Setting the Table
A grazing platter for your brain...
Thursdays are for setting the table…the pause before the chaos, when you decide what kind of experience you’re creating. What goes where…what gets highlighted…what makes people feel taken care of before they even sit down. So here’s what I’m setting out this week. Pull up a chair.
We’re halfway through February, and I’m still thawing out from this never-ending winter freeze. But I’m also ready for a reset…not the performative kind, the real kind. Before spring arrives, it’s time to start wiping away what’s not working and making space for what actually matters. Like building something small, that might be just for me.
Turns out, that’s what this week’s table setting is about: tools to start fresh, people worth celebrating, and the sweet stuff that needs no justification.
THE GRAZING PLATE
(quick bites, short reads, things to nibble on)
February by Jo Sexton – Some quiet prose to break up the incessant noise on our feeds. Epstein, Trump, conspiracies, and all the overwhelming things that make me want to pull my hair out.
Neurodivergent-affirming Ways to Reduce Work Stress – Taking all the notes.
THE UTENSILS
(tools, recipes, the things that help you do the work)
2025 was the year I finally got into investing. Super small potatoes, but it’s something. Women statistically live longer than men and are projected to control two-thirds of America’s wealth by 2030. Building wealth that isn’t dependent on anyone else or your day job is the name of the game. Time to start playing, ladies. A few places to get started:
THE VESSELS
(what holds us, what gives our chaos shape and space)
Buoy your belief in your own creative pursuits – Profile of Sally Moore, an incredible artist in Charlotte. Fun fact: we grew up together in the tiny town of Blythewood, SC…the only two girls on our co-ed basketball team in 4th & 5th grade. Truly beautiful interview by Delaney Lundquist of Tremont Home.
THE GLASSWARE
(the bubbles, the refreshment, what quenches)
Music is essential for me in the kitchen, and I'm constantly looking to keep things fresh. For that, I go to my longtime source: Ryan Hollingsworth, a dear friend from our scene kid/emo days at the University of South Carolina.
He's curated some of my favorite compilations for years…and I’m thrilled to drop his latest ‘Good Medicine 47: Be My Baby’ today!! ANDDDDD…for a little extra goodness, scroll down to read my interview with Ryan, where he talks the method behind the madness. Enjoy!
THE NAPKIN
(for wiping away the week’s mess, the reset)
Grab a little Valentine for yourself or your love this Saturday, February 14th. First-come, first-serve. Beautiful bouquets and espresso beverages in adorable coffee carriers from two of my favorite Upper West Side neighbors: Iris & the Bee and Black Press
THE DESSERT PLATE
(the sweet stuff, pure joy, no justification needed)
It’s been months in the making, but my friend Chef Nadav Greenberg finally opened his newest concept, Or’esh, with Catch Hospitality Group. I got a sneak peek a couple weeks ago—lucky enough to try the first few dishes right from the pass (my favorite place to stand). First week of service is underway, and reviews are already glowing. Obviously :)
The perfect Galentine’s Day event: Grab your girls and head to Shopify in Soho for Cherry Bomb’s Bombsquad Bazaar this Friday, February 13th. Speakers, book signings, and more from Padma Lakshmi, Natasha Pickowicz, and more. I’ll be stopping by Friday—holla if you’ll be there!
Thinking about this week: What creative thing have you been telling yourself you'll "get back to eventually"? What if eventually was this weekend?
THE ENCORE
(a little something extra)
My dear friend Ryan Hollingsworth is the curator behind the amazing playlists I have on constant rotation in my kitchen, and I am thrilled he JUST dropped Good Medicine: Volume 47, Be My Baby, and so I wanted to give you the backstory on his two decades of curating genius:
Jess: Ryan! We’ve known each other for a very long time now and I’m a huge fan of your mixes, all the way back to our college years at South Carolina. Tell our readers a little about yourself and how you got started.
Ryan: My wife Ashley and I are Creative Directors in Charlotte, NC. We’ve been married for 16 years and we have two boys – Oliver and Charlie – who love baseball, 90’s pro wrestling, and the idea of getting a dog. I’ve loved music ever since my parents made the poor decision of letting me join Columbia House in elementary school. 9 CDs for a penny...and then the rest of my childhood life savings to fulfill my required purchases after that.
Jess: YO! I remember that deal with Columbia House! So, is that when you started making playlists back in the day?
Ryan: I’ve always loved making playlists and collecting songs I loved into one place – I used to tape songs onto cassettes from the radio or from my favorite albums. I burned my first CD from songs off on Napster in 1999, and I never looked back. I made playlists all throughout college – I’d design, print out cover art, and give them to friends. I made my first Good Medicine mix back in 2010…I collected songs, designed the artwork, and hosted the MP3s on my blog. Once Spotify came around, it got a lot easier to make and share them. In the heyday, I’d make a new Good Medicine every other month, typically around different seasons. It’s definitely slowed down more over the years, but I still try to make a couple every year.
Jess: I love that! I totally used to tape the Top 10 Countdown on WNOK each night. Hahaha…So tell me more about how you landed on “Good Medicine” for the playlist name?
Ryan: It comes from a Proverb I came across years ago – “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” I think good music does a lot for the heart.
Jess: Absolutely…I’m writing that down as a reminder, for sure…what a great name. Your mixes really do that and have done that for me over the years. I look forward to them each season, especially because they always expose me to different artists and bands I have never heard of. How do you find them all?
Ryan: It used to be way harder – I picked up compilation CDs from music stores or magazines, and I followed a bunch of different music blogs that would post new bands or songs, and I’d collect my favorites until I had enough to make a new mix. Spotify definitely made it a lot easier to go down the rabbit hole of bands you like, and ones that you may like because of that, and so on. The biggest issue now is getting outside of the algorithm they feed you and stumbling onto something new.
Jess: Yes! That dang algorithm keeps me in a 90s or 2010’s hip hop loop all the dang time. It’s hard to break out! One last thing…what do you hope people take away from listening to your mixes?
Ryan: I’ve always loved the idea of giving people a soundtrack to their seasons and memories – songs that are fun to listen to, whether you’re with friends or driving home alone in the car at night. I believe music is such a powerful, sensory thing – and while I’ve never been much of a musician outside of a short-lived high school punk band, I’ve always loved giving people songs that remind me why I love music.
I really appreciate you taking the time to talk today, and I’m SUPER pumped to promote your latest that JUST DROPPED! Run, don’t walk, people…Good Medicine: Volume 47, Be My Baby!
Enjoy friends, and THANK YOU, Ryan!!
Happy Weekend of LOVE, turkeys!
XOXO
-Jess