $150 at Anthropologie. After tons of similar videos, in a genius marking move, Anthropologie actually set up a rock display in their store to take the prank one step farther. People are also obsessed with a video of Chinese children dancing like bunnies and turtles for a dance competition. The moves are so impressive that I’ve seen several people try to incorporate them into their own exercise routines. Another funny story is two girls purchasing tickets “to Nice,” boarding their flight and then realizing they were on their way to Tunis (the capital of Tunisia). Their conversation with the flight attendant trying to understand where they were headed sounds like a modern “Who’s on First.” But we have a happy ending. After rerouting to Nice, the Tunisian Tourism Board reached out to offer them an all expenses paid trip back to Tunis, which looks pretty vacation worthy in its own right.

As for my partnerships this month, I “cooked” for Blue Apron, wore a vintage dress for Downton Abbey’s Grand Finale, got takeout from Wonder and completed my interview series for TCL. I wish I could say Purina and Jason Wu paid me to go to that fashion show, but nope. I did that just because it sounded fun. If you’d like to support me, any engagement on those videos would be amazing.

Also, if you liked this newsletter, please remember to click the heart and leave a comment if you are so inclined! I love when this newsletter is a two way street.

I think that’s it! Happy end of September, everyone!