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It’s hot as hell, but that isn’t stopping our usual Auntie antics. Whether Mother Nature is ready or not, Mama KuKu is declaring the start of autumn. She’s already assembled the perfect Halloween costume for Baby Eme, proving that even when Ku’s behind, she’s ahead. Su, meanwhile, is locked in on her dental care. She drops some Auntie medical wisdom (not to be confused with actual medical advice) and explains why she sees the dentist not once a year, not twice a year, but every three months. Plus, we press play on the answering machine for listener voicemails!

It’s hot as hell, but that isn’t stopping our usual Auntie antics. Whether Mother Nature is ready or not, Mama KuKu is declaring the start of autumn. She’s already assembled the perfect Halloween costume for Baby Eme, proving that even when Ku’s behind, she’s ahead. Su, meanwhile, is locked in on her dental care. She drops some Auntie medical wisdom (not to be confused with actual medical advice) and explains why she sees the dentist not once a year, not twice a year, but every three months. Plus, we press play on the answering machine for listener voicemails!

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Please note, Add To Cart contains mature themes and may not be appropriate for all listeners.

To see all products mentioned in this episode, head to @addtocartpod on Instagram. To purchase any of the products, see below.

• Eme’s sunny Halloween costume includes the Pottery Barn sun costume, yellow long sleeve and leggings and the cutest Chuck Taylor All Star sneakers

• This Halloween kids’ applique dress is the cutest thing ever

• Even if you can’t pronounce the ingredient, this Boka toothpaste is stellar

• Stay tuned for SuChin’s Slate Electronic Flosser adventures

• Shannon Maldonado has a great shopping strategy

• Su’s open cart includes the famous INEZ shoes

• For our toner pad fans: try the celimax Heartleaf peeling pad

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Transcript

SPEAKERS

Lucy, Kulap Vilaysack, SuChin Pak, Lauren

Kulap Vilaysack  00:20

Welcome back to Add To Cart. I’m your auntie Kulap Vilaysack.

 

SuChin Pak  01:51

And I’m your other auntie, SuChin Pak. Ku, you know, we haven’t done one of these, like, what’s in your carts in a minute, and I have a bunch of stuff that I’ve bought and loved, dare I say game changers, even some of these, I don’t know, but I have a lot of stuff that I’ve been like, stockpiling and listing. Like, okay, I got to talk about this on Add to Cart, so I’m excited to get into it.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  02:19

Okay, so when you say stockpiling, that means that you’ve goods that have been bought and received, or they’re hanging out in your cart?

 

SuChin Pak  02:25

Goods that I’ve bought and received. And I’m also gonna talk about things hanging in my cart, but a little bit of both. So my cart this week is just a hodgepodge of things I’ve loved and things I’m contemplating.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  02:37

I love that mine Su, is we are recording, and this week there is going to be a heat wave in where, where I live, in Los Angeles, maybe in Santa, Barbara, where you live as well. And every year, I’m shocked, the hottest weeks of summer are the beginning of September, and yet, I’m shook it, and I’m over it. I don’t want it anymore.

 

SuChin Pak  03:02

It’s starting on Wednesday, and just blistering hot.

 

03:06

Friday, triple digits, okay? And I am angry at it, and I don’t want it. And I have not natural. That’s right, science moms. So I have been SuChin Park transitioning into fall.

 

SuChin Pak  03:20

Oh, but then she doesn’t want you to transition summer’s got its, you know, thigh grip on you.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  03:28

It’s sweaty and my brow is wet. My upper lip is damp, especially since I’m drinking hot pumpkin.

 

SuChin Pak  03:36

No, you’re not. You’re not doing that, are you? You’re already doing falls and stubbornly.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  03:44

I am a Taurus lust you forget and I am over summer.

 

SuChin Pak  03:49

Oh, you’re just willing. You’re just trying to mentally, will Halloween, sliding into Christmas. She’s not coming with you. She’s not ready, but you don’t care.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  04:02

Have you looked at what my card is?

 

SuChin Pak  04:04

Have you no, I haven’t looked in your cart on purpose.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  04:07

Oh, great. Let’s slide right in. It’s called. It’s hot as hell, but I’ve been transitioning into fall, and what is the first thing.

 

SuChin Pak  04:22

Oh, no, you didn’t in her hot as hell, but I’ve been transitioning into fall cart. The first thing is a long sleeve dress with some sort of Halloween applique. I’m clicking on the link.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  04:36

And it’s for Emerald Birdie Ackerman. It’s giving a like mini Bowden or bought in whatever that more expensive.

 

SuChin Pak  04:47

Yeah, totally. It’s like a patchwork of little costumes, animals and costumes, standing in a trick or treat line, if you will, along her along the hem I first. Blah, how does one stumble? How does one just casually stumble into Halloween applique tunic dresses for children.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  05:10

You are friends with Lauren Lapkus.

 

SuChin Pak  05:13

She should be sitting in this chair every week if she had time. If that woman could just take a break from any of her projects. I know that I’m just standing in for her when she has time.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  05:26

In between takes only when we are talking about Halloween and no, so much, so much.

 

SuChin Pak  05:32

So she is such a good shopper. Yeah, she found this.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  05:36

It’s interesting because she sent me a link of another dress by this brand, like, a year ago, and then I saw this Halloween one, and I was like, I saved it. It was like, saved in my cart for the longest time, and I pulled it out, already purchased it. It’s already here. It’s here right now. She can’t wear it. She can’t wear right now. That would be inhumane.

 

SuChin Pak  05:57

I yeah, I certainly hope you’re not putting her in this, I know you’re not, but as soon as the crisp hits the barometer, as soon as your witch’s weather vein starts twixting and twirling, this little girl is in this Halloween dress.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  06:14

As soon as I got my eyes, as everyone knows that I seal, I have implants. Have I implants? I have Juicy eyes now, a big booby eyes, and as soon as it cleared up and I could see again, I was texting with Lauren about Halloween.

 

SuChin Pak  06:31

Immediately, was the hay bale truck backing up.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  06:36

Su, I told you last year is Christmas Eve when I ended up in the emergency room the first time in the six months man, I’m doing less. I shan’t be doing that again.

 

SuChin Pak  06:51

Okay, yeah, but you’re just gonna replace it with some other shenanigans, okay, but less, all right? I mean, you’re less. You’re less is a lot now that you got big booby juicy eyes.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  07:05

Big booby juicy eyes, that I You’re gonna love this too, and you’re gonna feel really happy about it. I realized a couple weeks ago that, like, I’ve reached a point where, like I can’t things are falling through the cracks in in such a regularity like just getting things done, like, I need to, like, remove Stella days. You mean no, just, oh, life.

 

SuChin Pak  07:30

So happy, someone wants to hitch her wagon to my steed. Oh, can you make a little room on your wagon wheel?

 

Kulap Vilaysack  07:43

I mean, that does sound nice to get a ride.

 

SuChin Pak  07:47

By the way, the good enough train, there’s room for everybody.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  07:50

Good enough train.

 

SuChin Pak  07:56

All aboard the good enough train.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  07:59

You know, I used to pride myself. I’m like, clearing out my to do list. And these things are just, they keep piling up. They keep transferring over. Never gonna take the too much stuffing out of the pillows that I need to do. There’s just random shit that just can’t get done.

 

SuChin Pak  08:18

And everybody has their proverbial pillow stuffing. So you have pillows that every time you look or touch and you’re like, I need to take the stuffing out of these. And yet that doesn’t make the list, yeah. And it drives you nuts.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  08:34

Scott’s pulling a smaller pillow from the guest room and these newer pillows that I purchased at the end of the night. I’m too tired.

 

SuChin Pak  08:47

I, this reminds me, like I learned something this weekend, and it’s a remove from cart meal planning. And I have, I get this fantasy where, like, I scroll and I see all these gorgeous 20 somethings with no children, no you know, parents to take out. I’m assuming these are assumptions I’m making that’s fair, and their meal planning, and they’re like you just have to do one day a week, blah and there’s a fantasy there for me, you know, because I hate cooking like these meals, these utilitarian meals. And so I did a big shop. And you know, when you commit to a big shop and that shit is sitting in your fridge, it’s a loaded gun.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  09:28

The timer is on.

 

SuChin Pak  09:29

Yeah, you can’t just be like, I don’t feel like taking the stuffing out. No, there’s rotting, you know, food. So Saturday, I, like, felt really good. I started at night, just all day, and it was so exhausting. And my son came. He had a playdate over, and they wanted to do a lemonade stand, also removed from cart, lemonade stands children. Anyone listening to this while their parents are driving? No parent wants to help with the lemonade stand. So anyway, so he wants to do this. And I’m so annoyed I heard and I was so angry that I must have used that tone that I try not to do in front of other people, because it’s embarrassing for everyone involved. And I heard him say out the window, oh, I think my mom didn’t get enough sleep. And I felt so bad. And I’m sitting there hand making fucking dumplings, like with dumpling wrappers. What I frozen dumplings are delicious and great, but I got this thing, this meal planning thing, and I was like, what am I doing this for and remove from cart.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  10:43

This is also the negative part of social media. This is the dark on your belly.

 

SuChin Pak  10:48

Aspirational thing that they all everybody wants, and if they make it look so simple and that they’re doing all that they’re doing, and this meal planning day. And I just realized, I was like, fuck this meal planning day, I should have done a lemonade stand for my kid. That way more fun, easy, and it’s a Saturday. Like, what am I doing here? Nobody get he doesn’t give a shit if his dumplings are fresh or from a frozen bag, and that’s the good enough train all aboard.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  11:26

I like that yours is doot*.

 

SuChin Pak  11:30

Yeah, cuz sometimes it takes too much time and it’s just doot*, that’s a lot easier.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  11:36

Oh gosh, Sue. Well, let’s dive into the fact that I have already purchased emeralds Halloween outfit.

 

SuChin Pak  11:47

Dear God.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  11:48

And I’ve listed the link of all of the elements.

 

SuChin Pak  11:51

Wait, all of the all of this is for her Halloween costume?

 

Kulap Vilaysack  11:56

That’s right.

 

SuChin Pak  11:57

My lord. Okay, I’m going on the first link, of course, is on Potter Barn Kids Smiling Sun Kids costume.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  12:06

Come on.

 

SuChin Pak  12:09

Wait with the headband?

 

Kulap Vilaysack  12:10

Yeah, comes with the headband.

 

SuChin Pak  12:11

Okay, so this is a smiling kid that is dressed as the sun with a headband of rays. Sun rays. The body is a big, smiling Sun circle. That’s right, and that is her personality. Is she just a smiling Sweetie Pie.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  12:30

Really happy girl. And so that is already here. It’s adorable. And then what I was also sold is like, I liked how they styled it. I tried to find these checkerboard vans. I couldn’t find them, so I found some other yellow chucks that I think you’ll enjoy.

 

SuChin Pak  12:50

Oh, you’re gonna go full like the underpinnings are gonna be yellow.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  12:55

Oh, the underpinnings are yellow. I got a long sleeve, round neck cotton t shirt and some soft leggings from Amazon.

 

SuChin Pak  13:02

All yellow.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  13:02

All yellow.

 

SuChin Pak  13:03

Not yellow, butter.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  13:05

Butter yellow.

 

SuChin Pak  13:05

Yeah, butter yeah.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  13:07

What do I like about this we’re gonna wear? It’s not just for the costume we’ll be wearing this, you know, until we grow out of it, immigrant style and the cutest little Chuck Taylor, all stars. So cute. So butter yellow, all butter yellow, but with, like, sort of in the iridescent donut kind of glaze for the velcro straps. This kind of got, like, a pink vibe. And, like, how adorable are those? And they were on sale.

 

SuChin Pak  13:34

Yeah, you’re you’re thinking ahead because you’re thinking of Halloween, but you’re also like, let’s be practical and not wasteful.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  13:42

Yes, have to as bougie as I am. We don’t like to be wasteful. And so for me, what is the schedule coming up? Like I’m looking at my fall, and we’re in again, we are in fall. Today I will be going to her preschool open house, because she shall be starting in October for, you know, two days a week. So we’re already there okay?

 

SuChin Pak  14:03

We she hasn’t started. , you haven’t done first day drop off yet. Are you gonna do drop off?

 

Kulap Vilaysack  14:10

Scott, right now is on tour? And then we go to Hawaii. Then it’s her birthday, oh, turning to October 4. And then she starts preschool late because she did, you know.

 

SuChin Pak  14:24

Because we’re in Hawaii.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  14:25

No, because she’s not two yet.

 

SuChin Pak  14:26

Oh, okay.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  14:27

And then October 8, she starts preschool. We’ll be doing drop off, and then it’s Halloween, and then it’s Christmas, and there’s no, that’s it. That’s the schedule for the end of the year. This is a busy time. Okay? I’m not fucking around in summer anymore. I know I’m. She’s a son, okay, but that has less to do with summer and that I live in Southern California, and she has a sunny disposition. We are in fall.

 

SuChin Pak  14:54

That’s why you are you are ready. You’re like, I don’t have time for this weathering, withering weathering, and, yeah, like, I gotta move it along.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  15:07

In every way SuChin Pak, I’m slower, I’m in another place Su, I’m not as fast, I’m not as sharp. I barely remember thing. I’m truly my memory is like, what’s happening, and it’s fine, and it has to be fun.

 

SuChin Pak  15:24

This may be the end of our podcast. You may be listening to the first episode. Your brain is the only thing, the most important thing keeping both of us on track. I rely on the sharp cheddar, okay, the tartness of your brain that you know in the sides of the cheek to get us on track, to keep us on schedule, to and if you’re telling me, you are reflecting back to me, coffin. Oh boy. I’ve been around the world a few times to know.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  16:07

In the caboose dead. I hope not, but it’s all right.

 

SuChin Pak  16:10

I’m just saying that cheddar’s got to be sharp.  You are pulling me.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  16:15

I’m the conductor.

 

SuChin Pak  16:16

You know what I’m saying. You you are pulling me into the station. So if you’re not on time, if you don’t got all buttoned up, I’m four months behind.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  16:25

Four months, oh God, well, there’s Tiffany in the middle. He’s really young.

 

SuChin Pak  16:32

No, my train has left the station, Daisy.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  16:36

Tiffany, our producer, is so juicy.

 

SuChin Pak  16:39

This poor child. They we are, we are sucking the youth juices out of her. She’s already on full time duty, keeping me on a side group chat, you know. And now she’s, now she’s got to worry about you.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  16:55

A couple of vampires like sucking her life force out. This is her prime you know that Su we’re taking away her proverbial prime time.

 

SuChin Pak  17:08

She’s sitting around with all her young friends who’ve got loggers, you know, small brews.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  17:14

That’s right.

 

SuChin Pak  17:15

And she’s just talking about kids and menopause and what will be in my cart teeth.

 

SuChin Pak  18:21

Well, my card’s a hodgepodge, like I said, of things I loved and things I may love. I want to start off with my teeth. And my teeth, as you know, these Abraham Lincolns are old, and they’ve been falling out of my head since the beginning of the podcast. And now I went to a dentist got my teeth cleaned recently, and they said, Girl, you have another crack. I got another crack tooth that I’m either gonna have to pull or cap, and that’s just because my teeth are old.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  21:31

Are you gnawing on bones? What is happening? What is going on?

 

Kulap Vilaysack  21:38

I’m old.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  21:40

It’s simply that you’re old.

 

SuChin Pak  21:41

Yeah? Like, it’s just, and by the way, a perfect grade from the person that cleans my teeth. She’s said, in her own words, great dental hygiene.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  21:51

Okay.

 

SuChin Pak  21:52

So it’s not for that.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  21:53

No, they, they don’t. They don’t throw that around, the hygienist, by the way.

 

SuChin Pak  21:58

I worked hard for that. That took me years to get there. Yeah, no. Years of of, I mean, I did not grow up with floss, teeth cleaning and even regular brushing. That wasn’t like a thing that was emphasized in my home. There was no, there was no bedtime routine, if you will.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  22:15

Oh no every time I’m with a dental hygienist, I’m always they’re so disappointed. They’re just so disappointed in me.

 

SuChin Pak  22:22

Yeah, not, not anymore. I worked really hard to get to the room now, but it doesn’t matter, because my chalk teeth are cracking and falling apart. So one of the things I started to really get into remineralizing your teeth. Have you heard of this?

 

Kulap Vilaysack  22:38

Have you seen this trend? No, Su. What does that mean?

 

SuChin Pak  22:43

Wow, I’m surprised that your algorithm hasn’t given you all about remineralization, because that’s pretty much all that it’s on my feed these days. But basically, you know, there’s this whole movement in dentistry. Let that sink in, where the you can, sorry, have products that can remineralize your teeth. So maybe it’s like the start of a cavity. Maybe it’s like, you know, some sort of, I’m not a dentist, other dental condition that when you regularly use these products and have good dental hygiene, you can actually dentists say, roll back a cavity. Whoa, because your teeth kind of heals itself, what you know. And so a big for instance, product in this is xylitol, so I got my little Zelly mince, okay, okay, there we go. And so I started to, you know, do xylitol, xylitol, xylitol. And then I started to do some research on nanohydroxy petite. Nanohydroxy petite, I something like that. That’s what it is called this ingredient, and basically it is a NASA developed power packed ingredient used by astronauts that makes up 97% of your tooth enamel and 70% of your dentin. It is the primary foundation of teeth and bones. Okay, so this nanohydroxy petite, whatever this ingredient is, if you use it regularly, it can help remineralize your teeth.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  24:32

Oh, all right.

 

SuChin Pak  24:33

I know right so my kids are going to a new dentist, and I had a I was like, hey, lady, let’s talk about Xylitol. Let’s talk about nano. You know, what are your thoughts? And she agreed, and she thought it was great. And so she recommended a toothpaste with Nano hydroxy, whatever, for my kids. And then I was like, I’m not spending this amount of money on myself. I’m going to look for a nanohydroxy for an adult. And I found this brand called Boka, B, O, K, A, checked it with her, and she was like, great brand, very reasonable toothpaste. And it is, I mean, I just don’t know. I don’t know what to tell you.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  25:20

I mean, you’re grinning from ear to ear.

 

SuChin Pak  25:22

Fantastic, I don’t know if it’s a psychological thing or whatever, but like, I’m brushing with it. It has a really fantastic taste. I think it’s like mine is called like element or something like that. It’s like a mint flavor. They have tons of other flavors for kids, for adults. I just feel like my teeth are feeling great, my breath is feeling great, like it just feels like a different type of clean.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  25:49

Okay, so when’s our next checkup? When’s our next six months? Because that’s gonna be.

 

SuChin Pak  25:55

Well, I’m doing a three month because it’s that bad, because I cannot stand the scraping, and so I would rather go more often and scrape less, than do that.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  26:13

Look at us being friends and doing this podcast and talking about teeth for so long, and that comes out today, today, of all days, to know that. First of all, I didn’t even know that was a possibility. I mean, that that was a strategy. Wow okay, so normally, people go every six months with Suchin Pak goes every three this.

 

SuChin Pak  26:35

I told you, I’ve been working years to get here, when I first started going to a dentist, I loved regularly. She was like, I’m gonna give you a tip. Come in every three months and we’re gonna make sure. And I just kind of stuck to it, because I really do hate the scraping and so my cleanings are like, 2020, minutes in and out.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  26:55

Wow, Su okay, so in three months, will the dentist be like, Yeah, I can see difference from the bokeh you think. Or is that a six month?

 

SuChin Pak  27:04

I don’t know. I mean, I’m gonna ask her, I just started it, yeah, it’s not gonna remineralize this crack, unfortunately, like, this crack is, it’s a crack. Like, what we’re talking about is what I okay, this is my interpretation of the science is, like, over time, like everything in your body, it just like, loses all of the ability to regenerate or fight off cavities in the way. So it just makes sense that if there’s a product there that can help your teeth maintain its strength, maintain its color, maintain its health, then something like this would work.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  27:41

Like, yeah, it does. You know, every […]

 

SuChin Pak  27:43

Fluoride is a science. Fluoride works, you know, you may not like what it does to the rest of your body, but it works on your teeth, you know. So like, to me, it felt like this was sound science, and look at the packaging Ku of this toothpaste looks.

 

SuChin Pak  28:01

Just write up your alley.

 

SuChin Pak  28:03

You don’t have to worry about the Nano, the NHA, as we call it in the biz. You know, you just have to worry about these pastel colors.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  28:13

You could barely say it, like five minutes ago. You barely say it, and now you’re so smug about it.

 

SuChin Pak  28:18

Yeah, that’s how that’s how auntie math works. You take it, you you learn something for three minutes, and then you’re an expert on menu. Everybody, yeah, and everybody else is dumb. So you’ve got element that’s so cute, which is my mint flavor. But now I’m looking on here. They’ve got lemon lavender. Have gonna have to try that. They have charcoal. Yeah, I know you love a charcoal. Do I still I have a charcoal my rotation, and then I bought the strawberry one for soey loves it. She’s very particular about her kids toothpastes. Look at that. They’re, you know, 13 bucks, game changer, watermelon, oh my goodness, cocoa, ginger, I mean, Boka, you’re doing a lot. They’re definitely not on the good enough train, thankfully for us, because they have a lot of different flavors.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  29:05

Never have I met someone who talks about toothpaste as much as this woman.

 

SuChin Pak  29:09

Anyway, so I just, I want to, I want to put people on to this. Nha. You guys do your own research, and I assure you you’re going to come back to this episode, I’m right.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  29:22

I only like you to be right.

 

SuChin Pak  29:24

Speaking of teeth, very excited to try this. I haven’t tried it yet. We both received, okay, let me tell you this in my research and my algorithm, which is all about teeth deep into the bowels of dentistry, and my algorithm, I was served, and continue to be served this thing of an electric flosser by a company called slate. Oh, did it get my Nethers in a tender just watching everyone go into this triple row tongue scraper lifts and rakes three. In one gum sweeps, Sonic, vibrator. Oh, God, water resistant. Look at that dentist founded and I immediately sent it to our group chat of shit. I want to try and voila, Ceci was able to get us it. So I’m going to report back on how this thing, is going to work.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  30:20

I’m thrilled by this. I’m excited.

 

SuChin Pak  30:22

Yeah, so I’m excited to try that the slate Sonic electric flosser. What I want to remove from cart. Why my teeth are cracking is that I clench my jaw at night. And for those that know, then you get a mouth guard, and for those that know, when you get a mouth guard at the dentist. Have you ever gotten a mouth guard at the dentist? There so expensive, 1000s of dollars, and you lose them. I lost mine during lockdown.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  30:53

How does it get lost? How does it that or not? You’re like, Kulap if I knew it wouldn’t be lost.

 

SuChin Pak  31:00

I mean, how do you lose a night guard? How do you lose it? I don’t know, and I couldn’t find it, and so I’ve just been sort of not doing it, and now I’ve got another crack tooth. So I was like, before I go down the road, I’m spending 1000s of dollars on a night guard I don’t want to use. I will lose, I went down the rabbit hole of checking all the, you know, New York Magazine list, the wired list, all of it for over the counter night guards. And I got this one that was on everybody’s list, the Oral B night time dental shit. And so now I’m like, this is the best over the counter dental guard that I found. And it was shit. Oh gosh, I may have to go back. Gotta get it, I have to go back because my teeth are cracking.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  31:48

Oh, Su.

 

SuChin Pak  31:49

Anywho, that’s my teeth. That’s in my cart. Some remove some ads. So another thing in my cart, we call it an open card. On our podcast, we’ve talked about open cards. These are cards that we put stuff in, and for some reason we haven’t purchased and we have open carts, 1000s of open carts, across the web, across the universe. So I have all these open carts, and I started to read this really interesting article, or rather a newsletter, and this woman, okay, let me just give some shout outs. So it is a newsletter that I subscribe to called cup of Joe’s big salad. And she did an interview with a hotel owner in Philadelphia. Her name is Shannon maldondo. She creates a Pinterest board called, should I buy this? And her rule is that an item has to live there for at least two weeks before she makes a purchase. And she edits this Pinterest board every week. And if her reaction to something is, do I even want this right after that two weeks, if it’s no she deletes it, and she says it’s kept her from buying so many trendy things or things because they happen to be on sale, which I thought was really interesting.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  33:11

That’s tough if it’s on sale, though, because if it’s the sales that we like, it’s not going to be around in a week, in three days.

 

SuChin Pak  33:19

That’s right, but that’s these are the sacrifices to try to get a hold a rein on this adding to cart that we are so rabid, but you still get the fun of shopping. Because I read another article, which I can’t find again, where this person was saying that just adding to the cart is a dopamine hit, because that’s what it is. That’s what it is. I mean, for most of us, if not all of us, and certainly it is for me, like when I add something to cart, I’m like, you know, I get that little roller coaster bump, right? And she’s saying just adding it to cart is a dopamine hit. And what she does get this. If this blew my mind, she has an Excel spreadsheet where every time she wants something, she puts it in there and the price, okay, and at the end of the month, she totals up what she, quote, unquote, would have spent, then she takes half of that money that she hasn’t spent, puts it into a same as account, and then spends the other half, oh, wow, noodle on that, would ya?

 

Kulap Vilaysack  34:27

Yeah, I would never do that and I don’t like it.

 

SuChin Pak  34:31

Why?

 

Kulap Vilaysack  34:31

It’s just not who I am. Like, it doesn’t I don’t know, like, I.

 

SuChin Pak  34:36

Like you don’t want to put that much thought into it. You’re like, no, I want to buy it because I want it because it makes me feel good.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  34:42

Yeah, like, and I, for me, it’s, it’s not even like, yeah, it’s good. It I like. For me, it’s the thing. It’s the tactile. For me, I guess I get a hit a little. It’s not as big of a dopamine hit for me to just add to cart. To me, it’s the thing. It’s the tactile. I need to feel it. I need to, you know. I’m not saying that don’t do frivolity. Of course, I’m a frivolous, abundant person, but I just it, just it actually made me just just doesn’t do anything for me.

 

SuChin Pak  35:08

Like, it doesn’t interest you. Yeah, so interesting. Because when you because I for me, this is like, now when you just said for you, that when you get the thing that’s excites you. I rarely am excited when the thing actually arrives.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  35:26

Because you return things before it even comes sometimes.

 

SuChin Pak  35:29

Yes, generally, the thing arrives and I hate it, wow, and it has to go back and a refund has already been printed.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  35:37

Yeah, no so this makes sense for you for sure, then.

 

SuChin Pak  35:41

Yes, the to me, the excitement is finding something and like adding it to cart, considering it, like wondering about it, like the whole fantasy of owning it without actually owning it. And then I just thought was like, Oh, this is kind of a fun way of looking at savings that doesn’t feel like, take your paycheck and take 10% and put it in, you know, like, I was like, oh, this is kind of a fun way of saving.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  36:08

Would you be willing to do this and share it with us?

 

SuChin Pak  36:12

Yeah.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  36:12

Because I think it’s interesting in its weird way. It would be like your newsletter in a way, because it’s stuff like that hit you, but you didn’t necessarily buy, and also, sort of, like, show what you saved from not spending.

 

SuChin Pak  36:26

Yeah, well, yeah, because I kind of did my version of this, like, I wouldn’t know how to do an Excel spreadsheet. I just put it anytime I want to buy something, I’m interested in something, I’ll take the link and I’ll put it in a Notes app, and that’s what I’ve been doing. So I have this long running list. And so like, a few of the things I just put on here that I went last night, and I was like, Okay, let me just tell you a few of my open carts. Like, okay, the first link is, and I’ve sent this to our group chat of things I want to try, I don’t know, Inez shoes, okay, hear me out. This marketing strategy is that these every single influencer that’s trying this on. And like talking about is, like, I just walked 10 miles in this heels, and they were the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever walked in.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  37:11

Yeah.

 

SuChin Pak  37:13

And so that was, like a thing on my list of, like, oh, would these actually work? And what keeps me from buying it is the reality.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  37:20

You don’t wear heels.

 

SuChin Pak  37:22

I don’t wear heels.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  37:23

You don’t wear heels.

 

SuChin Pak  37:24

But if I were to wear heels, this is why it’s an open cart.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  37:28

That’s why it’s an open cart. In my notes, I have links, but they’re all, and I’ve already started it, they’re all Christmas gifts for other people, because my mode is, if I want something, I get it. I can’t live with my boobies outlet. I know my kids are all.

 

SuChin Pak  37:44

You’re just free. You know what I mean, like you are, you are in the front of a Harley, yeah, with your mouth being blown open by the freeway.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  37:55

Where I’m like, for some reason, screaming, and I’m like, just gathering bugs in my mouth, like.

 

SuChin Pak  38:01

I am in the side car, you know, like the the pooch.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  38:05

Well, here’s the thing, why I want, would love to just look at your list too, because I know for a fact you’re like, Oh, I do this every weekend on Add to Cart. No, I know we are hearing a fraction like, why are you playing? Like, why are you playing? We are hearing a fraction of what’s going on.

 

SuChin Pak  38:24

Because I don’t feel like revealing everything.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  38:27

I know I do love it when it comes out, though it’s like breadcrumbs just 10% that’s why we have to continue on. We’ve gotten 25 I just want you to realize that.

 

SuChin Pak  38:36

Maybe, because I’m mortified when I listen back, the cut will come out, guys, and then we Ku and I listen to it and make edits to it, and often my reply all to the group is embarrassing. But all right, let’s go push scent like wish I could take that entire hour back but here we are.

 

SuChin Pak  42:47

This new thing that I’ve been going through my mind about these open carts is especially when it comes to clothes and like fashion, which I love to look at, but I don’t buy a lot of is, if I can’t wear it tomorrow? I have so many sequin tops. I have so much sequins in my wardrobe. I like looked in and I was like, they all have tags on them. Big sequence, small sequins. I mean, pale sequins, gold, silver.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  43:19

I don’t even think of you as like a sequence press.

 

SuChin Pak  43:23

Ever, I just bought another sequin dress that was on sale at Frankie that’s like, Baby Blue sequins. And I’m like, I have to stop and which is why I haven’t bought the eye nest shoes, even though I want to walk 10 miles in heels and know that I can be comfortable.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  43:40

I by the way. I do get that, Laura, I do get that Laura. And I also know you person who formally was very shoe conscious, and you are shoe conscious now, but in a different way, in a more flat way.

 

SuChin Pak  43:54

In a more crop way. Yeah, so this is, there is a fantasy of myself, you know, and a version of myself back in the day, when I always had to wear heels, and I hated it because it was so uncomfortable, but I’m like, oh, but if I had Inez shoes, would my career have gone in a different direction? Would I have married a different person? Would I have different hair? Would would I live in a different city?

 

Kulap Vilaysack  44:19

Wow, I’ve heard of sliding doors, but sliding shoes.

 

SuChin Pak  44:22

Sliding shoes are everything.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  44:26

Yeah, it’s interesting when clothes make us so self reflective, so clothes and dental work.

 

SuChin Pak  44:31

Especially shoes, I feel like shoes are more personal and more reflective and more intimate than panties.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  44:39

It’s self interesting, even just talking to you and listening to you talk about all your sequins, it makes me go, You know what? I need to clear out some stuff in my closet. And that’s my reaction to what you’re saying. Because you have a lot of sequins. No, because the idea of having things that I don’t need. Where I have too much of I have to clear it out. Like, that’s it’s my compulsion. That’s my compulsion. I’m like, oh yeah. I was like, oh, you know what? I haven’t worn those shoes in a while. That’s my mind goes to these places.

 

SuChin Pak  45:13

Mine is, see no evil, hear no evil.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  45:16

Like my poor nanny, like I’m grabbing things out of enemies closet. We’re over. We’re done with this. We’re moving on. It’s going to Frankie CASP, when it’s washed, I’m like, taking it. We’re done with the sushi dress. It’s too short, like I out. It’s got to go out.

 

SuChin Pak  45:31

Yeah, that’s so not me. I got MTV makeup.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  45:34

I know you do. I know you do. And toxic lip glosses.

 

SuChin Pak  45:39

That’s my personality.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  45:41

Lip gloss.

 

SuChin Pak  45:45

That’s another name of my biography.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  45:47

That is toxic lip gloss, the SuChin Pak star.

 

SuChin Pak  45:50

Toxic lip gloss. You’ve already read and loved. I can’t you’ve already read and loved. Leave me in the coffin.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  46:02

Dust me off and open my eyes.

 

SuChin Pak  46:04

Now, the third New York Times best selling in the trilogy, toxic lip gloss, own all three. It’s a book that.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  46:14

Imagine you would never write a book, even though you’re wrong about that, but to make it a trilogy, would be so great.

 

SuChin Pak  46:21

Each book is three pages long. That is the book Mike and I, this is our love language. Is what’s the name of your biography? This is all we do. And I have to, I have to find this. I don’t know where it is, but the other day, he was just like messing around on one of these AI apps, and he started to do book covers for my biography. Oh my god. Here it is.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  46:45

Oh my God.

 

SuChin Pak  46:46

He said, this is one of his covers for my biography called I just can’t, because that’s my answer to everything he says.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  46:56

That’s, it’s so.

 

SuChin Pak  46:59

And then here’s another one, because I have a new rule in my house that I’m trying to enforce, and it just makes them laugh so hard, is my children have to call me by my legal name on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday and Sunday, I have to have a rest from the word mom. I can’t do it. I do it all week long. It’s mama, sometimes my kids will say mom, and I’m like, what? And they actually don’t have anything to say, but it’s almost like a brain tip, yep. And I’m like, You, you. You said, mom, what is it? Uh, oh, uh, don’t say it don’t and so there was one weekend where I was like, so over this mom. I was like, no, you have to call me Sue Jen. Nobody can say mom anymore. Everybody has to call me by my name. And Mike thought that was hilarious, that I had just gotten to that point. Or I was like, I’m done hearing this word mom, like, I need a break from it it is.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  48:05

Call me, not stop my name.

 

SuChin Pak  48:08

Call me by my name, by my name.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  48:12

And so this cover is, uh, it, wow. This is amazing. It’s colorful. It’s just a mom in the middle, just in the middle of the storm of a bunch of kids, and it just says, mom.

 

SuChin Pak  48:27

Yeah, and it’s a story of a woman who only wants her children to call her by her name, yeah. It gets sweet in the end, because he pitched it to me, of course, because that’s all he does. And I was like, yeah, yeah, yeah. I’m only interested in the first half of the book. But anyway, so I don’t know how we got onto this topic. Who knows?

 

Kulap Vilaysack  48:48

You know we can have somebody else play back the tape, but Su, I mean, we’re gonna get to.

 

SuChin Pak  48:54

Let’s play back some voicemails. Let’s hear a voicemail. We haven’t done this in a while. Yeah, we love that. You guys leave voicemails. We just save them. We save them for for times when we’re like, we want to hear from our listeners, and so we’re gonna play one from Lucy, and she’s got something to say about toner packs. Lucy, yeah, this is, this is my special.

 

Lucy  49:17

Hi, I don’t know if my last message went through or not, and if it did, this is going to sound maniacal, but I need SuChin to review more toner pads. I know she just did it, but I specifically in the same place, emotionally, mentally. I have two varieties of the Next Gen Bio, peel toner pads. So more toner pad content, please. Thank you. If you want to spin off a toner pad centric podcast, that would also be great. Thank you, and I do apologize if you received my previous message, because I am into toner pads, not quite that much, but yes to pads.

 

SuChin Pak  50:02

Lucy, I like your vibe.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  50:05

I’m with you right now. Same wavelength.

 

SuChin Pak  50:13

Yeah, nothing is more satisfying than when you go so hard on something so specific, and then you find out that there’s one person out there named Lucy who loves toner pads as much as you This is for someone that maybe is more acne prone, adult acne. So Annie, my bf, has teen boys, and one of them is, like, really into skincare. And so when I went to New York, last time I slept in his bunk bed, you know? And he generously gave me the bed. And so as a thank you gift, I sent him a steel face roller, you know that the ice face roller, which I love. And then I sent him this heart leaf BHA peeling pad, which may I may have talked about. It’s an exfoliating toner pad, which I think is kind of great for teen boys, but anyone, because I use it, that wants to have a gentle exfoliation. So if I didn’t talk about that, that’s another toner pad, but I love it. Lucy, thank you so much for understanding toner pads. I tried to bring this topic up very casually in, like, real conversation, and when I tell you, dead body.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  51:20

Yeah, didn’t, catch fire.

 

SuChin Pak  51:24

Did not resonate. Nobody cared. And by the way, by the way, what am I using these toner pads that aren’t really long, you know? And how am I using it? I’m using them, you know. I’m using them in my pits, you know, just like a little refresh. Let me give you a hot tip, especially if you’re a dry wax Asian. You don’t necessarily need a ton of deodorant. You take a little exfoliating toner pad. You just put that under your pits.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  51:52

For you get to get like, a little splash of something new.

 

SuChin Pak  51:56

Yeah, or like, your heels on your feet. Heels. Get a little get get a little exfoliation going on there. There’s just, what I’m saying is, there’s a lot of ways that skin care that doesn’t quite, you don’t really love for your face. You’re like, I’m not seeing results, yeah, use it on your other parts.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  52:12

You know, another thing, your hands.

 

SuChin Pak  52:15

There you go. And so I went through this toner pad.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  52:19

Mistake thing. Mistake rather quickly. It’s a mistake. Mistake rather quickly. And I’m moving on to a new child. Oh, that’s beautiful. Let’s move on to. I want to do one more. I want to do one more. Let’s, let’s hear from Lauren.

 

Lauren  52:31

Hi, this is Lauren from Portland, and I just wanted to thank Sue chin for her findmymoney.com or lost money, I filled it out as soon as she I heard it on the podcast, and I found $1,400 in an old bank account, which is taking a few weeks to get, but I just got a thing that it was approved this week and should be transferred into my bank account this week. And of course, I told my darling partner, like, oh my gosh, what am I gonna spend this money on? I think all new bedding. I think, you know, just like a fabulous bag. And he’s like, yeah, but you that’s your money. You lost, you didn’t win that money. You forgot about it. This isn’t and so anyway, girl math, very excited. I look forward to finding something good on Add to cart to spend with that money.

 

SuChin Pak  53:22

Lauren, that’s not girl math, that’s called math, that’s called arithmetic.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  53:26

Congrats.

 

SuChin Pak  53:28

Your partner needs a new math glasses is what he needs, Kumon. Let’s get him. Kumon, over the winter break, so that he understands not only this, I just did this for my parents, $450 and and then when you fill out the form, you have to get it notarized at so I went to the UPS. I love my ups. I got some the young folk in there that love to ask me about some of my returns, like whatever. This is the same guy who asked me when I went to go for my fourth time when I was returning my wool socks because they had holes in them. Brand new, brand new, brand new. Darn tufts, by the way, today, because, for my warrant.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  54:09

Yeah, you can’t, if you, if you’re gonna have a warranty, she’s gonna hold you to it. She’s gonna hold your socks to the fire.

 

SuChin Pak  54:18

Did I put a business out? Maybe, I don’t know, but that was your warranty. But anyway, he one day, he was like, you keep bringing these socks in. What’s going on? I was like, Ah, let me tell you, kid, they may be pricey. Blah, blah. And went through whole thing. I’m like, but the math, maths. I mean, you could be making money on this, because they’re forever, and so he loves it. So anyway, so I went in there notary, I did that, and he was like, what’s that? And I was like, missing money, let me tell you. And I gave him the whole thing. Eyes lit up. I mean, it’s not that he’s in love with me, but he’s in love with the lifestyle that I bring. Yeah, you’re bringing this college kid.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  54:55

Now, Sue, this is small talk. I just want to call this out. This is small talk. Yeah, and this is small talk you like.

 

SuChin Pak  55:02

When I tell you, this is the opposite of small talk, you want to drop me into a hors d’oeuvre situation and talk about a warranty on a wool sock. That’s that is not small talk. Guess when I bring that up? I would love for that to be small talk. When I bring that up, I get deer in headlights. This woman is fucking weird. That’s weird talk. And I love weird talk. Weird talk is my that’s my jam. Weird talk is this podcast, yeah.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  55:35

Weird talk is not three pages. Weird talk is a tome. Weird talk is like.

 

SuChin Pak  55:40

Weird talk is three pages spread out in 16 volumes. I mean, I’m printing biographies here, that’s weird talk. Weird talk is, oh, hey, have you searched for your missing money yet? And everyone’s like, oh, I’m sorry what? Like? Yeah, you can nobody, yeah, nobody wants that.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  56:00

I hear you now. All right, Lauren, welcome, yeah, congrats. Thank you, SuChin, of course, I got money from suchin, friends of mine, who I told about it. They got money back. I mean, it is we thank you Su, we, thank you. Another day, another cart, another episode. You can find everything we talked about on our Instagram @AddtoCart pod, including those AI book covers from Mike, we hope the fall Gods visit you soon, bye.

 

CREDITS  56:32

There’s more Add to cart with Lemonada Premium subscribers get exclusive access to bonus content, like where we tell you about the last item we bought or returned, and why subscribe now in Apple podcasts. Add To Cart is a production of Lemonada Media. Our producers are Kegan Zema and Tiffany Bouy. Brian Castillo is our engineer. Theme music is by Wasahhbii and produced by La Made It and Oh So Familiar with additional music by APM music. Executive producers or Kulap Vilaysack, SuChin Pak, Jessica Cordova Kramer, and Stephanie Wittels Wachs. Be sure to check out all the items we mentioned today on our Instagram at @AddToCartPod. Follow Add to Cart wherever you get your podcasts or listen ad free on Amazon music with your Prime membership.