Some Happy Scribbles...
Hello! I hope your week has been good. I arrived home from last week’s trip with a case of the post-vacation-blues (which apparently is a real thing) that took me a few days to shake off.
My first strategy was pretending I was still on holiday by spending some of Sunday afternoon on our hammock (for the first time this calendar year) reading the latest New York Magazine cover to cover and doing a deep dive on Shania Twain’s divorce-cheating-remarriage saga; I didn’t get to the Netflix documentary, but I will!
Next up: going to bed early, eating healthy (more on that later), and long walks with adorable Ollie while listening to the latest episode of Tim Ferriss’ podcast, which largely centered on what makes a meaningful and well-lived life, and is worth a listen.
The kids knew I wasn’t my usual self, so they were especially nice (ie. complained less than usual when I told / reminded them to do the dishwasher) and Sadie (15) recommended the Recess Therapy Instagram account to cheer me up. If you don’t know it, it’s a veritable goldmine of cute kids saying things that WILL make you smile. Like this Corntastic guy! I also love Jennifer Garner’s Insta for a reliable dose of silliness.
In my subdued mood, I craved mellow and nostalgic things to watch, and began with The Summer I Turned Pretty on the plane ride home (and realized it was filmed in and around the beach where we vacationed last week!). Next up was the aging backward movie, The Age of Adaline with Blake Lively, which is apparently trending on TikTok; and then I rewatched Julie and Julia, for a very satisfying Nora Ephron / Tucci / Streep fix.
But it wasn’t until Wednesday rolled around and I realized I had something fun to look forward to - we’re visiting friends at their beach house this weekend - that I really started to feel better. As a big believer in the joy of anticipating things, I should have known that after a much-looked-forward-to trip, it would help to have something fun on the calendar. Next time we go away, I’ll plan a tiny event or treat for as soon as we return to alleviate the inevitable blues.
My malaise left me feeling uninspired in the kitchen (even after Julie and Julia), but the amazing fresh produce available everywhere meant I didn’t have to do much to whip up delicious and healthy meals.
Here’s a no-recipe fish dish for one I invented out of laziness (and a desire to eat healthy!) that you might like to try:
Slice a ripe tomato or two into 3 or 4 thick pieces;
Take a piece of any firm white fish - I used cod - and generously salt and pepper it;
Heat a cast iron skillet to medium-high, add some olive oil, then place the tomato slices and fish in the skillet; drizzle a little more olive oil and salt and pepper over everything.
Cook for 3 minutes, then turn the fish and cook for another 4 minutes.
Scoop tomato and fish out of the pan and onto a dinner plate and eat. You could also line the plate with some arugula or spinach, or not!
Speaking of super-easy summer dishes, I forgot to mention in last week’s post that I made Ina Garten’s Confetti Corn for a big group last week at the beach. This is a much more elegant way to eat corn that gnawing it off the cob, and is particularly good for kids with braces. Would Corntastic Guy approve? I hope so! I’ve added this one to my Summer Recipes list.
Well, that’s it for me this week! I hope you have a fun weekend planned, and thank you so much for reading.
I’ll be back next week…
xo
Amelia
P.S.: For a guaranteed good time, here’s some vintage Shania: