Autumn's Newsletter

road trips, death row meals, orange buckets, and Ina Garten

This past month, I’ve spent more hours in my Toyota 4Runner than in front of my computer and I couldn’t be happier, or more exhausted. I’ve traveled across state lines and timezones to visit people I love and strangers I’ve been dying to meet. Only halfway through and November has quickly become one of my favorite month’s of 2024. And while I’m at it ~picking favorites~— the November issue of The Retreat, Dwelling, also makes the list.

Keeping up with both an analog and a digital publication has proved to be harder than I thought (surprise, surprise). But with all the new faces here in our Substack community, I want to make sure I’m sharing in a fun, lighthearted, unedited, and consistent way—with weekly behind-the-scenes looks at the making of issues, upcoming retreats, and more. So…I’ve decided to start something basic but beloved: a weekly 5 things list.

Thank you for being here.

1. a road trip for The Retreat

Like I mentioned, I’ve spent a lot of hours behind the wheel this month—11 of which were winding through Georgia and Tennessee on my way to interview our December muse, Rohini Mauk. After living in a van with two comfy captain’s chairs, I’ve gotten pretty spoiled when it comes to car rides. In my van, I could jump from the shotgun seat to grab something from the fridge, lounge on the fold-out couch, or camp out at the dinette to work. But as the solo driver on this particular road trip (in a regular car, no less), those luxuries weren’t possible. So to survive & thrive, I had to get creative with my must-haves:

Listening essentials:

• Audiobook: Ina Garten’s Be Ready When the Luck Happens

• Music: Alabama Shakes, Dianna Lopez, The Red Clay Strays, Eagles

• Podcasts: DOAC (new to me, but loving the episode with Ramit), Giggly Squad (also new, but it’s the perfect brain break after too many educational podcasts—I swear it’s like slang immersion therapy for the chronically out of touch), Poetry Unbound (no explanation necessary)

Comfort essentials:

• maybe dramatic, but a heating pad. If you’ve got a plug in your car, why not DIY a heated seat?

• neck pillow…but for the low back

• hooded jacket. turning into a human burrito is necessary for comfort.

Food/Drink essentials:

• I like to stop at little shops, cafes, and farm stands on my way to new places so I don’t usually pack much food. But since we were hitting the road early and I had no clue what would be available, I whipped up some overnight oats. We ended up stopping at one of the Ocoee Coffee Joints at around 8am. As we walked in it smelled like the basement of That 70s Show (it was originally a weed store before they sold coffee). The guy behind the counter was all smiles. He couldn’t have been more chipper or thrilled to see us. Unfortunately, at this store he said they only sold cold coffee cans but at their other store, 20 miles down the road, they sold the best hot coffee AND it was like an REI on steroids. After petting the dog that wouldn’t move a muscle (probably high) we went on our way to the next Ocoee Coffee Joint. About 8:40 in the morning by this time, we walked in and I am not kidding, there was a man setting up a keyboard readying to perform. This is why I love stopping at local places along the way.

the second stop. not pictured: man on keyboard.

Destination - Middle of Nowhere Tennessee

Rohini Mauk, our upcoming December Muse, lovingly calls where she lives The Middle of Nowhere Tennessee. Oddly enough, when we arrived it felt less like no-where and more like now-here: a space and scene that demanded your presence.

[For our November issue, Dwelling, our editor-in-chief, Mallory, visited our East Coast Muse Vilda Gonzalez in her home in upstate New York. It is by far one of my favorite interviews we’ve published of all time. Since The Retreat’s inception, I’ve dreamt of in-person interviews. How cool would it be to share space and tea with these women? How cool would it be to photograph them in their element? Vilda’s interview is proof that it is cooler than we could ever imagine. You can read it in its intended form here.]

Rohini’s interview marks my first in-person interview for The Retreat, and hollyyyy heaven, I can not wait for you guys to read it.

Jenna Bradfute photography

I drove up from Woodstock, GA, to Clayton, GA—where I used to live—to meet our photographer, Jenna, halfway on Saturday night. We were up at 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, packed the car, and hit the road toward the heart of Tennessee. The ride was so gorgeous and easy, especially after those Ocoee coffees kicked in.

As we turned onto Rohini’s road—just 20 more minutes to go—we passed a zebra casually hanging out with a bunch of horses.

When we finally made it to their place, we were welcomed by a herd of cows and two of the cutest dogs, Henry and Remi. We hopped into a side-by-side with Rohini and her husband, Sage, to explore their land, check out the cabin builds in progress, and let Jenna work her magic with the camera on the model-born Mauks.

Then we went inside to one of the coziest, most welcoming homes I’ve ever walked barefoot in. Rohini made us pumpkin soup, served with fresh cream from her cow, Lucy, plus homemade sourdough, biscuits, and butter—also courtesy of Lucy. (Rohini’s soup recipe is making its way to the December issue, so make sure to subscribe to get your copy here.)

We sat at the kitchen table for the interview, chatting as the sun set. Jenna and I headed home feeling equal parts happy and delirious as we ate Yellow Deli sandwiches, chili, and carrot cake. (Yellow Deli deserves its own saga, so that’s a story for another time.)

Best first in-person interview ever.

Buy Rohini’s book Excruciating Bliss here.

Subscribe to The Retreat to read her interview (and more in-depth behind the scenes) when it comes out next month, here.

2. Oysters and My Death Row Meal

virginia is for lovers

I know oysters are having a moment. Put them next to a martini and it might just be the most overdone social media story of the decade—and yet, we (I) can’t get enough and still take a photo every single time.

~

I’ve been having a very oyster autumn.

• It started with my parents coming to town and us taking them to the best restaurants (Robertos & Prime 120 in Woodstock)

• continued in Gloucester, Virginia, where our friend Woody from college shucked them from the bay himself,

• and kept steady pace in Jacksonville, Florida where my college roommates and I ordered them at every place that had them on the menu.

Evans and I are headed to see my little brother in Charleston over Thanksgiving so I don’t foresee us stopping this trend anytime soon. Have you ever been to 167 Raw Bar in Charleston?! You’ll find us there multiple times over Thanksgiving, I’m sure of it.

Where I’m really headed with this though (2 places) is that I need to know what you eat your raw oysters with. Being from the north, I was stunned when I came down south and saw people putting oysters on crackers—but maybe even more stunned that a lot of places didn’t even offer (or know) mignonette. This is a judgment free zone, but I absolutely need to know: Imagine that someone at your table has already kindly squeezed the lemon over all the oysters. What’s your next move?

Mine is mignonette every time with horseradish (depending on the look of it) and occasionally a dab, I repeat, a dab, of cocktail sauce. Never ever ever a cracker.

This brings me to my next point: my death row meal. Morbid, but you get the point.

For my very last meal (if it was in the summer), I would request 6 (northern) oysters with the works above, a caesar salad, skinny french fries, steamed clams, a grilled artichoke, a beer and or pinot grigio. Please, please, tell me what your last meal would be. This is one of my favorite things to ask people.

3. Ina Garten (and Jeffrey)

Ina cooking for Jeffery on their European camping trip

I was such a Food Network kid. More than Nickelodeon or Disney, I was watching Food Network after school, probably while eating soup or cucumbers/radishes with spicy ranch. You can imagine how happy I’ve been since Martha’s doc and Ina Garten’s book have come out. I finally got a chance to listen to Ina Garten’s book on Spotify while on my road trips and it is so good.

The amount of screenshots that are on my phone as reminders to go back to this spot and re-listen is absurd. In honor of the upcoming December issue’s theme, Lessons on Living, I’ll be sharing some of my favorite bits of inspiration from Ina & Jeffery in the issue.

#everyonedeservesajeffrey

4. Reset Roadmap

My friend Sierra of Subliminal Space (a fellow Manifesting Generator and August 2024’s muse) just launched a Notion template with everything a disorganized creative/business owner could need. From tabs for finances and idea dumps to cycle syncing tracking and quarterly visions, it’s genius and my saving grace—especially since Notion is a major learning curve for me. Like, where / how does everyone create these gorgeous, overly organized pages?! Sierra does it for you. Thank God.

You can learn more here.

5. Home Depot Foot Baths for Kidneys etc.

If you do not have a bathtub like me, might I recommend a big orange bucket from Home Depot? One of my prescriptions from Dr. Isabella from Innata Institute is a nightly foot bath for my kidneys, fertility, sleep, and other things. I have chronically cold feet and this Home Depot bucket is just what the doctor ordered. Before you come at me with “what about heating plastic” — she said it’s fine and I’m not thinking about it. To me, the benefits outweigh the negatives.

Ok—hope you have the best rest of your day and that there is a foot bath in your future. Talk next week!

Carley

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