Illustration by Lindsey Frances | Prints available here

Things that happened recently:

A woman tried to bring her "emotional support peacock" on a plane and—shocker—she wasn't allowed. This article makes some good points about how the emotional support animal culture has gotten out of control, and also every time I see a peacock now I think of this scene.

Does anyone else watch—and cry throughout every episode of—This is Us? There were two extra-emotional episodes this week and I thought that Jack's death reveal was handled expertly (and was, not surprisingly, exquisitely sad).

I'm sure you've heard about PepsiCo's maddeningly dumb idea to make quiet chips for women, but if you happen to be a woman who loves loud, crunchy, cheesy chips (like me) you should hunt down a bag of these, my new favorite chips (or at the very least they're tied for first with these).

Things to do in New York this week:

Today in Greenpoint, Acme Smoked Fish will be attempting to make the World's Largest Bagel and Lox sandwich. The free event begins at noon, and participants are invited to help eat the sandwich after it's completed and measured for the Guinness Book of World Records.

Tonight is this Mind Reading and Mysticism event at one of my favorite (definitely haunted) NYC historic houses, the Merchant's House Museum. There are a few VIP tickets left, but just reading the description makes me want to start this book about the Fox sisters that's been sitting on my shelf for years.

The Westminster Dog Show is at Madison Square Garden on Monday and Tuesday. My mom and I got tickets for Monday night (including toy, hound and non-sporting categories) and I'll be re-watching this in preparation.

Things I discovered recently:

Have you seen the trailer for the upcoming movie about Sarah Winchester starring Helen Mirren? I'm obsessed with the Winchester Mystery House, and I can't wait until I finally get to tour it in real life (now that my friend Jim lives in CA we should get serious about planning this). They just recently opened parts of the house that weren't previously available to tour, and I've put this book on my wish list to read before I go.

I recently discovered this great shop filled with all sorts of creepy curiosities (and reasonably priced!) and couldn't resist buying this funeral sign.

Lindsey is my skincare guru and she recommended this magical green cream—it's a moisturizer, SPF and color-corrector all in one. I am hopelessly clueless about makeup/skincare but I'm trying to learn more and get a routine that works for me, so I'm excited to try this. I'm also accepting any and all recommendations for products that help oily/yet dry/acne prone skin because I'm so over having breakouts as an adult.

As of now the weather forecast for this weekend looks pretty grim—warmer, but with rain likely on both days. Finding rain shoes that I don't hate has been a total life-changer for me, but luckily I have a few indoor activities planned. On Saturday morning, my mom and I will probably hop over to New Jersey to check out the oddities market and grab pancakes at the Brownstone Diner and Pancake Factory. On Saturday night, my friend Sabrina and I are going to see David Cross at Union Hall in Brooklyn and we have plans to grab burgers here before the show.

No plans for Sunday yet, but if it's still raining maybe David and I will see The Phantom Thread. I've been told by multiple people that it's "bizarre" but that I'd like it (I'll take that as a compliment). We saw The Shape of Water last week and it was so, so good—it's my personal pick for Best Picture this year, but we'll see if that holds after seeing some of the others. I hope you have a great weekend, and stay dry if you're in the New York area!

Happy Friday!