I walked by this house in the Garden District earlier this week when the sun was just going down, people were home from work making dinner for their families… the sky was darkening and street lights were just starting to flicker to life. This house was bathed in sunset light and streetlamp light. I thought it looked like a painting. Dreamy, spooky, mysterious, and vulnerable somehow.
How has your week been? Whirlwind madness? Tackling the to-do list like a boss? Trying hard and mostly not crying about it? Me too.
I hope you’re celebrating the end of summer and the beginning of working way too hard until the holidays this weekend. Let there be bourbon and relaxation (and waffles).
Here is some of our week. The internet greatly distilled:
• This week we’ve been shocked and saddened but the seemingly sudden humanitarian crisis of Syrian refugees. In fact, it’s not sudden at all. If you don’t understand what’s going on and how it all got so bad, here’s Why People Are Fleeing Syria.
• The Mother Of All Disasters. Reading like this has me refreshing my hurricane/earthquake kit (and biting my nails a bit).
• I’m going to watch this documentary this weekend: The True Cost. The very high price of materialism.
• This is good news: 100 Black Men Greeted Kids On Their First Day Of School
• “I’m not telling you to make the world better, because I don’t think that progress is necessarily part of the package. I’m just telling you to live in it. Not just to endure it, not just to suffer it, not just to pass through it, but to live in it. To look at it. To try to get the picture. To live recklessly. To take chances. To make your own work and take pride in it. To seize the moment.” – Joan Didion, University of Riverside 1975 • 25 Powerful Commencement Speeches By Women
• There’s a phone app that will walk us home at night? It tracks our location, whether we break into a sprint, fall, or veer off our path, and invites friends and family to watch us on our journey. My only question is, what are we going to do with our rape whistles?
• An Oral History Of Me As Told Through My Exes. She was hot. She was fun.
• Overcoming Love Addiction: One Apple Martini At A Time. There’s a happy ending
• Sometimes driving through San Francisco takes my breath away: The Steepest Streets in San Francisco
• CEREAL MILK (and all sorts of other good things)! Apple Jack Cereal Milk Ice Cream with Applejack (Brandy) Caramel Swirl
• Dana from Minimalist Baker makes such lovely treats. Now, please put these Vegan Whoopie Pies in my face. Thanks!
• Let’s spend some quality time daydreaming about Paris with this lovely book: Bright Lights Paris by Angie Niles
• I won’t get on a plane without my giant Loomed Turkish Pestamel (I LOVE these colors!). Well… I will get on a plane without one, but I don’t want to. It’s my security blanket. Fashionable security.
• I appreciate the way Melissa Lanz and The Fresh 20 approaches a cleanse. It’s called: The Mind Body Reset and I’m trying it for the next 20 days. Meal plans, inspiration, encouragement, and it’s not about drastic diet, just a reset… I’m into it!
Have a happy Sunday! I’m glad you’re here.
xo Joy
Aleksandar
Hello
I just wanted to send you a quick email since I saw that you talked about the topic of becoming more eco-friendly/going green on the page below.
https://joythebaker.com/2015/09/let-it-be-sunday-35/
We just put together a 7,000 word post with 158 ways to go green, and I wanted to hear if it’s okay I share it with you since you seem interested about the topic.
Anyway, kudos to you for sharing the important message of encouraging more sustainable living!
Let me know if you’d like to see the post.
Best regards,
Aleksandar
nomadtribe1
I love that article and it inspired me to make a more updated one with Fair Trade clothing brands that are doing amazing thing around the world.
https://www.nomadtribeshop.com/blogs/news/77565185-50-fair-trade-clothing-brands-redefining-ethical-fashion
Enjoy
Bethany
Thanks to you, I’m down the Fresh20 rabbit hole. The 20-day version doesn’t float my boat but the meal plans are just what I’ve been needing this fall to remind me that I like cooking. I’ve wondered why the URL for just-tell-me-what-to-cook-already.com wasn’t already taken and this is it! On weeks when I have hours to plan and shop and prep, my dinners might look just about like the ones they send me. Wait. This wasn’t supposed to be a testimonial for Fresh20. But I did want to come back and say thanks for this and for all the other inspiration you have brought me over the years. I hope you’re having a great week!
Kelly
Longtime reader and admirer Joy! Gorgeous picture. As always, I love turning to your site for good humor, kind words, and amazing recipes.
Just want to share, I am slightly troubled by your promotion of a cleanse/diet thingy. I realize this product carefully avoids the word ‘diet’, but it’s basically a program that is selling weight loss.
One of my favorite things about your blog is that it is one of the few body-shaming free zones of the internet. Hope that doesn’t change.
Jacqueline
SUDDEN humanitarian crisis? I suppose it’s new to the North American media but still, this has been going on for years, and it’s not just Syrian refugees.
I suppose food blogs aren’t the precise platform to discuss this but on the other hand, I always appreciate it when bloggers expand their horizons. Good documentary choice, btw.
joythebaker
I know. I really know! I say that because the American news cycle is different, mostly self-centered, and sometimes sadly lacking in important international news.
Shelly
The companion app you mentioned is so cool!
Jess Carey
That is a FABULOUS security blanket, and such an awesome travel accessory! Want!
Kaela
I always love your distillations of the internet and they make me happy and make me think. Thanks for sharing!
dana
I love you. That is all.
mademoiselleaventure
Love this post! Hope your Sunday was great.
http://www.mademoiselleaventure.com
Luisa
HI Joy,
I think this is the first time I’ve commented, but I just had to say that though I really like your recipe posts, I look forward to your “Let It Be Sunday” posts even more. There are always interesting, thought-provoking links and articles to read. Keep it up! :)
joythebaker
i’m so glad you’re here!
Lori Baker
“Trying hard and mostly not crying about it” – what a perfect statement! I sort of want to print it on a t-shirt and wear it everywhere. I imagine I would get lots of high fives and hugs.
joythebaker
mostly not…. it’s the mostly that really counts.
Lori Baker
Yes, but the rare necessary cry is something we all understand.
Angie
Joy, the picture and the first paragraph of your post were beautiful! I like to hear your point of view. You are not only a great baker but a great writer as well. You have a great way of describing things in an interesting way….hope to hear more of your take on things….I always enjoy reading your posts.
Ellen
I watched The True Cost recently – highly recommend it.
It also inspired me to do some research on more responsible options for clothes shopping, which led me to this article on a number of brands focused on responsible sourcing: https://www.thegoodtrade.com/features/fair-trade-clothing
joythebaker
thank you for sharing this!