Some Happy Scribbles...
Some Happy Scribbles...
a closet bar & hamm and buble
Hello! I hope your week has been good. In case you missed the July Happy Horoscopes I sent out yesterday, here’s the link for optimistic predictions for the coming month!
It has been both quiet and busy around here - Teddy (11) is at sleepaway camp for four weeks (he says time is going quickly and the breakfast waffles are hard as bricks), and Sadie (15) has officially started her summer job as a lifeguard at a local public pool, where she’s working to perfect her whistle-blowing technique (and tan!). The chickens are nearly 3 weeks old and are getting bigger every hour: get your Chicken TV fix here!
I have been playing as much tennis as I can - outside - which is a true summer joy for me. In addition to celebrating July 4 this weekend, Jim and I have signed up to play in a mixed doubles tournament. I’m going for the look below.
Every time I play, I am fascinated by how good my shots are when they don’t matter (ie. during the warm-up or when I’m returning a serve that was out) and how things go downhill the minute pressure builds. The mental game always needs work!
Last Sunday, on a scenic country drive on an absolutely perfect day (on the way to play tennis with an old friend!), I listened to Glennon Doyle and Abby Wambach interview Billie Jean King on their podcast. They covered everything from equal pay for women in sports, therapy, abortion rights, and eating disorders. It’s a great, and inspiring listen if you have time.
And I am happy to report that Jim found his own summer creative project: he’s making a Summer Anthem Playlist. Ever since he decided to do this, I’ve had a million ideas for songs he should include, like Steal My Sunshine, Feels, and Come And Get Your Love; and then there’s Summer Lovin’ and Walking on Sunshine, too - I think I need to make a playlist of my own! Until then, I’m really enjoying the Summer BBQ playlist from Spotify.
We’re not going on any trips until August, but if you do happen to be traveling soon, this post from Leandra Medine (who started Man Repeller) is an exhaustively excellent run-down on what to wear and pack for a week-long trip. I really like the tip at the end about wearing pearls on beach vacations - I’ve never thought of that, but it makes sense, given where pearls come from!
I didn’t cook anything new this week - but I did return to the Crispy Gnocchi from last week as it was such a crowd-pleaser. I timed it: 15 minutes from opening the fridge to sitting down to eat - it may just be the ultimate vegetarian, dairy-free, weeknight meal and I cannot recommend it enough! We’re going to try Ali Slagle’s Sizzled Pork and Pineapple taco’s this weekend and I’ve also got this grilled chicken wings recipe teed up to make as soon as possible - I love Alison Roman’s cheeky newsletter - she does a great job selling her point of view.
On the topic of pork, Sadie introduced me to another SNL skit I had never seen: Jon Hamm and Michael Buble’s pork and champagne restaurant, Hamm and Buble. I had no idea Michael Buble was so funny.
And on the topic of Jon Hamm, Sadie and I took advantage of a free evening to do the Top Gun Double: we saw the new one at the theater and immediately returned home to watch the original on TV. We were surprised at just how good the original was - it had a little more charm, humor, and emotional drama. And it was so much fun (for me, not Sadie who died of embarrassment) repeating all the iconic lines I diligently memorized as a teenager, like: “Son, your ego is writing checks your body can’t cash;” and “You’ll be flying a cargo plane of rubber dogshit out of Hong Kong;” and the all-time-classic put-down: “Slider, you stink.” It doesn’t seem like kids do this anymore, but I vividly remember being at school, saying these lines with friends, and cracking ourselves up!
I’ve been trying to get Sadie to watch Muriel’s Wedding with me because I think she’d love the ABBA soundtrack, but she won’t commit to any more movies at this point, so we’re alternating between episodes of Hacks and Maya Rudolph’s new show, Loot, about a privileged billionaire, which is a bit of ridiculous fun, especially her epic house that has a bar (!!!) in her closet. I can only imagine the outfits I’d put together after a few drinks in my closet bar. Yikes! After I go to bed, Jim and Sadie have been staying up late watching the second season of Only Murders In The Building - they’re loving it.
While we’re talking TV and movies, have you seen the images coming out of the set of the new Barbie movie, with Ryan Gosling playing Ken, and Margot Robbie as Barbie?
If not, see below, and please enjoy! Have a wonderful weekend!
xo
Amelia
P.S: Loved this line from Jean Smart’s character in an episode of Hacks: “You only order white wine in a bar on the road. Because the cheap red is always terrible, but a cheap white, at least you can live with because it's chilled.” Words to live by.
