Bivalves and yap

Halloween, stationery making, and spicy green sauce

I have long been a fan of snail mail, something instilled in me by my mother, who will write a thank you note for the smallest of gestures. She asked me if I wanted to use her ticket for a stationery making class that she could no longer attend and I said yes. With very little idea of what was in store, I took the subway to Bowne & Co. Stationers, est, 1775, in the South Street Seaport. For the next four hours, a group of us led by expert Rob, selected fonts, sketched designs, set type, mixed ink, and eventually printed 50 notecards with our custom designs. I was stunned by how much work went into it and loved learned more about the shop’s history and the print industry, past and present. The press used to print financial documents, materials for departing and arriving ships, ads, newsletters and so much more. I learned that fs are tricky letters to print so there are custom types called ligatures with popular combinations—I got to use the “ffl” one. It was a refreshingly analog way to spend the day and I’d recommend it to anyone who wants to get creative and loves to write notes.

My finished cards! The oyster images was likely used by a harbor oyster merchant back in the day, which I loved.

I know things are very stressful right now—I got anxious yesterday and decided to early vote (New Yorkers, vote for Harris Walz on the Working Family Ticket, Yes on Prop 1 for abortion rights, and no on 2-6, which are Eric Adams power grabs). Make sure you get out and do the same and phonebank if you have time/anxiety to burn.

Yesterday marked 7 years since I sent out the first This Needs Hot Sauce and I’ll be writing more about that milestone for paid subscribers later this week.

Now, let’s dive in.

Something to cook:

Tilden had a lil dinner party on Friday and made tostones and arepas. For the fillings she made fried cheese and spiced squash and we served it with lime, radishes and of course, spicy green sauce. The best stuff. It was such a lovely end to the week.

I made myself a nice dinner on Sunday of crispy tofu and mushrooms with rice, edamame, seaweed, and peanuts. I make a simple glaze for the tofu with garlic, ginger, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil and top the whole bowl with sriracha. If you can find pressed tofu, it gets very crispy.

Teal was in town so Ali had a bunch of us over and did a pro entertaining move by ordering pizza and salad which she served alongside a lovely cheeseboard. She also had great seasonal candy.

Dale and I went to a few Halloween parties and both hosts (shoutout Nick and Mandy) brought it with the themed snacks. Googly eyes really brighten up a spread and a pumpkin cheeseball is so much fun.

Something to order:

“I really don’t get Inday enough” is what I think every time I get Inday. Their saag paneer is so satisfying and the kale salad with mango dressing is a lovely lunch.

Amy and I had a bivalves and yap session downtown. We started with dollar oysters at Bar Belly (happy hour goes till 7 and you get free popcorn). Sitting outside is great people watching and a stranger complimented my shoes as I walked over.

After oysters, we decided to try and walk in to Cervo’s, which neither of us had been to. It was warm enough to sit outside and we had the best meal: wax beans with aged sheep’s milk cheese, clams in vinho verde, spicy mussels, and sourdough to soak up all the sauces. It definitely lived up to the hype, I will be back.

Something to read:

What happens when influencer couples divorce

Work wives are going extinct

There Is No Safe Way to Turn Teenagers Into Megastars & Every Single Album discusses Liam Payne’s death.

I Love My Friends. I Ignore Their Texts Anyway. Sometimes you need to go on do not disturb and it is what it is.

The Walking Rebellion: Restoring the Mind at Three Miles an Hour. Walking is a great way to unplug and this gave me some motivation to keep getting my steps in as it gets colder and darker.

A cake mix scandal: The 70-Year-Old Beloved Boxed Mix Grandmas Won’t Be Buying This Holiday Season

Haley Nahman

on Parenthood’s PR Problem

Dale suggested we watch the 2004 Red Sox docuseries on Netflix and I went in very uninterested and left very interested. Sports documentaries are full of characters and know how to hit those narrative beats, Plus, I do not like the Yankees.

Why are top substack writers so white? This is a trend across media beyond Substack, of course.

Look for a read? Nine Great Books (none of them are are new)

First day of school looks from schools around the country

Preparing for a long and scary November: The Army of Election Officials Ready to Reject the Vote

Inside the Political Book Machine

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Have a good week, friends! Get out and vote and do a phone free activity for good measure.

xo, Abigail