Hello dear friends!
Welcome to (somehow) a Sunday in the middle of June. I swear the last time I blinked it was February and yet… here we are.
We have officially passed the point of no return in New Orleans. It’s swampass summer and that’s that on that. There’s no beating around that bush.
Over here in Holiday Magazine Land I don’t seem to have enough hours in the day or enough butter in the fridge but Tron has taken to lounging under the decorated Christmas tree so at least one of us has it sorted correctly.
I truly CANNOT wait for you to see the next magazine. I promise I’ll stop talking about it in a few weeks when I meet my deadline but right now it’s all I can think about. We’re working so had to make it great and I have a fridge full of monkey bread and pumpkin pie to prove it.
I hope this finds you with a few moments to yourself this morning. A little time to recharge and find some inspiration for your day. The offering this week is below. Take what feels good!
• These words from Lisa Marie Donovan about the loss of Anthony Bourdain are very poignant. (Parnassus Books and Instagram of all places)
• I love Dave Eggers. Did we all read A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius when we were 20? You Won’t Find The Hardcover of Dave Eggers’ Next Book on Amazon. (The New York Times)
• I like this practice very much: I couldn’t travel, so I cooked the foods from my favorite trips. It got me through. (The Washington Possts)
• At what point are we going to acknowledge that Gen Z has gone too far? Crocs with Stiletto Heels (NPR and if NPR is talking about it you know it’s a crisis)
• Making someone you love a sandwich is a love language onto itself: 12 Summer Sandwich Ideas. (The Kitchn)
• Currently watching: Dirty John The Betty Broderick Story. It’s a true crime soap opera of course I’m highly interested. (Netflix)
• Currently cooking: Louisiana Stuffed Tomatoes with Creamy Polenta and A Summer Tomato Galette. Sense a theme? (Joy the Baker)
• Currently reading: The Wreckage of My Presence by Casey Wilson. It’s hilarious and honest and unexpectedly emotional. (Bookshop)
• This was us this time last year: Let It Be Sunday, 275. These posts are little time capsules. (Joy the Baker)
My love to you this Sunday!
xo Joy
Valentina
I LOVED the wreckage of my presence!
Lisa J
The travel through cooking article made me laugh out loud. Thanks for the laughs! Belated Happy Birthday. Glad you have a wonderful celebration with family and friends in LA.
Shellie
Love all things veggie in a sandwich.If you had told me even 2 years ago that I’d be eating smashed chickpea sandwich in place of tuna I’d have laughed. I am not laughing anymore. Living in Atlantic Canada, we won’t get in-season tomatoes for another month or so but as soon as we do, I am making a tomato galette. My favourite is from Baking with Julia.
Lucy
I work in an independent bookstore that has survived the pandemic through a loyal community base. We are paid a living wage, have healthcare, and our boss looks out for us as though we’re family. We work with the local school department, we foster cats for the shelter (well, we used to pre-pandemic when we were there 7 days a week). So many bookstores throughout the country have suffered this past year, and I so appreciate you sharing this story about Dave Eggers. Local bookstores provide so much more than Amazon ever could with recommendations, curated selections, and community engagement and it’s nice to see authors trying to disrupt their destructive habits.
Darla
Hi Joy! It’s Summer and sandwiches are my jam. Thank you for this. And Anthony Bourdain. My heart still hurts for his seeing no way to heal. If I had a green thumb, I’d plant tomatoes, cucumbers and basil, and have a meal of this each day.
Thank you for showing up each week for us. We appreciate you!
Natalia
Love love love the sandwich comment! When my father in law was in the last weeks of his battle with lung cancer I never quite knew what to do to be helpful. My brother in law’s now wife and I quickly settled into the role of sandwich makers. As the immediate family was tied up with grief and logistics, it became the perfect rhythm for us to stay out of the way and make sure they were all fed. It also sparked a beautiful friendship that has blossomed into something I truly cherish. Six years later we still often find ourselves in the kitchen together catching up over an assembly line of slices of whole wheat.
Dottie
Happy Sunday Joy. Thanks for all of the info you’ve shared. Good luck with your magazine project! Looking forward to it!
When I first met my husband and before we started dating, he was friends with my sister and visited our family often. I would head into the kitchen to make myself lunch and find him relaxing in the kitchen. I’d offer him a sandwich and he always said yes. I remember thinking that he’s a good eater. That was a long time ago and sandwiches are still part of the equation (especially over the last year as we both worked from home and made sandwiches for each other for lunch.