Hello friends! Welcome to the the last Let It Be Sunday in the year of our Lord 2020.
This year I flailed. This year I stayed steady. I think I’m tired from both.
I spent this Christmas alone in New Orleans, thinking of all the big and small ways 2020 has changed us. I mean… we change every year, but a Zoom family Christmas is real whiplash. In some way, 2020 brought us the usual amending of habits, searching different things serve us. I, for one, got in and out my own way constantly and that story stayed the same. This year we were called to action – to save lives, teach our children, figure out Zoom. We were called to sit with ourselves, like it or not. We were called to fog up our own glasses and live with our own coffee breath.
I was thinking I should have kept some sort of daily diary, but these Sunday posts are a diary of sorts. Here’s a glimpse of who we were this very spring.
What are your bright spots for the year? I bought a piano and spent a lot of time not on Instagram, but instead learning how to play. I kept my cat, several plants and friendships alive and thriving. I fell in love. I wrote a magazine. I taught baking classes virtually and learned how to talk nonstop for just about three hours straight. I cooked outside. I cooked more than I wanted to. I resigned to washing dishes constantly. I got dressed, dangit.
I gifted my friend Suzonne a travel case and cashmere scarf for the holiday – something I pictured her wearing on travels to a new city, to see new sites, in new times. She thanked me in a text by saying “Thank you for making a deposit on my dreams”. Amen to that!
Instead of resolutions this coming year, let’s make deposits on our dreams. Let’s take time this week and figure out what that means for us. I’m invested.
The offering this week is below. You know the drill. Take only what you need.
• Let’s take this straight to the bank. Bake = our weary souls. 32 Hopeful Images From 2020. (The Atlantic)
• Categorize this as Other People’s Juicy Business: The Journalist and the Pharma Bro and the update. I can’t. I shan’t. I am screaming inside. (Elle and The Cut).
• The AI Girlfriend Seducing China’s Lonely Men. Ok but would it be reasonable to ask men to like, shoulder some of their own lives instead of asking a woman to mold themselves to be their perfect companion? We really can’t do that which is why they need a literal robot to do it for them? I’m waving the white flag. (Sixth Tone)
• 26 of the best new apps of 2020. Honestly, it’s a wild and very technological world. (Fast Company)
• Let us not forget Jon’s No-Yeast No-Boil Bagels for those dark days when everyone was a new baker and there was no yeast to speak of. (The Candid Appetite)
• Everyone rediscovered banana bread this year. Remember that? (Joy the Baker)
• Currently listening to: Morning Sun by Melody Garot. (Spotify)
• Watching (and completely obsessed with) a new show: Your Honor. Friends have been seeing Brian Cranston around town and this show is one reason why. It takes place in New Orleans and is suoer weighty and beautiful. (Showtime)
• What I’m craving: only potatoes, hello winter. I think I’ve linked to this before but I pulled it up again, just for my dinner needs. Maybe you need it to: 20 Ways to Turn a Baked Potato Into Dinner. (The Kitchn)
• I wonder if 2021 is the year I finally treat myself to a set of linen sheets I’ve wanted for years. The suspense is killing me. (Land’s End)
• New year, new calendar. I’m not going to fool myself and start a new day planner this year. I know I only have the discipline to get to mid-February with a daily calendar. I’m splurging on this wall calendar from New Orleans artist Kiernan Dunn. I’ve been gifted a few of her calendars from year’s past and they’re so beautiful they’re worth saving and framing. (Etsy)
• A sweetie lemon tea towel that sparks joy. (Overseasoned)
• I think this is such a sweet gift for a new couple on Valentine’s Day or a family: scratch off travel map. It’s the kind of thing that says – we love each other and we love this life. Ya know? (Etsy)
That’s it for today. That’s it for this year. I hope you know I’m so thankful you’re here.
Happy New Year!
My love to you!
xo Joy
Lee Cooke
Nicely done, Ms. Joy. A friend directed me to your site, as I’m starting my own general-interest blog, and she thought I would enjoy yours. She was right. :) Congrats on topics, themes, layout, and bringing such a warm, optimistic voice to your fans. And, of course, for falling in love last year. Thanks for letting me do some studying of a very nice blogsite.
Good luck to you!
Katt
This year was my partner and I’s 12th anniversary. The traditional gift is linen, so I splurged on linen sheets from Brooklinen. It’s not warm enough for them yet (we’re both Team Flannel Sheets through winter), but I just washed them to put away and they are so, so soft. Definitely looking forward to sleeping this summer.
samantha campanini
Thank you as always and happy new year!
Tabitha Griffith
Hi! Thanks so much for your Sunday posts! You offer such a lovely plethora of articles I might not otherwise see. This week I was startled by the article about lonely Chinese men turning to an AI “option”. While that’s decidedly unhealthy, I wanted to suggest that it simply be a product of their statistics and our weird times vs. demanding the ideal female tailored to your heart’s desire. It changed in 2016, but for a long while, most urban families in China were only allowed to have one child. This policy led to millions of girls being aborted, and now the population in China is lopsided. It’s quite possible that this could account for a large part of the demand for a lady friend that isn’t actually a lady.
joythebaker
I appreciate your perspective so much, Tabitha. You’re right, I had forgotten about the one child policy.
Cy
Wow! There is some deep stuff here. Happy New Year Joy. I bought linen sheets this year from Target and I love them!
joythebaker
I feel really happy for you :)
Jennifer
I’m so happy I found your little part of the interwebz…especially this year. Linen sheets….aaaaah, the best. It’s like sleeping in clouds. Enjoy, see you next year!
Ashleigh
Joy, that bagel link was everything this morning. Thankful for weekly links and thankful for YOU!
Megan
Thank you Joy! These weekly posts are something I look forward to every week. Have a Happy New Year and keep up the good work!
Anna
Buy the sheets! Linen sheets are wonderful and we spend 1/3 of our lives in bed. (Yes, I know that I sound like a commercial.) Be as good to you as you are to us :)
John Popovich
We all need love in our life. So happy you found some. I have enjoyed your your work on Sundays and all the recipes you give us. Happy New Year Joy. We deserve it.
joythebaker
Thank you, John!
Susan Jackson-Rafter
Buy the sheets! Life is too short not to sleep on linen. Winter and summer, they’re the best!
Sherril Cohn
Joy, you give the heart of this California-living, 71 year old New Orleans native such JOY! Great recipes notwithstanding (that’s what brought me to you), where your head and heart are is what makes your site something to truly look forward to! Let us all continue loving and putting up with one another as we approach 2021. Keep the good stuff coming.
joythebaker
I’m really happy you’re here, Sherril!
Stella
Thank you Joy, for another mindful read. For all of us, may the promise of a Happy Healthy New Year be true. 2021 I’m looking at you.
Karen
Enjoy your new sheets and have wonderful, pleasant dreams. Hope that 2021 is better for everyone. Thanks Joy for bringing some light into my Sunday mornings.
Barbara
Happy New Year, Joy!
Don’t dunk too hard on Chinese men looking for love where they can: thanks to the one-child policy and sex-selective abortion, China has about 30 million more men than women. That’s a lot of guys that never get a chance to hone their relationship skills with a real woman, and many more whose only relationships begin and end with monetary transactions.
Cyndie
Happy New Year Joy!
Anna Robinson
Happy last Sunday to 2020, Joy. I can’t wait to say goodbye to this year! Thank you for your Let it be Sunday collection. This weeks potato article reminded me of a small university place in Berkeley, CA that fed us baked potatoes of all sorts on the cheap. I think you could even just order a plain baked potato for $1.50 (very in tune with a students budget back in the 90’s). This year really taught me to enjoy the small things in life and be kind to myself.
joythebaker
I remember those extra tight budget days! For me it was a can of beans and a bag of rice that would get me through a week.
Ro
Happy New Year, Joy! 2020 has been a punch in the gut. Trying to see the positives and keep the hope…but I’ve never been happier to see a year end. I love your advice on making deposits on our dreams. I will take that with me and spread it those around me. Blessings to you in the new year!
Jamie Langley
In February I gifted my daughter a spot for your spring Drake on a Cake, and then our world shifted. Event was put on hold, and then canceled. Hoping the future holds another opportunity to share the event with you in the future.
joythebaker
Yes it definitely will!
Barbara N.
Joy..to me it sounds like you had a fabulous year with a lot of amazing things that have come your way. Here’s to 2021 and make more great memories..
Nikki
Thank you for being a bright spot of hope and generosity this year. Between quarantine and the election, I was worn down. But I always looked forward to “Let it be Sunday”. Thank you for keeping it real and still managing to uplift us. You are a gem. May 2021 bring you one step closer to achieving your dreams.
Nancy Wallace
Do not pass go, get the Land’s End sheets! I have them and they are the best. They are generously sized and get softer with every wash. I think they would be perfect for your New Orleans climate.
Heather Sadoway
I am a BIG Lands End fan but I would highly recommend If Only Home for your piuchase of new sheets. They are not inexpensive but worth every penny and hours of wonderful sleep.
joythebaker
Oh I appreciate this so much! Googling them now!
Kristin Law
Love is in there AIR…..love this??
Sally
Happy New year Joy. May 2021 be fabulous. Go for the nice sheets, they’re on sale.
Noreen
Morning Joy!
Happy happy new year!! My friend told me about the Casaluna all linen sheets at Target. They are the best, wash so nicely, feel so cozy snd come in great colors. Also more than $100 less than Land’s End.
joythebaker
Word!
Annie
Happy New Year!!
I love the idea of a deposit on your dreams. Go for the linen sheets! They are amazing in hot sticky weather. Linen sheets are one thing where the quality really makes a massive difference. Spring for the expensive ones. It’s the difference between sleeping on silk or cardboard.
Katalina
joyyyyy! thank u for all the let it be’s this year! in a year of such ~chAOTiC EnERgy~ these are always such a nice lil source of solace. here’s to hoping the new year hits different ¯\_(?)_/¯
nancy k
Your parents must have peered into the future to make the perfect choice for your name.
You are truly a joy to all who find this little space on the Internet.
Thank you!
joythebaker
My mom will be happy to read this. :)
LB
Happy new year joy. You’re an incredible soul.
Betsy Browne
How sweet is is! Thank you Joy. You bring great joy, insights and
appreciation to our daily lives. Your gifts make life better. Thank
you for sharing with us. With Love.
Linda Loverude
Hope is a decision! We’ll have a stronger and better 2021.
Becca
You will never regret the linen sheets.
Darla Layton
Good morning, Joy. We have made it through to the end of a crazy 2020, and I am thankful for that. I truly love your suggestion of not making a NY resolution, but deposits for our coming dreams. I can fully get behind that notion, beginning today. No waiting a few more days! Let’s get a jump on this. What an uplifting way to begin a new year.
A couple of take-always from your gift to us: I love our linen sheets! So very worth the investment. They are a perfect Summer weight alone, and then a great insulation weight in the colder months. I will definitely refer back to the potato for dinner article. I love baked potatoes.
But, my favorite bit from your dairy to us…you fell in love!??
Happy 2021! Hugs
shawneen hammer
Good morning Joy .I have just recently found you and love what you have to allow. Great uplifting and relevant conversation. so refreshing. Wish I would have found you earlier in 2020. You have a gentle but firm way of shutting down the negative comments and I just love that.You are and will continue to be my go to for uplifting messages and recipes. I am gf due to celiac disease. Also no yeast,corn,soy…You are a breath of fresh air . Looking forward to 2021with your great outlook and recipes. Happiness to you. Shawneen Hammer
Demethra Pinkston
Happy Sunday, Joy! It is the deposit on my life for me! I am now excited to make a few, as this year has been tough but I am yet grateful. My daughter and I self isolated for about 2 weeks prior to Christmas so that she could come home. We hadn’t been together since February. We had so much fun…laughing, singing, dancing, eating. I taught her how to play Dominoes and now she thinks she is the GOAT! All of it came to an end yesterday with the reality that we don’t know how soon our togetherness will happen again. I cried after she left…it was a sad reality to enter into. However, brighter days are coming…I smell it in the air…let’s be patient and remain hopeful! And you, Joy, thank you for being the bright starts to my weeks that I never knew I needed!