Caissie & Janie STRIKETIME & Life hacks & tips!

The duo brainstorm on surviving Hot Labor Summer of 2023 while their industries STRIKE.

BEAR ON A WIRE & WEEKEND WATER team up for a very special co-post.

Caissie St. Onge, a writer, and Janie Haddad Tompkins, an actress, want to share some tips! Caissie is the co-host of the conversation podcast BUSY PHILIPPS IS DOING HER BEST and Janie is the co-host of the conversation podcast STAY F. HOMEKINS with Janie Haddad Tompkins & Paul F. Tompkins and together they are FRIENDS ON STRIKE.

That time Josh Mankiewicz from DATELINE treated Janie & Caissie to a fancy diner right after the Covid vaccines in 2021 because we platonically fan-flirted with him on Twitter! He was AWESOME! Truly A NIGHT FOR THE BOOKS! (Will there be books? With nights like this, I HOPE SO!)

The friends want to share how they’re getting by during this Hot Labor Summer to hopefully spur a little creative thinking among their combined subscribers to make things bearable! Please share any of your own methods of surviving the slow-burn alien invasion in the comments (ok, maybe that’s not PROVABLE but it’s nice to think we’re all about to have some NEW FRIENDS 👽)

👽💰👩‍🎤🛍️🛒

TIP (Caissie): Using the Instacart app! Not to get deliveries, but as a local search engine to compare prices of things you may need for comfort or normalcy at this time. For example, I allow myself to have one Zevia root beer a day, as a treat. But shit’s expensive! However, using my Instacart hack, I was recently able to buy a few 6 packs at 40% off the usual cost. And, I got a CART FULL of Rebel Ice Cream, another comfort staple in my house, for 85% off the premium price.

TIP (Caissie): I recently learned that not only can you use your Los Angeles library card to borrow books, ebooks, movies and music, they also run an extensive tool lending library with everything from pressure washers to cake pans!

TIP (Janie): Oh Caissie, speaking of libraries, I love to exclusively read on my e-reader. I use the Libby app to borrow e-books, and I have a hot tip! If you read your loaned book in “airplane mode” and you need extra time finishing it, it will stay in your e-reader until you turn airplane mode “off” again. The library will automatically “return” your loan, while you’re sneakily reading that final chapter past its due date therefore making it A VICTIMLESS crime!

TIP (Janie): Look, I’m stuck doing my roots every several weeks now. No one told me I’d go grey while I’m currently in my thirties (am I? I’ve lost track of over a dozen birthdays possibly)!!!! Here I am IN MY OBVIOUS SEXUAL PRIME dealing with the hair color associated with stereotypical societal invisibility (that I don’t agree with but personally want the CHOICE still). Saving on salon visits, I’ve gone back to the box. I tried the Madison Reed product on sale, and it isn’t horrible. You just have to leave the treatment on for longer than they suggest on the instructions to get it to work on stubborn greys. Anyone else out there have a favorite home color grey solution? I used to use Nice n Easy root touch up in between salon visits but I’d love to use something THAT FEELS LIKE I VISITED THE SALON.

TIP (Caissie): Ooh, Janie, I have another hair color tip! If your roots are OOC (out of control) and you don’t have time to hit the bottle that comes inside the box, dig out some expired makeup! I’m talking eye shadow or bronzer or contour (if you are brunette or ginger) or highlighter (if you are blond) and see which color matches the rest of your hair best. Then, grab a brush and go to town dusting it on & even buffing it into your roots! Any powder makeup should work but the better the pigment level, obviously, the more effective the touchup will be. You don’t even have to do your whole head, just the roots that show around your part. FYI, I have also done “fun” colors like lavender & pink. It’s a look, for sure, but it works & if you hate it, good news, it washes right out. And it’s practically free!

RESPONSE (Janie): Thank you, Caissie! I need this, even though my white pillowcases might not. But I’m ready to sacrifice for DENYING my greys. I know it’s chic to be grey, but I feel my inner brunette would be offended if I didn’t look out for her right now.

TIP (Caissie): My son the thrifter is gonna kill me for revealing one of his sources, but do you know about shopgoodwill.com? I didn’t! But it’s what it sounds like and you can find really cool stuff on there at great prices. The advantage is it is searchable. The disadvantage is you are bidding against other people who know about shopgoodwill.com. Sometimes I just want to look and to be honest, it’s a lot better for me to window shop online because I am less impulsive. But, if you need an outfit for an event or you’re decking out your house, it can’t hurt to look here to see if you can snag a great deal. (This goes double for local Habitat for Humanity ReStores that have donated home furnishings, but also sell brandy new tools, fixtures, flooring and home improvement supplies real cheap! So, if you’re using the strike to tackle a DIY project, hit the ReStore!)

TIP (Caissie): Are you on Facebook still? I know it’s not cool to admit, but if you are, join your local Buy Nothing Group! You can peruse the giveaways that your neighbors are offering. My favorite one recently was a set of juggling knives? Anyhoo. You can also ask for things. Maybe you need a hula hoop and someone in the group has one just sitting in their garage. You never know! Honestly, my favorite thing about the group is giving things away because it alleviates my guilt for overconsuming during late state capitalism (a little bit) and because it seems like sometimes when I’m trying to get rid of something, it winds up costing me money somehow. If someone else can use it and I don’t have to pay, take it away!

TIP (Janie): In the summer I love salads. A problem with preparing salads is they don’t often have the sturdiness to survive a couple of days in the fridge. I tried this recipe I learned online that gives you a great meal salad that keeps well as leftovers! Chop up a red onion, a cucumber, red radishes AND the green leaves the radishes come with. Combine olive oil, the juice of a lemon a squeeze of honey and enough kosher salt to make the dressing yummy. And here’s the kicker that elevates this little number - add FRESH oregano leaves AND pan grill cubes of halloumi cheese so they look like browned little cheese croutons. Eat and save the rest for later!!! Any other yummy salad receipts (that’s “Charleston speak” for “recipes”) out there that survive being dressed in Tupperware overnight?

TIP (Caissie): If there’s something you absolutely need to buy, hopefully from a small biz that is probably also feeling the squeeze during this time, but it’s not on sale, but you know the place HAS had sales in the past, it doesn’t hurt to ask if there are any upcoming promotions or past promo codes they’d let you use. I’ve recently started doing this, asking in person or via DM on Insta if I’m too shy and 8 times out of 10, the business happily generates a discount code for me.

TIP (Janie): By the time you read this I will probably be a newly minted billionaire. Last night, I bought my Mega Millions ticket. My tip is to win the lottery. Like I’m planning to do. I’m currently typing this as a non-billionaire. Wondering how atrophied my brain will become when I’m instantly in the “club” after my numbers hit. And, even if you don’t win it, an occasional two dollar investment for fun conversation with your friends over how you would live as a sudden lottery winner, is STILL an investment in one’s mental health and fun level. Last night at dinner with my friend, Samantha, we discussed how we would change our names to remain anonymous, since California publishes winner’s identities, “Hey ‘Edna Belinda VonWorthingheimer,’ thanks for covering our lunch tab for the 63rd time in a row!” 😉

TIP (Janie): (Allow yourself a healthy sense of delusion to get through trying times. Or, as the younger set says, embrace delulu.)

Delulu 4 lyf

Love,

Caissie & Janie