Being F.R.A.N.K Volume 2

F is for Feasting

With finally feeling settled after a crazy two months, this has been a big week of cooking for me. I decided this year would be a year where I finally start to cook foods I have a mental block/think I don’t like for whatever reason. First on this week’s list was a pork loin. I remember always having pork loin at my aunts house for holidays, and I had a delicious pork loin over Christmas. I realized I had a premade spice mix my fiance’s aunt had given us for Christmas last year, which made it even easier. With the seasoning mixes she gifted us, she had also provided instructions on how to utilize and prepare a dish with them, so I just followed her instructions and changed the cook time based on the weight of the loin. When I realized all I had to do was add the seasoning, rest overnight and then put in the oven, I immediately got over my fear of making pork loin. Two key tips: use your meat thermometer (get one if you don’t have one. This is the one I have but you can get a simpler version that will do the job) and make sure you let it rest before carving. I served it with simple roasted cauliflower with garlic powder, salt and pepper.

I also simply love sauces so I whipped up a quick one to serve alongside the pork, using Butter Be Ready’s recipe. I used too much cream, so it was a bit thinner than I would’ve liked but the flavor was delicious.

My other little announcement is this week I came one step closer to stocking my kitchen like a suburban housewife with the purchase of a chicken shredder, which is basically just a giant chicken sized grinder. I am some horrible at shredding chicken with forks however now until I tire of it I will now be keeping shredded chicken in my fridge and I welcome you to join me in this endeavor.

R is for Reading

I finished As Good As Dead, and I would give it a 3.5/5. It was entertaining and fast-paced and I can understand what they were going for to wrap up the series, but overall, I found it just okay.

While I know I said I was going to read The Jungle next, I lied (which you should get used to - I can be an unreliable, white liar of a narrator, said with love and self-awareness to myself). For some reason, while browsing the kindle store, I stumbled upon American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis. Some of you may know I had a MASSIVE Fight Club phase last year (no, I have no explanation for why this happened), and I think it is important to mix in the occasional Dudes Rule read, so here is my first of 2026.

I find it silly the entire book is just spent name dropping brands and describing outfits - it feels like hanging out with Duncan, minus for the whole brutally murdering and torturing women my boy Pat is doing.

I will say, this section is motivating me to read more/faster because I feel like I owe you all an update on my reading endeavors.

A is for Adventuring

This past week, I went to Paris. And by went to Paris, I mean went to a movie screening of Ratatouille where as the movie is playing they bring you food and drinks from the movie itself to enjoy while you watch. So yeah, I went to Gusteau’s this weekend.

This experience was through Fork N Film and I had gotten it as a birthday gift for my best friend Jules, but it had gotten delayed nearly 3 months and we finally got the chance to go this Friday. Overall review: the food was pretty good, it was gimmicky but fun, but definitely too expensive for what it was. It was fun to see what they came up with and when they chose to serve it, but it was also randomly in a golf simulator bar (?) so… strange vibes. My favorite course was the soup course and I liked the AHHH It’s a Rat!!! Drink.

N is for Nonsense

Today’s Nonsense category is dedicated to female friendships, which are anything but nonsense! This weekend I pinballed from one activity to the next with different groups of my sweet, wonderful, loving girlfriends, and I haven’t felt quite so fulfilled in a while. I feel so lucky to have such diverse female friendships that share different hobbies and passions but show me love in all aspects of my life.

I could write a weepy, long form essay about how much female friendships have meant to me, especially in the last few years, but we will save that for a future newsletter ;)

K is for Knowledge

My very sweet genius friend Chen reminded me that the letter K can make this sound, so instead of Kicking It (whatever that was) the “K” of F.R.A.N.K will forever be the Knowledge category, where I share something I learned or a piece of wisdom.

This week’s Knowledge comes in the form of sharing my knowledge of really cool spots on a walk from the Lorimer L stop (shoutout no L service for forcing us to stroll) back to Bushwick. While I am sure there are many stops I missed along the way, here are some highlights from our Sunday Stroll.

After teaching at Yoga Space Greenwich (11am Sundays, come through!) and managing to make it back across the bridge, I met Duncan at The West, which I would deem my favorite coffee shop in Williamsburg. During the week, I am singlehandedly sustained by their large iced salted caramel latte with four shots. It has become my tried and true latte of the season, to the point I will detour solely to get it. (and shoutout Ally, two weeks and counting, girl!)

Next we headed down Grand and our first stop was Dobbins St Vintage, which is right around the corner from The West. We went to the Grand Street location but I also frequent the Norman Ave location, and both have great furniture, clothing and little tchotchkes, like magnets and keychains. Duncan and I are on the hunt for a new hutch/credenza to hold our record player, so while they had some good stuff, nothing worked for the space we have.

Next up we stopped at what I believe was called Thrift Emporium, though I can’t seem to find it on a map. It had a cool combination of clothes, homegoods, prints and records, and was right down the road on the same side of the street as Dobbins St.

From there we made a quick pit stop at Win Son Bakery as we got hit by the sleepy ray, as Duncan likes to say. My go to lunch there is the white sesame caesar salad with a side of their fries and extra sauce (ultimate Girl Lunch). We sat for a sec and mustered our strength to finish the walk home.

The next two spots were new places I had never been, but became instant classics I will be back to. The first was Kiri Space @kiri_space_est2025 in the same building Friends is in (where many small vintage stores have spaces). It was really well curated clothing, shoes, accessories and some random homeware pieces. I tried on a few pairs of shoes but didn’t leave with anything.

My favorite place we discovered this stroll was @chyelle.studio, a laptop friendly cafe where everything in the cafe (couches, tables, chairs, art) is for sale. I loved the curation and I think we may have found the hutch we were looking for (!!!) - stay tuned for updates. I will be SAT here for the foreseeable future.

My final knowledge shoutouts: 3 vintage shops in Bushwick. @voovintage, @fronk.nyc and a tried and true spot for me, @whatmarykept. I first went into Voo and Fronk (they each have their own space in a shared building) Friday just to look, but then I liked everything so much I realized I would have to go back when I was in the mood to actually dig. Voo is a little bit smaller and more specialized, and I am partial to Fronk because it was one of my childhood nicknames and they have a store dog named Grizz. I will be stopping by again soon.

Finally, last stop was What Mary Kept. I would say I stop in here once if not more a week just to browse the little trinkets and clothing section. I have gotten some great shoes and little trinkets.

My final thought on this big stroll is this fun, exciting walk with new places that I was initially annoyed I had to walk with the train being down ended up being a wonderful day! Slow down, feel the rain on your skin and go for a walk divas!

My mom is coming to town this week, stay tuned for that!

XO Frankie