Leave it to Leonor #456

This week’s takeover is by Erin Evans. Erin is a senior editor at HuffPost, where she covers culture and entertainment. She is based in Brooklyn and still melts every summer, even though she was born and bred in Texas heat. She is obsessed with television and has at least a dozen favorite TV shows that she rotates in her top 5. (Living Single, Friday Night Lights and Martin are always there.) When she’s not chillaxin’ on the couch, she’s cooking a new recipe she found on TikTok or ordering grilled branzino at a new restaurant. Please don’t ask her when she and Leonor met because we have no idea.

Much to our eternal frustration Erin and I cannot pinpoint our initial meeting. Was it that PB brunch? Was it the live show for Another Round? We will truly never know. (Shout out to Another Round which belongs on this list). Erin is a Buttertone and a Coven witch which is truly **elite**. She is a phenomenal friend with superb cooking & baking skills. She is a stellar editor who helps me out when I am in the weeds with complicated issues of this newsletter, a person I can talk to about any show because she watches as much TV as I do (if not more) and has one of the rarest traits across all my friend groups - she regularly sees things on the internet before me. I absolutely adore her. I love her takeover. Enjoy!

This week, I’m thinking about turning 40. Quite frankly, I’ve been thinking about it all of 2025. I’ve nearly reached this milestone at what feels like a natural turning point in my personal life and my career. I’ve lived in Brooklyn for the past 15 years; I’ve always wanted to live here, but I didn’t expect to make New York my home when I moved up from D.C. in 2010. Now, living in the capital of the United States feels like a distant memory and the prospect of returning to Texas is a laughable notion. This city has turned me into a woman I truly admire — and little 10-year-old Erin who used to watch “Living Single” is so proud of who she’s become.

I’ve been at my dream job for the past six years, but then drastic cuts at the company gutted my team, and my sensibilities about working in media totally shifted once again. How can I make it in a newsroom for the rest of Trump’s presidency? Do people care about our little stories on a new Netflix show while the world is imploding? Am I doing meaningful work? When the actual f**k will this chaos give us a breather? Why didn’t I become a TikTok influencer in 2020? These are questions I ask myself seemingly every seven business days. I usually only come up with half answers, but I am thankful for one thing: I’ve realized how a job can shape our work and identity but doesn’t solely make us who we are.  It’s a vital lesson when it seems like the world and our industries are always shifting under our feet.

It’s why it’s so important to feel grounded — or do the work to do so — in who you are. A close friend recently asked me to assess what I know for sure about myself now that I’m almost 40. It’s the kind of question you might want to spend some time thinking about but miraculously I had something to say at the ready: I’m thankful I’ve learned how to prioritize rest and tuning out the world when the noise seems like too much. It’s tough, but being able to rot on my couch and watch reality TV or reruns of shows from the ‘90s and 2000s can be healing. What’s healing for you when you need to turn off the world? The answer might just keep you sane.

I’m also heading into 40 with a loving and doting boyfriend — after, um, yeeeearrrrrrssss of a single life that were at times fun and frisky but too often confusing and infuriating. This feels easy and safe and great, and we laugh together every day. 

I’ve always heard the sentiment that turning 40 can feel liberating. The things that don’t matter fall to the background, and you unabashedly prioritize what really matters. You know who you are and others do, too. I’m glad I got to experience a bit of this feeling before I hit the big 4-0. Here’s hoping it continues for the next decade.

​This week in TikTok and YouTube. . .
I’m totally locked in on DebtTok, where TikTok users talk about how to pay off debts and better ways to save money. (I follow Quen, DebtHeads, Ornella and a bunch of other accounts.) This year, I’ve been focusing on paying off some credit cards and strategizing to get these student loan payments out of the way in the next 12 months. None of my strategies are perfect, but this is the first time in a long time that I’ve felt community around debt and have prioritized dealing with it over my “treat ya self” whims.

Also, I love Scott Evans’ interview series House Guest. I usually catch the clips on TikTok, and absolutely plan to watch the full interview with Niecy Nash-Betts on YouTube. 

Then, there’s Reliving Single, a podcast hosted by Erika Alexander and Kim Coles about “Living Single.” This TikTok clip is just so good and reminds me how much I love actors who have mastered the art of physical comedy. Max and Kyle forever!

​This week in listening. . .
I actually have been obsessed with the idea that there is no song of the summer this year. The only two earworms for me have been that “nothing beats a Jet2 holiday” sound that’s gone viral on TikTok and “Eat That Kitty In The Hideaway” from Love Island.

I’ve also been obsessed with PLUTO’s “Pull Yo Skirt Up” and “Excuse Me” (the latter has the line, “bitch, I’m the 1 and not the 2,” which … accurate.) KenTheMan’s “First” is great for the gym. In other listening sessions, I have YG Marley’s “Praise Jah in the Moonlight” on repeat, and I just started listening to Bad Bunny’s latest album along with some Destiny’s Child, now that Beyoncé gifted us that little reunion in Las Vegas the other day.

​This week in TV. . .
OK, I could probably fill this newsletter with everything I hate about And Just Like That… But just read this instead. The Chi had a dream sequence that paid homage to Boyz n the Hood; I rolled my eyes into the back of my head. The Gilded Age is really delivering on its storyline with Peggy (Denée Benton) this season! And Phylicia Rashad’s character? Whew, I want to throw my shoe at her, but she’s so good at playing evil. I finished The Diplomat, which I’ve mostly loved because of Keri Russell and Ali Ahn and fine-ass David Gyasi. That cliffhanger was perfect. I tried Netflix’s The Hunting Wives and Too Much and just … no. I plan to watch Tracee Ellis Ross’ show about solo travel on Roku because I love her and am in desperate need of a luxe vacation.

​​This week in a gif. . .

This week in movies. . .
I watched Happy Gilmore 2 — that’s all I have to say about that. I watched As Good As It Gets for the first time. It was OK? I don’t know what I thought that movie was about, but the first 10 minutes of it are wild to watch now because Jack Nicholson’s character makes some brash and bigoted statements and I was like whoa, nelly, where are we going with this? It also is a 2-hour-15-minute movie that should have clocked in at an hour and 45 minutes, tops. Long live my favorite genre: 90-minute movies.

​This week in dining out. . .
I can’t stop thinking about this crispy dorado fish I ordered at Trad Room the other day. It was butterflied and laying flat on the plate with crispy skin, sitting in a tosazu sauce (a vinegary Japanese sauce) and yuzu kosho (chili peppers, yuzu, salt). My BF and I ended up there after being told there was a two-hour wait at Dolores, a new Mexican restaurant on Tompkins. Selune has only been open for a month and some change, and we’ve already been there twice for happy hour — the oysters are a $1 a piece and they have wine for like $9. Yum. The earl grey lavender ice cream at Lady Moo Moo Ice Cream Shop is still so good.

This week in obsessions. . .
Hot pilates. I can’t believe that I can withstand 98° while struggling through a pilates or sculpt class. But man, that 20 minutes of euphoria after is worth it.

This week on the internet. . .
HuffPost’s Njera Perkins remembers Malcolm-Jamal Warner. Another colleague watched 20 arrests at an immigration court in New York City and wrote a compelling/damning feature about it. Vulture unpacks what’s going on with JaNa and Kenny from Season 6 of Love Island USA. Zak Cheney-Rice on Nick Cannon. Rebecca Carroll on those (not even cute or well-fitting) American Eagle jeans — and the roots of the controversy.

me, in these dog days of summer, 
Erin

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