(1) Rice dogs (aka Korean corn dogs)

I had my first rice dog a few years ago in Madison, Wisconsin. I’d heard about these corndog-style treats for a while. However, I never had access to one until a few years ago during a family visit. We visited the Global Market and Food Hall on the city’s east side. Instead of dough made of cornmeal, these dogs are wrapped in the same delicious dough that make mochi donuts. Then these dogs are often topped with hot Cheetos, potatoes, or other crunch bits. You also can choose cheese in the middle instead of a hot dog (or do a half & half). My preference is full dog. And they are delicious!

Imagine my surprise a couple of months ago. I was delighted when I went to my nearby UPS store to send back my Nuuly rentals. A place called Mochinut had opened next door. Turns out Mochinut is a chain. But that’s not a bad thing. The hot dogs are delicious. Their mochi donuts are also delicious. A mochi donut is a donut made of 8 small balls of rice dough. Originated in Hawaii, the donut is a combination of an American donut and Japanese mochi. It has a very special chewy and light texture. They are simply delightful.

My local Mochinut location also offers some other options like seaweed salad and steamed buns. Yesterday, I needed to mail off my monthly clothing rentals once again. I made sure to run the errand at lunchtime for a little treat. The option of a ramen dog was not on my radar and, ahem, DELICIOUS! I kept it simple with the yellow mustard, but they also offer sriracha aioli. Of course, I had to get a couple donuts, too. I opted for Limoncello & Matcha, but all the options are equality as good.

(2) Ear Cuff

The picture above is from the Larissa Loden website and i ordered the gold one, but this feature is just ear cuff love in general. When did this become a thing?

Here’s a little secret about me. I only have one set of ear piercings. Or more clearly stated, I have only one pierced hole in each ear. And I almost didn’t have those. I still remember the pain of the first piercing at 7YO. I screamed at my mother that I didn’t want to do the second one. That memory has stayed with me and although I’ve become quite the connoisseur of tattoos, I’ve never revisited piercings.

That said, I do have piercing envy. I love the look of multiple piercings in the ear. So I was delighted to discover that ear cuffs (a no piercing option) exist! They’ve probably been around forever. I’m often slow to discover things – but it’s new to me. I ordered my first one (pictured above) earlier this week and I think it’s so cute. Edgy but cute. And now I want to order so many more.

(3) Lucy Dacus: Forever is a Feeling

I’m a huge Boy Genius fan. HUGE. I love the voices of the three women together and I can listen to The Record on repeat to infinity. I’ve not been as big a fan of the artists individually. I did see Phoebe at Surly Field a few years ago. She’s great, and Punisher is a great LP. I’ve been familiar with Lucy, I know some of her songs. But when she released Ankles from the new album earlier this year, I was in love. The song is precious and fun. I got tickets to her upcoming show at The Palace. I started listening to Forever is a Feeling last month when it was released.

And it’s really good. It’s low key and a great Sunday morning play. I’ve also listened to it in the bath or the sauna. The lyrics are very poetic. And, of course, I keep feeling in the blanks of her love story with Julien with the lyrics.

She’s here this week and I excited for the show. The album is a definite 4 stars. Side note, I heard in an interview with her. The album art is an actual painting that she commissioned. She hates AI and fake art and what a gorgeous rendering of her image and concept, am I right?

(4) Charli XCX LIVE!!!

I don’t have much to say except that Charli XCX live in concert is a stunner. It’s a vibe. The crowd was amazing. In all the shows I’ve attended in my 52 years, I’ve never seen so many people on their feet. They were waving their arms and getting down. It was an absolute blast. If you have a chance to see her, do it! The fact that she carries an arena by herself for an entire show is insane, but it’s also perfect.

(5) Storygraph

Let’s talk books and tracking our reading. Let’s also talk boycotts. I finally got Amazon out of my life. I cancelled my Prime account and Chase Prime credit card. I’m finding other (mostly local) sources for all the random things I used to order from the Bezos beast. Prime TV is no longer an option in our household. So, of course, I had to transition off of Good Reads as well.

I did this back in January, actually. But I want to feature StoryGraph now because when I first transferred over, it wasn’t the best option. I liked that it is black-owned business but the features were lacking. That said, they’ve really been doing their work and improving the platform. The catalog has improved as well as the features and it’s been a good substitute. I hope it continues to grow. I’m @hlockwoo on the platform, so follow me if you join. One thing they haven’t improved yet is friend-finding, but I’m sure it will get there.

👋 Have a great weekend, ya’ll!!