Like My Mother, But With More Clogs

Hi friends!

This week I treated myself to a new haircut. Spoiler alert: it’s the blunt bob everyone is getting.  The feminine urge to chop your hair for summer? Exactly. I had mostly given up on finding the right stylist since moving to Texas and settled on drooping mid-length curls with frayed ends until I looked in the mirror one day last week and thought “absolutely not”.  I mentioned Will to I needed a haircut to which he replied “your hair looks fine” which, obviously sent me sprinting to a stylist. FINE!? Message received.

I landed in Emma’s chair last Wednesday, ready to lose three inches. Hopes high. Chat mode engaged as is necessary with a new hairstylist.  It’s not just a haircut – it’s a three hour friendship.  Somehow the conversation is a mixture of get to know you and old catch up. That takes finesse.  Between sectioning my hair and snipping away, we started talking about our moms. Emma’s mom is full of stories about the good old days in New Orleans. Rowdy, and we love that for her. My mom has the most incredible garden and a spirit that turns everything she touches into a craft project.  We just started bragging about our moms as a way to get to know one another better. If that’s not girlhood, I genuinely don’t know what is.

I told her how I wish there were some alternate timeline where my mom and I could be the same age – young women, just for a while. I know we’d get along. We’d tie-dye everything in sight, make macramé, and laugh until our cheeks hurt.  Instead of being peers, I get Patty as my mom and ever-steady guide through life. (That’s not to say we still won’t tie dye everything in sight.) And wow. What a gift that is.

The haircut is a little shorter than I expected. I wonder if she forgot my wet hair actually dries curly while we were waxing on about our moms. Hair grows and gratitude keeps stretching.

I also understand that Mother’s Day can come with some complicated feelings. Whether you’re missing your mom today, or you want to be a mom yourself, or you wish you didn’t have to clean up the kitchen after your kids made you breakfast in bed – I’m holding space for wherever this finds you.

Let’s get into this week’s links.

•  I love a good long list, and 30 Things I Learned at European Cooking School That Changed the Way I Cook Forever delivers. I got completely stuck on tip #1 — “Always sharpen your knives before cooking.” I mean… are we doing this? Because I genuinely think I need to enroll in a knife sharpening class immediately. Like, do I bring my own whetstone or is that provided? (Substack)

•  Our friend Toby Rose shared 5 Joy the Baker Recipes Kids Can Make on Their Own and I love the thought of her three kids stacking sandwiches with carrots and cucumbers, peeking into the oven every five minutes, and waiting (not so patiently) for the brownies to cool.  They are also learning how to do their own laundry. Well done, Toby.   (Joy the Baker)

•  I’m making my family Peanut Butter Chocolate Mousse today for Mother’s Day because it’s my mom’s favorite flavor combo and there’s no way this isn’t great, right? (The Kitchn) 

• This piece about daily creative practice stopped me in my tracks. It’s a beautiful reminder that big things can be built one small bit at a time, like a forest floor stitched from scraps, a book written line by line. Whether I’m working on a recipe or  trying to get my garden to grow, there’s real power in slow, steady making. The Power of Incremental Art and a Daily Practice  (Substack)

•  Will recently bought us pickleball paddles and a membership to the local courts, which obviously means I now need the proper shoes, the cutest workout skirts, and perhaps a competitive alter ego (though actual pickleball skills are tbd).  (Self)

•  This album reminds me of my mom: Carole King Tapestry. It’s soft and strong and timeless. Give it a listen today. (Spotify)

•  There are plenty of fascinating facts swirling around Warren Buffett since he announced his retirement at age 94 as a hundred-billionaire (is that even the correct term?). But what I keep coming back to is this: he still lives in the Omaha, Nebraska home he bought in 1958 for $31,500. There’s something quietly profound about being completely content with one part of your life while pushing relentlessly in others. (Architectural Digest)

•  I could have used the concept of a Worry Windows when I was so anxious in college I would go actual weeks without being able to take a full deep breath.  Tell me you’re an elder millennial without telling me you raw-dogged undiagnosed anxiety through the early 2000s. (Self)

•  Vinegar Toast feels like one of those lightly pretentious food moments that I want to side-eye… but I know I’m going to try it and absolutely love it. Just look at this gorgeous slice of bread, fried to golden perfection in olive oil. We’re doing this, right  (Instagram)

• This is it!  In Pursuit of an Extraordinary Life (YouTube)

•  I said I didn’t need another pair of Dansko clogs. I like to keep just one pair in rotation since they take a few months to break in — but once they do, they’re perfect. Then I saw these garden mules and… turns out I was wrong. I absolutely needed another pair. (Dansko)

A year with Graham and dog cookies

Happy Mother’s Day, friends!

My love to you.

xo Joy