300 things

49: Pizza

e: Pizza is always a good idea. I’m sure this feeling was instilled in me at a young age, when pizza sustained me almost every weekend during birthday parties and sleepovers. I like high-class pizza from Florence, Italy. I like mid-range pizza from Buddy’s in Detroit. I like shit pizza from Little Caesar’s. I like homemade pizza, as seen above.

a: Maybe it’s because I am listening to Mariah Carey’s Obsessed and imagining a giant pizza dancing and singing it at me at this very moment - or maybe it’s because it’s a reflection of my true feelings but I can safely say that I am in love with pizza. It is practical. Delicious. Capable of many iterations. It is perfect for eating alone or with friends. TELL ME WORLD, what could be better than that?

48. Plaid

e: I’ve recently become immersed in the investigation of my family tree, which has yielded some surprises and some dead-ends. This in turn lead to my realization that plaids were originally linked to families in Scotland, and subsequently my wondering if we’re all walking around advertizing for people we don’t event know. What if I’m wearing the colors and pattern of a rival clan? That would be embarrassing.

a: Plaid conveys a message of comfort to anyone around you; and due to its common pairing with flannel fabric - often means supreme comfort for the person wearing it. I’ve got a particularly strange relationship with plaid mostly because so many of my friends and colleagues are used to my wearing it — little do they know I do it just so I can spread its calming effects.

47. The State of Michigan

e: I always seem to be drawn back here, to the mitten. Most of the time (when I’m not struggling to free myself from perceived childhood naivete) I think this place has everything I could ever want: family, city, nature, water, history, quiet, love. I always feel this is home.

a: Having a home away from home is a romantic idea - but one that applies to any Michigander living outside of the state. Nothing compares to the feeling of returning to the Mitten after months away and nothing can hurt as much as leaving after only a few days.

Image courtesy of JTWilcox

46. Sunglasses

e: Sunglasses are indeed sexy, as demonstrated by Dominic Palazzolo in The Virgin Suicides. But sunglasses are also useful. When you’re riding your bike, there’s no better way to look great AND keep bugs and dirt out of your eyes than to wear a striking pair of what my mother affectionately calls “Hollywoods”.

a: If anything can make an outfit…. sizzle, it’s the sunglasses. Like many accessories, you’ve really got to have a good eye to know which sunglasses you can really work it with, and which ones you look like you’ve been to the optometrist and just gotten your pupils dilated with. The line is a little shady (I know, I know…) but worth discerning.

45. Tea

e: For 2 years I worked in a tea shop, which is where I became a big tea snob. We would start each shift by brewing a big shared pot and discussing the day ahead. We relished explaining to hurried customers that the crucial minutes of steeping were part of the experience of drinking tea. Now I have a cup almost everyday, which feels ritualistic and restorative.

a: For a brief period in highschool I was in possession of the hilariously named Mr. Coffee counterpart — Mrs. Tea. It sounds ridiculous now, but for a number of years drinking tea felt subversive to me. Knowing how to make tea felt empowering. Taking your tea “honest” (sans honey, milk or sugar) was bold - and having the right favorite tea was crucial (I settled on Lady Grey, but so wanted to be a Lapsang Souchong girl.)

44. Snow

e: Snow is the natural version of the sidewalk in front of AMC Star Theaters. It’s real movie magic.

a: This may sound curmudgeonly, but I think I’m actually no longer enthused by the first snowfall of the year. Instead, what fills my heart with joy now is that first day when the ground is covered and the air is still. The way every sound bounces off every snowy surface and the thin layer of frozen over ice on top are slices of snowy bliss.

43. Ice skating

e: I have many fond memories of going to the skating rink with my family on winter weekends- not only with my parents and sister, but also my uncle. As a hockey player, my uncle can glide powerfully and smoothly across the ice, much better than any of us ever could. He would playfully check us into the boards and try to teach us to skate backward. He would make us laugh for hours.

a: Ice skating joins the ranks of the many failed childhood hobbies of mine. I loved to do the “rocking horse” - and that was pretty much it. I remember being petulant about my desire to do turns and have strong memories of going to the rink before the lessons and catching the last bit of Animaniacs in the lobby. Despite it all, gliding along the ice still gets my heart giddy with glee every time.

42. Coffee

e: I realized the preciousness of coffee while living in Seattle. Yes, that town runs on coffee- there’s no other choice when it’s always overcast and raining and feels like 5pm all day long. But it was glorious to have so many options- not only brands but brews. And all of them damn good (I love you Coop).

a: Having been a barista for a number of years now, I’m used to people assuming I have strong opinions on coffee. But guys, I just don’t. I like it - and I like what it does to people, but I’m not an impassioned coffee purveyor - get me some tea or some espresso, and then you’ll get me chatty — coffee, however, is simple. It’s good, it’s warm, it’s comforting and it helps you get the job done.

41. Abraham Lincoln

e: I’m not as big a fan of presidential history as some people (see below) but I’ve got a special place in my heart for AL. Upstanding citizen. Savvy politician. Of course, emancipation. And it’s well-documented that he liked cats. Although his death was tragic, it gives me hope that a person like him could achieve what he did and change the world for so many people.

a: Falling in love with history was the first step - and finding Abraham Lincoln was the next. Of course I had always had a deep admiration for our 16th President - but that admiration blossomed into complete fascination in 2008 as we approached the bicentennial of his birth. More than the individual himself, I’m fascinated with who has become to our society and what his legacy and history means to us now.

40. Hummus

e: First of all, I grew up in Dearborn, MI - this stuff is my pb&j. I hate chunky, orange, dry hummus (what I call “hippy hummus”). I my ideal chickpea spread has the consistency of a fine tile grout, topped with pink pickled radish and paprika.

a: As a post-undergrad struggling stomach, I learned a trick, and that trick is called: hummus. One store-bought tub of the stuff can stretch out as lunch for a week if you do it right. It’s not one of those accoutrements that you get sick of either. The variety of tastes, textures and delights that hummus can provide are truly endless.