5SR - September 5, 2023

Today’s #5SmartRead’s contributor is Larell - a marketing consultant for lifestyle startups, a women's health reporter, and a freelance copywriter. She helps neighbors reclaim their spaces via landscape design and interior decorating, homesteads on her tiny urban property, and provides floristry services for parties and gifts. At the core of her adventures is a deep practice of Reiki and Medical Qigong, both of which she calls on when making art. In the background of this eclectic life, you can hear her little rainbow parakeet chirping her on.

How Your House Makes You Miserable (Culture Study)

I’m thinking about buying a home. No, okay, I’m thinking about buying an apartment building I’ve called home for years. Purchased by my landlord in the 50s, it is a MacGyvered building that works. I suspect not for long. The HVAC system is “a walkaway job.” Bright red carpet on the stairs. One of the concrete walls leading to the basement is kind of imploding. You get it.

In exploring this potential investment, I asked a neighbor if I could peek at his recent gut job. The units are “beautiful” post-reno. No more grey and purple tile that somehow got installed in every bathroom on my street. His bathrooms now look like spas with glass showers and nary a tub in sight. He installed central heating and cooling-- blew out a wall in the kitchen, making the space drool-worthy “open concept.” It’s like a hotel. One I’d luxuriate in for a week tops but could never call home. Where would all my crystals, janky pottery, and funky rugs go??

This brilliant article by Anne Helen Petersen offers well-researched insight into the exhausting limbo of personalizing your home while pleasing its subsequent owners (or renters). She writes, “As consumers, we knowingly or unknowingly absorb the maxims of the market, developing a “market-reflected gaze” to observe and critique our homes and others.”

You know this gaze because you’re likely guilty of it. We all are. It’s the epitome of an HGTV renovation reveal. Hello, neutral walls, white-washed kitchens, and subway tiles. “You might have to put the market’s taste over your own if you want to charge a premium rental rate,” he said gently. To which I gave a tight smile and badly hid my disagreement. On my walk home, I thought, “Ugh, does he have a point?”

I will likely fall in love with some Grecian blue kitchen tiles or add crown molding to the bedrooms for a Victorian-era effect. I’m pointedly not influenced by the current market style gaze with my Tiffany lamps and dark antique dresser.

“The only solution is to make the market-inflected taste your taste. And that experience can be incredibly alienating, particularly when you convince yourself that you’re doing a remodel that you’re going to love, spend a ton of time and energy on it, and then look around and think meh.”

I guess I can split the difference. I will take some notes from the market’s current style and not paint the front door pink. But I will sure as hell add details that make it feel like home. And, for God’s sake, keep the bathtub.

Why Pronouncing Names Correctly Is More Than Common Courtesy (NPR)

Hi, my name is Larell (LUH-REL). About 20% of new people pronounce it correctly on the first try. They get gold stars. But correcting people who mispronounce my unique name never gets easier. After squeaking out the correct pronunciation, I shepherd them over red cheeks and apologies. When I’m tired, I let it slide.

Ruchika Tulshyan, this brilliant NPR guest, globalized unique names in a way I’d been blind to as a US-born Italian-American. “Growing up, I would see a lot of, you know, Arab or Muslim kids around me also trying to change their names. Like a Mohammed (ph) would turn into Moe or Mike. And I just can’t help but think about the ripple effects this has on cultures, you know, first of all, internally - meaning how communities start to view themselves - but also the effect that this has on cultures externally - how people perceive other cultures.”

After reading her perspective, I started to notice names as a form of community. Hinge now has a “how to pronounce my name” audio prompt. A football commentator mispronounced a new player’s last name, and his co-host quickly corrected him. Belonging begins to expand when we take the time to assimilate something unfamiliar into our world. To step over comfort and make someone feel welcome. It’s a practice of allyship. Anti-racism. Mic drop: the African American Policy Forum’s Say Her Name campaign.

Next time I face a unique name or see someone struggling with mine, I’ll be direct. An approach Tulshyan recommends, and I second. I’ll repeat it a few times. Let the newness bounce around and know it’s one small, impactful step towards a more welcoming community.

‘90s Design: Riding The Wave Of Nostalgia Marketing (99 Designs)

I know people get bummed when they see trends of their youth pop up in the 20-30 year fashion cycle. 90s babies, you may be feeling this ache re: Target’s release of low-rise jeans and halter tops.

I liked this article because it broke down the graphic design trends that came together to create the distinct 90s vibe. It gave me an artistic perspective to rehash the style with agency instead of re-purchasing the clothes I felt forced to 20 years ago (I need a waistline up to my neck, thank you).

“The 1990s was simultaneously a rich time for pop culture moments and one of the most garish and playful eras in graphic design history,” writes Jennifer Bailey. We have options! I’m particularly drawn to the punk-ish “Anti-design” style and the colorful Saved By the Bell vibe designers call “Memphis.”

Instead of feeling dusty about being lapped by fashion, can we willingly hand over the bones of the 90s to the curious generation pulling on our sleeves? Let them have the spaghetti straps and pleated schoolgirl skirts while we creatively reclaim our youth’s style as cool and comfortable millennials?

How To Keep Your CSA Produce From Rotting In Your Fridge (Vox)

Drowning in tomatoes? I hear you. Community-supported agriculture, also known as a big ol’ box of local vegetables, is one of those equally delicious and altruistic summer investments. You receive a consistent stream of nutritious produce well into November, and local farms get the support they need in the face of big agriculture.

If you’re part of a CSA, you know how easy it is to let these goodies pile up. The veggie drawer is FULL, and that next box is staring you down. This VOX writer coins the feeling “CSA Panic.” To the rescue are a handful of genius storage and recipe hacks to maximize your CSA. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Plan to sort through and organize your box as soon as you get home.

• Stock up on reusable bags, sheet pans, and a salad spinner

• Identify and use produce that wilts first, like arugula, butterhead lettuce, and snow peas.

• Clean and chop most things for quick snacks and salads.

• Don't panic when things start to wilt:
  - Turn your greens into pesto
  - Cook and freeze for winter
  - Quick pickle
  - Chop it up into a salsa
  - When all else fails, make soup.

“Little Woman” Author Louisa May Alcott On The Creative Rewards Of Being Single (The Marginalian)

I’m going on my fourth year of singlehood. Like many self-partnered millennials, I see my solo time as some of the most important work I’ll do Earthside. My time is dedicated to circulating my energy internally. Building and reworking. Playing and leading.

From antique restoration to writing a children’s book, my list of creative pursuits could out-measure a CVS receipt. I often wonder if it would be as long had I been dating every weekend or navigating a relationship.

This sweet article, annotated by Maria Popova, quotes from Louisa May Alcott’s archival letters on being purposefully single in pursuit of a craft. To which I solute. Who knows if Little Women would exist if not for her solo dedication?!

“Despite her singleminded focus, Louisa was not without suitors, but they failed to compete with her calling,” writes Popova. “I should shock him constantly,” Alcott reasons. I feel this to my core. Being (happily) single and creative is a recipe for a dynamic, strong, kind of impossibly grounded person. I’m still open to partnership, don’t get me wrong. But knowing I can float in this pond with good company for a lifetime also feels pretty good too.