WEEKEND READING LIST: 6.19.26 – Merritt Beck

1. CULTURE

This interview with Hannah Neeleman, better known as Ballerina Farm, is a really interesting read, whatever your take on her! She has 20 million followers, nine kids, a 300-acre ranch in Utah, and a growing business empire that now includes protein powders (which I’ve actually heard are quite good if you’re curious), a farm store, and a café in the works! She’s been called everything from a tradwife icon to a symbol of regressive womanhood, and the interview also touches on the speculation that she inspired the protagonist in Yesteryear – which I thought was a very entertaining read, by the way! The interview is worth a read whether you’re a fan or a skeptic!

2. DATING

Well, fitness dating apps are officially a thing! There are apps like Surf, Leg Day, and Ateam and the premise is simple: people who prioritize fitness tend to share values beyond just working out, and meeting in-person during an activity cuts through the endless messaging of traditional swipe apps! One therapist quoted in the piece said they have long encouraged movement-based first dates anyway. Sitting across a table from a stranger can feel stifling and exercise releases oxytocin, which helps with bonding! I’m intrigued, although the idea of being seen dripping in sweat mid-workout by a potential love interest might be a bridge too far for me… but never say never!

3. HEALTH

Has our avoidance of the sun gone too far? In Defense of Sunlight by science journalist Rowan Jacobsen argues we need to reevaluate our collective fear of the sun. Research links sun avoidance to heart disease, diabetes, depression, dementia, and more. One study found that nonsmokers who avoided the sun had roughly the same life expectancy as smokers who embraced it, which is so surprising! To be clear, the book is not anti-sunscreen or pro-tanning – the author wears SPF and recommends about 15 minutes of daily sun exposure as a baseline. His bigger argument is that public health guidelines have been written for the palest skin tones and applied universally, which may actually be doing harm – particularly for people with darker complexions who face much lower skin cancer risk, but higher rates of the diseases linked to sun deficiency!

4. TRAVEL

If you’re part of the 20% of Americans who’d like to move abroad, a new ranking of the world’s most livable cities for expats just dropped! The results are fun to scroll through – even if you’re just daydreaming. Lisbon took the top spot by a wide margin because it’s affordable, safe, has great air quality, and offers flexible visa options including a digital nomad visa. Amsterdam came in second thanks to its safety, healthcare, and the highest English proficiency of any European city on the list. Melbourne was the top non-European city at number three. Rounding out the top ten: Vienna, Barcelona, Singapore, Auckland, Tokyo, Copenhagen, and Seoul!

5. FASHION

Isaac Mizrahi is returning to Target as its first-ever creative director at large! Elder millennials will definitely remember his original collaboration with the retailer back in 2002! It was genuinely groundbreaking at the time, and basically invented the high-low fashion playbook that every designer-mass retailer collab since has followed. In his new role he won’t be designing directly, but will advise Target’s in-house teams, mentor young talent, and help push a more cohesive creative vision across fashion, home, and beyond! It’s part of a broader turnaround strategy for Target, which reported a sales decline last year and is trying to recapture some of that “Tarjay” magic. The timing feels right; there have been a few other major designers taking on similar roles at mass retailers (John Galliano at Zara, Zac Posen at Gap), and it seems mutually beneficial for everyone involved!

6. CELEBS

This profile of Jennifer Garner is such a lovely read! She’s promoting her new Peacock series The Five Star Weekend, adapted from the Elin Hilderbrand novel, and she seems just as warm and wonderful as you’d hope. She chats about balancing motherhood with a career resurgence, her baby food company Once Upon a Farm baby (which just IPO’ed at a $724 million valuation!), and she looks absolutely fabulous in the accompanying photo shoot. I read The Five Star Weekend last summer when I was on vacation in Carlsbad, so fingers crossed the series does the book justice!

+ WHAT I’M EYEING

NEUTRAL SUMMER EDIT

PANTS // MINI DRESS // WHITE EARRINGS // BELT // CLUTCH // WHITE SHELL EARRINGS // SNEAKERS // MIDI DRESS // PYTHON SANDALS // SUNGLASSES // SHELL NECKLACE // SHELL DROP EARRINGS // TOTE // STRAPLESS TOP // GOLD SHELL EARRINGS // SANDALS

+ END OF WEEK EXTRAS