Spring is Morphing Into Summer
Shades of pink & orange, clogs, the newsletter's first sponsor (!!), summer berries, delicious Turkish olive oil, and beautiful ceramics
Happy Tuesday! In a shocking turn of events it has been sunny in Columbus for five days straight. Hopefully I’m not jinxing myself by saying that. It’s so funny how much seeing the sun for a few hours really adjusts your mood. Wes and I went on a bike ride over the weekend for coffee/matcha + pastries which really set the tone for a lovely weekend.
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We picked up some furniture items we were waiting on and they turned out perfect! I’ll share some more photos once they all styled in the house. Oh and we got super lucky on some cute curbside finds.
This coming weekend is busyyyy. Of course we have the weekly farmers market to attend, East Fork Pottery is doing a pop up here, there’s a neighborhood wide garage sale in our area, and we’re going to Cincinnati to visit our bff (who is a very talented potter).
Maggie made my matcha bowl, a very precious set of espresso cups, my favorite mug, ring dishes, ceramic to-go cup, and our kitchen soap pump. What a blessing it is to have creative friends, they truly make the world go round.
This week’s podcast guest is Berk of Heraclea, a recent pantry staple of mine. I cannot get enough of their lemon infused olive oil…something that I mentioned far too many times during this recording. Berk and I chat about how he brought Turkish olive oil to the US market, the importance of vertical integration for his business, and all of the dishes he’s cheffing up. Listen on all your fav platforms <3
Introducing The Digest’s first sponsor!
Welcome Hummingbirds, a creator platform, to The Digest! We’ll be rolling out a collaborative column sharing recipes and interviews with CPG founders in the very near future, so keep your eye out for that. Hummingbirds is such a cool platform led by an amazing group of people. I could continue to gush about them but instead you can learn more below!
Thank you to all who have supported my work that makes a sponsorship like this possible. I feel very very lucky.
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Berk Bahceci of Heraclea
Berk Bahceci is the co-founder and CEO of Heraclea, a proudly Turkish American olive oil company. Launched by him and his wife Sena Bachceci in 2023, Berk’s mission is to grow and produce Heraclea’s high-quality olive oil using sustainable agricultural practices and fair-trade labor on his family groves in Turkey.
Heraclea is known for its range of rich-in-flavor, beautifully designed, ethically-made olive oils rooted in Turkish tradition.
Berk was inspired to launch Heraclea as he realized the lack of approachable yet premium Turkish olive oil when grocery shopping in America during law school. He quit being a lawyer to turn his 200-acre family grove into a full-fledged olive oil business, spending a year completing a master olive oil consultant program in Spain at Escuela Superior Del Aceite de Oliva. Berk became a master miller and certified olive oil sommelier, where he learned olive grove management as part of his formal education to run Heraclea. He is responsible for running the brand's day-to-day operations.
Berk grew up in Istanbul, Turkey and currently resides in Brooklyn, New York, where Heraclea is headquartered.
IG weareheraclea | heraclea.co
Listen to the episode:
Spotify | Apple Music | Substack
When I make a matcha at home I’m usually a no frills, no sweetener type of gal. I’m not really sure why because I love a fun drink when I’m out but recently I’ve been obsessed with berry syrups. Last week was strawberry this week is blueberry.
I made the strawberry in a traditional 2:1:1 water:sweetener:fruit method on the stove. With the blueberry, I decided to macerate some of last summer’s frozen bluebs that I’ve been storing for the right moment. Well, I initially froze them for smoothies but recently I cannot be bothered to pull out the blender. So syrup it is!
Since Tower28 is under some fire for their “no white cast” SPF…let me put you onto this generic branded anti-bac facial spray lol. I saw someone recommend this alternative awhile ago and it has become a staple in my skincare routine. My skin is extremely sensitive and it’s rare to find a balance with it but this has really been helping.
I bought the veggie jeans from Free People because how could I not!! They were practically calling my name and who am I to say no to a food themed clothing item.
As someone who’s been growing out their hair for the past few years, I’ve become a huge hair clip gal. I love having long hair but I hate when it’s in my face. A tale as old as time. Chunks makes THE BEST claw clips and they proudly + responsibly source from China.
Speaking of this week’s podcast guest, I cannot get enough of Heraclea’s olive oil. Their cold-pressed olive oil is next level delicious and adds so much to every dish.
I was at a bar over the weekend where the bartender made me the most delicious mocktail. She made it using The Pathfinder Spirit (an na amaro alt), passion fruit, guava, almond orgeat, orange, lemon, bitters, and mint. I could’ve drank an infinite amount of these and I will 100% be purchasing that spirit.
I got to chatting with the bartender and she recommended Ritual’s na aperitif as a fab option to have for summery drinks. She was telling me how they did a training with Ritual and the best piece of advice was to ignore the labels on na spirits but to go by taste instead. NA spirit are very rarely a 1:1 substitute for their alcohol counterparts.
xx,
Lauren (Hodgen)
Dear Citrus Diaries Host | @ citrusdiaries.studio
Citrus Diaries Studio | Creative Director
If you’re interested in working together, drop me a line: hello@citrusdiaries.com 🍊