New Year, New Look
The OG letter gets a paid option, plus Betty, Bette and more!
Bonjour! Hello! It’s 2022 and I’m on Substack. I kinda loathe the “New Year, New…” concept, and yet, voila. I spent the last two weeks designing a new logo and transitioning over from Mailchimp. It should be seamless for those of you who have been getting Overthinking It for a while now, and my hope is that I may attract a few new readers (hello to you all!) and maybe/hopefully/lovingly convince some of you to contribute to my college fund. By which I mean my freelancer’s income. With the newsletter going into its 5th year, I began to think long and hard and long and hard and long (and very much on-brand) about the time I spend on it each month and realized that it’s actually quite a lot. Something that began as a fun, easy email became a bit of a Thing—capital T. So, as awkward as it feels to ask loyal friends, family, and followers to consider paying, it also felt like the right time to jump on the maybe-I-can-earn-a-little-from-this bandwagon.
HOWEVER…
This means rien du tout—nothing at all—for those of you who’ve been with me from the start. Everything will stay the same. (Minus the logo and a few formatting tweaks.) You’ll still get the OG OI in your inbox, for free, every other Friday. New subscribers can also choose to get the “free” letter. I am, however, going to start offering the “Mangez Bien” and “Bon Voyage” bits to paid subscribers only. Since recommending restaurants and destinations is part of my journalistic job outside of this letter, it feels right to make that “premium” content. BUT if you are not in a position to contribute and can’t live without more from me in your inbox, DM me cause I gotchoo. :)
Those who become paid subscribers will also receive an extra email on Tuesdays featuring either the aforementioned restaurant or travel recommendation, or one of two new columns: “J’adore” and “Solange’s Side.” And since I’m slightly insecure about all of this I’ll likely send the first few of these out to everyone so you can get an idea of the FOMO you may have if you decide not to come on over to the sparkly side. I kid! You do you. I’m honestly just pleased and honored you’re here at all.
Now that that’s all out of the way… Bonne Année! Despite Omicron chasing us all in circles, I hope you had a wonderful end of 2021 and are feeling hopeful about the year ahead. As for me, after “winning” a wishbone tug-o-war the day after Christmas, I feel excited about the possibilities. Let’s hope that come this time next year I’ll be sharing that when you wish upon a dried-out turkey bone anything your heart desires does, indeed, come true. Bon week-end, mes amies. xx — Sara
Clickable
The toxic, but no less inviting, dream of working for LuLuRoe. | Buzzfeed News
“We had soured on making sourdough” — the year in Limbo. | The NY Times
Joan Didion's best sentence. | The Cut
What are Dr. Oz’s political intentions, exactly? | Intelligencer
Alison Roman just doesn’t quit. | The New Yorker
Defining true fun and how to have it. | The NY Times
Finding the yin and yang of “Emily in Paris.” | The Guardian
Watchable: Betty/Bette Lovefest
I used to fall asleep to The Golden Girls when I was a kid. I can’t recall if it came on before or after Arsenio Hall, but Rose and her besties were a part of my evening repertoire. Her passing last week—at a whopping 99!—hit everyone hard. (And by everyone I mean those with a heart, a soul, and/or a Twitter account.) I distinctly recall attending her 89th birthday party at Le Cirque 10 Januarys ago (a perk of being on staff as an editor in NYC), and likely still have the party favor to prove it up in my parents’ attic. Farewell to the Queen of Television.
And now onto a legend that’s still living: The Divine Miss M. Watching her tribute at the Kennedy Center Honors reminded me of all the times I stood in front of my mirrored closet as a young girl and sang my heart out to “From a Distance,” “The Wind Beneath My Wings,” “The Rose” — the woman knows how to pull on the heartstrings with her songs! Seeing her take on Dolly Levi in Broadway’s “Hello, Dolly!” a few years ago was a life highlight for me. I got all choked up when she came on stage. Long live Bette, who is legit “still glowin’, crowin’, goin’ strong.”
Currently overthinking…
…the new logo for this newsletter…how much to ask paid subscribers to contribute…whether anyone will want to…the validity of antigen tests vs. PCR…
Souvenir: Juice Gum
I had a non-Covid cold this week, which made me crave fresh-pressed OJ—I even went down the 6 flights just to get some!—which got me thinkin’ about the pebble-shaped candies that came in mini juice boxes. I was partial to OJ and Grape flavors but would settle for Pink Lemonade if that’s all there was. I’d never-ever have Apple, though. What about you?