Sydney's Sunday Reads: #13
Happy Sunday, friends!!
Sydney's Sunday Reads is a weekly blog series that highlights some of my favorite stories, articles, think-pieces, and more from around the Internet.
Progress in the pantry. - COVID-19 changed shopping as we knew it. To avoid crowds, many of us made the decision to buy home staples online as a way to reduce the amount of time spent outside of the house. And while big box stores saw tremendous boosts in online and in-store sales right at the beginning of the pandemic, they also saw unprecedented shortages as panic-buying went into full swing. As consumers sought alternatives online, independently-owned, direct-to-consumer companies suddenly saw their customer bases and sales triple overnight. Buyers were fulfilling the mission to keep their homes well-stocked, and also sampling products they never would have known about or tried before. But what started as just a way to line the shelves at home until stores could re-stock, slowly turned into consumers asking themselves a pretty important question. Why are certain name-brands of common household items, largely owned and produced by huge corporations with little cultural or gender diversity in leadership considered “standard”, while the products of smaller DTC companies, mostly owned by women and people of color, considered “special”? This recent article by Taste examines how 2020, a year full of political, social, and racial unrest, has lead to consumers becoming more conscious of not only where their household products are coming from, but who benefits from the business. (Taste)
Judging a book by its jacket. - We’re often told to never judge a book by its cover, but in this image-driven social media era, the title and front cover of a book most definitely determine whether or not we stop scrolling long enough to learn more. If you think that a big chunk of the marketing effort goes into the front cover of the book, you’re not wrong. But equally as important? What’s found on the back. Artfully describing a book in five sentences or less takes skill. With those words, you are not only selling a story, but convincing the reader to spend their hard-earned cash and time on something they might not ultimately like. What’s written on the back of a book is so important, that it can make or break a sale. In this article, Book Riot reaches out to editors, publicists, and other book execs to ask one simple question: what makes good jacket copy? (Book Riot)
Hello, my dream home.- This week in “Multi-Million Dollar Homes That Sydney Loves But Can’t Afford,” I present this stunning midcentury single-family home in Brooklyn, complete with a Japanese-style garden, gorgeous open kitchen, charming wooden library nook, floor-to-ceiling windows throughout, and a $6.95 million price tag. (Dwell)
“Don’t be weird about cast iron.” - When I got my first cast-iron skillet years ago, I read dozens of articles on how to take care of it. Every author had their opinion about how to season it, clean It, store it, and use it, and it all seemed incredibly overwhelming and nerve-wracking: what if I did the wrong thing and ruined my favorite pan forever?? But caring for one of the most invaluable and versatile pieces of cookware in your kitchen does not have to be so stressful! If you take away only one thing from this excellent article by Kat Kinsman, let it be this: it is much, MUCH harder than you think to irreparably ruin a cast-iron skillet. (Food and Wine)
The pitter-patter of paws! -If you’re ever having a terrible day, watch this adorable video of a dog stampede as a way to brighten your mood and put a smile on your face. (ViralHog on Youtube)