Tarot contributor Jessica explains how to draw a card to guide you in the New Year - and unpacks the meaning of The Fool.

On New Year’s Eve, my friend Catherine, looking for a card to tell her what she might expect in 2020, drew The Fool. She was psyched. “This is a good card for beginnings—adventurous and optimistic,” she wrote in her journal. She also mentioned a phrase that Arthur Edward Waite—the Waite in Smith-Waite—used to describe The Fool: “A spirit in search of experience.”

Many of us set intentions for bettering ourselves when a fresh year begins, but we often make these plans from a place of shame and dissatisfaction. We start new diets and exercise regimens not because we want to feel better mentally and physically, but because our culture benefits from telling us that we’re too fat. We tell ourselves we’re sticking to a budget not because we’ve figured out that thoughtless consumption is not the key to happiness—or good for the environment—but because we’re terrified to even look at our credit card balances after the excesses of holidays. Even goals like finishing that novel or starting a garden are often grounded in a self-inflicted sense of guilt about accomplishments we feel we should have completed by now. 

Ignore the mess; focus on the handsomeness

The entire Art Class kids' clothing line at Target. My son just grew at least two inches (and gained several years, #whydoeshelooksoold), and suddenly found himself in need of an entirely new wardrobe. I've been pretty lazy about his clothing these past couple of years because he really wasn't the kind of kid who cared about what he wore, beyond being comfortable. Sweatpants and t-shirt, check. But now, for the first time in his life, he kind of...does care. (My heart.) So I wanted to get him stuff that would be comfortable, yes, but would also be in line with his style, and this collection just killed it.

Here's what I picked up:

This doesn't happen very often, but in trying to succinctly describe Sloo Moo, words fail me: I wish I could communicate the sheer wonderful insanity of this place to you directly via telepathy. Alright, let me try: Sloo Moo, a.k.a. The Slime Institute, is an experiential wonderland that defies imagination, and literally must be seen to be believed.

(Hey, that was pretty good! Also, before we get started, full disclosure: The co-founder, Karen Robinovitz, is my former manager and dear friend, but that fact is coloring what is about to be a rave review for the ages ZERO. I was so into this place that I basically sparkled my way through.)

So here's how it works: You enter Sloo Moo, roll up your sleeves, walk down a hallway festooned with slime-related facts, and then arrive in the first of many exhibits: A massive wall of slime (top photo) that attendees are encouraged to add to. Then you just start exploring, because there's awesome stuff around every corner: A glittering curtain leads into a crazy neon-lit cavern; rainbow-jacketed visitors hang out under a slime shower (!); a slingshot station lets you take slow-mo videos of yourself being slimed. There's even an ASMR room offering projections of the most chilled-out slime you've ever seen on every wall (chilled-out slime is apparently a thing).

I don't think I've ever had more people stop me to ask about something I'm wearing than these slides. You will actually not believe the price.

If you are a parent and exist anywhere on the socioeconomic spectrum apart from "insanely rich," you need to read this. (I Killed My Teenager's Fancy College Dreams. You Should, Too, via Slate.)

I was in & Other Stories yesterday, and these earrings literally stopped me in my tracks.

 

Me, about to do something random and rad.

I’ve done a lot of random (and rad) things over the course of my 10-year career as a blogger. I’ve been lifted in glass cubes onto Las Vegas stages. I’ve used myself as a guinea pig for everything from laser treatments to Rogaine. I’ve clogged on rooftops, worked with the FBI on a sting operation to take down a Moroccan hacking ring, and walked around New York City dressed as a superhero to source decor ideas.