issue #21 - the one where Mercury is no longer destroying my life

Thank goodness the planet is OUT of retrograde, and things are slightly back to normal.

As normal as they get.

If this is your first e-mail from me, welcome! In addition to writing the book How To Pack, I'm an entrepreneur and angel investor, an avid reader, and a mom of two boys (a 4 year old and a 2 month old).

Every Saturday, I share the 25 best reads from the Internet (culled from the daily shares on my Instagram), the books I've read that week, and things I'm generally loving at the moment. You can join the conversation on all these articles - and more! - in my Facebook group.

Looking for my packing list template? Here you go!

#ThingsILove This Week

• What does it say about me when a new sponge is one of the best purchases I’ve made recently? I discovered the Scrub Daddy from The Buy Guide, and scrubs like a dream. Bonus - you can toss it in the dishwasher to be cleaned.

• It is HUMID in New York, and my skin needs all the mattefying help it can get. I’ve resumed using Sunday Riley’s The Martian gel toner, sticking with my usual serum and eye cream, and have swapped Supergoop’s Superscreen for Wander Beauty’s new brightening face cream. I follow it up with Coola’s mineral sunscreen mixed with the bronzing drops I’m still loving.

• These days, you’ll find me wearing something I found on Amazon or designed by BURU. I did splurge on their newest collection - this skirt, these pants, this tank in two colors, and this headband. I also snapped up another pair of these sunglasses (I already own them in red).

• Rho is my mini-me in so many ways. He will get lost in a book or in a craft, loves puzzles, and will happily live on a diet of carbohydrates and cheese. Rho is also incredibly picky about his clothing - he loves a coordinating set, and t-shirts should be emblazoned with animals or The Avengers on them. Most of his dresser is filled with Rockets Of Awesome, a children’s clothing company that creates high-quality, well-priced clothes that meet my very picky child’s standards. We had the opportunity to partner with ROA for a project, and I wanted to share the discount code (HITHA25 for 25% off your first order!) if you haven’t given them a try yet.

  • Disclosure - Rockets Of Awesome gave us a gift certificate in exchange for the Instagram content we shared, but I’m sharing it here because 25% off awesome kids clothes is a very, very good deal.

• Things I love and am frequently asked about on Instagram - my favorite vitamins (both their pre-natal and their essential one for women), my Amazon shop’s link, the app to save #5SmartReads to read later, the marriage check-in my husband and I do every single week. Small Packages (one of my portfolio companies) is the curated gift box company I’m always talking about - get 15% off your order with the code HITHA.

What I read this week:

• Dominicana (c/o Flatiron Books) - When I was 15 years old, I was going to high school and dreamed about becoming a pop star a la Britney Spears. Ana, however, is married off to the much older Juan, whisked to New York City, and takes on a journey of being a wife, a daughter, an immigrant, and most importantly herself. Angie Cruz transports you deep in Ana’s psyche, so much that you feel that you ARE Ana. It’s a fantastic book, and you can snag it early through Book Of The Month or the giveaway I’m hosting with Flatiron Books.

• Well Met(c/o Book Of The Month) - A DELIGHT. I admittedly had low expectations for this book, but its charm, vulnerability, and nerdiness had me smiling from ear to ear as I read it. It’s your typical boy-meets-girl, mutual dislike, one impassioned kiss and the subsequent opening up from both of them, and the twists and turns that follow. The town that Well Met is set in has serious Stars Hollow vibes, as do many of the supporting characters. It’s a cotton candy book that made me happy. May it do the same for you.

Current book reviewshere,every bookI’ve read this year, and all myAmazon favorites.

The Top 5

1. Jen Gunter Will Tell You the Truth About Your Vagina (The Cut)

2. How we stopped counting calories and learned to love Spindrift (Vox)

3. How A Randi Zuckerberg Tweet Taught Me About Prioritizing (Forbes)

4. My Skin Cancer Diagnosis (Wit & Whimsy)

5. What Happens When A Founder Is Too Sick To Work? (Medium)

The Catch Up

Monday

• Facetune and the internet’s endless pursuit of physical perfection (Vox)

• A Memo to Our Democratic Presidential Candidates (Medium)

• A small group of patients account for a whole lot of spending (Axios)

• Kamala Harris’ Moment (Rolling Stone)

Tuesday

• Even on Saturday morning, Fox News cannot hide

• Trump counts on ATF to enforce gun rules, but the agency is in tatters (Boston Globe)

• The FDA Just Showed Its Hand on CBD -- Is It Time for Investors to Fold? (Yahoo)

• Are You Political? (Tres Americain)

Wednesday

• Parents Are Giving Up Custody of Their Kids to Get Need-Based College Financial Aid (ProPublica Illinois)

• Government programs usually cost money. These ones actually make money. (Vox)

• Kaitlyn Bristowe: Why Are ‘Bachelorettes’ the Only Ones Criticized for Having Sex? (Glamour)

• A lawmaker wants to end ‘social media addiction’ by killing features that enable mindless scrolling (Washington Post)

Thursday

• Inside The Daily Show with Trevor Noah’s Democratic-debate social media war room (Fast Company)

• These women spent years in prison. Here are their biggest challenges — and triumphs — since coming home. (The Lily)

• The 4 best ideas from Jay Inslee’s new climate justice plan (Vox)

  • Full disclosure - Jay Inslee is my old boss (I worked for him 2002-2003), and he’s very much one of my favorite candidates in this race. Also, this article about him had me literally LOLing.

• The emerging, untested drone defense industry (Axios)

Friday

• Peace Corps's complicated relationship with the 'white savior’ complex (The Hill)

• The L.A. Times’ disappointing digital numbers show the game’s not just about drawing in subscribers — it’s about keeping them (Nieman Lab)

• The Green Gang (The California Sunday Magazine)

• The Women Worked Together In Last Night's Debate. This Race Could Use More Of That. (Refinery 29)