Hi I’m Cris, your older sister.

At any given moment there are a million things running through my head that I want to share with people. Essay ideas, book recommendations, places to go, what to eat, where to shop, what to watch, a tip, a trick, a shortcut to something great. The problem is that Instagram isn’t always the best platform for this sort of sharing; sending frequent “you must try this” texts to my friends can come off as too know-it-all-y; and in our current climate talking to strangers is a no-go. Plus, I only have one sibling and there’s only so much bossing around she can take.

Enter this newsletter. It’s an idea that’s been swirling around in my head for a while, but I’ve always been too lazy and too intimidated to make it happen. Today I decided not to be lazy. Today I decided to give it a shot. “You won’t know until you try,” is something I say to my daughter all the time. I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t at least pretend to follow my own advice.

I hope you like my newsletter. I’ll probably be talking about mom things, green things, reading things, writing things, cool things, and food things. Though nothing is guaranteed, and what I say goes. Those of you that have a sibling already know, and for those of you that don’t, I’m sorry to be the one to break it to you: older siblings makes the rules.

I hope you find this useful, interesting, fun, and sometimes funny…or at the very least you don’t dread seeing it in your inbox. If you do, no prob, simply unsubscribe. I get it, I get a million unwanted emails, too. But you should really stick around. If for no other reason, then because I said so.

xx

Cris Pearlstein, your older sister

Let’s start with some light recos…

January 21

Read this

In this political climate immigration is a hot topic. I’m the daughter of an immigrant, but my mom is now a US citizen, who came here through legal channels. She came here from Europe, Italy to be exact. And we’re white, so...it’s safe to say her experience was slightly different than what a lot of families go through today. This article from New York Magazine, "Bad Dream” by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, captures the modern-day immigrant experience. It’s eye-opening, interesting, and informative, not to mention incredibly well-written. I’ve decided you must read it.

Read It

January 21

Try this

The next time you go grocery shopping I’d like you to try something for me. Try to buy produce without putting them in plastic produce bags. Grabbing 2 bell peppers? Just put them in your cart. They won’t roll away, I promise. Buying a few avocados? Just put them in your cart. The plastic bags won’t protect them from getting banged up. Stocking up on oranges (it’s citrus season!)? Say it with me: Just put them in your cart. Those plastic produce bags literally do nothing. I don’t know who invented them, or what lobby works to make them so available, but take it from me. You don’t need them. YOU DON’T NEED THEM. The one exception I’ll allow is if you find yourself having to prevent 20 mushrooms (or any other equally small, loose bulk items) from falling through the grating of your shopping cart. But if you absolutely insist on using produce bags, at least get your own reusable version, like these…

The Sunshine Series Produce Bags

January 21

Watch this

Ted Lasso (AppleTV+) is the funny, sweet, and sometimes raunchy sitcom series we all didn’t know we needed right now. Jason Sudeikis, a college football coach from the midwest, takes a job coaching one of the best soccer clubs in England. The result is a charming fish-out-of-water comedy where dirty jokes and kindness reign. Two things we could all use a bit more of these days. Watch the first two episodes and let me know what you think (you’ll love it, but we can pretend you might not if it makes you feel better).

Watch

I’d love to hear from you!

Are you dying to tell me how much you love my newsletter? Are you desperate to tell me how right I was about something I told you to read, watch, or do? Or do you need some older-sister advice about something that’s been plaguing you? Hit me with it.