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Not together.
However they are both things you likely ate as a child and maybe from time to time you wonder if they still hit the same as they did back then.
They do.
Aug 28, 2024
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There was a time when dessert innovations just made sense (Dippin' Dots be damned). Some people view frozen custard as ice cream's plain midwestern cousin, but it packs a real punch—dense and rich with a heavy mouthfeel, it's an ultra-dairy antidote for the alt milk era. You can even turn it upside down without consequence.
Jan 23, 2024
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My grandparents owned an ice cream shop for 35 years. In the early days they sold sandwiches too, before moving to just ice cream. At one point when my dad was an adolescent, they actually lived above their shop. My grandma would dream up flavors and my grandpa would make them — he's lactose intolerant, he never really even reaped the one benefit of owning an ice cream shop. My grandparents, dad, aunt, great aunts and uncles, second cousins, and even my mom all worked fairs and festivals scooping ice cream. It was a family business, my grandma and grandpa were the core. They had to change locations twice. They "retired" at least once before actually retiring. This ice cream shop was an institution.
For me though it was the place where we would have Thanksgiving. Closed for the season, the shop was the only space big enough for all of us. I had birthday parties there as a baby. It was our first stop after a five hour drive across state lines to see family. That's the place where, at my grandpa's insistence, I wrote my initials into the wet cement he had laid down for a bike rack. They are still there.
When I was 16, I worked at the shop over the summer. You don't realize how tough it is. Decades of dipping had made my grandpa particular. I didn't have the wrist strength or the speed necessary when there were customers out the door, all of them hungry and agitated by the stifling heat. I was terrified of giving someone back the wrong amount of change. Becoming almost paralyzed by the responsibility of being behind the cash register — it was their livelihood after all. That was my grandma's responsibility. I was in charge of the milkshakes and malts. I decorated sundaes with hot fudge, wet walnuts, sprinkles, and cherries. I packed the shaved ice into paper cones and doused the evenly shaped mounds with syrup. I doled out the frozen lemonade into styrofoam cups. My hands became raw from all the cleaning. I'm now particular about hygiene in the kitchen and always tip.
My grandparents still own the building, renting it out to a dentist and coincidentally, an ice cream shop. It's so strange now to go there. Everything is entirely different while being exactly the same. They painted the chairs a different color, but they are still those heart-shaped wrought iron, poorly cushioned chairs I know from childhood. Some of the flavors have remained. But it's not the same. Maybe they're buying their heavy cream from a different supplier. Or the high schoolers who work behind the counter aren't as precise with the measurements. I can try, skipping the artisanal flavors for the ones I grew up eating, but it will never be the same as it was.
And that's alright. They're softer now, my grandparents; the anxieties and stress of those decades having melted away. These days, ice cream is just ice cream.
Dec 30, 2024
Apr 12, 2025
Top Recs from @mstoopsy
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Even when you’re drowning in work it’s important to take time to ignore your responsibilities and yap and lounge with those around you.
Aug 29, 2024
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People say to touch grass, but the floor of your apartment will do just fine.
Sep 21, 2024
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I’ve been known to gas myself up. I’ll walk into a room and announce that I love my outfit for the day. I’ll show someone a spreadsheet that I made and say that I’m in awe of my brain for having such a good idea and bringing it to fruition. And I can assure you that I’m laughing at every single one of my jokes.
It’s obvious how loving yourself and having confidence improves how you feel overall. We know this, we understand this. What I want to talk about is the lesser known impacts of believing in yourself, which is how the rest of the world interacts with you when you carry yourself with unshakable confidence.
On the surface, how do other people react when I’m giving myself a gold star? They giggle, sometimes they may roll their eyes.
On a deeper level, when you truly walk through the world knowing that you are that bitch, it creates an inexplicable magnetism. People notice you in a different way. Take a compliment on an outfit, for example. I wear cute clothes, but so do a lot of people. When someone compliments my outfit, what they are often actually drawn to is that they can tell that EYE feel amazing wearing my outfit.
I love job interviews. People find this shocking and confusing, but they’re going about interviews all wrong. I’m not trying to sell myself, sound like I know what I’m talking about, convince someone to hire me, none of this nonsense. I’m excited to talk about my previous work and skills that I’m so proud of and how amazing I am. I don’t have to tell them how valuable I am, how lucky they would be to have me- the way I believe in myself conveys it.
As mother (RuPaul) says, “if you don’t love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?” We always talk about treating other people in the way that you want to be treated, but that starts with you. Are you nice to yourself? Do you love yourself? Are you the only girl in the world? If you can’t show up for yourself in these ways, it’s going to limit your capacity to show up for others.
We don’t have to pretend like this is possible every moment of every day. Most days, it feels like everything in our environment is trying to tear us down constantly (especially women!) and sometimes its all too much. Sometimes you just wake up and it’s just not your day. These things happens. Good news- you can try again tomorrow.
Worried about being labeled as delusional? You’re not- you are the baddest bitch in the room. Labeled as extra? Good. Take up as much space as you see fit. Vain? That’s fine. Some people can’t see what’s beyond the surface; the 700th selfie I put on IG has much less to do with liking my face and much more to do with feeling beautiful in my soul.
It’s hard to put into words. But when you believe in yourself, people notice. They won’t be able to put their finger on it, there’s just something about you that stands out. It comes through in our body language, our micro-behaviors, and the wavelengths and vibrations we can’t see and feel.
Try it out. Lie to yourself until you believe it.
Then, watch the world start to fall at your feet.
Aug 27, 2024