If You're Feeling Meh

Hi friend,
There’s nothing like facing overlapping deadlines and a stressful upcoming election, plus holidays (Halloween!) that require some amount of effort, then being derailed with a sickness. If you are a parent, there is the additional cognitive load around how to handle a sick kid, including school-attendance etiquette.

To the rescue comes level-headed Johns Hopkins epidemiologist Caitlin Rivers, herself a mother of three. In this Q&A with science and parenting journalist Melinda Wenner Moyer, Rivers shares her basic sickness strategies, including a “very aggressive” approach to managing norovirus.

Her advice arrives amidst a flurry of concern over a wave of walking pneumonia that was enough to prompt the CDC to lower the age of vaccination against the illness to 50. As NBC reports, the move was also motivated in part to counter low immunization rates, particularly in the most vulnerable populations.

Yes, it’s sickness season, but that also means it's soup season (trying for a glass-half-full approach here). If you’ve already caught a bug this year, we recommend the classic “chicken soup for healing” from the Joy of Cooking. This episode of A Thing or Two With Claire and Erica, which begins with a chat about their all-time favorite soups, offers many other good ideas – and an audio experience that’s as comforting as a warm bowl.

Scroll on for more of our recommendations, plus a bevvy of pretty tops ahead of party season. We’ll see you back here Friday.

Bye,
Your friends at Gloria

Finding a shirt that feels right for a night out is always more challenging than it needs to be. Here are 13 that combine a certain level of comfort with a dressed-up aesthetic. Satin, velvet, lace, and more, this way.

• Like luxe pajamas. Cos The Silk-Blend Velvet Shirt, $135. Size 2 to 14.

• Great color, great print. Wray Nic Shirt, $168. Size XXS to 6XL.

• Just really beautiful. Dôen Solange Top, $328. Size XXS to XXL.

• Sexy, but also covered-up. Nation LTD Charlotte Long-Sleeve Top, $106. Size XS to XXL.

• It’s a cardigan, but it’s also a blouse. Leset Barb Satin Cardigan, $250. Size XS to L.

• A shirt with a ton of personality. Carolina K Elisa Blouse, $95. Size XS to XL.

• Pretty and festive. En Elly Velvet Scallop Top, $98. Size XS to 3XL.

• This one has a lot of nice details. Sea Valerija Top, $195. Size XXS to XL.

• An easy-wearing style. Madewell Embroidered Emilina Top, $60 (more sizes here). Size XXS to XXL.

• The dramatic sleeves make this top. Meg Poet Shirt, $129.50. Size: One Size.

• All-over lace fancies up a relaxed shape. Ba&sh English Embroidery Blouse, $147. Size XS to L.

• A sexy, collarbone-baring option. Banana Republic Luxe Wool Off-Shoulder Top, $90. Size XXS to XXL.

• Over-the-top and fun. &Other Stories Ruffled Tie-Neck Blouse, $159. Size XXS to XL.

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TO WATCH In the suspenseful new film Conclave (in theaters), Ralph Fiennes, John Lithgow, and Stanley Tucci play ambitious Cardinals vying for power in the Vatican. Come for the stunning cinematography and incredible acting, stay for the fascinating take on a secretive process.

TO READ: If your Amazon Prime membership is an afterthought, you should probably read this guide on how to fully take advantage of its cost. It includes 10 member perks – in addition to free shipping and online streaming – that we really should be using. Sign up here. #partner

TO STREAM The new Netflix documentary Martha captures the rise, fall, and audacious return of Martha Stewart in her own words. There’s also the concert special Olivia Rodrigo: Guts World Tour, which will be required viewing in our households (preteens).

TO LISTEN The ambitious, melodic new compilation album Transa (from the non-profit org Red Hot), brings together legends like Sade and André 3000 along with more than 80 other artists in support of trans rights. We’ve had the first single, a cover of Prince’s “I Would Die 4 You,” on repeat.

An astounding story of the NYC fitness guru and her husband, the man behind Project 2025. • How to talk to kids. • Explaining what’s going on with fashion these days. • We don’t have the bandwidth for lunch-meat worries right now, but perhaps you do. • “At 44, I'm starting to become invisible to men. Here's what I didn't expect to feel.”

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