Hey everyone, welcome back to ConsistentDistant Love! I can't believe this is already the fourth issue, but here we are. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I love writing it! I love getting your feedback and comments every week, and as always I miss you all dearly!
Tweets of The Week
More tweets than usual this week, but let's be honest, I think we need it.
All I can say is god bless Taylor Swift
The way this encapsulates my childhood just hits different
Amen
This tweet has a lot of layers, but if you know you know
Sad how much I relate to this one
Facts (rip to the 2020 Tony's)
Sassy Celeb of the Week: Jojo Siwa
I have been a Jojo girl since her days on the iconic reality show Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition. Since she abandoned reality TV, she has moved on to much bigger things, well if you call a Nickolodeon contract and infinite brand deals with Target and Claire's bigger things. She is known for her technicolored outfits, autotuned singing, Dance Mom's career, and of course her bows. Due to her massive overexposure in the past few years, many teens find her obnoxious and weird for not acting her age (16). But somehow just in the past few weeks, she has begun to win over the hearts of her peers by showing more down to earth, authentic, and relatable parts of her personality on Tik Tok. I personally am really happy for Jojo because she seems to be living her best life and is a positive role model for young kids.
Quaratunes of Week
It was 90 degrees in Marin on Friday, and it finally feels like summer (minus the beach days and BBQs). Fittingly this week, Annie has been working on an epic summer vibes playlist and I have been absolutely loving it! Check it out here!
(Please send me your playlists if you are working on any, I am always looking for new music!)
Songs for when...
You're having a solo dance party -Party For One by Carly Rae Jepsen
You miss your friends- Keep Your Friends Close by Dylan Owen
You're singing in the shower-Year 3000 by The Jonas Brothers (cover)
You need to escape-Andrew In Drag by The Magnetic Field
You're cooking up a kitchen masterpiece- The entire Waitress soundtrack
You miss high school-High School Never Ends by Bowling for Soup
You're hanging with your parents-Rhinestone Cowboy by Glen Campbell
You're on a neighborhood walk-Peach Fuzz by Tyler The Creator
You need a mood boost-Best Day Ever by Mac Miller
New Podcasts Alert!
A little self-promo but go check out the podcast I recorded last week with Kylie and I also did a Mother's Day special with Minty, so you can also check that out!!
Those Funky Houses on Lucky Drive (investigative journalism)
Growing up I always wondered about who lived in those funky houses you could see from the highway. With slides going out the windows and spiral staircases they look like they either were designed by a five-year-old or an accomplished architect who was on some questionable drugs. This week, when I was delivering senior yard signs to my classmate's houses, I was assigned to go visit one of these homes. It was like the childhood dream I didn't know I had was coming true. While I was driving there, I realized that they are actually walking distance from my school and nothing had ever prevented me from visiting them before, but better late than never. When I got out of the car to drop off the sign (I actually do not know the person who lives there) I began to notice even more anomalies in the front yards that are not visible from the freeway. The was a floating bicycle, a mailbox inside a tin man, vintage cars, and a sort of moat. I must have been staring because a man smoking a cigarette who I hadn't noticed asked me if I wanted to take a look inside. I politely declined, no matter how intrigued I was, these houses aren't exactly where I would want to die. As I drove away, my curiosity was even more peaked than when I had gotten there so I began to do some research on the internet.
I found out that this collection of houses is actually called The Rancho Shazam Museum of Art and Technical Stuff and was designed by Lee Greenberg (who also calls himself Captain Marble????), a self-proclaimed junk artist. According to the Sacramento Bee, he left his Board of Education position in Manhattan to pursue the houseboat lifestyle in Sausalito in 1970 and found this property in rubble in 1991 after the Earthquake. Apparently, due to absurd zoning laws, it is considered an agricultural property (thus the name rancho) and for that reason, they raise chickens there. Despite my earlier hypothesis, Captain Marble claims to have never done drugs, saying: "The key: Don’t have expensive baggage. Those drugs, they’re costly. I may have been the only one I knew back then who never did drugs." Many of the articles I read have cited many cases of Marin County accusing the property of code violations as far back as 1997, but somehow they always seem to slip out of it. The buildings have several different units of apartments, and Greenberg is known to host many community events for the people who live there (who knew landlords could be fun!?). I am so happy that I live somewhere with quirky little things like this and I can't believe it took my whole life to explore the story behind it. If you look up "Rancho Shazam" on Google you can find lots more information, interviews, and pictures which I definitely recommend.
This is a picture I took from another angle.
This is a picture of Lee Greenberg with his Tin Man mailbox that I found online.
Gosh, Claire, what did Tik Tok make you do this time?
I have pursued many Tik Tok trends in quarantine thus far, from outdoor mirror photoshoots to chemical peels, but this week was probably the riskiest one. For quite so time now, the trend of fake freckles has been circulating on Tik Tok as well as other parts of the internet, but it was not until recently that I saw the trend of using fake tan to create fake freckles. For some context, I usually naturally develop freckles by midsummer, so it's not like I have never had freckles before, but that also feels like too long to wait. My sister, Annie actually tried this trend out before me, and it worked out fine for her, so I had some hope that I would get good results. So I grabbed my L'oreal Sublime Bronze self-tanning lotion and squeezed a dollop into a small plastic dish and got to work. I used a thin bobby pin to dab tiny constellations of dots onto my face. This part seemed to be going well at first, but the lotion began to spread out making the circles larger than I would have liked. At this point, I knew things were going poorly but it was too late to turn back, so I finished it off and send some pics to my sisters who affirmed my thoughts that they looked bad (thanks for being honest guys). I used my paper fan I had got from the Shangri La Museum to help them dry faster, and then I slept with them overnight. When I woke up they were dry and I washed my face and saw the final product! Overall I do not think these turned out great, but I also am inclined to try again, so we shall see!
The News From Hanken Drive (what's up with grandpa) This week, I was inspired to go back to an old Marin favorite place, Donut Alley. You may be thinking, "Claire you are vegan and gluten-free, what would they have in store for you?" The answer is not much, but I was craving one of those little Martinelli's apple juices. So on Wednesday morning I got up at 6:20 am and drove to downtown Larkspur to pay the shop a visit. Fun fact: Minty used to go to Donut Alley before school when she went to Redwood. When I arrived the only other person there was a little old lady getting coffee and a plain glazed donut, it was honestly refreshing to see such a sense of routine in these crazy times. When I got to the counter I ordered a maple old fashion, chocolate glaze, and an apple juice, and paid in bills (Donut Alley is cash only of course). The next stop was Grandpa's house, and I didn't exactly tell him I would be coming over at 6:50 am, but I have been bursting into his house my whole life after all. I met him upstairs in his bedroom where he immediately woke up and started talking to me about foxes and wolves and pretty much every animal under the sun (Grandpa is known for always dreaming of animals and wanting to talk about them as soon as he wakes up). We headed downstairs for his surprise, when I presented him with the maple donut he was so excited and exclaimed: "you read my mind, maple donuts are the best." As he made his coffee he explained to me the different pastries his mom used to make (his favorite was pecan rolls), and how he made visited a maple farm in Vermont. When the coffee was ready we sat down, I tried the Martinelli's Apple Juice Challenge (it's real!!), and began to cut his donut into pieces and devoured. We discussed what we had done that week, the progress of the flowers I planted, and both of our desires to go to Tahoe soon. When it was time for me to go he said "The was a treat and a half! See you soon." Then I returned home and surprised my dad with the chocolate donut!
Ooh Lala! Lo drew this lovely series of mushrooms in suits I love the whimsy that the pictures have and they definitely made me smile, I hope they made you smile too!
Movie (and a few TV) Recommendations from you!
Jack recommends the comedy Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Gabby and Natalia love the rom-com Valentine's Day
Isabella is watching the new glam drama mini-series Hollywood
Niharika has a few of her favorites to share: the classic sports feel-good movie The Sandlot, the teen romance Edge of Seventeen, the drama Dead Poet's Society (I adore this one too), and Good Will Hunting
Caroline's ride or die movie is National Treasure
Lauren suggests the action movie Oceans 8
Layla has been loving the after school special style comedy John Mulaney and The Sack Lunch Bunch
Caitlin adores the girl power movies Someone Great and The First Wives Club
If you are in the mood for a psychological thriller Connor suggests Burning
Lo recommends the queer coming of age movie The Half of It (I watched this yesterday and it made my heart melt)
Ruby loves the rom-com About Time (but she warns that you might cry)
My Secret Iced Tea Recipe
Okay so this recipe isn't exactly a secret but the reason it isn't on my blog, it because it doesn't really have exact measurements, but I am going to try my best to explain it! First, boil a pot of water (a full kettle's worth). While water is on the stove, prepare your teapot by adding one black English Breakfast teabag and one Lemon Zinger tea bag. Pour boiling water in with the tea bags and steep for 5 to 7 minutes. Next, add sweetener to taste (for me that it is about two spoonfuls of sugar). Let the pot cool for about a half an hour without the lid on and then pour into a pitcher over ice. Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon and optionally add raspberries! Serve in a tall glass with ice and enjoy :)
What is your go-to quarantine snack?
With more time on my I have had a lot more time to experiment with new snacks! What are you eating? Tell me in this form! That's all for this week!! As always my inbox is always open and hearing from you is always the highlight of my week. Please also feel free to reach out with any newsletter related content, whether you want to write, just have an idea of something to try, or recommend, please let me know! I miss and love you all!
xoxoxo
Claire
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