Good Sunday to you friends, and happy Super Bowl Sunday! Right now, I’m having a hard time distinguishing up from down and right from left because of the news. I oscillate between wanting to be informed and being so inundated with information it feels like my head will detach from my body. If you are feeling like I am, friends, I wish there were good words for this. There are no good words for this. In my all-or-nothing Taurus-logic brain, I want to flip over the proverbial table, but I cannot. What I can say is resistance and revolution can look like rest. It looks like dancing in the living room, laughing with your friends, and spending time doing things you love. It looks like focusing your mind and energy towards nurturing yourself and your community.
So, what am I holding onto? Watching Kendrick at the Super Bowl, getting Beyoncรฉ tickets this week, and leaving for Dublin on Thursday evening – a trip to celebrate my 3 year anniversary with my girlfriend, Bre. That is something my brain is excited about focusing on, and I can’t wait to share all the unreal photos from Ireland. The land where KerryGold comes from?! Tuh! I’m already crying.
If you need a hug or encouragement, I will send you some. If you need family, hey girl I’m your new fun aunt. Sticking together is what will get us through. As always, take what you need, and take it easy on yourself.
โขย Optimism in the face of uncertain times, is also revolutionary. From a 2004 archived article, these words have ripple effects in the present. (The Nation)
โขย Just a silly lil thing to make you chuckle. When you and your bestie show up dressed the same – a dilemma, or an opportunity? (Instagram)
โข Not planning to watch Emelia Pรฉrez amid the controversy? That’s okay, JP Brammer has his thoughts in a post that will make you cackle and cringe, rightfully so. (Substack)
โข Are you familiar with Miss Rachel? Well, she’s basically the modern day Mr. Rogers. ย A theatre kid turned YouTube sensation, she’s known for teaching your kids how to do everything from sign, to learn and recognize colors/words/emotions, complete with earworm songs. Even in my nannying days, Miss Rachel remains a slam dunk, helping to educate and entertain. She’s built an empire, one cute rhyme at a time. (YouTube, Fortune)
โข Apparently, we are living in a post-feminist world, whatever the heck that means, especially since equality has definitely not been achieved. Today’s long read is an interesting one; reheat your coffee y’all. (The Point Magazine)
โข Are you a Super Bowl Party host, or an attendee? Bre and I will be walking over to our local dive bar, mostly to devour the free White Castle burgers and drink many glasses of Yuengling before rushing to my friend’s place to watch halftime. Even if you’re a party of two, these ham & cheese croissants are so easy, and so pop-able. If you need wings, crispy baked wings are on my agenda for Sunday. (Joy the Baker, The Kitchn)
โข The constant need for stimulation is different from whining, “I’m booooored,” when I was little. It’s an affliction now. Is what we deem as boredom actually ennui, or frustration? Has boredom become a catchall word? (The Guardian)
โข Fashion for my upcoming trip is leggings, layers, and this cat sweater. Honestly, the cat sweater is now my personality. (Lala)
โข Can I share a secret with you? Chili’s and Olive Garden have come back into my life as my favorite restaurants. *ashamed* But, hear me out, it’s so dang good. Somehow Chili’s got ahold of the TikTok generation and flipped their entire business profitable amid many corporations failing. It should be studied! Also, if you go, please get a triple dipper and their coconut margarita. Watch it BLESS YOUR LIFE. (Wall Street Journal)
โข Please, tell me what you’re watching these days. Apparently I need to get AppleTV+ because Severance is so popular right now. Bre and I are… we’re old. We watch High Potential, The Rookie, Celebrity Jeopardy, and Abbott Elementary, all on live television. There is nothing better than being in bed by 7pm to watch tv with someone you love. We’re truly in our Sleepytime Bear era, and I love that. (T3, Celestial Seasoning)
โข I will take any and all recommendations for Dublin, y’all! We are taking a tour of Giant’s Causeway, doing a cocktail making class at the whiskey distillery attached to the Guinness Storehouse, and drunk bingo. A time will be had! ย For the plane, I’ve packed my eReader with a ton of books, but I need podcast req’s, please! I will definitely be downloading a backlog of Levar Burton Reads, though. (Apple Podcasts)
โข You will need dessert today, and why not make it two giant chocolate chip cookies or a single cinnamon roll. Either way, all the treats have to be for just you. That’s the only way this works. (Joy the Baker)
40 Responses
I’m sad I was not able to have Yuengling while rooting for the birds in Seattle, but that does remind me of how proud I was of getting a couple Yuengling posters onto our Sister Act set this summer.
Have so much fun in Dublin!!
The news? There just are no words for what we are going to have to suffer again at the hands of the orange POS. Only this time I fear will be worse as we have an even bigger ship of fools and billionaires to plunge us back into the dark ages. How could half of the people in this country be so stupid as to vote for this monster again? How? Because they hate what he hates. Ugh!!
Happy Anniversary!
Podcast recommendation Stacey Abramโs Required
Pod Save America and Offline with Jon Favreau
Have a wonderful trip, canโt wait to read about it. So enjoy your posts
Cliffs of Moher while in Ireland is a must. There is a great place to eat/souvenirs near there too..can’t remember the name. Blarney Castle…all castles! Kilkee and Moveen in County Clare. Trinity College. Pubs have the best food! Irish dance performance. Drive or take a tour and take in the beautiful sights, landscape. Have a great trip! Ireland is beautiful and the people are so welcoming & fun!
My very favorite travel tip to someone going anywhere thatโs so very different from home โฆ find a thrift store. In the British Isles I think they are called โCharity Shopsโ. My favorite souvenirs are ones that I use when I get home โฆ I rummage around in the kitchen utensils and have brought home wonderful little spoons for serving up a little dab of jam or to stir my coffee. Toast racks are always so cute at B&Bโs, so I bought 2 at a church rummage sale in London, and I have pretty little doilies from Wales, Scotland, Ireland, England, and France! My husband still wears a wool, hand knit scarf he bought in Edinburgh in 1995. I even brought home 2 curtain panels because they were so pretty and different from any Iโve ever seen here. Vintage – maybe even 1940โs. I just used them this past holiday season for my Christmas tree skirt! Such happy memories!
I even once tucked a little lamp shade into my husbandโs suitcase (he didnโt know!) which caused a โmajorโ delay at the x-ray going through security. ? Looking back now I can see how suspicious he looked as he glared at me as I breezed right through. Doilies donโt show up on x-rays. ?
Hope you have a great time in Ireland, indeed a good time to escape and decompress from the craziness being thrown our way. Sounds like you have a good game plan while in Dublin! Enjoy and have a drink for me ..
Hi my Joy the Baker friend,
Thank you for this post.
I hope you and Bre have the very bestest, sweetest time in Ireland. I’ve never been but the people seem amazing. I am sure you will laugh, dance and drink some kind of alcohol, and then repeat! Enjoy every moment. If you find a four leaf clover make sure to make a wish, it might actually come true.
I can’t wait to read your post about it all, with lots of photos as well please.
Take care both of you.
Kerry
I am totally feeling the “flip the table” mood. I too have a rage that feels uncontrollable. But rest is a resistance (awesome book as well!) and I agree leaning into this is a must right now. Have a wonderful time in Ireland! I have not been but sounds like an amazing way to celebrate.
I highly recommend The Telepathy Tapes as another poster did above. I also recommend an old podcast called S Town as well as Scamanda. Fascinating!
Enjoy and stay warm!
I’ve never been to Ireland, so no recommendations, but the very best wishes for an amazing trip and a total escape from the stress of our news. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy. BTW, when I do get to go to Ireland, I’ll be back to read everyone’s recommendations. Please do a Sunday post about your favorite parts of the trip with a few photos!
I admit that I couldn’t understand the lyrics of the half-time show (talk about being old), but the choreography was great. It was a terrific show.
In these difficult times, news, etc., being there for each other and giving ourselves some love (dancing, reading, music, scrubbing the kitchen floor – if that helps) is so important. We need to figure out how to know what’s going on, take action as we can, and take care of ourselves and one another.
Giant’s Causeway is amazing! I recommend taking the long way down, if you’re able. If you’re staying in Belfast, the Shankhill Road tours are great. My family is from Ireland (I grew up in the US) and I grew up going to Ireland most years. I had never been to Northern Ireland until a couple of years ago (The Troubles) and it was so worth it.
I’ve not done a lot of tourist things but top of my list are Giant’s Causeway, Guinness Brewery and Blarney Castle. And don’t be afraid to pop into the little pubs along the way. I am biased but the Irish really are one of the most welcoming people in the world. Warning: we do indeed have a gift for gab AND spontaneous song is to be expected especially in earlier referenced pubs. Have a great time! And bring back all the sweets and chips {especially Taytos!)
Hope you have an amazing trip. Just one tiny recommendation from meโฆ grab a bag of Percy Pigs (gummy candy) from Marks and Spencerโs food hall whilst youโre there.