Hello dear friends!
Happy Mother’s Day. Please take some time to honor the woman whose ear you screamed in for years on end. And if you’re that woman, you deserve all of the flowers and thanks and solitude. Bless you.
I recognize that this day might not be the easiest of holidays. As the years go on, as we tumble around in the world, we’re made to tuck all kinds of change and hurt away. I hope you build some peace for yourself today, however you need to. Maybe these bits of reading will help.
Take good care today. Here’s the offering:
• Ann Friendman’s weekly newsletter brought this timely definitely to our attention this week. Mother: a female parent, a woman in authority. Also see: tenderness and affection. Take what you need from this. (Ann Friedman / Webster)
• This year’s James Beard Awards have improved the landscape of women and minority recognition in the food industry but Where Are All The Black Restaurant Critics? (Grub Street)
• Very good news! Life get better after 50: why age tends to work in favor of happiness. I suppose we can stop worrying about wrinkles and such. (The Guardian)
• Everything you can do with Everything Bagel Seasoning. Let’s make the butter immediately. (Epicurious)
• The Birth of Rice-a-Roni. If you’re looking closely at the photograph above.
• Honest mama, strong woman, hysterical comedian: It’s Mother-effing Time For Ali Wong. Have you seen her latest special? (Elle)
• Not too early to daydream about a summer road trip and it might as well be food-driven (ya get it?) A Tale of New Cities. (Tasting Table)
• I’ve had these bracelets on my mind every summer for the past few years. Maybe this is the year they actually happen. Embellished Friendship Bracelets from Honestly WTF. I also think we should make these tassel-y summer shoes! I always go down a rabbit hole on this beautiful site. It’s just the best.
• All of the Met Gala outfits. For better or worse. (Buzzed) If you’re like me and feel like… wait, what is the Met Gala even for? Well…. here’s the deal. (New York Times)
• This is one of my favorite meal prep cookbooks. The longevity of the salads keep me going through the week. Sprouted Kitchen: Bowl + Spoon. (Amazon)
• I’ll eat up any story about skin care, I will: Skin Care’s Most Outspoken Founder On Why Sheet Masks Are A Lie. (The Cut)
• It’s not that I neeeed another bag, I just very much waaaaant another bag: Waxed Canvas Weekender. (Food52)
• Deb’s Ruffled Milk Pie is all I want to eat for a while. (Smitten Kitchen)
Enjoy this fine day!
xo Joy
Meredith
Oh, Britt at Red House is such a sweetheart, and makes some really beautiful and functional pieces. She even let me take my book bag into their studio for a little sprucing up of the strap (also made by a local leather-worker!) when I wore it out. Rock on makers!
Lauren
your dad obv looks like drake no wonder your so attracted ….? Lol? I’m serious tho…. xoxox
Lisa D
How great that you mentioned Ali Wong.
I just watched her new special last night, but I was confused at first, because she’s pregnant in this one too!
Bless her honesty. Such truth.
Love to all the young mamas out there, honestly, this too shall pass.
Myrna
I have followed your blog for many years now and it always brings me joy. I find myself wishing you lived here in Oregon so that I could meet you in person! I find your recipes delicious, your photographs beautiful, and your writing style and approach to life refreshing and touching. May God bless you, bring you peace, and hear your prayers.
Debbie
Love that you call us dear friends. Also, dearhearts- my grandmother is the only other person I ever knew who said that, thinking of her so much today. Thank you for this series Joy! All the best to you. Appreciate the interview with Paula. Sheet masks are the worst! :)
Kara
I read that skin care article on ‘The Cut’ and it was interesting. Especially since I read an article recently about what dermatologists don’t use and one said paraphens then that article says they are harmless. What gives? Who can you trust?
maria
Which recipes from Sprouted are you liking? Just bought it. Cooking for one, and looking for things that will keep. Thanks!
akbright
Thank you for bringing a bit of positive light for this Mother’s Day. Your various links have allowed my thoughts to drift away to other places, if even only for a short time.
Amy
I need to make those tassel shoes. So cute!
https://bearplate.com/
Maureen
What a lovely picture of your parents! It’s fun that they look so much part of an era in it, as well as happy parents. And I have found that the years after 50 are really wonderful times, with a readiness to enjoy the day-to-day things of life, as well as friends and the people you meet, and to see ways to be happy much more easily. Thanks for your good work!
Sarah
I made Deb’s ruffled pie last night! It (amazingly) turned out as pretty as the picture. Extra yummy with strawberries. Wasn’t hard at all! A winner all around… and now I’m currently eating it for breakfast :)
Taste of France
I love that photo of you with your parents! Not everybody is a mother–for example, men–and I have huge respect for anybody who realized parenting wasn’t for them and didn’t just succumb to societal pressure. But everybody has a mother. It took me too long to see mine for the person she was, beyond her role as mother.
Also re age: absolutely true. There’s nothing like perspective.
Ramona
Great picture and a great Sunday post!
Claire, UK
Completely agree about the ruffled pie – isn’t it stunning?
I’m not really a bag person, but I have been thinking as a woman in her mid-30s that maybe that scruffy bright blue cross-body bag I’ve had for nearly 15 years and an assortment of rucksacks aren’t really projecting the professional woman look. A standard handbag would be step too far (way too far) for me, but I like the idea of waxed canvas. I’ll have to look for something similar (but much smaller) in the UK. I’m already trying to update my wardrobe a little having literally been wearing the same clothes for years (I have some items that I’ve worn since I was 13) so maybe accessories are next…
SMM
I am not a purse or handbag person. I tried but I would put it down somewhere to look at something and I would walk away without said purse and loose it and my wallet. Not a good outcome. Back in my days of going out dancing or other adventures I would have my license, a twenty dollar bill and key for my front door and a car key. It worked out great.
My advantage is I never had to have the professional woman look. Uniforms made my life easy. I got a small long strapped with enough room for my wallet for Christmas. It has been working out great. I look around to find another but they have grown in size and have flashy zippers or adornments that turn me off. Glamour is not my thing.
Good luck on your search as I feel your pain. Oh and if you find jeans that have real pockets send up a flare.