GRWM to go to…HomeGoods

Three suitcases, two elections and one Independence Day later, I am in America.

Welcome to Quality Sheet, a weekly assortment of outside-the-box news, events, trends and offbeat oddities to indulge your curiosity. Subscribe for a midweek treat each Wednesday that'll make you hummm with intrigue and amusement.

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I’m in love. New York and I were in a long-distance relationship for a few years but now that I’m here on a committed basis, the honeymoon period is in full effect. The trees are lush and my heart bursts with adoration every day. The fruit stall sellers at the top of my road are the apple of my eye! I skip down Broadway an—oh, sorry!! Have a nice day!—I narrowly miss a cyclist. My ears ring with the sound of blasting AC as the city tries its best not to turn into an actual melting pot of liquefied flesh, concrete and steel in this heat!! Ahhhh. As I peek above my rose-tinted shades to admire the New Jersey skyline across the Hudson, only the words of Bobby Short cross my mind: I happen to loooooove-uh New Yooooork.

Omw to Target, probably. Or HomeGoods. In brand-appropriate colours! This is my idea of a brat summer

Also, I’ve missed you! How are you doing? Welcome to Quality Sheet. This week, we’re paying a visit to the bank of Meghan and Harry—and stopping at a couple of romance bookstores popping up across the U.S.

Let’s jump in.

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Within my first week in New York, I fell victim to a scam of epic—or, I should say, miniscule—proportions. A friend and I settled down to a martini happy hour, only to find out we were being charged half-price for *half* a cocktail (served in glasses with a diameter the length of my little finger). At best, the experience was a baptism into my new life; at worst, I was being hazed. Either way, I was tickled and we cackled like Kamala Harris while debating whether or not to down the drinks in one go. 

Anyway, if you’re looking for wonderfully absurd beverage ideas, Helen Chamberlain’s Instagram is a library of “weirdly” dirty martinis. Start with the ‘filet mignon’ one, below.

spiritedla

A post shared by @spiritedla

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Romance novels, once relegated to obscure bookstore aisles, now have entire shops dedicated to them. The rise in the genre’s popularity came during the pandemic and has birthed inventive business ideas (a books + vibrators subscription service!) as a result, the New York Times reports.

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Hip-hop is a genre that’s constantly evolving—but does it change as quickly as every five years? The Grio’s Touré spins the clock back to 1982 and outlines some defining moments of hip-hop history in his review of QuestLove’s ‘Hip-Hop Is History’ book.

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For governments facing the economic burden of aging populations, boosting birth rates seems the obvious solution. But what are the alternatives to sustaining a society that is getting older? Options include lifting barriers to immigration, boosting affordable and accessible healthcare and reforming pensions, Harvard Professor David E. Bloom suggests.

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Finally, catch up on how Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been making money since they stepped down as senior British royals (this one is really for my mum, who asks me every few months “how are Meghan and Harry doing?” as though I know them personally <3).

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Thank you for reading. Share to sweeten someone’s day—and have a lovely rest of your week!

Isabel :)

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