Edition #26 | The Perfect Picnic

Hello friends,

Memorial Day weekend is here, summer is kicking off, and I have every intention of eating outside until October or until the Midwestern humidity gets the best of me. Before we get into this week's recs for planning the perfect picnic, I have some exciting news.

We just shipped Save to hili, our Chrome extension! 🥳

It lets you save products, restaurants, books, and all the other things you find yourself recommending over and over, directly to hili while you're browsing the web. You spot something worth sharing, you click one button, and the details are captured. Then you just add why you love it and save it to a collection, or share it to a friend's Ask. It works on Chrome, Edge, Brave, Arc, and any Chromium-based browser. The things you recommend are the product of years of trying things and knowing what's works and this makes it easier than ever to keep track of them.

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✨ View the full walk through on the blog

Now let's talk about picnics. Summer in the Midwest means celebrating the small window between rainy April and sweltering July. It means packing a basket, grabbing a blanket, and eating outside whether that's your backyard or a nearby park. I put together a collection of my essentials for a proper outdoor spread.

Let’s get outside.

-Karli

The long weekend is calling and all you need is a good spot and the right gear. These are the things I have on hand to make any sunny afternoon worthy of celebrating with friends. Just add some chilled rosé and a cheese plate.

Canvas and Wicker Boardwalk Picnic Basket | $90
“This is a nice basket for 2. It's not too big and the price is good. I like that you can set your plates on top of the basket. It's a really cute gift as well.”

Garden Checkered Picnic Blanket | $39
“I love the dual-sided print and the elastic loop that makes it easy to fold up and transport. 60"x54" so it's a decent size as well.”

Build-a-Board Bamboo Charcuterie Board | $16
“I love having charcuterie on a picnic and received this as a gift which is perfect for transporting tasty bites. It's bamboo too, so pretty sustainable.”

Floral Bamboo Plate Set | $20
“This plate set is adorable and perfect for a picnic any ol' day or for your 4th of July celebrations. I love that the plates are made from bamboo so they won't break and are sustainable, too.”

Parkside Flask™ 750 | $129
“I have not tried this yet, but i have heard great reviews and the quality seems really high. Love that you can take a bottle of wine with you, keep it cold if necessary, and have glasses all in one. Ingenious!”

Gale Cordless Cooling Fan | $89
“I am a sucker for nice design, but this is also portable, and will last all day on a charge. It even includes a mood light setting as an additional feature. I like to bring it out on the patio or on a picnic to keep flies away.”

View the full collection and save your favorites

You guys have the best taste! Help out the community—if you've got an answer, share it!

Here are a few things that have caught my attention this week:

📚 Nothing gets people quietly counting up titles and judging how cultured they are quite like a definitive list of the best books of all time.

🛍️ I was disappointed to learn that Everlane, whose brand was built on “radical transparency and sustainability” was sold to Shein, the largest fast-fashion company in the world for $100 million. Here’s a list of 5 alternatives that I shop at.

🧶 Nicole Nikolich is a textile artist whose current focus is making crochet artworks that reference old school technology. Considering how old-fashioned some of this tech feels, crochet seems like a fitting representation.

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