Hello my friends!
I’ve had my family visiting me in New Orleans this week and so far I’ve wrangled them into helping me plant a garden, paint a bunch of found pieces of street concrete, and feed stray chickens. Glorious, because I’ll look at that garden with painted rocks long after they’ve gone to their respective homes and feel like I have a piece of them here with me in the swamps.
A few nights ago, five of us made 1 giant apple pie. For my part, I cut the butter for the pie crust and assisted in working it into the flour. Cassidy peeled the apples, my mom gathered spices, my sister whipped up a caramel sauce I’m pretty sure with her eyes closed, and my dad brought the pie dough together. With 10 hands, I swear an apple pie takes about 10 minutes to assemble. It was fantastic. I’m not letting any of them leave ever.
I sincerely hope this finds you well and happy. Here’s the Internet according to my eyeballs:
• Give yourself a cool 89 hours for President Obama’s Essential Reading List. I put Behind The Beautiful Forevers on to-buy list immediately. Have you read it?
• Consider this very important read: The Trainable Cat. (I accidentally typed Cake instead of Cat…). Slate did some of the heavy-research for us: Can I Train My Cat To Be Less Annoying? The trick is to accept your cat’s world view, which sounds, wait… is that easy?
• My book Homemade Decadence made this pretty sweet list of Amazon’s 100 Books For A Lifetime of Cooking and Drinking. If you don’t already own it… gosh I really wish you would!
• Shake your foundation just to see where you stand, when you stand. Marie Forloe and Seth Godin: stop waiting for the right moment. This is an ass-mover. Let’s get on the damn horse.
• Most powerful thought of the week, for me: “If you’re in the bed, you’ll always ask for more time, so don’t waste any time.” A Legendary Pizza Maker Steps Away From The Fire.
• Tis the season and thank the Lord there’s cake, right? Let’s make an Election Cake!
• How the Media Scrutiny of Chelsea Clinton Affected A Generation of Curly-Haired Girls. ACCURATE.
• Meninists are funny… like really funny, and mostly uneducated and confused… and want to be on tv. It’s a mess. A very comical anti-tampon debacle. Again… meninists. My computer insists that word is a typo. Agree.
• Jon made this dang delicious looking Chicken Pot Tot Hot Dish from Molly on the Range.
• I love this series: 73 Questions with Emma Stone
• Unexpected Items To Look For While Thrifting! The pottery is so good.
• Starting my compost bin next week! Here’s what I’ve gathered: I’m taking some advice from this oldie but goodie post on Design Sponge from Ashley of Small Measure.
Cooking inspiration this week: Candy Bar Cookie Bars. Already plotting what to do with all of the Halloween candy I buy half off on November 1st. OK!?
It’s such a good day! Let’s enjoy it, every bit.
xo Joy
Jenn
As a curly haired woman older than Chelsea, I remember how her hair and appearance were scrutinized. Recently I’ve been saddened that she opts for straight hair all the time. I just found an article online where she explains that her hair is no longer curly like it was before.
Thanks for this the composting links. Like me, one of my kids abhors food waste and we are gearing up to start composting.
jamielaurengem
I love your rocks, such a great idea! What kind of paint did you use?
Marillenbaum
How lovely! I’m feeling a bit lurgy because I overdid it today (brunch AND grocery shopping AND museum AND coffee was a lot of time around other humans), so now I’m making butternut squash soup and pretending to do my reading for class this week.
Paula
I just bought and started reading “Behind the Beautiful Forevers” last night! I’m going to Mumbai in February for a friend’s wedding and thought I could count it as travel research. So far it makes me very sad.
Leigh Kramer
Behind The Beautiful Forevers is FANTASTIC. It’s a compelling story and incredibly well-researched. I couldn’t put it down.
thehobokitchen
Yessss to post-Halloween candy!! November 1st and February 15th at the BEST days!
Laurie Crouch
Love the idea of an Election Cake! Think I am baking this on Wed or Thurs, or whenever the mood strikes!
Chloe
Behind the Beautiful Forevers is an amazing book. I read a few years back and still find myself thinking about it!
francetaste
Stray chickens????
Meninists–hmmm. Is it satirical or not?
Maggie Marks
I teach composting here at San Francisco’s Garden for the Environment (website is our full name). Let me know if have any questions or happy to do a mini compost lesson over the phone! :) rot on!
courtney
In Minneapolis, the city is rolling out a city composting program. It’s beginning neighborhood-by-neighborhood, and you can choose to opt in or not. If you opt in, you get a green bin that looks like a smaller garbage bin, and it’s picked up once a week like garbage and recycling. I imagine there are other cities with similar initiatives. I love so much that we’ve started doing this!
Cynthia
That’s wonderful, Courtney! I wonder why cities just starting this don’t research what other cities have already learned in the process. My city of Seattle has been picking up compost for years and we are able to put it in the Clean Green bin we use for yard waste. Over the years the city has learned that the compost runs so hot and is so effective we are now even able to put oyster shells and bones in our compost. And pizza boxes. The cost to run the program is offset completely by the sales of rich compost soil that citizens purchase for their gardening needs!
JessicaD
Joy, any chance that you sign and send bookplates? I am planning to buy your book for Christmas for my 12 year old daughter who loves to bake and would love to include a personalized note from you if possible!
Janice
I love that you are planting a garden these days while, in Montreal, we are mentally preparing ourselves for yet another winter. (side note: I should move!).
P.S. I ALWAYS want 10 hands in the kitchen when I’m baking. I’d be so much quicker, more productive and generally more motivated because 10 hands implies 5 mouths to eat pie (instead of just me in my pjs on the couch) ;)
Amy Sewell
Love the reading list – and will bookmark the Candy Bar Cookie Bars. With a small mountain of Snickers Minis on-hand for next week’s trick-or-treaters, I expect we will have more than a few leftovers! http://www.shopwithstyle.com/stylewise/2016/10/22/halloween
Rena
I really like it that you prepared the apple pie together :)
xx from Bavaria/Germany, Rena
http://www.dressedwithsoul.com