Weekend Recs #21: 'Beckham' Is A Perfect Docuseries

Plus: I gave The Golden Bachelor a try. The result was unexpected...

This is Weekend Recs, a weekly send of ideas and diversions for your downtime.

Happy Friday! 🎃 Are you dressing up for Halloween this year? Are there any fun traditions you do? We’re keeping things low-key and passing out candy to trick-or-treaters. The baby will be dressed as a cute cow, so I’m thinking of pulling together a last-minute farmer costume... Have a good and safe weekend! -Alisha

• A neat phone hack: Do you know about the “photo shuffle” feature on iPhones? It lets you cycle through photos as your wallpaper. I’ve set it up to shuffle through photos of our family. Each time I pick up my phone, I’m delighted by a new photo. It’s the best. To turn it on, go to Settings > Wallpaper > Add New Wallpaper > Photo Shuffle.

• ‘Beckham’ and nineties nostalgia: I was hesitant about this docuseries on Netflix about David Beckham. It got a ton of buzz, so I finally gave it a whirl. It’s staunchly a sports documentary, yet even as a non-sports gal, I’m absolutely loving it. (Also, how have I never heard either David or Victoria speak before?!) On top of plenty of never-before-seen footage of David and Victoria, plus clips of nail-biting soccer matches, the series also doesn’t shy away from asking tough questions of its iconic subject, like what happened between him and his beloved Manchester United manager. Of course, the presence of the Posh Spice—er, Victoria Beckham—in the series is a real treat. If you grew up in the nineties, you’ll also enjoy that it’s filled to the brim with nostalgia and bad haircuts. I’m in the middle of the series and saving the rest as a treat for my weekend.

  

  Becks and Posh, she of the “working class” (image credit: Netflix)

• Britney’s back: By now, you’ve likely seen the new Britney Spears memoir positively everywhere on social media, including the er, questionable audio clips featuring alleged quotes from Britney’s ex, Justin Timberlake. I’ll be hopping on the bandwagon and listening to the audiobook over the next few days (narrated by actress Michelle Williams). Anyone else?

• Wholesome TV content: Has anyone been watching The Golden Bachelor? I thought it’d be a snooze, but I love how the contestants interact with each other (lots of mutual admiration instead of pettiness). It’s refreshing. (Btw, I love this podcast that does great episode recaps.)

  

  lol (image credit: ABC)

• 🎵 New music: Listening to Caroline Polachek’s new album (“Bunny Is A Rider” is a bop) and, of course, dancing to 1989 (Taylor’s Version), which is released today.

• If you’ve got a pumpkin… discard it in your yard when Halloween is over. If you’re lucky, you just might end up growing a fresh pumpkin for the following year. At least, that’s what happened to ours. It was a total and delightful surprise!

said pumpkin growing and growing…

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From the paid archives: Fall cookbook favorites from people who know!

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A grab bag of links and reads worth sharing with the group chat.

By far, my favorite Halloween decorations year after year, right here in D.C.! By Josh Young.

• The Power Issue by NYMag features“the most powerful New Yorkers you’ve never heard of,” including the hostess at The Polo Bar. What a brilliant and fun idea for a package!

• A very cozy lamp.

• This is much too real.

Content and links continued below…

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