#5SmartReads - June 14, 2023

Jenny on retirement savings, mall brands, and the Savannah Bananas

June 14, 2023

Genevieve “Jenny” Dreizen is the co-founder and COO of Fresh Starts Registry, the first and only platform for everything you need to begin again, including divorce or breakup, moving, career changes, stepping into your truth, or starting again after grief.

Jenny is passionate about creating usable, efficient, and beautiful systems to run Fresh Starts to maintain their Experts, Support Specialists, and Freshies. When not planted in front of her multi-screen setup, Jenny might be found baking brownies, working on a poem or essay, or doing her favorite thing - going for a walk and buying herself a little treat.

I've told you all many, many times how I love clear instructions - it's probably the perfectionist in me. I loved this piece from Heather Newgen outlining eleven things about retirement you may not know which could help you a serious LOT.

From contributing more than you thought you could to your 401K or Roth IRA to rolling over your unused college funds (in a 529 College Savings Account) into your retirement fund (Who knew! Thanks Jen Reid for this info!) there are a ton of helpful nuggets within. Sometimes staying informed on finances can feel overwhelming and like you want to close your eyes TIGHT but pieces like this are easy to digest morsels of education and I appreciate them profoundly.

Do you remember the days of the mall? When we earnestly would pile into the car and re-outfit ourselves with a brand new wardrobe, collecting bag after bag at the clean line of glass fronted stores?

It's wild to think we once shopped this way. Do you miss it? Well if you do, I have some good news: the mall brands are making a comeback. And it's kind of in the way I love the most: by digging back into their brand identities and coming to market for consumer as the more authentic self of the brand.

What's old is new again and fashion is always cyclical so it's refreshing as someone who lived through the glory days of The Gap (I've always been mad about Saffron), it's refreshing to see these stores do what they do best.

Not being a huge wine connoisseur myself, the color of wine has never been that much of a concern for me, but this piece on new findings which will allow wine to be identified by color/type by their seeds alone.

The pips, another term for grape seed I now know, were genetically sequenced and they were able to identify markers that revealed the grape's color. While this might not seem like a big or important finding, it not only educates us about the vintages of days past, but also offers important insight into what varietals of grapes grow best in specific environments.

Digging further into the past is not only a fascinating endeavor, but important to understand the cultures and societies which relied heavily on wine. With the shifting climate, though, knowing and growing the right grapes in the right circumstances is paramount, for our empty glasses, that is.

I'll admit, until about 2 days ago when I saw a TikTok video of a dancing baseball team, clad in yellow I had no idea who the Savannah Bananas were. But this article cleared it all up.

The Savannah Bananas are doing for baseball what the Harlem Globetrotters did for basketball. And by that I mean bringing spectacle, silliness and choreographed dance moves to the sport. Listen, I enjoy a baseball game as much as the next born and bred New Yorker (Long Islander, you can quibble in the comments) but there is a cadence to a baseball game which when you're not a dedicated fan can feel a little...dare I say trying? I'm trying to say I've never stayed for a whole game, OKAY?

Anyway, the creators of the Savannah Bananas took the classic structure and turned it all around in their hands to find the gaps and make the whole experience more fun, accessible and enjoyable for the whole family. So I guess we shouldn't be surprised that there is a 6 month waiting list for tickets.

I have a very distinct feeling that I've been to enough fancy restaurants in my life. I am full up on chef's menus, ballet service and long, long multicourse meals for probably the rest of my life.

But give me a pub or a dive bar and I am a happy lady. There is nothing quite like the suspension of a bar stool and the feeling of a cold beer and the saltiness of whatever bar snack is available. It is always salty. Always.

I love a place that is famous for exactly ONE item - think McSorleys on 7th in Manhattan [hard cheese, onions, saltines (served in the plastic sleeve) and mustard] or Robert's Western World in Nashville [fried bologna sandwiches]. There is something both local and global about that late night booze soaking snack you have with a few last beers.

You could be anywhere and also nowhere else.

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