Check-In with Nichole Powell

Where are you quarantining? And who are you with?

I am in Chappaqua, NY, with my aunt, uncle, two cousins, and their adorable and hilarious English bulldog, Lucy.

Cooking / baking right now

I’ve been perfecting a recipe for what I call “breakfast cake”—it’s a lemony olive oil cake, not too sweet, that’s perfect for berries or poppyseeds or whatever else you might have in your fridge. I make one every week and post all of the experiments to a public Google doc and to my Instagram (lemon berry is always a hit, still perfecting my blood orange poppyseed version). It’s been fun to see other people make their own versions of the breakfast cake, and it’s become a beloved routine to make it every weekend.

Shows you’re watching right now

I binged Unorthodox right after I came out (Netflix, please make more!) and my aunt and I have been watching Schitt’s Creek together.

Movie you watched last

I’ve been rewatching old classics, so my most recent movie was Pretty Woman and I’m planning on revisiting Working Girl and My Big Fat Greek Wedding next.

Movies on your list

Beyond the classics, I’m excited to dig into Tigertail. I don’t watch many movies, though!

Any good books?

How much time do we have?! But seriously—I share all my books on Goodreads, so add me there and let’s nerd out together. I’m currently reading Blood, Bones & Butter, which is Gabrielle Hamilton (chef/founder of Prune)’s memoir, and We Are the Weather by Jonathan Foer. Some other favorites are Joyful by Ingrid Fetell Lee (especially timely), The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga (for when you want to stretch your brain a bit), and A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander and co (a delightful escape into order and ideal environments for anyone who is interested in design or architecture).

Podcast to share

I haven’t listened to podcasts much recently as I’m not commuting or traveling, but some favorites:

• The Moth or Modern Love for stories

• Planet Money or Song Exploder for quick but interesting “did you know” topics

• Slow Stories and How I Built This for entrepreneur stories and perspectives (applicable to all!)

• The HYE Life Podcast or the goop podcast for wellness

Rituals or routines keeping you sane

Movement, meditation, and mornings.  I try to move every day, meditate often (sometimes it doesn’t happen daily, and that’s OK too), and keeping a consistent morning ritual—I make the same three beverages (a matcha latte, ACV with water, and a Vitamin C shot) first thing every day before going for a walk. And then for balance, I bake a cake every weekend. 

Anything new you’ve done with your newfound time?

I’m trying to get comfortable with the idea of stillness. As someone who has always equated movement with progress, it’s been a new (and frankly, uncomfortable) journey to find growth in consistency. I’ve also started drawing more and recently picked up Wendy Hollander’s new book on botanical illustrations, so I’m excited to spend more time doing that. 

Quarantine motto

“No sudden moves.” We are all in emotionally compromised states right now, whether it feels like it or not, so it’s not the right time to make any big life decisions, if you can avoid it. Quarantine makes many of us uncomfortable, and it’s natural to want to make a big change to try to “fix” it—but we need to get comfortable with that discomfort and remember that this too will pass. Don’t make any decisions that you can’t undo right now—wait until you’re back in your sound mind. 

When this is over, what’s the first thing you’re doing?

Getting on a plane. All I want is to give gigantic bear hugs to my mom and my family and my friends. And also take a vacation.

When this is over, who’s the first person you’re seeing?

My friends. I can’t wait to get to all cook together in the same kitchen, sharing a bottle of wine and catching up on the week.

What are you never going to take for granted again?

Hugs. It’s such a little thing, but it’s so hard to see friends go through challenges during quarantine and not be able to give them something as simple as a hug to let them know that they’re cared for and loved. That, and dance parties—the kind where someone puts on just the right song at just the right time, and everyone is moving and singing along and feeling the moment. Feeling alive.