Wear, Watch, Want #140: The Sexy Sweaty Apron Edition

Wear: Japanese Style Apron

I, like so many other people, have been cooking a lot more lately. I usually do a fair amount of cooking, but now I’m making stuff to freeze for later, I’m baking this incredible pumpkin bread that rises SO MUCH that every time I go get a slice I yell, “LOOK AT THAT LOAF!” Plus, I’m burning through cold brew and homemade vanilla sweet cream like never before. I tend to do a lot of moving around and semi-paying attention to what I’m doing, so if I’m making more that one quick thing, an apron is essential. I love the Japanese style aprons, that are almost like extra protective garments - they’re not restrictive and they’re super easy to throw on, and because they’re thin and linen they fold up super tiny and can be stored almost anywhere. If I were in the Bon Appetit Test Kitchen, or had $100 to burn on an apron, I’d get one of these. But I have this Amazon knockoff and it works great. (Yes these are both aprons I mentioned in this gift guide - you can gift me that Toast one ANYTIME.)

Watch: Sex Education

I recently watched both seasons of Sex Education, and it’s just as good as everyone says. BUT, what I haven’t heard anyone say about this dramedy (about the son of a sex therapist who starts giving advice to his fellow high school classmates) is how ultra-stylized it is. It’s my favorite part of the show. The show is British, but the high school is VERY Americanized (which I’ve read was intentional). It’s meant to remind you of those classic American teen movies, which it does expertly. It’s also set in this sort of hyper realized town that makes no sense. It’s rural and quaint but also everyone seems rich? Unless you are poor and live in the trailer park that’s still situated in this idyllic little valley. It’s always summer but school is always in session. you can work from home as a sex therapist, in a town with a population of what seems like 200 people, and you are ridiculously fashionable and have extremely flexible work hours.
I like so much about Sex Education even though it has a few flaws that bug the hell out of me, I think the whole team is open to learning and growing and maybe next season will have more compassion towards trans issues. (It’s not transphobic, at least I don’t think so, but a show that’s all about sex education has MANY scenes of characters making uneducated declarations about stranger’s gender AND genitals? It’s not great!) I also got (perhaps overly) miffed about the episode where a photo of a student’s vulva gets passed around school, and they keep calling it a vagina. Otis would ABSOLUTELY be correcting everyone who said vagina when they meant vulva AND it would be a good running gag (Otis saying vulva quietly every time any character says vagina, etc) that would also educate its audience.

One thing that is flawless is the styling. I’ve been trying to find any articles and interviews with or about the costume designer, and haven’t found any that arent’ behind a paywall, but I also haven’t put in a lot of effort. If you know of anything, LET ME KNOW. I need to know EVERYTHING about ALL OF THIS:

Want: At Home Exercise Bike

JUST as I was getting into spin classes - not having my ass hurt for days after a class, not feeling like my lungs were going to explode during a class, etc - everything gets shut down and my muscles are left to atrophy. I mean, it’s not that serious and I am finding some good ways to workout at home, but I want that super sweaty, near death experience of riding a bike that goes nowhere. I’ve been looking at Peloton bikes, despite not being able to afford one outright and not feeling super great about getting into a monthly payment plan. I’ve been researching how people put together Peloton hacks, with cheaper bikes, separate heart rate monitors, and tablet stands. And I’m still completely confused. I just want things to be OPEN and for me to be able to leave the house and feel accountable to a class and pay someone $20 to make me feel like I’m going to collapse. That’s not too much to ask, is it???