• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Joy the Baker
Joy the Baker
  • New Magazine!
  • Bread
  • Cookies
  • Cakes
  • Pies
  • Recipes
    • All Recipes
    • Biscuits
    • Muffins
    • Cupcakes
    • Drinks
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Fruit
    • Nuts
    • Buttermilk
    • Chocolate
    • Vanilla
    • Holiday
    • Healthy
    • Gluten-Free
    • Vegan
  • Blog
    • Baking 101
    • Tips
    • Beyond the Kitchen
    • Let It Be Sunday!
    • New Orleans

Let It Be Sunday, 354!

-A Happy New Year!

January 9, 2022 by Joy the Baker 40 Comments

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

Previous PostNext Post

Filed Under: Let It Be Sunday!

Previous Post: « Easy 4-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
Next Post: Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Joy

    January 9, 2022 at 12:58 pm

    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!

    Reply
    • joythebaker

      January 10, 2022 at 4:12 pm

      AAAHH That’s so funny! I’m glad you’re here Joy Baker.

      Reply
  2. Martha

    January 9, 2022 at 12:44 pm

    I thought that photo was snow at first and that you were barefoot and in shorts! But alas, it’s sand :) Much less chilly.

    Reply
  3. Star M

    January 9, 2022 at 12:23 pm

    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!

    Reply
    • joythebaker

      January 10, 2022 at 4:12 pm

      I mean… we were basically in a sand storm it was no joke. Hahah

      Reply
  4. Beth

    January 9, 2022 at 11:37 am

    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!!!

    Reply
    • Aliso

      January 9, 2022 at 1:14 pm

      I didn’t start January very gentle, but I am getting there now. I think everyone deserves that. Thanks for the reminder

      Reply
  5. Stella

    January 9, 2022 at 11:31 am

    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.

    Reply
  6. Mary

    January 9, 2022 at 10:40 am

    I am here for Gentle January and not arbitrary “resets”. Peace Joy!

    Reply
  7. Megan

    January 9, 2022 at 9:52 am

    Happy Sunday Joy! If you enjoyed 14 Peaks, you also must watch The Alpinist on Netflix. Prepare your heart because it’s a doozy.

    Reply
  8. Rachel c

    January 9, 2022 at 8:43 am

    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.

    Reply
  9. Jayme

    January 9, 2022 at 8:37 am

    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!

    Reply
  10. Vivian Haus

    January 9, 2022 at 8:18 am

    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.

    Reply
  11. Tiffany

    January 9, 2022 at 8:00 am

    That’s the exact rug I want in pink! Now off I go to look around.

    Reply
  12. Vaughan

    January 9, 2022 at 7:36 am

    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.

    Reply
    • Teresa Bergan

      January 9, 2022 at 8:57 am

      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

      Reply
    • joythebaker

      January 9, 2022 at 9:28 am

      A real and true blessing to share the same sky, friend.

      Reply
  13. toby

    January 9, 2022 at 7:13 am

    Gentle January…yes, please! Maybe even Gentle Year??

    Reply
    • joythebaker

      January 9, 2022 at 9:28 am

      GENTLE YEAR it is, friend.

      Reply
    • Marine

      January 9, 2022 at 11:29 am

      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!

      Reply
  14. Laura

    January 9, 2022 at 6:49 am

    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.

    Reply
    • Birdie

      January 9, 2022 at 8:08 am

      I love reading your posts, but they also remind me to do something different in my life??

      Reply
      • Katie

        January 9, 2022 at 8:02 pm

        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!

        Reply
    • joythebaker

      January 9, 2022 at 9:28 am

      I barely needed any encouragement but this tipped me over the edge. Thank you Laura!

      Reply
    • Rhian

      January 9, 2022 at 1:49 pm

      Good call, we took the plunge and splashed out on a Frame TV last spring and like it very much too.

      Reply
  15. Betsy

    January 9, 2022 at 6:36 am

    The Katherine Boo book is worth keeping to read! Glad you held on to it.

    Reply
Newer Comments »
Comments Page 1 of 2
1 2 Next »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

RELATED POSTS IN Let It Be Sunday!

Let It Be Sunday, 383!

Apologies to anyone who thought I wasn’t going to spend 40% of this post talking about The Bear. Listen, here’s what you need to know about me, I love a bandwagon. My love language is hype. It’s the same reason I watch Love Island UK every year.  Unrelated to my terrible taste in television, I’m…

Read More

Let It Be Sunday, 382!

Friends, hello, good Sunday to you! We’re going to keep it cute and short this Sunday. While my body is here in Houston working this weekend, my head and and heart are still up in the Colorado mountains cruising down the winding roads on the back of Will’s bike. It’s called summer vacation and… turns…

Read More

Let it Be Sunday, 381!

Hello, hi! If you’d like an immediate mood booster, follow this simple 3-step procedure:  Call one of your oldest friends at the last minute (this won’t work if you plan in advance) Head to one of the oldest dive bars in town Order a ginger ale and a po’boy and proceed to catch up on…

Read More

Primary Sidebar

Fresh baked emails, delivered to your inbox

Receive recipes from Joy the Baker and updates on events at The Bakehouse.

HI! I’M JOY!

Welcome! This has been my little corner of the internet since 2008!

I’m a baker, photographer, cookbook author and teacher.  I live laugh love in New Orleans. 

MORE ABOUT JOY AND THE TEAM

BOOKS + Magazines

JOY THE BAKER 2022 SUMMER MAGAZINE

JOY THE BAKER 2021 HOLIDAY MAGAZINE

JOY THE BAKER 2020 HOLIDAY MAGAZINE

HOMEMADE DECADENCE

OVER EASY: SWEET AND SAVORY RECIPES FOR LEISURELY DAYS COOKBOOK

JOY THE BAKER COOKBOOK

Joy the baker with dyed bandana around neck

HOW TO MAKE DYED BANDANAS

as seen in JtB Magazine!

joy the baker on facebook joy the baker on twitter pinterest-social instagram-socialbloglovin-social

JOY @ WILLIAMS SONOMA

SHOP THE CAKE LINE OF CAKE MIXES!

DRAKE ON CAKE

Passionate from miles away since 2015.

Check it out on Instagram

Drake on cake instagram.

 

FAVORITE FRUIT RECIPES

Baked peach scones stacked with butter.

Easy Peaches and Cream Scones

Gluten-Free Brown Butter Blueberry Muffins

strawberry sheet cake on a plate with strawberries on top.

My Favorite Super Easy Strawberry Sheet Cake

POPULAR CAKES

strawberry sheet cake on a plate with strawberries on top.

My Favorite Super Easy Strawberry Sheet Cake

Slice of coconut cake on small white plate with coffee.

My favorite Coconut Cake is actually made with cake mix

A slice of lemon blueberry gooey butter cake held on a cake slicer.

Lemon Blueberry Gooey Butter Cake

Footer

Instagram

joythebaker

📚Baker and author of books and magazines
🎂Creator @drakeoncake
💁🏻‍♀️Classes with me @thebakehousenola
🍰 Products with @williamssonoma

joythebaker
I made @mississippivegan my favorite Paloma cockta I made @mississippivegan my favorite Paloma cocktail last night! Here’s how to make your own batch.

Palomas for Two 
1 cup fresh grapefruit juice
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 cup tequila blanco
A splash of Campari
6-8 ounces Fever Tree Grapefruit Soda
Fresh herbs for serving 
 
Mix everything in a jar and refrigerate. Serve over ice with fresh herbs. #paloma #summercocktails #joythebaker
4️⃣ ways to make a better BLT and you don’t 4️⃣ ways to make a better BLT and you don’t even need to be wearing pant. 
1. Bake the bacon with a sprinkle of brown sugar and cracked black pepper until crisp and caramelized. 
2. Slice tomatoes on a paper towel to remove excess water and, for all that is holy, season the tomatoes with sea salt.
3. Use butter lettuce you can replant for future butter lettuce.
4. You don’t like mayonnaise? Yea you do. Lots of it.
If the question is, what am I baking this weekend? If the question is, what am I baking this weekend? The answer is: 🍋🫐 Gooey Butter Cake.
He has no idea how swoony I get when he saves me a He has no idea how swoony I get when he saves me a seat at breakfast or moves me to the inside of the sidewalk for safety. What a thrill to have absolutely no chill whatsoever. Happy August, friends. I hope you’re hydrated and in stupid love.
Your weekend baking sorted! 🫠 Just add peanut b Your weekend baking sorted! 🫠 Just add peanut butter and marshmallows to the grocery list. ⁣
⁣
Also, if you snuck some 🍫🍫 in with the marshmallow you’d have a lil peanut butter cookie s’more and no one would be mad. ⁣
⁣
Recipe linked in the profile! xo.
Our no-bake, 🍒🍋 dreams come true thanks to @ Our no-bake, 🍒🍋 dreams come true thanks to @theboywhobakes! ⁣
⁣
This perfect summer recipe is linked in the profile! xo
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2022 · Joy the Baker
All rights reserved. Violators will be whupped and sent to bed with no dessert · Privacy Policy

Scroll Up