Happy Sunday afternoon/evening! Welcome to The Skinny Mini, which will take you exactly 1.5 minutes to read (or less). This is designed to help enhance your Sunday by inspiring you to enjoy the day with activities that simply feel good. As one of our subscribers told us: “You’re like my favorite magazine, just without all the annoying pop-up ads.” 

(And for anyone new here, this is The Skinny, a free newsletter designed to entertain and save you time, which is everyone’s most valuable resource.)

What we’re covering in today’s news: 

• Preparing to fall back (relax, it’s next weekend, November 3), we are looking back at our greatest hits to date, in case you missed them

• Giveaway alert: an Ooni pizza oven could be yours

• Pantry raid with Jill’s fave Trader Joe’s picks + Nicole’s top Hungryroot selects  

• The world’s happiest city, how to wear your red wine this fall & a ‘Corn Maze Margarita’

💡Did you know: all The Skinny editions are online and searchable—so you can easily find topics/links/recipes/items to shop that we have written about in the past. Bookmark this link for easy reference.

🔗If someone already in the know sent this, you can subscribe here.

Best of The Skinny

Our most clicked, read & shopped

The Skinny: Here you have it, for your Sunday scrolling pleasure, our top items of the last 6+ months.

Three most popular editions:

• 🍁How to Own Sweater Weather 

• 🎾How to Make the Honey Deuce, the Official Cocktail of the US Open

• 🍷How to Stay Dry 

Three most-clicked articles:

• 🥪Change how you cut your sandwich, change your life! 

• 👖Best Jeans under $40

• 🍜Soup’s on - the Pioneer Woman has 25 great fall soup recipes

Add to cart 🛒: most popular shopped for:

• 💆‍♀️The world’s best shampoo 

• ✈️ Two piece travel set 

• 👟 Best sneakers ever 

And because we realize not everybody reads every word of every issue every week, here are the editor’s picks:

Jill’s favorite edition:  Derby Day, and learning “no-see” socks are way out 

Jill’s shopping pick: This fouta, aka a Turkish towel, has elevated the level of beach/pool game. “You always look like you ‘belong’ when you’ve got one of these bad boys in your pool bag,” she notes.

Nicole’s favorite edition(s): A tough choice since almost every week we say “this is definitely our favorite newsletter yet,” but when forced to choose she’d say: 1) the summer edition ready to jump into and live the lifestyle (beaches vs. lake, preppy chic style & the best beach snacks); 2) this eye-opening nutrition item focused on the “Glucose Goddess,” which reminded her why Thrasher’s fries are truly best with vinegar; 3) the Greece edit, which included streets lined with citrus trees and all the best versions of Greek salads.

Nicole’s shopping pick: Anything tenniscore, like this Lacoste dress, since she would prefer to be playing tennis (or look like she was).

Giveaway alert

Own pizza night with an Ooni oven

The Skinny: We love writing The Skinny, and we’re so glad you love reading it. So since your word of mouth is our best asset, we are making it worth your while—d and would be forever grateful—if you could please take a second and send this link to at least one like-minded friends & family who would also love this newsletter. Then simply reply “DONE” to this email to be entered into a drawing for this awesome Ooni Pizza Oven. No joke! We’ll announce the winner in a The Skinny edition during the last week of November (next month).

Pantry raid

Scouring the aisles so you don’t have to

The Skinny: Sunday is often the day to hit the store, so we’re here to hopefully inspire new items for your cart. Without further ado, add these to your list and let’s fill up that pantry and fridge!

1) Jill’s Trader Joe’s go-tos: Jill’s top five at TJ’s meant making some tough decisions, but here is where she landed:

• Little Gem Lettuces (perfect taste & size for easy salads and sandwiches)

• Baked Cheese Crunchies (you can’t eat just one. And, we’d like to start a petition to bring back the jalapeño version)

• Spinach & Kale Greek Yogurt Dip (less guilt, lotsa flavor)

• Gone Bananas dark chocolate coated banana slices (nothing else to say except that we are ape s—t for these)

• Pumpkin Spice Mini-Sheet Cake (guilty pleasure, as charged)

What are your TJ faves? Let us know by replying to this email!

2) Nicole’s Hungryroot selects: And “now, a word from our sponsor,” Hungryroot. Nicole’s a customer and—along with the convenience, surprise factor/brand discover AND the emotional satisfaction of knowing that “there’s something [healthy & simple] in the fridge,” here are her top 5:

• Mighty Spark Bacon Chicken Patties (flavorful, easy. Put them on toasted English muffins)

• Sous Vide Egg and Gruyere Bites from Les Trios Petits Cochons (yummy, healthy & savory)

• Organic Seasoned Jasmine Rice (ready in 2 minutes flat)

• Buffalo sauce with Breaded Chicken Nuggets (both from Hungryroot)

• Hungryroot Organic Savory Spiced Tofu Bites (add these to like, anything)

Ohm, there’s more

This week’s newsfeed

• City of smiles: a writer visits “the world’s happiest city” and reports back. Plus, why are all the top “happy cities” in Northern Europe?

• Call it merlot, pinot noir or burgundy, wearing your wine it’s this season’s answer to black. Here it is in a $50 cashmere v-neck, a pair of Levi’s and a bunch of other pieces to suit your taste. 

• To drink, get lost in a Corn Maze Margarita (order the kit from Shaker & Spoon).

*If you purchase something linked in The Skinny, we may get an affiliate commission—but at no additional cost to you.