Quaintrelle Weekender

Four ways to a better weekend

Erin Henderson

Aug 03, 2024

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Welcome to Quaintrelle Weekender.

This is a short list of things I am currently loving to make eating, drinking, and hosting easier and a lot more interesting.

Friends, before we get into this week’s picks, I’ve decided, somewhat haltingly, to smudge the church and state border to let you know about an event happening with my company, The Wine Sisters, in October.

We’re kicking off the event season with a walk-around, all-you-can-taste, wine and food of Argentina party. We will be pouring 16 wines from leading producers, and, of course, offer traditional and modern food pairings.

Early bird tickets are on sale now until September 3 for $69 (plus tax.)

If you find yourself in Toronto that day, it would be great to see you there.

Get tickets and information here.

Alright, on with this weekend’s list.

To Wear:

Gap Leggings

Ok, maybe not to wear right this minute. It is, like, 400 degrees outside. But – and don’t shoot the messenger – fall is coming, so you best get prepared. In the cold months, leggings are my uniform and these ones from the Gap are perfect*.

They’re high wasted, thick, and super stretchy. They’re a bit pricier than other brands because of this, but, at the time of this writing, at least in Canada, Gap is having a 60% off sale which means the leggings are $15!!!!!! Run, don’t walk, to your internet, because last winter they sold out and I nearly died. OK, maybe not literally, but I felt physical pain being without my leggings. I bought five pairs* on this sale which will get me to spring.

* I’m a lady who’s blessed with thighs so sexy they can’t stop rubbing each other, so no matter how thick or well made a legging is, the inner seams inevitably give way. These leggings last longer than others, but I still only get about 2-3 months of near-daily wear out of them.

To Read:

The Great Aging Secret Society Doesn’t Want Women to Know

A terrifically insightful, entertaining, and considered post by Hannah Betts, the author of The Shit here on Substack. In it, Hannah talks of the virtues of having friends from all decades of life; what she learns from them and what she can teach in exchange. As part of being the elder in some of her friendships, she offers the soul-soothing and nerve calming advice that, actually, life really, truly, gets better as you get older. And for those of us well on our way, her post reassures you that all the crazy shit you’re doing like letting your hair go grey, growing an organic vegetable garden on your balcony, and using organic almond oil as a non-chemical and brilliantly effective skin moisturizer, is normal and cool.

To Listen

How to stop worrying about the ‘right’ way to travel – Life and Art from FT Weekend

We’ve been reading so much lately about over-tourism in Italy, and ideas on travelling like a local, but the FT Weekend podcast recently interviewed author Shahnaz Habib about her book, Airplane Mode. Shahnaz had discerning opinions on everything from bucket list travel, to travelling like a local when only visiting somewhere for a few days, or even a few months. I loved her thoughts on developing a traveller’s curiosity and really considering why you want to go anywhere. If you’ve been part of those conversations about over-tourism and the rage against social media photo ops, I’d love to know your thoughts on this one.

To Cook

Cut corn cobs horizontally

I made a video of this that I put on both my Instagram and Substack notes. Everyone cuts kernels by slicing length wise down the cob. This just send corn flying all over your kitchen. Instead, place the cob flat on a cutting board, and slice the kernel of horizontally. They stay nearly intact, coming off in almost a sheet, with no mess and no kernels wasted.

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All the world is watching Paris right now, so I’ll be back on Wednesday with a story on how I was almost arrested in the Bir-Hakeim metro station after a three-hour booze cruise down the Seine.

xo – Erin

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