Hello friends!
Happy Sunday! How are you this morning? I hope you’re riding this latest delta wave of the panini as best you can. It’s all just exasperating and I hope that everyone you love is staying well.
I’m trying to enjoy these slow summer days. There’s a sweetness to the way New Orleans slows during the steamiest days of the year. You couldn’t put on your hurry even if you wanted to. I didn’t know I’d love this pace as much as I do. I have iced tea in the fridge and a pot of red beans I cooked real slow. That’s my level this week.
I’m headed to a little bed and breakfast in east Texas with Will this weekend. I suspect I’ll return with mosquito bites, sunburns in odd places, and a smile on my face. The picture above is from the French Quarter, where I ran myself this past Thursday. I was sweatier than you can even imagine.
The offering this week is below, along with a little request from me to you at the very bottom. I’m so glad you’re here. I hope you’re well. Take only what you need.
• This week’s long read is deeper than the flashy headline. Very interesting. American Shoppers Are A Nightmare. (The Atlantic)
• In related news – my daydream job, being a Delta flight attendant, is now training flight attendants in self defense. (DMarge)
• Please stop right here and read this. Goodbye, My Fantasy Man. Kismet and and a man who makes pumpkin, and only, pumpkin pie. (Modern Love for The New York Times)
• About these bodies we live in: Solving The Mystery of IBS (The New York Times)
• This week, in that 20 minute space I was waiting for both my coffee and sunscreen to kick in, I asked Google a rather desperate questions You know that time right? When you’re just like “can I?” “what if I?” “how can we?” and it’s all very opened ended until some sort of illusive motivation snaps us back into the world? This week I googled “how to do things” and here’s the answer so you don’t have to have the same Google crisis: 100 Skills Everyone Should Know. (Popular Mechanics)
• A few weeks ago I shared this recipe for Cucumber Cilantro Margaritas, and all I’m saying is, well… I think you should. (Joy the Baker)
• Very timely summer information: the best way to quickly chill a bottle of wine. (The Kitchn)
• How much do you love to rearrange your bedroom? I love to move things around every season (which also gives me a chance to vigorously vacuum under the bed, amen). The Anatomy of the Perfect Bedroom (Apartment Therapy)
• If you’re in the mood to put a loaf of bread in the oven today, please consider: Cheddar and Scallion English Muffin Bread (Joy the Baker)
• A little summer crafting inspiration from last year here at Camp Joy – Pressed But Not Bothered and the blog post with links to the tools can be found here. I still have the little clay leaf trays I made last year. It’s such a lovely way to preserve a year. (Instagram and Joy the Baker)
• Before we go, can I ask a big favor of you? I’ll be taking a bit of time off the computer for the next few weeks to go on a cross country motorcycle road trip with Will (I’m SO EXCITED!), but that means the Sunday posts (my favorite of the week) will be hard for me to do alone. I have a few guest writers, but I’d love for this to be a community effort. If you have an article or book you’ve read recently, a song you love, a craft tutorial you’ve enjoyed – will you share it with me with a sentence or two about why you love it? You can send your submission to joy@joythebaker.com and I’ll compile it all for our enjoyment. You’re wonderful, I’m so glad we’re here together. Thank you, friends.
Have a wonderful Sunday, friends! It’s good to be in it with you.
My love to you.
xo Joy
Dee
Please post picture of Will?
Holly
You might consider sharing NPR’s Joy Generator. Each time you visit the website, you get simple tips for creating joy, accompanied by relaxing visuals. It has been nice to go back to the Generator, as the tips get refreshed every time, so there is always something new to look forward too. Also, it is a fun wordplay on your name! Enjoy your trip!
joythebaker
Oh that’s rad, Holly thank you!
Bill
But this site is already a Joy-generator, they’ll need a new name ;)
Frances
That Popular Mechanics list of things “everyone” should know is one of the most hilariously patriarchal things I have read in ages! ‘Tape a dry wall’ and ‘Use XX tool’ coming in the top 50 while ‘Changing a diaper’ and ‘CPR’ barely scraping in the list. Hahahaaaa… I hope the next version includes ‘Navigate tense family dynamics’ and ‘Fend off a sexual assault’ ;) ;) bless their cotton socks!
joythebaker
RIGHT!?
Rhonda
For a read, I highly recommend Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby. One of the best reads this year.
Nel Ducomb
A great late summertime read – The Girls in the Stilt House by Kelly Mustian. Atmospheric, thought-provoking, women-empowering by demonstrating how to find a way.
Cheryl
Joy, how timely Ina has a new playlist of music for your trip called Road Trip.. On her blog Barefoot Contessa are pictures of her road trip from when she was young. …sleep ing in a tent. You remind me so much of her! Hope your trip is everything you imagine and more. Be safe.
Rhonda
On one of her cooking episodes, she set up a tent in her backyard for her and Jeffrey to dive into after a bbq dinner. Her words: if the tent is rockin’, don’t come knockin’. Love how they are so young at heart.
susan
What fun! Be safe! Just read this short article titled “Just Enough” this morning:
The summer camp my kids attend happens to be tucked into one of the fanciest areas of our city.
Each morning we pass huge, beautiful, sprawling houses.
One particular morning, the kids and I began discussing the houses.
“Why can’t we have a house like that?” My daughter asked.
I replied, “We don’t need that much space, and those houses are REALLY expensive.”
My daughter pondered this a moment and then declared that she wanted to be rich someday. I laughed and smiled.
My son, who had been unusually quiet, piped up.
“I don’t want to be rich. I want to have exactly the amount you and Dad have. A place to live, food, fun, and a little extra. You know….just enough.”
There was so much I wanted to say at that moment, but my eyes were full of tears behind my sunglasses.
I smiled at him in the rearview mirror and said, “Thank you.”
Sometimes when you go against the norms you worry your kids might feel deprived.
I was happy to hear that our tiny space, salvage furniture, one car, and all the rest of it is exactly what he wants and needs.
Just enough.
About the Author: Brittany is a wife and mother of two. Through having less and doing less she continually finds more. Find her at Lesslessmore.com.
Juliette Dowdy
I wish NY Times would allow me to read the links you post without paying for a subscription.
Marclra
Have a super rest of the summer!
I’ll with pleasure email a post suggestion if you like
Big hug from Brasil ?
Annie
I made the cucumber cilantro margaritas for my book club last night, they were a huge hit! And very easy. Thank you!
joythebaker
Oh that’s excellent!
toni
Have a wonderful trip. Be safe.
Jessica Mosich
I came across How to Love the the World – poems of Gratitude and Hope edited by James Crews just when I needed it most. Not only did it have early Amanda Gorman, but also the beautiful If I Carry My Father by Marjorie Sasser, a tribute to the goodness passed on by parents. Well worth a look.
Jaclyn D Levy
Wow, that article from the Atlantic about American shoppers was really eye-opening and helped to make sense out of what is going on. The historical context was fascinating. I guess it begs the question, one the article didn’t attempt to answer, where do we go from here? Thank you for sharing. When I do shop, I try to be extra kind. Now that I’m wearing a mask in public again I am forgetting not everyone can see me smiling, so I try my best to smize! Happy Sunday!
Darla
Have a wonderful cross country trip! Don’t let your bum nor legs get numb ?
Vickie Mahan
“”The delta wave of the panini “
Interesting??