OOO #90: Outfits, Ohio, and Other Things I Like

Okay but aren't these the best sneakers you've ever seen, Ethiopian Food, and How I'm Staying Warm This Winter

Outfits

Are those ballerina shoes?

Ohio

This past weekend, my husband and I finally had Ethiopian food in Columbus. We used to eat Ethiopian food all the time in DC, and I have regretted not finding a new go-to spot here in Central Ohio. One of my students, who is proudly Ethiopian (as she should be!), recommended we try The Habesha Garden Restaurant, and a new friend echoed that it has the best Ethiopian food in Columbus. So off we went to Whitehall.

Our meal at Habesha Garden Restaurant was not only the best Ethiopian food I have ever had, but it was easily one of the best meals I have had in a very long time. Even foods I historically do not like (I am a recovering picky eater) were prepared so well that I liked everything on my plate. I ate BEETS, guys! I hate beets—but these were delicious. Same with the cabbage—I don’t like most pickled foods, but I’ll eat anything pickled that Habesha Garden puts on my plate of injera. I have never wanted to try new things more than at Habesha Garden.

There were a number of young guys watching the Arsenal/Aston Villa Game, hanging out and drinking coffee, and each table with coffee also had a incense burner with frankincense. Frankincense comes from the Boswellia tree, which grows in both Somalia and, more relevant to my life’s adventures, Oman. I love frankincense so much—and seek it out when I’m in Catholic churches—because it reminds me of those wonderful times I spent in Oman. I have a huge box of frankincense that I bought in 2012 just sitting in my mom’s house on Long Island because I don’t actually know how to burn it (if someone wants to buy me real frankincense burner and teach me how to use it, that would be the perfect birthday present).

My son’s head smelled like frankincense for hours after our meal, which made me very happy. He tried both injera and some lentils and was enthusiastic about both! He was also enthusiastic about the plastic water bottles on the table, which is very on brand.

Traditionally, the red lentils are my favorite, but this time, the yellow lentils were the best thing on the plate!

Habesha Garden had an outdoor patio, and I am already looking forward to an outdoor lunch with injera, lentils, and some friends (and the baby!) this summer.

Other Things I Like

I love winter, and this is a great winter for people who love winter.* Central Ohio has had some wonderful snowfall (leading to two snow days!) and the temperatures have been so low that today’s 38 degree day felt balmy.

I love snow so much. I love the way it looks, and it makes everything seem a little more special—the quotidienne becomes romantique. I wish I were good at skiing, but tragically, growing up on Long Island, where the highest peak is 401 ft, meant that dream was unlikely to come to pass.

That being said, I do not love being cold. I am one of those people who is indeed always cold; inexplicably, my feet are ice cold as I type this despite wearing merino wool socks and hovering my feet over the air vent that is pumping heat into my living room. Last winter was mild, and I was pregnant, so my winter coat game didn’t need to be too strong, but this year, I spent one morning warming up my car in 20 degree weather, and I decided that this was the year I was going to invest in a big, puffy, warm, not cute coat.

HELLO! This photos is HUGE on my desktop version of Substack. Also, my silver hairs are coming in BEAUTIFULLY!

If you read my gift guide, I wrote about how great my new LL Bean down coat is. I wrote “I simply shall never be cold again,” and I was RIGHT. I happily shoveled snow in early January because I could not feel the cold. I walked out of school in 11 degree weather and actually said to myself “this isn’t so bad.” This coat is seriously wonderful, despite it not having quite the same sophisticated flair as my grandmother’s swing coat.** I particularly like the sherpa lined hood, which is so effective that I sometimes don’t feel the need to wear a hat in freezing temperatures. I honestly wish I had bought one for Wellesley, otherwise, I probably wouldn’t have to wear the below for astronomy lab.

Fleece pyjamas over jeans was the only way I survived astronomy night labs in Massachusetts in December.

This coat is clearly fantastic (or this substack is becoming deeply influential) because nearly every size and color is sold out online. Sorry! Maybe they’ll be back in stock soon?

*I of course can love winter because I am lucky enough to live in a warm house, work in a warm building, have everything I need to stay warm, and only have to be outside for the amount of time I want to be. If any of the above conditions were different, I am sure my relationship to winter would be much more challenging.

**Lol at the line from this issue: “My go-to wool coats did not fit this year (more on this later).” I was pregnant and didn’t want to say it. That’s it. I’m so dramatic.