Hello friends! Happy Sunday and a proper HAPPY NEW YEAR to you!
If you missed me last Sunday, I was pictured above – camping in the sand dunes of Padre Island with Will. We turned the back of Will’s Jeep into a kitchen because the wind was too intense to cook outside and I can confirm that he’s the sweetest man in the world for being the first person up in the cold to make us coffee in the morning. I happen to like washing a car as much as I like making it a filthy mess, so I think we’re a good pair. And we’re properly showered now. And I’m finally no longer chomping down on sand in my mouth. Happy New Year, indeed.
Here’s the rub about this past week – I wasn’t ready. I know a lot of people took the week between holidays off, took social media breaks, made vision boards and otherwise reset, but I was not so fortunate. I was busy dragging out deadlines and otherwise spinning my wheels such that there haven’t been any clear lines between the completed work of 2021 and the tasks of 2022. Can we stop pretending like it’s a clean break when the calendar flips over to January because I’m over here in the mud. I also happen to be at the point in deep house cleaning this weekend where it’s an absolute mess and I question everything I own but THIS IS ME WORKING MYSELF OUT OF THE MUD.
I’m welcoming the groove of this year slowly, rather ungracefully.
I hope this finds you easing into this year gently. Here are our Sunday links. As always, take only what you need. And wow – take it easy today.
• Remember when I tried to teach myself how to swim last year and unceremoniously quit after I realized I hated it? I took up running which, wow I love(?) and ran myself a little half marathon. I’m still deciding what I’ll take on as a new layer this year. I’m thinking I’ll take a watercolor painting class. Will I be any good at it? Likely no… which, I look forward to. Here are 10 Insightful Tips From People Who Prove It’s Never Too Late because it ain’t over till it’s over, friends! (NYT)
• At the start of every new year, my friend Karlee Flores of Olive and Artisan reintroduces her concept of a Gentle January. A start to the year where we ease itn, recover from the holidays, do things that please us and just take all the diet and detox talk down to zero. It’s a revelation and I’m working on it. (Olive and Artisan and Instagram)
• This week’s 4-ingredient peanut butter cookies are old and new and I hope you whip them up. (Joy the Baker)
• I’m currently in the midst of revamping my house. This spring marks my sixth year living and working in The Bakehouse and it shows. I’m thinking of this giant rug for the high traffic area between the dining room and the kitchen and dare I get a fancy frame TV? Knowing me I’m going to keep these tabs open on my computer for at least two months. I’m slow at spending large sums of money. (Wayfair and The Verge)
• The unglamorous part of revamping my house is the purging of all the… what even is all this stuff? I like cooking and crafts and those take up cabinets and closets I’ll tell ya! The hardest thing for me to purge is books but somehow, this weekend in the year of our Lord 2022, I’ve finally let me college English Lit textbooks from 2003 go. It’s time. I think. I only took one back out of the donation pile to keep. I flip through every book I want to donate and invariably find a polaroid, an airplane ticket stub, a note… something that makes the book an actual time capsule so I dust off the spine and place it right back on the shelf. I did a book I have yet to read: Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo (Parnassus Books)
• I loved this piece by Nikki Darling in the LA Book Review. Diet Coke and a Game of Chess: The Radical Work of Eve Babitz and Joan Didion.
• This post on Instagram stopped me in my tracks this week. I don’t know Lynn Bagley but my heart is with her. Life is everything all at once so viscerally sometimes.
• I’m currently watching Being The Ricardos and as a person who has seen every episode of I Love Lucy several times each, I think Nicole Kidman gives us an incredible Lucille Ball. Next up I’m watching 14 Peaks to feed my obsession with mountain climbing documentaries. (Amazon and Netflix)
• These past few week I’ve had plenty of time on the road between Texas and New Orleans which means I’ve listened to every podcast available. Most notably, this truly infuriating two-part true crime deep dive into Casey Anthony by RedHanded. Maintenance Phase on Marianne Williamson. Cara Nicoletti on Taste. And American Radical about Rosanne Boyland and January 6, 2020 (still not sure how I feel about this last one.) (Red Handed, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and MSNBC)
• My friend Bev makes fantastic playlists and I’ve got her latest “Frosty Toes and Gloomy Glows” mix on repeat. (Spotify)
• No one: CocoCola: We’re making a boozy canned Fresca!!! (Yahoo)
• We’re officially in Mardi Gras season which means I’m teaching my annual Bakehouse Live King Cake class this February! (Eventbrite)
Enjoy this weekend! Remember, it’s Gentle January.
Also a quick housekeeping note, joythebaker.com will be down for a few days this coming Monday – Wednesday. Just a bit of housekeeping but we’ll be back in time for next weekend’s baking and links.
My love to you!
xo Joy
Joy
I was in line at a Walgreens a few weeks back and I looked over at the magazine section and I saw this magazine that said JoytheBaker and laughed, took a photo and sent it to a friend. Here we are a few weeks later and you popped up in my Google news feed….. who says bug tech isn’t always listening ~ lol! So , I might just have to start following to see what other recipes you have. You may ask why I took a photo of the magazine….. well , that’s because my name is Joy Baker ~ hahaha!
joythebaker
AAAHH That’s so funny! I’m glad you’re here Joy Baker.
Martha
I thought that photo was snow at first and that you were barefoot and in shorts! But alas, it’s sand :) Much less chilly.
Star M
So glad you enjoyed Padre Island. I’m in Rockport, just up the coast a few miles, and the wind was fierce! Hit 50 mph coming off the bay!
Your Peanut Butter cookies are so easy & so yummy! A great go-to when the grandkids come over. Sometimes, we do a thumb print with a dab of jam on top too!
Yay to Fresca cocktails. I already enjoy Fresca & Deep Eddy’s Grapefruit Vodka as a porch drink. Perfect!
joythebaker
I mean… we were basically in a sand storm it was no joke. Hahah
Beth
I read these posts of yours every week. But can I just say, nothing is better than your open hearted life catch ups before the links. I had to zoom in today to get a full look at your joy in the pic of you camping. I am so happy for your beautiful relationship with this seemingly wonderful guy!!!
Aliso
I didn’t start January very gentle, but I am getting there now. I think everyone deserves that. Thanks for the reminder
Stella
Welcome back Joy and a healthy Happy New Year to you, oh Gentle January really resonated with me so thank you for sharing. As for Being the Ricardos, I’ve been purposely avoiding it after reading some less than glowing reviews, but I trust you so I’m going to view it this weekend. If I may, I would like to recommend the film, The Tender Bar, streamed it and really enjoyed it.
By the way, you and Will are adorable. You look very happy together.
Mary
I am here for Gentle January and not arbitrary “resets”. Peace Joy!
Megan
Happy Sunday Joy! If you enjoyed 14 Peaks, you also must watch The Alpinist on Netflix. Prepare your heart because it’s a doozy.
Rachel c
I just watched 14 Peaks and absolutely loved it! Highly recommend. It brings a different perspective then then typical US-based climbers which I think is so important.
Jayme
Why is it so hard to get rid of books?? I too still have my college lit and philosophy books that I have been steadfast about reading again at some point in my life. Well, it’s been almost 20 years. Maybe I’ll revisit in retirement. Happy New Year, Joy!
Vivian Haus
Behind the beautiful forevers is a book I couldn’t put down and I didn’t want it to end.
I too enjoy reading, or watching about mountain climbing. Thanks for suggesting 14 peaks. I just watched something on prime about a young man who climbed without ropes. It was a beautiful story and the scenery.
Here’s to a peaceful year.
Tiffany
That’s the exact rug I want in pink! Now off I go to look around.
Vaughan
Do read ‘Behind the Beautiful Forevers’. I did, before I finally went to India.
Life changing the trip was and the book presents so much in the way of understanding many of that country’s people – what they deal with.
Glad we share the same sky Joy. Have a lovely 2022.
Teresa Bergan
I love your Sunday letters. I look forward to them but I’m so glad you take a break. We all need them. I hope someday to meet you and return to New Orleans (went once for my anniversary. Loved it) and see your bake house. Bless you and have an easy Sunday,Joy.
Teresa
joythebaker
A real and true blessing to share the same sky, friend.
toby
Gentle January…yes, please! Maybe even Gentle Year??
joythebaker
GENTLE YEAR it is, friend.
Marine
Yes to taking breaks… Yes to frame tvs (though honestly, ours is rarely in art mode)… Yes to clearing house (which these days, isn’t difficult for me- the more often you do it, the easier it gets because you don’t have time to get attached to all the things)… Yes to trying new things we’re not good at (and letting that be a-ok)… Yes Yes Yes to taking deep f-ing breaths through all of it!
Laura
FWIW, The Frame TV was one of my best purchases a couple of years ago. Black box TVs are such an eyesore in comparison. I’ve installed in the middle of a gallery wall and when the picture mode is on, it blends right in. I’m not one for big TVs or TVs at all (prior to finding out about the Frame, I considered just getting rid of the TV I had and not replacing it), but the Frame is absolutely worth it.
Birdie
I love reading your posts, but they also remind me to do something different in my life??
Katie
Over the last month, like you said, life happened so viscerally all at once for me. And at one point, I remembered your blog. It brings a sense of comfort knowing another is humaning and sharing it with the world to show we’re not alone. Always enjoy reading!
joythebaker
I barely needed any encouragement but this tipped me over the edge. Thank you Laura!
Rhian
Good call, we took the plunge and splashed out on a Frame TV last spring and like it very much too.
Betsy
The Katherine Boo book is worth keeping to read! Glad you held on to it.