Good Monday morning! And welcome to The Skinny, which will take you three minutes to breeze through and is the perfect read to get the week started. For anyone new here, this is a free weekly lifestyle newsletter designed to entertain and save you time—everyone’s most valuable resource—with a curated selection of news. As one of our subscribers told us: “You’re like my favorite magazine, without all the annoying pop-up ads.” 

What we’re covering: 

• Poolside Lounging 101: where to go, what to know and how to look hot

• Weeknight cooking: we threw together some spicy summer lettuce cups 

• Aging is a vibe, but here’s a 30-second test to see how well you’re doing it physically 

• Scroll-busting: the dive bar that wasn’t 

• Plus: bandanas as waist accessories, chic handheld fans, the best time to eat lunch (according to science), ‘performative reading’ & the ‘internet-breaking’ face wrap

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Poolside

Hot tips for late summer dips

The Skinny: Sometimes the pool is for swimming, and sometimes it is for staying all day—doing the hard work from hangover helper all the way through to afternoon spritz. Below, our round up of some of the best U.S. pool scenes based on vibe, but also for food & bev quality: 

Broken Shaker, Freehand Hotel, Miami Beach

What to love: this is the OG of cool pool style if your vibe is pink flamingos, palm trees and TRULY handcrafted cocktails (if you like handmade elixirs, this is your spot). Also: voted “Best American Hotel Bar.”

Four Seasons, Seattle

What to love: incredible infinity pool terrace with where the mountains meet the sea in the perfect elegant marriage. If you are embracing a sophisticated vibe, and know how to properly pronounce “Oud,” as in the fragrance, pull up a chaise here. 

The Parker Hotel, Palm Springs

What to love: if Palm Springs invented “pool culture,” the Parker perfected it with retro loungers, citrus trees, and pool glassware you might “accidentally slip into your tote.” The iconic striped umbrellas are the signs you’re in the right place. 

The LIttle Nell, Aspen

What to love: Lying on “hallowed ground,” Aspen has a perfect pool that’s slopeside, heated, and fully-serviced with the overpriced Champagne and truffle fries that you expect from a five-star Relais & Châteaux. PS: in Aspen, pool-crashing is a varsity sport.

Gurney’s, Montauk, New York

What to love: In East Coast style, Gurney’s delivers exactly what you want: frosé, lobster rolls, seafood towers, aka all the summer staples, and an indoor salt water pool overlooking the ocean. Causal, yet polished with beachy DJ sets, and lots of button-downs-over-swimwear, done as only “out East” can deliver.

Beverly Hills Hotel Pool, Beverly Hills, California

What to love: if California has a royal court for pools, this wears the crown. Opened in 1938 as the “Sand and Pool Club” it featured imported white sand and fresh green and white striped umbrellas, still in use today. Expect crisp chopped salads, perfectly cut club sandwiches, and frozen daiquiris.

Related long-form, from the New Yorker: a portrait (and love letter to the pool’s heyday) of the man who spent almost every day there, for 42 years and in tailored outfits, playing gin rummy. 

And, what kind of “Senior Pool Editors” would we be without a round-up of pools in Las Vegas, the capital of splashy excess that has it all: from see-and-be-seen day club RAGERS to watching sports on a 143-foot screen. Here, Conde Nast Traveler’s listicle of the 16 Best Vegas Hotel Pools. Important note: don’t forget your accessorized Vegas pool fit based if you’re going highbrow (Hermès scarf, raffia tote, designer jellies) or lowbrow (tramp stamp, toe ring and extreme thong). All encouraged but not required.

We must also pay homage to the roadside or beachfront motel pool and its unique allure: whether posing in a Palm Beach mid-century modern, channeling Christie Brinkley in National Lampoon’s Vacation or simply a fan of the eccentric leathery characters you may meet there—such as the grandma with enormous implants, platinum hair extensions and fuzzy flamingo slippers that Nicole encountered poolside last week. If this is a scene you seek out, know that renovated retro motels in Florida are making a comeback, and here is a curated collection of “upscale motels in California” (scroll down for two gloriously retro pools).

Finally, poolside lounging ladies and gents, while the paperback reading, people-watching and cocktail sipping is time well spent, might you allow us a moment? There’s no need to “swim without getting your hair wet,” which everyone can agree is not swimming at all. Looking hot post-swim, preventing straw-like hair and enjoying a proper dip is possible with these miracle-working tips (that we only recently discovered). 

• Rinse hair with cool or cold water before heading to the pool. This seals in the cuticle and helps keeps the bad stuff out

• Then, comb in some leave-in (or anti chlorine conditioner like this), further reinforcing your strands from intruding forces

• When you’re done, try to wash your hair before it dries

• And ofc, as we have promoted in the last couple editions, detangle with a proper brush or quality comb

Pantry raid

Weeknight cooking: spicy summer lettuce wraps

The Skinny: This was ridiculously easy and perfect for a summer night. No fanfare, SEO-led dribble or back story; we had a craving and pulled it off in 30 minutes. Added peanuts, subbed peppers for the tofu and oyster sauce for hoisin. But next time, we’re making this YouTube version since he has a browning technique, uses three ground meats and makes an extra zesty looking sauce. 

Time will tell

Are you ‘aging well’?

The Skinny: If you do one thing today, no matter how old you are, try this straightforward 30-second test to assess how “well you’re aging.” Spoiler: Nicole scored a “10” but it’s definitely harder than it looks. We also encountered this list of additional “tests,” some of which we failed—notably, Nicole’s inability to do more than one push-up. However, that moment of shame has an upside: she is now “building up” to it with the help of this extremely helpful, and encouraging, YouTuber. 

For another reminder that age is a vibe, not a limit: in celebration of the man who brought French cooking stateside, Jacques Pépin is being honored with “90 for “90”—a nationwide series of 90 events hosted by top chefs, restaurants and home cooks to raise funds for culinary education through the Jacques Pépin Foundation. On the list: everything from intimate kitchen parties to an 11-day blowout in Napa and  featured dinners at places like The French Laundry. We say, oui! Head to CelebrateJacques.org for the rundown.

Scroll busting

No, this isn’t a ‘dive bar’

The Skinny: We dove into dive bars—one of our favorite topics—earlier this month, and as a follow-up we were initially intrigued to see this “upstate” NY establishment was included on “a list of the best in America” and referred to as a “dive bar.” We repeat! Things dive bars don’t have: cocktail menus; a wall of Josh wine as this tavern includes in their promo photo (with a staged hat);  “warming Vegetable Broth with Tortellini & Spinach and Chef Lon’s classic Ribeye with Potato Wedges & Asparagus” on the menu. Friendly reminder to not immediately trust what you see on social media—at The Skinny, we do this hard investigating work so you don’t have to. Nothing against the Andes Hotel bar—which looks truly fantastic and we would love to drink there—but a dive, they ain’t.

Last Licks

This week’s newsfeed

• Expert advice: science says this is the best time to eat lunch. 

• From Skims, this new “face wrap broke the internet” (including a chime-in from Anthony Hopkins) is not something we are planning to purchase though, not-so-secretly, we would love to see what we look like wearing it. For a clinically-proven lift instead, Nicole (of course) recommends this new serum drop from SkinCeuticals. 

• Apparently social media dislikes what they see as “performative” reading, which led to the Guardian wondering “is it OK to read ‘Infinite Jest’ in public?” We say, yes! You be you, which is infinitely more interesting than making a TikTok ridiculing someone reading a book. The story is worth the read, especially for reminding us of John Waters’ quote about what to do if you go home with someone and they don’t have any books.

• Last week we featured bandanas (also, last-week’s most-clicked) as the most chic summer headwear, and today we have…bandanas around your waist. 

• If we can divert even one person from buying a plastic and battery operated portable fan and opting for one of these chic handheld fans instead, then our job for the week is done.

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