Love Letters to Gray Sweatpants, Noise-Canceling Headphones, and Classic White Sneakers
What I'm loving right now.
Published November 25, 2024
Some playlists for the road
Cormac fucking mccarthy — Head-down, hard work, mix of folk and tunnel vision. Nice and hearty vision of individual ruggedness, no? Channel that masculine don't-need-nobody energy.
Burgundy Soul No. 2 — I built this as a Friendsgiving playlist in 2020, my first Thanksgiving on O'ahu, but it endures.
Heels II — dance playlist for heels choreography. Think high-energy and femme (or throwback enough to throw yourself into.) Have either learned a routine to or rewatched an ridiculous amount of choreography for each of these. Great for a run too, if ya need.
Welcome to Love Letters, a weekly column about what I'm testing and appreciating. As a professional product reviewer, I have plenty of goodies cross my desk for evaluation—and here's what I'm currently loving.
Sonos Ace Wireless Over-Ear Headphones
TECH
I have a giant family. There are four of us plus two parents. My two older siblings are now married, with kids and/or kids on the way. My family is nearly always hosting aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, neighbors, and/or guests at the house. Needless to say, I grew up constantly having people around, and do my best work in the living room surrounded by noise. That's not to say it doesn't get overwhelming because it absolutely does, but certain busy periods are more chaotic than others.
The key? Noise-canceling headphones. A pair of AirPods Pro was my first-ever Words Like Silver LLC purchase on the business card (100 percent necessary for productivity during quarantine) and I also like having a pair of over-ear headphones that I've used to classically condition myself into deep work periods. I only wear this headset while doing focused writing work so the very feel of them helps me snap into go mode.
These Sonos Ace headphones are new to me this season—tested and loved via the brand—but I've rocked the ocean soundscapes on 'em for a couch nap while a toddler drove a monster truck named Gravedigger down my thigh. And I listened to my current playlist assortment (fondly named cormac fucking mccarthy) while tackling my book editing plan. More on my philosophy of sensory variation (and deepening your sensory pleasure) later.
Literal product-wise, the headphones themselves feel really sleek and polished. They connect easily (no Bluetooth headaches here) and sound's crisp, clear, and lovely. Definitely higher-end in terms of the quality I've evaluated, and they're $100 off. For the depth and appreciation of their sound, I absolutely think they're worth the cost-per-use for a music lover or focused worker who has similar values to me.
Year of Ours Weekend Sweatpants
STYLE
These classic gray sweats came in the mail at the perfect time. I received them on a Thursday before having a sad couple of days, and literally did not get out of them. New sweats feeling >>>>
I've tried the brand Year of Ours in legging and sports bra form, but especially loved its dance-inspired collection. (I am/was a dancer.) Recently, I've been planning out my schedule to get back into ballet, hip hop, contemporary, and jazz funk (heels) classes around the island. I stocked up on a new leotard and tights, have been giving myself warm ups and stretches, and all-in-all reconnecting with my dance roots. So sure, let's roll with ballet core.
I'll definitely have to write a style trend post because I find the ecosystem of dance-inspired clothing to be so fascinating and functional re: both movement and aesthetic, but a simple gray sweat is also just such a baseline too. I love a wide leg for going over sneakers (like my default Nike Air More Uptempo '96 kicks) whether I'm wearing a knit bralette or my Carolina Strong hoodie (a sale which went to Asheville relief.) I bounced back pretty quickly, but these sweats were absolutely fabulous for vegging over a day or two of general emotional malaise. Super comfy.
Retaccy Blank Journal 2-Pack
CREATIVITY
I generally despise buying anything from Amazon and do my best to avoid, but I've gotten back into journaling this fall — net-positive, I believe — and live and die by these blank journals. They feel thick and high quality, come in multiple colors, and are kind of a perfect size whether I'm using them for novel revisions, work brainstorming, or my own personal reflections.
They don't seem to show much bleed if I use highlighters, markers, calligraphy pens, or even watercolors, so the multidisciplinary art gal in me appreciates their flexibility. (I'd like to be more of an intentional bullet journaler but end up going for an inky scrawl.) I can paste in Polaroids, tickets, you name it, etc,. and it also has a pocket in the back for various ephemera. Overall, I don't see myself switching any time soon, although I've tried plenty of journals and notebooks. They're just a solid, dependable staple in my work repertoire at this point.
e.l.f. Camo Liquid Bronzer & Contour
BEAUTY
I haven't worn a lot of makeup this fall, largely because I've been either in my revisions cave or being active. The pro and con of Hawai'i is that it's a very casual culture, so I don't often get as dressed up when out with friends. I even had the pleasant surprise of realizing that a date straight-up never saw me in makeup until weeks had already passed, so clearly any time together wasn't about how I looked.
That being said, I love getting ready. I love putting effort into my appearance. I love the artistic qualities of makeup and beauty when I do have the time, and would like to get better at it. I just don't allocate as much energy on it this year when I have so many other (currently more important) tasks at hand.
I received a few bronzer and contour sticks from e.l.f. in the mail, and loved adding these into my routine. Like I said, you'll often sweat off a ton of makeup in Hawai'i (so it's relatively pointless) but these were light enough but potent enough to still add some seemingly attractive shading when I did doll myself up. They're small, so fit easily in my bag, and would make a nice lil' one-two punch for a five minute boost in morale. Flattering, $7, fab.
Nobull Women's White Drive Knit Sneakers
FITNESS
When I used to do CrossFit (whoah—throwback), I remember Nobull having a cult-like following in the gym. When I'd played sports and whatnot in high school, I hadn't realized how much your shoe stability could impact your lift; in post-grad, I found out more about what to look for in various types of workouts (and tested quite a lot of sneakers. They tend to perform well for magazines and publications, so they encourage us to try a bunch for reviews!)
While I definitely need to be better about varying my workouts at the moment, I love these all-around sneakers for a gym session or just a long walk through my neighborhood. Nowadays, because I've been lucky enough to be exposed to so many different styles, I'm definitely picky—but these are crowd-pleasers.
Related Read: Cultish by Amanda Montell — an in-depth look at "cultish" activities that first inspired me to join a CrossFit gym in 2021. What can I say? I know what I like.
