Bad On Paper

Alisha Ramos, Founder and CEO of Girls Night In, and self proclaimed indoor kid/introvert, joins us to share her journey to create her company and the ways her business has changed as it grows. We talk about starting and scaling a business, work/life balance, and its challenges as a female founder. We dish on our self care pet peeves (we all have them!), our definitions of self care, and what is next for GNI. We also talk of our love of a good newsletter and Alisha's idea of the perfect night in.

Favorite Newsletters:

• Girls' Night In
• A Thing or Two from Claire & Erica
• What To Cook This Week from The New York Times
• Internet Brunch
• Mollie Chen's newsletter
• The Broadsheet
• The Ann Friedman Weekly
• Mary Laura Phillpott's newsletter
• Jasmine Guillory's newsletter
• The Stripe Newsletter (Subscribe at bottom)
• Five Smart Reads newsletter from Hitha Palepu
• Chips + Dips Newsletter

Obsessions:

• Alison Roman Dining In: Sour Cream Flatbread recipe
• Plush Knit Joggers for women from Old Navy

Instagram:

• @marysummershafner // @laviestylehouse
• @romcompods

Books:

• He Started It by Samantha Downing
• The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
• Beach Read by Emily Henry
• Untamed by Glennon Doyle
• If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane

March Book Club Book:

• I'll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson

Podcast:

• Subscribe to : Otherppl Podcast with Brad Listi (@otherppl on Twitter)

Sponsors:

• Book of the Month: Go to bookofthemonth.com and sign up using code BOP10 and get any book for $10!
• LOLA: Take 30% off your first month subscription - mylola.com and enter code BOP30 at checkout.

Join our FB group for amazing book recs & more!

Follow us on Instagram @badonpaperpodcast. Follow Grace on Instagram @graceatwood and her blog TheStripe.com and Becca @beccamfreeman.

Kelley Robinson, Executive Director of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund joins us to answer all of our questions about the state of reproductive rights. Kelley explains some common misconceptions around Planned Parenthood, and then helps us to understand the spike in abortion restrictions that happened in 2019. We also dig into the abortion case currently in front of the supreme court, and talk about other cases being heard by the Supreme Court this year. Then we talk about Title X and dive into how reproductive rights figure into the 2020 election.

About Bad on Politics: Bad on Politics is a monthly bonus episode where we invite a guest expert to help us break down a political topic. We get it, politics is confusing and there's a anxiety-inducing amount of news coverage to follow. So, we're here to ask the "dumb" questions so you don't have to. We want to break things down so you can understand what's going on and make an informed opinion.

For more info:

Planned Parenthood Action Fund website

PPAF Trump Tracker

PPAF Reproductive rights conversation guide

We Testify

National Network of Abortion Funds

In this episode we dive into our personal reading histories and talk about our reading lives. We share stories about how we became readers, our favorite childhood books - Sweet Valley High, Babysitters Club, R.L. Stein, etc. Although we have different reading routines, ways we organize books, and views on putting a book down (to DNF or not to DNF, that is the question!) - we can agree that vacation reading is the best reading. We share our favorite recent books, our process for vetting the books for our monthly book club, and the books we think are overrated. If you ever have trouble finding new books, or picking something to read we list our top ways to find new reads.

Podcast mentioned:

• Grace & Becca on The SSR podcast discussing Sweet Valley High Book #1

Obsessions:

• Alison Roman's Tiny Salty Chocolate Cookies (From her cookbook Nothing Fancy)
• Corgi Pods silicone air pods case

Instagram: (Authors!)

• @emmastraub
• @kathrinemcgee
• @kristywharvey
• @andreadunlop
• @lindseykelk
• @jasminespics

Bookstagram:

• @nycbookgirl
• @ashleyspivy
• @hithapalepu
• @booksaremagicbk
• @jordys.book.club
• @sarahsbookshelves
• @grlpwrdreads
• @marylauraphillpott
• @inkandfable
• @molliereads
• @worldswithinpages
• @carly
• @literaryjo
• @frombwithlove
• @ashleybrookebookclub

Books:

• The Idea of You by Robinne Lee
• Verity by Colleen Hoover
• You are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
• Tell Me Lies by Carola Lovering
• The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
• A Sky Painted Gold by Laura Wood
• A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
• Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
• Matchmaking for Beginners by Maddie Dawson
• Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
• Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
• Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
• Feels like Falling by Kristy Woodson Harvey
• All Adults Here by Emma Straub
• The Twin By Natasha Preston
• He Started It by Samantha Downing
• Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler
• Stray by Stephanie Danler
• The Heir Affair by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan
• The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis
• Friends and Strangers by J. Courtney Sullivan
• The Betrothed by Kiera Cass
• Would Like to Meet by Rachel Winters
• This is Big by Marisa Meltzer (out in april)
• The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel

March Book Club Book:

• I'll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson

Sponsors:

• Night: Go to discovernight.com and get 20% off with code BOP20 at checkout.
• Beautycounter:
• • Before March 15: free shipping of your order of $100 at beautycounter.com with code BOP - restrictions apply
  • Between March 15th and 31st new customers can get 10% of their first purchase with Code BOP - restrictions apply
• Book of the Month: Go to bookofthemonth.com and sign up using code BOP10 and get any book for $10!

Join our FB group for amazing book recs & more!

Follow us on Instagram @badonpaperpodcast. Follow Grace on Instagram @graceatwood and her blog TheStripe.com and Becca @beccamfreeman.

In this episode we talk clean beauty with the founder of Follain, Tara Foley. Tara, a self-described "activist-at-heart" shares with us her journey from discovering clean beauty to opening Follain. We dive deep on what clean really means and the regulation around the terms natural and clean (spoiler: there is none). She also gives us her top ingredients to watch out for. Our favorite part of the episode, though, has to be Tara's amazing product recs. We chat about everything from budget-friendly to high-tech clean beauty recs and she gives us specific suggestions for both dry skin and acne-prone skin routines. If you're thinking about using more clean products, Tara makes that sound a whole lot less daunting and this episode is the perfect place to start!

More Tara:

• Follain stores and Follain.com
• Products are also sold at Anthropologie & Ulta
• Instagram: @tcofoley

Products mentioned:

• Follain Refillable Everything Soap
• Reverie hair products (specifically the hair milk & heat protectant)
• Innersense hair bath
• Rahua hair line (also has a purple shampoo)
• Fekkai - The One hair line - new clean reformulation
• Weleda skin food
• Cheap clean brands: Burt's Bees, Seaweed Bath Co
• Tata Harper Regenerating Cleanser
• Tata Harper Resurfacing Mask
• Clark's Botanicals Deep Moisture Mask
• Sleeping masks: Josh Rosebrooks Advance Hydration Mask
• For dry skin: Vital Balm Cream
• For acne-prone skin cleansers: Osmia black clay soap, Indie Lee Purifying Face Wash
• For acne-prone skin moisturizers: Indie Lee Squalane Oil, Osmia Balance Facial Serum, Ursa Major Fortifying Face Balm
• Saie Dew Balm
• Saie Super Gel
• Glossier Lash Slick
• RMS Buriti Bronzer
• RMS Un Cover-up
• Ilia Lipstick - Color: Crimson & Clover
• Josh Rosebrooks Hydrating Accelerator
• One Love Organics Vitamin C Serum
• Biossance Squalane & Lactic Acid Night Serum
• Biossance Squalane & Peptide Eye Gel
• Ole Henricksen Banana Bright Eye Cream
• Naturopathica Vitamin K Eye Gel
• Patyka Energizing Eye Gel (rollerball)
• May Lindstrom The Blue Cocoon
• May Lindstrom The Youth Dew
• Josh Rosebrooks Vital Balm Cream
• Vapor Foundation
• Ilia Sheer Tinted Moisturizer
• Beautycounter Dew Skin (w/ SPF)
• Kosas Lipstick: Color Rosewater
• Lovefresh Super Strength Deodorant

Obsessions:

• Crate and Barrel Plates and Platter
• Saie Dew Balm
• Saie Super Gel

Instagram:

• @somewherelately

Books:

• Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wroble
• This is Big by Marisa Meltzer (out in april)
• The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel

March Book Club Book:

• I'll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson

Sponsors:

• HelloFresh: Get 10 free meals at hellofresh.com/BOP10 and use code BOP10. (includes free shipping)
• You are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
• Care of: 50% your first order at takecareof.com with offer code BOP50 at checkout.

Join our FB group for amazing book recs & more!

Follow us on Instagram @badonpaperpodcast. Follow Grace on Instagram @graceatwood and her blog TheStripe.com and Becca @beccamfreeman.

Followers by Megan Angelo is a thought provoking take on influencer culture. The book alternates between the present day story of Orla and Floss living in modern day New York with their own reality TV show; and Marlow, 35 years from now living in a town called Constellation where influencers have become government employees and have their lives broadcasted 23/7. It's sharp and witty (and a bit of a cautionary tale - when does sharing go TOO FAR?) This book is a great conversation starter and will take you on a wild ride from New York to California to a futuristic (internet-free) colony called Atlantis. We couldn't put this book down and are still thinking about it weeks later!

Obsessions:

• Under Armour Eclipse Sports bra (not the one with the zip)
• Cadbury Creme Eggs
• Love is Blind on Netflix
• The Outsider on HBO
• Urban Stems x East Olivia flowers

Instagram:

• @eastolivia

Books:

• You Are Not Alone by Green Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
• Our Stop by Laura Jane Williams
• Would Like to Meet by Rachel Winters
• Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver (Comes out early March)
• The Other Mrs. by Mary Kubica

February Book Club Book:

• I'll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson

Podcast Recommendations:

• But That's Another Story Podcast

Sponsors:

• Penguin Random House: For the month of March commit to 10-30 minutes #readtosleep and let us know how it's going! To enter to win Parachute Bedding and 25 free books at prh.com/badonpaper
• Clear: 2 months Free go to clearme.com/bopclear and use code BOPCLEAR at checkout.
• Rothy's: Try Rothy's at rothys.com/bop

Join our FB group for amazing book recs & more!

Follow us on Instagram @badonpaperpodcast. Follow Grace on Instagram @graceatwood and her blog TheStripe.com and Becca @beccamfreeman.

Taylor Lorenz is a journalist at the New York Times covering Internet Culture. In our conversation, she maps out the jobs that led her to where she is today and how she developed her own beat. We also delve into everything going on on the internet: from influencers to trolls to TikTok. Whether you're looking to get current (what is The Hype House?) or are an internet culture vulture with strong feelings on Caroline Calloway, we cover it all in our conversation.

More Taylor Lorenz:

• twitter: @taylorlorenz
• instagram: @taylorlorenz
• tiktok: @taylorlorenz

Taylor's Favorite Journalists to follow:

• Check out her list on twitter!

Articles mentioned:

• Podcast Groups Aren't Just About Podcasts
• High Schools to TikTok: We're Catching Feelings
• Hype House and The Los Angeles TikTok Mansion Gold Rush
• What It's Like To Be The Parent of a Social Media Star
• The Original Renegade

Products Mentioned:

• Dyson Airwrap
• Amazon makeup brush cleaning mat
• Beauty Blender: Blender Cleanser
• Huda Beauty Liquid Matte Lipstick in Gossip Girl
• Tacha lip mask
• Laneige Lip Mask
• Biossance Lactic Acid Night Treatment
• Jillian Dempsy Gold beauty bar

Instagram:

• @thefinancialdiet
• @demslovedunkin

Books:

• The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
• You Are Not Alone by Green Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
• Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart (We are liars author)
• House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas
• Our Stop by Laura Jane Williams

February Book Club Book:

• Followers By Megan Angelo

Sponsors:

• Rent the Runway: Go to renttherunway.com and use code BOP to get $200 off your 60 day trial.
• Night: Go to discovernight.com and get 20% off with code BOP20 at checkout.
• Subscribe to: Gee Thanks Just Bought it Podcast

Join our FB group for amazing book recs & more!

Follow us on Instagram @badonpaperpodcast. Follow Grace on Instagram @graceatwood and her blog TheStripe.com and Becca @beccamfreeman.

In this (highly requested) episode we are talking about being single in your thirties! We answer all of your questions about dating, and give the best advice we can from our own experiences. This episode is broken into four parts: why being single in your thirties is actually pretty great, how to stay positive, how to make new friends (and keep the old), and all things DATING (another hot topic). We share our weirdest dates, our favorite apps (and when to delete them), ways to meet people IRL, thoughts on freezing our eggs, and managing dating app burnout. If there's one thing you take away from this episode, it's the importance of building a life you truly love - one that feels good to YOU… with our without a partner!

Podcasts:

• Girls Gotta Eat Podcast
• U Up? Podcast

Obsessions:

• Cheer - Netflix
• Serum Stick - Tatcha

Instagram:

• @clairemazur
• @ericacerulo
• @charlidamelio

Books:

• Know My Name By Chanel Miller
• The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver
• Allison Roman Nothing Fancy Cookbook
• The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai
• Crescent City By Sarah J Maas (comes out March)
• The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
• You Are Not Alone by Green Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

February Book Club Book:

• Followers By Megan Angelo

Sponsors:

• Book of the Month: Go to bookofthemonth.com and sign up using code BOP10 and get any book for $10!
• HelloFresh: Get 10 free meals at hellofresh.com/BOP10 and use code BOP10. (includes free shipping)
• LOLA: Take 30% off your first month subscription - mylola.com and enter code BOP30 at checkout.

Join our FB group for amazing book recs & more!

Follow us on Instagram @badonpaperpodcast. Follow Grace on Instagram @graceatwood and her blog TheStripe.com and Becca @beccamfreeman.

This is hands down one of our favorite interviews yet! Erica Cerulo and Claire Mazur, founders of Of a Kind (RIP!), join us to talk about founding and running a business with your friend. We dive into how they split their roles in the business, travel styles, and hiring a management coach (AKA a business therapist). We also chat about how they're processing the closure of their company and what's next.

Then we turn to the subject of motherhood, and have an incredibly candid conversation about how Claire grappled with whether or not she wanted children, how Erica has defended her choice not to have children, and how they've supported each other and stayed close despite their disparate decisions. We wrap up with some recommendations for everything from skincare to podcasts to books.

More Claire + Erica:

• @clairemazur
• @ericacerulo
• Claireanderica.com (sign up for their newsletter here!)
• A Thing or Two Podcast
• Work Wife: the Power of Female Friendship to Drive Successful Businesses
• Refinery29: Why I Don't Want To Have Children Ever

Products Mentioned:

• Yes to Cucumbers Milky Cream Cleanser
• Weleda Skin Food
• Marie Veronique Barrier Restore Serum
• Lancome Micellar Water
• Noto Botanics Resurface face scrub
• Biologique Recherche P50
• Biossance squalane and lactic acid serum
• Moon Juice Exfoliating Acid Potion

Podcasts:

• Call Your Girlfriend Podcast
• Sexy Unique Podcast (about Vanderpump Rules)
• Jam Session Podcast (celebrity gossip)
• Everything is Fine Podcast (about being women over 40)

Obsessions:

• AGOLDE Jeans
• La Ligne sweater
• Browser Extension: One tab

Instagram:

• @foodloversdiary
• @jennapilant

Books:

• Nell Zink books
• Mary Roach books
• Nothing to See Here By Kevin Wilson
• The New Better Off: Reinventing the American Dream by Courtney E. Martin
• Know My Name By Chanel Miller
• Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder
• The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver

February Book Club Book:

• Followers By Megan Angelo

Sponsors:

• Night: Go to discovernight.com and get 20% off with code BOP20 at checkout.
• Book of the Month: Go to bookofthemonth.com and sign up using code BOP10 and get any book for $10!

Join our FB group for amazing book recs & more!

Follow us on Instagram @badonpaperpodcast. Follow Grace on Instagram @graceatwood and her blog TheStripe.com and Becca @beccamfreeman.

This month we read Good Girls Lie by J.T. Ellison. This book combines some of our favorite things: rich unsupervised teens at a boarding school, secret societies… and murder. Ash is an outcast, relocating from England to attend boarding school at the prestigious Goode School in Virginia. Her parents have passed away, she has an abusive past with her father, and she definitely has a lot of secrets. When she gets tapped for the Ivy Bound secret society, things go haywire. Her roommate dies and now we are trying to figure out who did it and why. Even though we found (nearly) every character to be deeply unlikable, we still really enjoyed the book. We got to rehash our love for secret societies (and the movie The Skulls). Grace reveals what happens in her sorority's initiation rituals... and that she doesn't like Gilmore Girls (gasp!).

Obsessions:

• Amazon Weighted Blanket
• Grace's Gravity Blanket Blog Post
• Grace & Frankie Season 6 on Netflix
• Virgin River
• Jexi (movie)
• 1917 (movie)
• Healthy Chicken Tenders Recipe - Hello Adams Family
• Humidifier from Amazon

Instagram Obsessions:

• @Kathleenjenningsbeauty

Movie Mentioned:

• The Skulls

Books Mentioned:

• Good Girls Lie By JT Ellison

• Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

• Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

• American Royals by Kathrine McGee

• Long Bright River by Liz Moore
• Miss You by Kate Eberlin
• Two Lives by Lydia Bird by Josie Silver (out in March)

February Book Club Pick:

• Followers by Megan Angelo

Sponsors:

• Care of: 50% your first order at takecareof.com with offer code BOP50 at checkout.

Join our FB group for amazing book recs & more!

Follow us on Instagram @badonpaperpodcast. Follow Grace on Instagram @graceatwood and her blog TheStripe.com and Becca @beccamfreeman.

We welcome back friend of the pod (and former Obama Deputy Chief of Staff), Alyssa Mastromonaco to answer our burning questions about this presidential election. Alyssa explains what happens to donations when a candidate drops out of the race, endorsements, and where you can go to find out more about the local politics that you can have a direct effect on. She also touches on Amy Klobuchar, Elizabeth Warren, Mike Bloomberg, and why we need to keep an eye on how the candidates spend their money (like during the Superbowl). She also explains how the caucus system works (it's kind of crazy!) and why local politics are so important if you want to enact real change.

More Alyssa:

Twitter: @alyssamastro44

Instagram: @mastro175

Podcast: Hysteria

Alyssa's Books:

• Who Thought This Was a Good Idea?
• So Here's the Thing . . .: Notes on Growing Up, Getting Older, and Trusting Your Gut

Alyssa Recs:

Vote Save America

About Bad on Politics: Bad on Politics is a monthly bonus episode where we invite a guest expert to help us break down a political topic. We get it, politics is confusing and there's a anxiety-inducing amount of news coverage to follow. So, we're here to ask the "dumb" questions so you don't have to. We want to break things down so you can understand what's going on and make an informed opinion.