The Spring Queue Starter Pack: Boy Kibble, Porch Pounders, and Sun-kissed Fragrances
In the Queue #3
Another week, another installment of Add to Queue. We’re diving headfirst into spring now and with it, the seasonal edit: what’s actually worth adding to your life right now across wine, fragrance, places, and culture.
“Boy kibble” is the new “girl dinner”
If you’re not chronically online like me (note: this is a good thing), then you probably are just hearing this term for the first time and are wondering to yourself, “Alex, literally what the f&@! do you mean you’re eating dog food?”
To which I say: don’t worry, it’s definitely not that (although word around the block does say dog food macros are insanely good…). Boy kibble—in true male fashion—is a term used to describe meal prep, specifically with ground beef and rice as the base. Additional toppings and seasonings to your discretion, but that’s the gist. So why not just call it meal prep? Probably cause that’s boring.
Meal prep? Yawn. Boy kibble? Hell yeah brother.
My version of boy kibble does have some modifications though, and I stand by them.
Ditch the rice and (over)steam yourself some broccoli, chop it up finely and boom you got broccoli rice; considerably less carbs, and some extra protein
Add some shredded cabbage for extra volume (this shredder is so efficient, shredding up cabbage the way they do in Japanese restaurants)
Like I said, the options are pretty endless—here are two versions of boy kibble that’s been on repeat for me:
Asian/Japanese: layer in some imitation crab from Trader Joe’s, edamame, red shell miso dressing, furikake, sriracha
Burger style: the new hot honey mustard from Trader Joe’s (do you sense a pattern here), some pickles, tomatoes, pickled onion
All I know is I’m heavily leaning into boy kibble this spring season because this is the time to start getting in shape (I mean, eurosummer is right around the corner!) and nothing will set yourself up for success better than a highly customizable diet. Try it out and lemme know what you think.
Smelling like you just did laundry…
Some of my most favorite scents come from spring. I mean, what’s not to love? Sure the musky, warm, “you smell like you were bundled up by the fireplace for hours” fragrances are 100% a mood. But on the flip side, smelling like you quite literally got out and stopped to smell the flowers is dopamine-inducing. To my light, floral and citrus fragrances I say it’s your time to shine.
If you want to full send the spring fragrance queue, look for scents that have notes like rose, violet, lilac, linen, and citrus (to name a few). Here are two spring scents that have landed a spot in my queue so far:
CK The One: probably the most unisex fragrance I own that just smells clean. This is the scent I reach for when I want to smell good without smelling like I’m trying. Post-shower. Post-gym. Errands. “I’m running late but still hot.” If you want a spring daily driver that won’t fight your outfit (or your personality), this one is an easy add.
Diptyque Ilio: if you want to feel like you’re sun drenched on a beach somewhere on the Mediterranean coast, look no further than this. The prickly pear and jasmine notes on this are so addicting (one could say dangerously good).
…drinking like you just came from the beach
I recently had the opportunity to attend a wine pick-up party for LIOCO in Healdsburg and got to try all their spring releases. And lemme tell you—their whites and rosés absolutely floored me. I think it’s time we lay our big reds to rest and dust off the porch pounders, the easy drinkers, the enamel ripping white wines that are just cwispy.
I’ve been trying to expand my drinking palette this year, especially in the world of interesting white wines (I recently talked about a particularly cool grape, Sylvaner), and you’d honestly be shocked at how many varietals of white wines there are outside of Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio.
One varietal that deserves a spot in your drinking queue is txakolina. Coming from the Basque Country area, Txakolina (also spelled txakoli) is the spring white I wish more people talked about. It’s bone-dry, high-acid, often a little spritzy, and usually lower alcohol (aka yes I will be having another glass, thank you very much).
Flavor-wise, think lime, green strawberry, and a slight touch of herbs for balance. This is what I’m reaching for when I’m tired of heavy winter wines but I’m not ready to live solely on rosé and vibes. Pair it with anything salty: tinned fish, oysters, chips, seafood.
And perhaps it’s because my wife and I have a France trip planned in May but gosh do I have Provence rosé on the mind—it’s my annual reminder that a wine can be unserious in the best way: crisp, dry, and 100% a porch pounder. I don’t have a hard and fast rule for what to buy, so long as we’re within the $10–25 territory. You really don’t need to be paying more than that for a solid Provence rosé (even $25 is sometimes pushing it, in my opinion). Serve it cold and don’t overthink it.
The B-Sides (Honorable Mentions)
Read this Substack article on slowing down your media consumption: if your brain feels like 47 tabs and none of them are loading, think about adding friction in the right places.
Watch Project Hail Mary: bonus points if you read the book first, but get ready to be thoroughly amazed (x3) by the charisma and chemistry Ryan Gosling exudes onscreen (no spoilers). Also, y’know, science.
Listen to i got it by thuy: sometimes you need a bop that reminds you of peak Ariana Grande, full of good vibes and R&B energy (hint: this is that vibe).
As always, if you’re building your own “next on your list,” I hope this helped. We’re hitting the ground running in April; ‘tis the season of renewal and restarting. Friendly reminder that I also share some of this (+ more ) in shorter form content on my socials if you wanna follow along.