HELLO, PARTY ANIMAL!
It’s Third Party’s Second Edition! This week, we’re finding cheap new hobbies, beating the winter blues, listening to our elders, and drinking mint tea like it’s a full-time job.
I am, once again, grateful for all of your gorgeous submissions! I wish you’d keep ‘em coming - submit for next week right here.
FIRST UP: UNSOLICITED RECS FOR THE WEEK
Write a Letter. Put it in the mail, don’t tell recipient it’s coming. This is… so fun? Like here let me scribe you some musings, you’ll get ‘em in 2-4 days…chic!
Scream With Me. Not actually. My boyfriend’s cool smart kind mom (BRAG) sent me this book (double BRAG). I feel strongly that if you are reading this newsletter, it’s up your alley.
Whales Use Vowels. They also have grandmothers? These scientists are using AI to track whale vocal patterns and it could have major impact on the rights of all animals moving forward…this article made me cry but so does everything.
You Simply Gotta Watch Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein. All my girls love an adaptation with a POV.
Romanticize the Grocery Store. Make a soundtrack (playlist) for running your errands. Alternatively: jump around your bedroom to this song.
Lib Out. Just a little bit. We simply must celebrate our wins. Mamdani baby!
West End Girl. If you haven’t listened yet, you should.
And that’s that! Ok let’s get into it.
A BADDIE, NO LONGER A SADDIE.
SUBMISSION A: I refuse to get seasonal depression this year I just can’t do it again. How do you make it through the winter?
To quote my dear, Minnesotan-borne friend Cathy Fraser: winter comes every year. As such, we’ve simply gotta lean in. You heard it here first: I’m declaring this as the winter the Bills win the Super Bowl and we as a collective beat winter’s ass.
HOW TO BEAT WINTER’S ASS (A NON-EXHAUSTIVE LIST)
Photosynthesize. If / when the sun is out, get outside and let it hit your retinas. Don’t like, stare at the sun, to be clear; just a quick soak a la Sheryl Crow.
Lather. Invest in a very good, very rich body oil or moisturizer. I like this one from Wonder Valley. It’s expensive but it lasts forever - one bottle gets me through the winter.
Drink mint tea like it’s your part-time job. QUARTS of it. It’s delicious and good for your digestion.
On the note of warm and tasty drinks: a casual Hot Toddy every now and then is good for the soul. Tuesdays are hard. It’s basically tea.
Hot Yoga!!!!!! Get your ass to the sweatiest, nastiest, grodiest heated yoga studio your neighborhood has to offer and enjoy the disgusting, temporarily novel thrill of sweating through your clothes.
Get out of the house. Volunteer somewhere close by. Go visit your parents. Take a long walk by the river.
Stay in. Make elaborate cozy dinners for people you love. Host a PJ party. Eat cake.
Remember: winter is gorgeous and wonderful in its own way. It will come and it will go and all you can do is take really, really good care of yourself along the way.
LOBBY 4 A NEW (CHEAP) HOBBY
SUBMISSION B: I’m really trying to get off my phone in my downtime but still need a way to decompress after work. What’s a new hobby I can take up that isn’t expensive?
Did I miss a Cut article or something??? Why is everyone in my life suddenly hyper-aware of their screen-time? No hate no shade, I think this is an extremely noble pursuit, just curious about the impetus of said pursuit.
Hobbies can come in many shapes and sizes and sounds and levels of difficulty. Totally hear you on trying to keep costs down. The winter I spent trying to learn how to knit got real expensive real quick.
Here’s a smattering of pastimes you could pick up that are either cheap or a choose-your-own-adventure kind of spend:
Home (Apartment) Improvement. Making your house a home counts as a hobby, IMHO - and it doesn’t have to involve buying a bunch of new shit! I’m talking rearranging your bedroom, organizing your pantry in a way that makes your life 4% easier, slapping some WD-40 on those creaky front door hinges.
Embroidery. All you need is a hoop, some thread and a dream! I recommend starting with one of those little kits they sell at Michaels or like Milennial Bookstores That Also Sell Socks. Once you get the hang of it you can beautify any old shirt/sweater/bag you have laying around the house. And it makes for lovely gifts!
Cooking / Baking. Definitely a recipe-dependent, price-varying hobby, but IMO the cost is offset by the fact that you’re making something you quite literally need: sustenance! Whether it’s sourdough or a complex stew, your labor will quite literally be fruitful.
Kissing. Have you tried this? Very good for the cortisol levels. Can be done anywhere, anytime, with anyone (with consent).
Experimenting with Monastic Living. Have you considered literally just turning to religion? What if you made Catholicism a Thing You Know A Lot About? Famously, this started out as free and then got a little dicey around 1517, but you can find ways to do it on the cheap.
Meddling in the Business of Others. Being effectively nosey is a 30hr/a week part-time job. Ask questions. Take notes. Ask follow-up questions. Stay curious.
Saw this craft on Pinterest and my jaw literally dropped. If I had outdoor space i would be moving differently let’s just leave it at that….
that’s it for now!
I’m really grateful to all of my friends for letting me bombard their inboxes for the sake of having a place to put writing out into the world it’s really so nice of you guys. If i may be so bold as to offer a final unsolicited rec, you should listen to this song today because it’s how i feel about you.
Pretty please keep your submissions coming, and I’ll meet you back here next week. Byeeeeee!
