The Week That Was: Make Those Plans and Do It!
Or how not to wait six years to do a sister trip.
The Week That Was is a free Sunday letter crafted for those who seek to live with intention and curiosity. In each edition, I share a curated collection of recommendations, a topic or idea to learn about, moments and musings from my week, and a question for you to take a moment of reverie.
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Greetings from Mexico City!
My sister and I arrived last night in this bustling capital to spend a week together over the Thanksgiving holiday. While we see each other relatively often (especially considering we live on opposite sides of the United States), we realised that the last time we did a sister trip was at the end of 2018 when we went to Oslo, Norway. Neither of us can comprehend that it has been six years…so we are ecstatic to be here together and to have plenty of quality time with each other and the city.
Lots of Mexico City writing to follow…
When it comes to planning time like this with friends or family (whether it is a week-long international trip, a weekend nature break, or, let’s be honest, sometimes just an hours-long Facetime), it can be so easy to just keep pushing it off. Next time…Things get in the way, you get busy, planning another thing seems like a weight that you don’t have the capacity for, and there are always competing priorities. And that is how six years pass.
We committed to a trip together over Thanksgiving back in August before anything else could get in the way. It took some time for the plans to come to fruition, but we had blocked off the time, which is always the hardest part.
So today, I ask you: Who have you been putting off calling? Which family member should you plan to see soon? Where have you been wanting to go (it could be somewhere in your neighbourhood)? Pick a date, make the necessary reservations, and follow through on the plan. You don’t want to be waiting another six years!
Here is what else has been going on this week…
curated finds that inspire, delight, and enrich
A Forgotten Classic: I managed to get a head start on one of my 2025 resolutions and finished this month’s Classics of Women’s Lit book club book before the meeting! The book in question was Plum Bun: A Novel Without a Moral by Jessie Redmon Fauset, a somewhat forgotten masterpiece from the Harlem Renaissance. The story follows Angela Murray, a light-skinned African American woman who chooses to pass as white to pursue a life of greater opportunity and freedom but soon grapples with the emotional and ethical consequences of her decision. Every single person in the book club LOVED this book. It is a masterpiece.
Always Listening: For top-tier fashion listening, I can’t get enough of The Cutting Room Floor podcast. OMONDI does fabulous deep-dive interviews with members of the fashion industry, and she asks some of the best questions around. Take a peek at her TikTok to see what I mean! To listen to her new season (which includes guests such as TheRealReal’s Chief Creative Officer and Cynthia Erivo (!!) you can subscribe to her on Patreon. Additionally, her first three seasons are free on Spotify.
A Mexican Singer-Songwriter: This week, in anticipation of returning to Mexico City, I have been listening to primarily Mexican artists. My favourite new-to-me find is Natalia Lafourcade, who is considered a proud guardian of Latin America's musical legacy. Her tenth studio album, De Todas las Flores (2022), is the one I have been listening to the most due to its inspiration from a variety of Latin jazz and folk genres.
A Skincare Addition: Up until a couple of years ago, I only ever used water and Pond’s moisturizer on my skin (!), but these days, it is not quite as youthful and forgiving. I recently bought a small size of the Elemis Dynamic Resurfacing Facial Pads and am happy to report that I love them just as much as the thousands of reviewers suggested I would. These, paired with this Weleda night cream, have my skin feeling almost as soft as it did ten years ago. Elemis is not cheap, so I plan to use the facial pads a few times a week as a mild exfoliator.
More Than Gouda Enough: I am becoming quite the connoisseur of vegan cheese, a food sector that seems to be growing just as quickly as non-alcoholic beverages. My current obsession is the smoked gouda block from Daiya. Made from Daiya’s Oat Cream™️ blend, it is creamy, smoky, and absolutely delicious. Add it to a holiday charcuterie board, cube it as an afternoon snack, or melt it on top of pretty much anything. I ate a whole block in five days.
where curiosity meets the art of discovery
Did you know that thousands of American garment workers earn less than $3/hour?
This information is horrifying and guaranteed to shock those who think a "Made in America” tag automatically means something is more ethically made. However, there is a growing movement to ensure that domestic garment workers get at least the same protections as other domestic workers.
In 2021, California passed the Garment Worker Protection Act, which requires garment workers to be paid an hourly rate at least equal to the minimum wage and makes all parties (including fashion brands and retailers) responsible for paying garment workers properly. When this was passed, it was a huge win. Now, there is another piece of legislation we need to get passed…
The FABRIC Act is the national version of the bill. It seeks to “protect nearly 100,000 American garment workers and revitalize the garment industry in the United States by improving working conditions, reforming the piece-rate pay scale, and investing in domestic apparel production.”
This is such an important piece of legislation. It will help to rebuild garment manufacturing in the United States while ensuring the protection of those who work in the industry.
Earlier in the week, Senator Dick Durbin of IL co-sponsored the bill, which had already been co-sponsored by our other IL senator, Tammy Duckworth. Many other politicians, businesses, and organizations have signed on to the bill, and you can help to get this bill passed by:
Endorsing the act
Calling your representatives and senators and urging them to support it
Signing the petition
Sharing information about the FABRIC Act with your friends and networks.
All details for taking action can be found here.
For more information about the fight for human rights and climate justice in the clothing industry, follow and support Remake, which is doing crucial work worldwide.
FURTHER READING
My favourite Substack post of the week….
a glimpse into the little joys and moments of my week
Chicago Fair Trade has the most incredible holiday pop-up shop open on Michigan Avenue (!!). There are so many beautiful things available from a large assortment of ethical vendors; if you are in Chicago, your holiday shopping is sorted! It is thrilling to see fair trade businesses be so visible on such an iconic shopping street.
One evening this week, I visited the pop-up shop for a panel discussion titled Crafting Change: Behind the People and Processes Shaping a More Conscious Fashion Future. The panel, facilitated by the fantastic Elizabeth Joy of Conscious Fashion Collective, included three founders and changemakers in sustainable and ethical fashion. Each of these women spoke with passion and knowledge about the industry and what responsible fashion means to them.
(Side note: We spoke a lot about the right terminology to use, and someone suggested “responsible fashion,” which I like a lot. Generally, I use the term “conscious fashion,” but I am curious what you think.)
Regardless of the term, what I am certain of is that these three women have the type of businesses that we want to support:
Production Mode — Slow fashion, designed and made in Chicago.
Seres Footwear — A shoe brand designed in the USA and handmade in Mexico, Chicana-owned.
Marketplace: Handiwork of India — Currently, MarketPlace works with over 400 artisans organised into 11 cooperatives in Mumbai.
My boyfriend gifted me two books from The First Decade Collection, which celebrates the breadth of Fitzcarraldo Editions’ publishing over the first ten years. Ten selected books were printed in 1000 copies, each casebound in a fine linen cloth (!!!), with signed (!!!) and numbered bookplates, and STUNNING custom marbled endpapers.
He chose well, opting for one nonfiction book (always white) and one fiction book (always blue) from two women authors that I love: The Years by Annie Ernaux (tr. Alison L. Strayer), which many consider her defining work, and Flights by Olga Tokarczuk (tr. Jennifer Croft), a novel “interweaving reflections on travel with an in-depth exploration of the human body.” I will treasure these forever.
I’m excited to see one of my all-time favourites, Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor (tr. Sophie Hughes), on the list. Also included in the limited edition is a book I have wanted to read for years, Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets by Svetlana Alexievich (tr. Bela Shayevich), “a poignant and unique portrait of post-Soviet society out of the stories of ordinary women and men.”
a pause to reflect, a moment to savor
What’s one thing that brought you joy this week?
Mine was seeing the first snow of the season cover the streets in white fairy dust while I snuggled under a thick blanket and drank a creamy hot chocolate out of an extra-large mug.
I would love to know what you think about the new layout of this Sunday post!
With warmth and gratitude
Jennifer
xxx