Mini-Ep 448: Seeking Summertime Sunscreen Suggestions

Summary

Forever35 Podcast Summary: Mini-Ep 448 – Seeking Summertime Sunscreen Suggestions

Release Date: June 18, 2025
Hosts: Doree Shafrir & Elise Hu

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Introduction

In this mini-episode of Forever35, co-hosts Doree Shafrir and Elise Hu engage with their audience by addressing listener comments, questions, and sharing personal insights. The episode, titled "Seeking Summertime Sunscreen Suggestions," delves into topics ranging from sunscreen recommendations for the eye area to strategies for deepening friendships after relocating. Throughout the conversation, the hosts maintain their signature humor and self-awareness, providing a relatable and engaging listening experience.

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Hosts' Personal Updates

The episode opens with Doree and Elise sharing updates about their summer experiences. Elise mentions the challenges of transitioning to hosting more children during the day in her household on the West Coast, contrasting it with the slower-paced summer ending in New England.

Elise Hu [02:59]:
"It's going. It is going. We are full on in summer here in my household and on the West Coast."

Doree adds her perspective on the elongated weeks of August on the East Coast, highlighting the difficulty of balancing family time with the return to school schedules.

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Managing Cords and Household Logistics

A significant portion of their conversation centers around the universal struggle of managing cords and electronic devices in a household with children. Elise shares her frustrations with constantly misplaced USB-C cables, leading to operational hiccups with her podcasting equipment.

Elise Hu [04:10]:
"My computer that I podcast with didn't have any power due to cords just going. And it's sort of my fault because I'm constantly like, we should share property."

Doree empathizes, noting the common issue of having an abundance of cords but never the right one when needed.

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Financial Struggles and Business Insights

The hosts candidly discuss their financial situations, with Doree expressing uncertainty about securing a full-time job and the precariousness it brings.

Doree Shafrir [06:30]:
"The long and short of it is one of us needs a full time job and until that happens, it's going to be pretty precarious."

Elise relates by discussing the impacts of economic uncertainty on her woman-owned production company, which specializes in creating B2B podcasts for tech giants like Microsoft and GitHub. She highlights the challenges faced as companies adjust their marketing budgets in response to economic headwinds.

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Listener Feedback and Important Reminders

Doree addresses critical feedback from listeners regarding a previous episode where financial advice was discussed. A legal aid lawyer listener expressed concern over the hosts' suggestions about deprioritizing bills, emphasizing the severe consequences such as damaged credit and potential legal actions.

Listener Feedback [09:12]:
"Please do not deprioritize bills without having a thoughtful conversation about the actual consequences of that deprioritization."

The hosts acknowledge the validity of these concerns, reinforcing the importance of seeking professional financial and legal advice before making significant financial decisions.

Additionally, another listener voiced environmental concerns about letting cats roam outdoors, highlighting the impact on bird populations and ecosystems. Elise responds empathetically, sharing her own experience with training her cat, Abe, to walk on a leash to mitigate such issues.

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National Parks and Outdoor Activities

The conversation shifts to outdoor activities, prompted by a listener's voicemail about the Every Kid Outdoors program, which provides a free one-year national parks pass to every fourth grader in the United States.

Raelynn [16:30]:
"I just want to make sure you and maybe the rest of the listeners know about the Every Kid Outdoors program here in the states."

Elise enthusiastically endorses the program, sharing her positive experiences and encouraging listeners to take advantage of free entry passes for their families.

Elise Hu [17:14]:
"It's so great. I love this program. We took advantage of it when Ava was in fourth grade."

Doree further informs listeners about the America the Beautiful pass for individuals with disabilities, which offers free entry to national parks permanently.

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Sunscreen Recommendations for the Eye Area

A highlighted segment revolves around a listener's query regarding sunscreens suitable for the delicate eye area. The listener seeks recommendations beyond the high-priced Dermatology Luminous Eye Corrector SPF41 and expresses dissatisfaction with Supergoop's Bright Eyed 100 Mineral Eye Cream SPF 40.

Listener Email [18:26]:
"Would love to know if listeners have a facial sunscreen they use in their eye area with no ill effects."

Doree Shafrir [20:07]:
"When I use mineral sunscreen I can use it in the eye area. It's only the chemical sunscreens that will irritate my eyes."

Both hosts recommend mineral sunscreens as gentler alternatives. Doree mentions using Coppertone Mineral Sunscreen Roll-On for her child, while Elise shares her practice of applying Baby Bum Roll-On to her own face during rushed mornings.

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Favorite Alternative Milk, Coffee Orders, and Dinner Ideas

Responding to a multifaceted listener voicemail, Doree and Elise discuss their preferences for alternative milks, favorite coffee orders, and recent dinner staples.

Listener Voicemail [18:32]:
"Do you have a favorite alternative milk that you use or is that not your thing? And do you have a favorite coffee order ... or ... favorite thing that you're making right now?"

Doree Shafrir [23:16]:
"I'm not an alternative milk person. I drink regular whole milk... I usually just get an iced latte."

Elise Hu [23:35]:
"My favorite one is cashew. Cashew milk is actually the creamiest... I find it's too saucy if you use the full sauce."

Elise elaborates on her preference for cashew milk due to its creaminess, despite environmental concerns, and her inclination towards iced oat milk lattes with honey and lavender. Doree shares her recent use of leftover ingredients to create simple lunch bowls, emphasizing practicality over creativity in meal preparations.

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Deepening Friendships After Relocating

Addressing a listener's challenge in transforming surface-level friendships into deeper connections after moving north of Boston, Doree and Elise offer actionable advice.

Listener Question [34:17]:
"How to take these friendships from surface level to deeper."

Elise emphasizes the importance of shared experiences in solidifying friendships, suggesting activities like cooking classes, pottery, or exercising together.

Elise Hu [35:02]:
"Friendships are really deepened and solidified over experiences... try and come up with an activity. If you exercise, like go play tennis together or go for a run."

Doree adds a practical tip about meeting friends halfway geographically to ease the challenge posed by regional differences and commuting difficulties.

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Windshield Wipers: A Relatable Micro Joy

A humorous and relatable story unfolds as a listener shares their newfound appreciation for replacing windshield wipers, a task previously neglected.

Listener Story [36:49]:
"Replacing windshield wipers... It really wasn't that difficult to install. Now every time it rains, I can like actually see out of my windshield."

Both hosts resonate with the sentiment, sharing their own experiences and reaffirming the simple joys that enhance daily life.

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Call-Out: Share Your Micro Joys

In their concluding segment, Doree and Elise invite listeners to share their "micro joys" – small, joyful moments or hacks that improve day-to-day living.

Elise Hu [38:12]:
"We haven't done this in a few months. Which is. What are your micro joys out there?"

They promise to feature selected micro joys in the next episode, encouraging continued community engagement and positivity.

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Conclusion

Throughout Mini-Ep 448, Doree Shafrir and Elise Hu adeptly navigate a blend of personal anecdotes, listener interactions, and practical advice, all while maintaining an engaging and supportive tone. From managing household logistics and financial uncertainties to enhancing skincare routines and deepening friendships, the hosts provide valuable insights tailored to their audience's needs. Their authentic dialogue and responsiveness to listener feedback underscore the podcast's commitment to fostering a community centered around self-care and personal growth.

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Note: Advertisements and promotional segments have been excluded from this summary to focus solely on the podcast's content.

Transcript

[Dory Shafrir]

You know, I love linen in the summer, but I don't always love linen prices except when I'm shopping at Quints. They have a hundred percent European linen shorts and dresses from just $30 and they also have amazing summery organic cotton items. I got my hands on their 100 organic cotton poplin pintuck maxi skirt. That is amazing. I'm going to be living in this skirt all summer. It's is super high quality. It feels just like some much more expensive, very similar skirts. But in general, their clothes are just timeless, lightweight and far more elevated than anything else at this price. And it finally feels like my wardrobe matches my standards. Speaking of standards, Quint doesn't sacrifice safety or ethics for price. They only work with factories that use safe, ethical and responsible manufacturing practices and premium fabrics and finishes. By working directly with top artisans and cutting out the middlemen, Quints gives you luxury without the markup. Give your summer closet an upgrade with quints. Go to Quince.com Forever35 for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.com Forever35 to get free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com Forever35 hey listeners and fellow beauty lovers. It's Dory Shafrier and Elise Hu from Forever 35. And on our show we spend a lot of time talking about beauty news, products and treatments. But we also know that one of the real secrets to beauty is feeling as good on the inside as you do on the outside.

[Elise Hu]

Absolutely.

[Dory Shafrir]

And that's why we're excited to tell you about a new podcast from Jonathan Van Ness. You probably know them best as the beauty and grooming expert from Queer Eye. But on their podcast, Getting Better, they're exploring ways we can all become more confident, happy, productive, and invigorated. In other words, just a little bit better. Jonathan has been publishing their podcast Getting Curious for years, but this past March, their podcast relaunched as Getting Better. Now the show is focusing more on personal growth and wellness, and they're speaking to guests like Dan Harris, Gretchen Rubin, and Dr. Wendy Suzuki. So, you know, just a few of the greats. Getting Better is available now. Wherever you get your podcasts, give it a listen. Hello and welcome to Forever 35, a podcast about the things we do to take care of ourselves. I'm Dory Shafrir.

[Elise Hu]

And I'm Elise Hu. And we're just two friends who like to talk a lot about serums.

[Dory Shafrir]

And this is a mini episode where we hear from you. We share your comments and your thoughts, and we answer your questions to the best of our ability. But please remember, we are not experts or podcast hosts, and we always encourage you to seek support first and foremost from a medical and or mental health professional as needed. How's it going?

[Elise Hu]

It's going. It is going. We are full on in summer here in my household and on the West Coast. I know it's really hard in New England and on the east coast where you go until kind of the end of June, but you don't have to start again until after Labor Day, so that's nice. But yeah, I have. I have the kids around a lot more during the day, which is an adjustment.

[Dory Shafrir]

I will say. Like, those last two weeks of August before you go back to school on the east coast are very long weeks.

[Elise Hu]

I imagine there's some good vacation.

[Dory Shafrir]

So I don't know.

[Elise Hu]

Right. Because everyone else in the rest of the country has gone back.

[Dory Shafrir]

No, no. Because everywhere that everyone from New England goes to is, like, still expensive. So I can't decide, is it better to have it like, front loaded? You know what I mean? Or I kind of think it's better to have it front loaded because, like, then by the end you're like, okay, goodbye. Hard to say. Hard to say. Not that, you know, not that I don't want my kid around, but.

[Elise Hu]

Speak for yourself, Dory. I was just complaining before we started recording that my cords go missing constantly. My USB C to USB C cords, because they have devices and their devices. Devices are keeping them company, especially when I'm podcasting and they're kind of kid rotting this week. And I just. My computer that I podcast with didn't have any power due to cords just going. And it's sort of my fault because I'm. I'm constantly like, we should share property. Property is shared. We are part of a family. But then when I don't have. But I don't have power for my computer, I'm like, that was my cord, my things. And I become. I'm suddenly become very individualistic. So.

[Dory Shafrir]

I mean, I feel like if you're using something for work purposes, it should be.

[Elise Hu]

Agreed. Agree. I've learned the hard way. We're going to have to have a little family summit about my cords. We're going to have a cord. Chord related summit.

[Dory Shafrir]

I don't know.

[Elise Hu]

We never have enough chords.

[Dory Shafrir]

I know, but I like. I feel like the same thing happens with us with chords. Like we have a thousand chord, but the one you're always Looking for is never around. Like we never have enough of, I feel like we never have enough of like one particular chord. It's very annoying. Yeah, yeah, so I hear you.

[Elise Hu]

So you know, as y' all know, this is a mini episode. Call in, text us, write us with your cord management tips because that is the problem of the week. Yeah, I also have these cord drawers that are like full of cords too. Like old cables from, with like, you know, expired or I guess now extinct types of outlets and inputs.

[Dory Shafrir]

I have a whole like container of obsolete cords. Like I, I don't know. Why don't I just get rid of them? I don't know.

[Elise Hu]

So we were talking in our Monday episode about how we're all like trying to declutter and everything and then you're trying to figure out your financial picture. How's everything going on all the life management front?

[Dory Shafrir]

It's going okay, you know, slow and steady. Slow and steady. The long and short of it is one of us needs a full time job and until, until that happens, it's going to be pretty precarious, like no matter how you slice it. So I don't know, like I don't really know what to do in that regard. So if listeners have any ideas or jobs they want to offer me, let.

[Elise Hu]

Me know if anybody wants to be a patron. Yeah, we were like, how can I just find a Rockefeller type?

[Dory Shafrir]

I know there used to be this, that, that, that system in the Renaissance really worked.

[Elise Hu]

No, I was going to ask though. Matt still has a running podcast. His. He has like a listener supported podcast of his own. Not just excellent adventure.

[Dory Shafrir]

Right.

[Elise Hu]

He has his Star Trek world.

[Dory Shafrir]

Yes.

[Elise Hu]

Okay. Okay. So he's still going to continue podcasting, but still like a full time job is ideal and far more sustainable.

[Dory Shafrir]

Yeah, there's just not a lot of full time jobs right now. That's the thing.

[Elise Hu]

So we, this is related. We had a strategy meeting for my production company. So listeners, I don't know if y' all know, but I have a woman owned production company that produces B2B podcasts. So essentially we make podcasts for clients. We make like we make Microsoft's podcasts. We made the podcast for we transfer and GitHub. And as you may notice, these are a lot of tech companies and tech companies and the are kind of contracting in their marketing spends depending on which ones they are. And so that means that our pipeline is affected too. And I was having one of these strategy meetings this morning with kind of like a CMO type guy and it was sort of like he was asking these business related questions like, what is your core and what is your more?

[Dory Shafrir]

What?

[Elise Hu]

And I was like.

[Dory Shafrir]

What does that even mean?

[Elise Hu]

Like what's your core business? What's your core business? And then what do you do? Just to kind of like, what's your more? But then I realized, gosh, I don't really know a lot of business terms. And his general takeaway was sort of like, well, this is a year that so many businesses are just hedging because there's so many economic headwinds and uncertainty. And so that kind of flows downward and it affects all of us, especially people who just want to work in creative spaces too.

[Dory Shafrir]

Yeah, totally.

[Elise Hu]

I left a full time job so that I could have more life flexibility and I love that. But it requires so much more. Like being on top of the hustle.

[Dory Shafrir]

Yeah, for sure. We actually got some counter feedback about the Dana Miranda episode.

[Elise Hu]

Oh, interesting.

[Dory Shafrir]

We got a few of these. I'm just going to read one of them because I felt like they all kind of said the same thing. So this was a text and this listener said, I get that the anti budget discussion is supposed to be provocative and a newer way of thinking, but as a lawyer, a legal aid lawyer who has helped many struggling people file for bankruptcy, deal with foreclosure, stop or limit wage garnishments, stop harassing contact from creditors, et cetera, I have had a massive fire alarm sounding through my head this entire episode. Please, please tell your listeners to speak with a lawyer or educated financial planner before they start choosing to, quote, deprioritize their bills over their spending money. Yes, filing for bankruptcy is a right we all have, but not paying your bills sets you up to destroy your credit, which means it becomes harder to qualify for loans or rent a new apartment. Destroying your credit may also stop you from getting certain job opportunities. Yes, some debts may be negotiated, eg, medical debts, but you need to work with the creditor. You can't just stick your head in the sand. If you can't afford to pay a bill, the bill will go to collections, a collection agency will harass you, and eventually they will file a lawsuit against you to garnish your wages. Please do not deprioritize bills without having a thoughtful conversation about the actual consequences of that deprioritization.

[Elise Hu]

All really important reminders. And we did kind of push back as we were having this conversation because it did sound so surprising to be like, oh yeah, sometimes, sometimes you can deprioritize certain bills.

[Dory Shafrir]

Yeah, and, and another, another Listener who wrote in said that she was glad to hear that we were pushing back on her and like challenging her on, on some stuff that she said. But yeah, I just wanted to, like, bring this feedback to the table because I think it's important to, you know, offer multiple perspectives. And speaking of multiple perspectives, another listener wrote in to say, hi, Elise. And cat owners, please don't let your cats outside unless they're contained or on a leash. They're hurting bird populations, which hurts entire ecosystems. It's in their nature to hunt. I know, but the consequences are real. Thank you for helping us protect cats and the planet.

[Elise Hu]

So I, I do not want more birds in my house. We have, we have talked about trying to train Abe to walk on a leash. And then I'm going to be that lady who walks their cat on a leash. I actually think that he could do it. I think that he's a very dog like cat. He plays fetch and he's able to open doors with his face. Like so long as it's a sliding door or a barn door. He can open and close doors, really more open doors because they create the chaos. They don't clean it up and. But he really loves a good game of fetch and he always comes when called, so it's no problem when he goes outside because we can say Abe, you know, and he'll just come back. So I think that he could, I think he could do it.

[Dory Shafrir]

Oh, man. Okay, well, keep us posted. Thank you, listeners. And if you want to let us know about anything we've said or disagree or agree with anything, you can call or text us as 781-591-0390. You can email us at forever35podcastmail.com Our website is forever35podcast.com we have links there to everything we mention on the show. We are on Instagram @forever35podcast. Our newsletter is forever35podcast.com newsletter and you can shop our favorite products at shopmy us. Slash forever35. And after the break, we have a little bit more national park conversation and a sunscreen question. So we'll be right back.

[Elise Hu]

Okay. We'll be right back. This episode is sponsored by Gab. Teens spend an average of. Oh, whoa, nine hours a day on screens outside of school.

[Dory Shafrir]

Crazy.

[Elise Hu]

That's a full time. That's.

[Dory Shafrir]

Yeah, every working, every like waking minute is spent on a screen.

[Elise Hu]

I. Yeah, it seems like it's a full time job. Just scrolling. There's no right answer for managing screens and your kids, but the numbers don't lie. 45% of girls and 32% of boys say they feel overwhelming stress from being on social media. And together, a quarter of them both feel worse about their own lives. I think it's a real attention stealer. It's a thief of attention. And so I'm often, I'm often like with my screen teen, I'm like, hello, Ava, you still there? You still there?

[Dory Shafrir]

Yeah.

[Elise Hu]

So we definitely have to be very thoughtful about the way that she engages with screens because it does require so much of her attention. But so here's the good news. Gab has solved some of the screen teen problem by doing something no one else is doing. Their approach is tech in steps. Tech in Steps works by providing kids safe phones and watches tailored to every age, offering the right device at the right time. From GPS tracking enabled watches for younger kids to increased features and parent enabled apps on the phones for tweens and teens, each device grows with your child. Bottom line, you don't have to give your kid a device that was made for an adult. Get them Gab, which keeps them socially connected safely. I can't recommend Gab enough. Use our code to get the best deal on something that will make parenting easier and give you peace of mind. Visit gab.com forever35 and use code forever35 for a special offer.

[Dory Shafrir]

You know, I love linen in the summer, but I don't always love linen prices. Except when I'm shopping at quint. They have 100% European linen shorts and dresses from just $30. And they also have amazing summery organic cotton items. I got my hands on their 100% organic cotton poplin pintuck maxi skirt. That is amazing. I'm going to be living in this skirt all summer. It is super high quality. It feels just like some much more expensive, very similar skirts. But in general, their clothes are just timeless, lightweight and far more elevated than anything else at this price. And it finally feels like my wardrobe matches my standards. Speaking of standards, Quince doesn't sacrifice safety or ethics for price. They only work with factories that use safe, ethical and responsible manufacturing practices and premium fabrics and finishes. By working directly with top artisans and cutting out the middlemen, Quince gives you luxury without the markup. Give your summer closet an upgrade with quince. Go to quince.com forever35 for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.com forever35 to get free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com forever35 okay, we are back and here's a voicemail we got about national parks.

[Raelynn]

Hi, this is Raelynn in Dallas. I was just listening to the mini app where Elise was talking again about national parks and taking the plunge and going ahead and booking a trip. And Elise, I think you mentioned Issa is going to be in fourth grade next year. And so I just want to make sure you and maybe the rest of the listeners know about the Every Kid Outdoors program here in the states which provides a free one year national parks pass to every fourth grader in the country. At least as I understand it. I just checked the website and as of today the program still seems to be operational. And you can find out more at everykidoutdoors.gov Enjoy.

[Elise Hu]

Bye. Isn't that great? It's so great. I love this program. We took advantage of it when Ava was in fourth grade or had just finished fourth grade. They'll honor it. I think if you're going into fourth grade or had just finished fourth grade. But it is free entry to a national park for the whole car. So everybody in the car gets in. Thanks to your fourth grader. Great program. Take advantage of it if you are headed to national parks this summer. And I will certainly be doing it as well. Thank you to ESA for being the right grade.

[Dory Shafrir]

Yeah. I also just want to point out that if you have a disability, you can get an access pass called America the Beautiful, the National Parks and Federal Recreational Land Access Pass and you can get into national parks for free forever.

[Elise Hu]

Wow, great. Good. I hope they don't end that program either. Like I'm sort of like is that gonna go away?

[Dory Shafrir]

Because get in while the getting's good. And that includes like neurodiversity by the way.

[Elise Hu]

Oh, good, good, good.

[Dory Shafrir]

Yeah. Okay, we got an email. Do you wanna read this email, Elise?

[Elise Hu]

Sure. Dear Dory and Elise, Absolutely loving the pod and thought of a question to send you. With summer coming up fast, I'd love to know if either of you or any listeners have a sunscreen to recommend that is specific to the eye area. Eons ago Kiehl's made a sunscreen specifically for this area and made it clear you could use it on lids and orbital bone area. And I loved it. I put it on over my regular eye cream and it seems like such a smart thing to do. Isn't that area one in which you want to protect from the sun even more for future wrinkles, et cetera? My dermatologist also stress that small skin cancers can pop up in that area and it's often unprotected since most facial sunscreens say to avoid the eye area. I got suckered into buying this through an Instagram ad just because it has an SPF of 41 and is specific to the eye area. But it's pricey and I don't always want to wear a color that's not a great match. And she's linking us to the luminous eye corrector SPF41 by Dermatology. That's D R M T L G Y but it is priced at $44 for a small tube of it. The other eye cream with SPF I've found is through Supergoop and I didn't love it. And that's the Supergoop Bright Eyed 100 Mineral Eye Cream in SPF 40. Surely there are more. Would love Rex or to know if listeners have a facial sunscreen they use in their eye area with no ill effects. With many thanks Dori. Do you have any recommendations?

[Dory Shafrir]

Well, I have found that when I use mineral sunscreen I can use it in the eye area. It's only the chemical sunscreens that will like irritate my eyes. So my go to hero sunscreen I use all over my face. And you know Henry's Henry tends to get red right under his eye cause it's a tough place to like and he doesn't wear sunglasses so it's a tough place to like get sunscreen on. But the coppertone mineral sunscreen roll on I put right under his eye and it's fine.

[Elise Hu]

We do the same for the baby bum roll on for Luna. And I often confession I often wear it on my face as well because I'll forget to do any sort of routine in the morning before I rush out the door. And I just kind of slather on the kids sunscreen as I'm kind of getting in the car. So that one has been fine. I don't have a specific sunscreen for the eye area.

[Dory Shafrir]

I don't either.

[Elise Hu]

As you all know. I use Korean sunscreens and they're very gentle. Or I put on my CC cushion. The cushion which is kind of like a. It has a foundation type applicator and so that I can put on my eye and around my eye and it's full coverage and so that has SPF in it as well. I'm running out of it though and then I end up having to get it muled from abroad. And it's this whole thing now with the tariffs. I don't know. I don't know if it's going to be even harder and if there's reliable dupes out there, I don't know. So anyway, listeners, if you have specific eye area sunscreens that you like, be sure to call and text us or email. Yeah, let us forever35podcastmail.com.

[Dory Shafrir]

Okay, we have another voicemail.

[Listener]

Hi, guys. I just went to Dunkin Donuts and got myself a delicious vanilla. Actually, it's really sweet, but vanilla oat milk latte. And I was thinking about how, like, alternative milks have been a lot more common recently. So I was wondering, do you have a favorite alternative milk that you use or is that not your thing? And do you have a favorite coffee order, not necessarily at Dunkin Donuts, but elsewhere or one that you're enjoying right now? And also, I was wondering with Dory's dinner dilemma, Dori, do you have a favorite thing that you're making right now? And Elise, do you have a favorite thing that you're making right now? Hope you guys are well. I.

[Elise Hu]

So many great questions suddenly, like a Reddit, ask me anything. I love putting it on. Maybe we should get on Reddit and do an ask me anything since. Yeah, Dory is such a devoted Redditor as a reader anyway.

[Dory Shafrir]

And I just did. I did an AMA for my Slate column.

[Elise Hu]

Oh, that's great.

[Dory Shafrir]

Last week.

[Elise Hu]

Yeah, fantastic.

[Dory Shafrir]

It was really fun.

[Elise Hu]

We should do one for forever 35.

[Dory Shafrir]

Yeah.

[Elise Hu]

Well, door. What do you think? What's your coffee order? And what are you making for dinner lately?

[Dory Shafrir]

So I am not an alternative milk person. I. I drink regular whole milk, I guess regular, like cow's milk. And I'm kind of boring. I usually. If I'm. If I'm ordering coffee out, I usually just get an iced latte.

[Elise Hu]

Yeah, that's right. That's right.

[Dory Shafrir]

I recall nothing. Yeah, nothing super. Nothing super exciting. And then in terms of what I'm making for dinner lately. Well, last night Matt cooked, which was great because our schedules kind of changed. So I've been picking Henry up from school, and then yesterday he had soccer, so I was with him till like 5. So Matt cooked dinner and he busted out the instant pot.

[Elise Hu]

Ooh.

[Dory Shafrir]

Which we were like, when did we last use this pot? Instant pot. Like, it's been years. And he made like a. Like he put chicken in and he. And he shredded it with some barbecue sauce and it was really good. And he made mashed potatoes. He kind of just made like a meal of stuff that we had in the kitchen. Had in the, you know, had. In the. Had in the house. Yeah. I feel like I have not been making anything especially creative lately.

[Elise Hu]

We were talking about your lunch bowls, though.

[Dory Shafrir]

I just had a lunch bowl actually of leftovers because I had rice. And then the other night we had tacos and I made some like, just some ground turkey with like season taco seasoning essentially. And we had some leftover. And then we had. I had made. Made the. There's like a barbecue crunch salad from Trader Joe's. I forget the exact name of it. And we had some leftovers of that. Some shredded cheese and some sour cream. We didn't have any leftover beans and I didn't have an avocado, but if I did, I would have put them in. But it was good.

[Elise Hu]

That sounds delicious.

[Dory Shafrir]

Like a bowl.

[Elise Hu]

That sounds delicious.

[Dory Shafrir]

It was, it was. What about you?

[Elise Hu]

Okay, so my coffee order, I actually prefer tea. I prefer iced tea. And my iced tea drink at Starbucks is the iced black tea with a strawberry acai base. No lemonade, because with lemonade it becomes too sweet. And then at boba places, I typically get just the house milk tea. Boba or no boba, it doesn't matter. It's optional, it's your choice. But then the hack to elevate it is the sea salt foam. It's the sea salt foam on top because then it's a little savory mixed with the sweet. As for alternative milks. Yes. As for alternative milks, I love the taste of cow milk, but I was diagnosed with lactose intolerance as a seven year old and have done nothing about it ever since. I continued to just eat through my lactose intolerance because I was just sort of like, whatever, it's gonna make me gassy, no big deal. But in recent years, like, I don't know, just within the last two, I would say I can actually notice my symptoms of lactose intolerance, like to. To the point where I feel very uncomfortable, like I'm uncomfortably bloated if I have too much cheese and milk and so continue to consume dairy even though I shouldn't. But when it comes to coffee, which I have rarely, I will drink alternative milks. And the. My favorite one is cashew. Cashew milk is actually the creamiest, I think, but very resource heavy on the environment. And then if places don't have cashew milk, then I usually go to oat, like an oat milk latte. And like, if I'm having coffee with dory, because I'll have coffee socially, you know, how some people are social smokers or social drinkers. I'm a social coffee drinker. I have an iced oat milk latte with honey and lavender. So, like iced honey lavender, oat milk latte. Typically, places have honey. Fewer places have lavender. But that is a great latte. And for lunches. I'm now my hack for lunch now because I like a hot lunch still, you know, like, I don't like a sandwich. I like a hot lunch.

[Dory Shafrir]

Yeah, totally.

[Elise Hu]

So what I'm doing is I'm getting the Trader Joe's kung pao bag of kung Pao chicken.

[Dory Shafrir]

I love that bag.

[Elise Hu]

I do too. But I find it's too saucy if you use the full sauce. So now I'm using just one packet. Right. One packet of sauce. And then I cut up bell peppers, my own bell peppers, to make it, like, fresh and more complete, you know, and like, have a. Have a fresher flavor profile if I just add my own fresh bell peppers. And so that's what I'm doing. Some. You could do onions as well if you have onions laying around. Because the package does have some onions and bell peppers in there, but they've been frozen for who knows how long. Yeah. So anyway, you know what else?

[Dory Shafrir]

Have you had the. Their frozen shiitake mushroom chicken?

[Elise Hu]

No, I haven't.

[Dory Shafrir]

Oh, it's really good.

[Elise Hu]

Okay. Because I got into the frozen green chili bowl, the green chili rice bowl that I got into after I got sick of the shawarma bowls because I spent a lot of last year eating those.

[Dory Shafrir]

No, the shiitake mushroom chicken is good and it's the same as the kung Pao. Like, it comes in a big package. So I think it's a little more cost effective than the individual bowls.

[Elise Hu]

All right, so thank you for the rest.

[Dory Shafrir]

All right, we are going to take another break and when we get back, we have a friendship question. So it's not friendship month anymore, but we're going to answer a friendship question.

[Elise Hu]

Good. Okay. Fantastic.

[Dory Shafrir]

Yeah. All right, we'll be right back.

[Elise Hu]

This episode is sponsored by gab. Teens spend an average of. Oh, whoa. Nine hours a day on screens outside of school. That's a full time. That's. Yeah.

[Dory Shafrir]

Every working, every, like, waking minute is spent on a screen.

[Elise Hu]

I. Yeah, it seems like it's a full time job. Just scrolling. There's no right answer for managing screens and your kids, but the numbers don't lie. 45% of girls and 32% of boys say they feel overwhelming stress from being on social media. And together a Quarter of them both feel worse about their own lives. I think it's a real attention stealer. It's a thief of attention. And so I'm often, I'm often like with my screen teen, I'm like, hello, Ava, you still there? You still there?

[Dory Shafrir]

Yeah.

[Elise Hu]

So we definitely have to be very thoughtful about the way that she engages with screens because it does require so much of her attention. But so here's the good news. Gab has solved some of the screen teen problem by doing something no one else is doing. Their approach is tech in steps. Tech in steps works by providing kids safe phones and watches tailored to every age, offering the right device at the right time. From GPS tracking enabled watches for younger kids to increased features and parent enabled apps on the phones for tweens and teens. Each device grows with your child. Bottom line, you don't have to give your kid a device that was made for an adult. Get them Gab, which keeps them socially connected safely. I can't recommend Gab enough. Use our code to get the best deal on something that will make parenting easier and give you peace of mind. Visit gab.comforever35 and code Forever35 for a special offer.

[Dory Shafrir]

You know, I always say that aging is a privilege, because it is. But you know, I also want to support my skin as best as I can. And One Skin does this at a scientifically quantifiable level because their proprietary OS1 peptide is the first ingredient proven to switch off the damaged senescent cells that cause lines, wrinkles, and thin crepey skin. So I start with their Prep facial cleanser, which I really like. It's. It's not drying. I find a lot of facial cleansers to be drying. It's not drying, but it also like gets makeup off. It's really nice. Another one of their products that I've been loving is their OS one Eye topical supplement. I feel like a lot of eye creams are sort of dubious, but this one is not. Like you can see results from this eye cream. It's very, very smoothing. And yeah, it's just, it's like a really nice product. And I will say the other product that I'm really liking is their spf. It's really great and I feel like it's better than a lot of other sunscreens at actually like blocking sun. So I'm a fan. Great fan. Yeah. One Skin is the world's first skin longevity company. By focusing on the cellular aspects of aging, One Skin keeps looking and acting younger for longer and for A limited time, you can try One Skin with 15 off using code F35 at OneSkin co. That's 15% off One Skin co with code F35. After you purchase, they'll ask you where you heard about them. And please support your show and tell them we sent you. Give your skin the scientifically proven gentle care it deserves with one skin. All right, we are back, and we have this question that says, hi, forever 35 lovelies. I moved north of Boston last year but grew up south of Boston. This is basically like I moved to another country. I have friends from high school who live south of the city, but it's hard to get together with traffic, naps, kids, etc. I'm trying to make friends in my town. I've had great success with my neighbors and recently met a couple at a cooking class. My question is how to take these friendships from surface level to deeper. First of all, I just want to validate your feelings of moving to a, like, a different area close to a city and feeling like you're in a different country, because I will say I grew up outside of Boston, as I think most people know. And Matt also grew up outside of Boston, but he grew up north of, like, way north of Boston, like, almost at the New Hampshire border. And my whole orientation was west of Boston, like, along Route 9, for those of you who are familiar with Boston. So, like, that was, like, my orientation. Like, if, you know, my grandparents lived in Newton. We, like, just everything was, like, along Route 9. We almost never went north or south of Boston. So there are all these towns around where Matt grew up that I'm just like, yep. Never been. Nope. Don't know it. Yeah. And it's not that far away.

[Elise Hu]

Yeah.

[Dory Shafrir]

So I fully get it. It's like if you lived in Santa Monica and then you suddenly moved to, like, Eagle Rock.

[Elise Hu]

Absolutely. I mean, somebody last night was talking about, like, Hacienda Heights, which is way in San Gabriel Valley, and then somebody else was from Orange County. Completely different world, even though not technically that far away. Chicago is like this, too. I have a lot of family in Chicago in the northern suburbs, and so there's so many people who grew up in Chicago who, like, have never been to where my family in Chicago is from, so.

[Dory Shafrir]

Wow. Yep.

[Elise Hu]

Yeah, I get it. Friendships. Did you have any tips?

[Dory Shafrir]

I feel like you. You are really good about taking friendships to another level.

[Elise Hu]

A tip from friendship Month that really stayed with me is about how friendships are really deepened and solidified over experiences. And this is why nobody is like, oh, Remember that great zoom that we. Or, oh yeah, that one telephone call that we had last Tuesday to deepen or solidify a friendship. Experiences, like memorable experiences are really key. And so if there's folks that you've met in your cooking class listener, or that you've met just casually and want to deepen that relationship, maybe do another cooking class or do a pottery thing or just like something where you're actually doing something or go for a run together. I recently had my fifth anniversary with Rob and we were talking about how, like, for the first few months of our relationship, we couldn't just sit around. Like we couldn't go on a date per se because it was Covid and we were masked in outside. And so all of our early dates were doing something. We were like walking or going on a jog or having a picnic or, you know, something where you were kind of inactivity. So that's my tip to just try and come up with an activity. If you exercise, like go play tennis together or go for, you know, go for a run, that kind of thing can really help solidify a friendship.

[Dory Shafrir]

Love that. Love those tips. Okay. And. And just from me, I feel you on the, on the Boston, the Boston commute. Maybe you can meet like in between or something with your old friends. Okay. Lastly, we have a voicemail that just really made me chuckle that I also related to.

[Listener]

Hi, ladies. Two things today. The first is that I recently discovered a new little delight in light, which is replacing the windshield wipers on my car. I had a windshield wiper that was sort of disintegrating and I had never done windshield wipers on a car before, but it is like life changing. Fantastic. 10 out of 10 would recommend. It was not expensive and it took a little time and effort and going back and forth with the worker at my local auto parts store to figure out which type of windshield wiper to buy. But once I had figured it out and purchased the right one, it really wasn't that difficult to install. Now every time it rains, I can like actually see out of my windshield. It's amazing. Like, I don't know if other people have been doing this all along and I just wasn't a part of that club. But now that I can actually see out my windshield when it rains, I am never going back and I will be replacing my windshield wipers all the time.

[Dory Shafrir]

I relate to this because for a while my windshield wipers were just, just bad. And Matt kept saying he was going to replace them, but then it was like really hard to Find the right ones. And then he finally replaced them. And it does make such a difference to have like good windshield wipers.

[Elise Hu]

Mine are dreadful. Yeah, it's time. It's time.

[Dory Shafrir]

It's time. Do this for yourself.

[Elise Hu]

It reminds me we should do a call out. It's about that time of year. We haven't done this in a few months. Which is. What are your micro joys out there? Dory and I will prepare some micro joys to talk about at the top of our next show. But listeners, be sure to call, write and text us with yours because it's. First of all, so many of your micro joys are great hacks, like replacing our windshield wipers, but often they just like make the rest of us feel good. So be sure to call in with those.

[Dory Shafrir]

Yes. And I will start keeping a running list. All right, everybody, thank you so much. Elise, Great to see you as always and we will talk to you soon.

[Elise Hu]

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[Dory Shafrir]

Yeah.

[Elise Hu]

Help your parents or yourself replace that social media addiction with a healthy habit. Learning from the world's best with Masterclass Forever 35. Listeners always get great discounts on Masterclass of at least 15 off any annual [e-mail] Forever 35 See Masterclass's latest deal at least 15 off [e-mail] Forever 35 masterclass.com Forever 35.

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