Let It Be Sunday, 304!

Hello friends! Happy Sunday to you. Are you able to rest today? 

Thank you for allowing me a reprieve from our Sunday reads last week. I was out in the Piney Woods of East Texas taking a few good deep breaths. All of my clothes from the trip still smell like campfire and I can’t bring myself to wash the vacation smell off them yet.  

Happy New Year! How are you easing in? I think back to this time last year, before everything changed. All of my big plans and all of the little things I took for granted. I know to feel more hopeful this year, but I do still wish I had a crystal ball. 

I’m slow at gathering myself this year and I think it’s best to just let that be.  You live in the world with me. To me, this week has felt numbing and inevitable. I don’t know what I think about it all and I hope that’s ok with you – that’s the numb part. I know I mostly feel tired of the ever escalating chaos. 

The offering this week is below.  I’m happy you’re here and I hope you take only what you need: 

•  I’ve had this question in my mind for the last four days: What Should We Call the Sixth of January? (The New Yorker)

•  It would be fair to say that I have more questions than answers, always – but especially these days. We’re still very much in the weeds of a pandemic but how do we muddle through what’s next? A lengthy look at that question from The Atlantic: Where Year Two of the Pandemic Will Take Us.

•  This is a terrible loss and beautiful words and we should let it all break our hearts: On the Remarkable Life of Tommy Raskin. (Medium) 

•  You had me at “like jumping into a martini”: Swimming In Very Cold Water Keeps Me Sane. (The New York Times)

•  Speaking of swimming, I got talked into doing a triathlon (honestly it didn’t take much, I’m absolutely down for an adventure) and I tried on my swimsuit this morning and I already feel like an Olympian (before I’ve even swam one lap in the pool). I expect my ego will be put in check Monday, my first swim day.  (Amazon) 

•  The Man Who Turned Credit Card Points Into An Empire. Truly, don’t even get me started talking about my Delta points, I’m truly insufferable. (New York Times Magazine)  

•  Do you have a Word of the Year for 2021? (Cup of Jo) 

•  Listening: All I Want, a playlist.  (Spotify) 

•  I wrote an entire report on George Washington Carver (diorama and all) in grade school, so I’m a little ahead of the curve on this one but here’s a not so Brief History of Peanut Butter.  (Smithsonian Magazine) 

•  Speaking of peanut butter: Peanut Butter Gingersnap Chews. It’s still winter and we still want all the warm spice flavors.  (Joy the Baker)

•  This week I’ve been thinking about the sleep habits of partners, ya know… people who sleep in the same bed. It’s the most intimate and delicate place, right? You have to match up, or find a way to navigate temperature, blankets, snoring, mouth breathing, wake up times. There’s a lot going on! I say all that to say that this cake from Deb Perelman solves the problem of sleeping in a house with a morning-person child. She packs her son a breakfast and leaves it in the fridge. Pretty genius if you ask me: Morning Glory Breakfast Cake. (Smitten Kitchen) 

•  I love this necklace from one of the most lovely Louisiana makers Mimosa. (Mimosa Hand Crafted) 

•  It’s officially King Cake season and you know I’ve got a lot of ways for you to get after it: Classic Mardi Gras King Cake, Savory King Cake, Pull Apart Biscuit King Cake, and Easy One Dish King Cake.  I have the audacity to have another Mardi Gras cake for you next week.  

Take good care this Sunday.

My love to you.

xo Joy