Five Pick-Me-Ups
Do you have clothes you’ve worn a million times? Mine include this shirt and these flats. (Here’s a steal version of the shoes.)
Last weekend, Freddie and I went to see the Amy Sherald exhibit at The Whitney Museum. She paints portraits of Black Americans, both as a way to show people just being themselves and also to correct the omission of Black people in classic American portraiture. For example, this man sitting on a beam nods to the famous photo “Lunch Atop a Skyscraper,” and the painting of two men kissing (above) references the 1945 photo of a sailor kissing a woman in Times Square. They’re stunning in person, and I’d highly recommend seeing the show, if you can!
I sent my friend Claudette flowers this week, and the florist, knowing the goal was to comfort, added such beautiful wispy, feathery blooms. I was touched by the idea of women helping women help women.
We talked about Guinness cake and its “damp blackness” this week, but what about mud cake? Jenny Rosenstrach added salted chocolate frosting to her recipe, and, she says, “I swear I almost cried when I tasted the result, I had forgotten how effing amazing it was, simultaneously rich and chocolatey but with a decidedly springy texture.”
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Finally, hanging out with friends. xoxo
P.S. More fun things, and four comedy scenes that made me laugh.
Tags: fun things, personal
Comments
89 commentsFor memoirs, highly recommend I am, I am, I am: Seventeen Brushes with Death by Maggie O’Farrell (and all her fiction as well)
Keith McNally is the second author I have heard grump about the phrase, “reaching out”. I find this to be disappointing as it is such a nice phrase, it even has kind imagery and non-committal, non-confrontational vibes. I am sad that such a gentle phrase has been criticized so deeply by literary dudes that I feel like I can’t use it again in my emails. I asked ChatGPT for some alternatives and here they are: Friendly and Warm “Getting in touch” “Checking in” “Following up” “Touching base” “Sending a quick note” Thoughtful and Kind “Just wanted to connect” “Hoping to hear from you” “Extending a quick hello” “Dropping a line” “I wanted to say hello and…” Professional but Soft “Contacting you regarding…” “Writing to share…” “Connecting with you about…” “I wanted to follow up on…” None of these are as good as, “reaching out”. So here is mine: Hi! I wanted to…….nope, got nothing.
I grew so tired of “touching base” in every work email, ever! So I retired. Hahaha! Highly recommend!
Yeah I don’t understand what’s wrong with the phrase ” reaching out ” !
I can no longer eat eggs (womp womp), anyone have some amazing egg free cake recipes? Bonus points for dairy and gluten free for my whole household!
Check out The Loopy Whisk if you haven’t already. She has a PhD in Chemistry (aka, really knows her stuff!) and has incredible recipes for different dietary requirements. Her GF ones are the best I’ve ever tried (especially the cinnamon buns!!), but she also has egg-free, dairy-free, etc.
Oh I remember of my dead old but favourite t-shirt. It was about 4 years old but best!
Great list of memoirs! Have you read Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight? It’s a fantastic memoir.
I read that ! I love the title and cover ! Also read the follow up, Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness
Love those beautiful wispy flowers. They gave me a pick me up!
Amy Sherald’s portraits are just beautiful in person. I had the fortune to see one at the National Portrait Galllery and it just brought me to tears. I had such an emotional reaction to it. I highly recommend seeing her work in person if you have the opportunity.
This exact thing happened to me in San Francisco. Tears out of the blue. She’s brilliant!!!!
I love the new Book Recs section – hadn’t noticed it before! In terms of memoir, you have to check out How To Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair. It’s the story of her upbringing in a strict Rastafari household in Jamaica under a domineering father, and how poetry gave her a way out. It’s absolutely gorgeous and topped many best-of lists the last couple of years, including President Obama’s! So luminous and visceral – highly recommend!
That looks like a cool exhibit! The National Museum of the American Indian in DC has a similar photography exhibit featuring photos of the everyday lives of Indigenous communities. The photos are stunning! https://americanindian.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/item?id=1013
So glad you made it to the Amy Sherald show – even more glad that you loved it!! Encouraging everyone to see the exhibition before it closes in August. Bonus – the Museum is free every Second Sunday of the month, every Friday 5-10pm, and every day for folks 25 and under! https://whitney.org/visit/free-days-and-nights (lol yes I work at the Whitney, just doing my duty)
Hope Alison is doing ok, sending love ❤️
Today was feeling very dark. I took myself to the park and sat in the tall grass and watched it sway in the light breeze. A balm for my weary heart.
Sending you a big virtual hug, Michaela🤍
The Amy Sherald exhibit is one of the best I’ve see in years! The people in the paintings just come to life off the canvas. I could’ve spent all day studying the details. And she seems like such an incredibly warm and down to earth human.
I’m so late to the game, but my kids recently discovered Kim’s Convenience. We’ve been watching together and it is SO GOOD!! Just what we need during these tough times. Looking forward to all things summer like peaches, long walks at night, ice cream, and sitting at our community pool.
I can’t recommend IL Representative Lauren Underwood’s town hall where she explains the importance of calling your elected representatives. The five minutes we spend daily is incredibly important and impactful: https://www.instagram.com/stories/repunderwood/3653393213563564701?utm_source=ig_story_item_share&igsh=MXRocWd0Y3A5NmVzOA==
Anthony Bourdain’s “Kitchen Confidential” is…chef’s kiss.
My pick me up? I just rescued all the chickens from the chicken game!! I literally gasped when the message popped up, and I feel very proud. Haha Thanks COJ for introducing us to the fun! (And here is the link for anyone who hasn’t played! https://368chickens.com/)
REAL ONES KNOW.
That is amazing!! The best I’ve done is somewhere in the low 100s, and that was one time :)
!! Congrats!
It took me 490 tries, but I also saved them!!
Yay Laura!!! You guys, I just found an almost exact copy of 368 Chickens. It looks the same with colored blocks instead of chickens. The only difference is that you don’t count down, you get a high score. And you don’t get kicked off when you complete it. http://www.connect3.org
217 tries! I gasped when I realized I would “win”. This damn game consumed a solid month of my life. I was at relatives house when I won and they’d all be watching me play and were so curious. Welp, entire family now hooked!
My current pick-me-up: the Norvegian tv-show Pernille. It’s about a divorced mother and her two ennuying and funny teenagers. The show finds a great balance between drama, humor and romance. The heroin is exhausted and radiant. And! I love discovering Norway this way! It has been a big hit over there and I highly recommend it! Its on Netflix.
I wondered about this show – must watch it now!
I am LIVING for PERNILLE. I have to pace myself it is so good!
Second vote for Pernille. I really enjoyed it.
Pernille is one of the best tv-shows I watched.. From the script to the cast, everything is so put together. I’ve cried, laughed… Everyone has to have Pernille in life :)
I’m norwegian and it’s so fun that you have discovered this show! I just finished the last season, it was beautiful and bitter sweet <3
Yes, I love Pernille! She is a lovely mother and friend and I love seeing her interact with kids in her workplace. And, it’s so much fun to learn about holidays and traditions in Norway through this show. I just want to sit with Pernille, on her terrace and drink wine and eat her famous rice pudding! This show is getting me through these hard days!
I agree with everyone’s comments on this brilliant, lovely funny show. Do yourself a favour and watch it. A balm and a pick-me-up for sure.
My 15 year old daughter and I are absolutely bingeing (not holding back at all) Pernille. I adore everything about it — her relationship with her father, her kids, her sister; and the peek into Norwegian culture, which I also share, but don’t know enough about. My daughter and I will likely finish the last season tonight and get on to planning a trip to see more of Norway.
Highly recommend the audiobook for I Regret Almost Everything – Richard E. Grant narrates/performs and is brilliant (duh).
Immediately placed a library hold – LOVE a fun audiobook read by the author
Didn’t Jenny just write about the same memoir, like, a few weeks ago in her own newsletter…?
Yes it’s a new book so multiple people have been giving their impressions of it — we don’t always like the same books but this one hit!
Genuinely curious what your point is Mia?
I missed Jenny’s mention, as I am not caught up on my reading, so I’m glad that Joanna also wrote about the book. I’m excited to notice that she interviewed Barbara Kingsolver this week and I will probably link to her post about Barbara in my blog next week. As a blogger, I often refer to things that I learned about in other bloggers’ posts. My discoveries sometimes come from perusing publications or social media. They often come from friends, family members and often bloggers. Thank goodness for so many people who open the world to me.
In relation to that beautiful exhibition, I thought I would mention that YouTube has awesome walk throughs of exhibition. My husband is an artist in Australia, so he is like a pig in mud now he has found this, watching walk throughs all over mostly NYC… some people chat too much through them, and one woman just has annoying shots of her bum, but the slow walk just pointing the camera at each painting is thrilling.
Great pick me ups and very much needed today with all of the immigration arrests happening.
I have never bought anything from Sezane but am always tempted based on your posts. Would love any favorites from this group!
Sorry, but Keith McNally is a sexual predator apologist. I’m sure his memoir is entertaining but he’s a vile person.
Can you say more Natalie? He’s defended sexual abusers? (I’m personally unfamiliar with him)
how do you know?
He’d had some controversy: https://www.bonappetit.com/story/keith-mcnally-new-york-restaurateur-explained?srsltid=AfmBOorCmLh1biDdG-XEhI8iTE4bLSVtySC4V0xayf9Sh4CGrXm_TluK
All pick me ups picked me up. I’m going to be making the Guinness cake for my husband’s birthday this weekend and I’m going to make mulled wine to have with it. It’s cold where I am! For another pick me up I recommend the French movie Jane Austin Wrecked My Life. It’s so lovely and fun. I saw it last week and tempted to go again…it’s perfection. I’m pretty sure it was written for the Cup of Jo audience:)
Thank you Ceridwen, I’d wondered about that movie and will now try to see it. Enjoy the cake and the birthday, mulled wine sounds perfect with it right now in NZ!
I am feeling so angry and impotent today. I have called my Republican Senators and asked them to call me back with their comments about the way Senator Padilla was treated (NO ONE should be treated that way obviously). Thank you for showing these flowers, thank you for the balm of art, and thank you for the chocolate cake. I needed ALL of this and then some. Time for a walk!
Thank you, Kristin. Thank you.
Spotting the tin of Bag Balm in Jenny’s cake shot made me smile. While Mom’s Stuff All-Purpose Pinion Salve is now my favorite, we used Bag Balm on anything and everything growing up.
My pick me up this week is watching a show I watched as a kid in the late nineties. I remember having a crush on one of the actors and now , 25 years later I know exactly why . He has the sweetest face. I almost cried thinking that as a kid I could recognise a kind face. And yes I still have a crush on him.
AHHH! dying to know who this is.
Late 90s kid here as well – I’m wondering which show it was? Definitely agree that a sweetheart of a man is worth swooning over – that’s why my childhood crush was Levar Burton from Reading Rainbow – and yup, still crushing too.
Yes, Sar! Reading Rainbow Levar Burton was my first *swoon* as a little girl. And it held steady for Geordi La Forge. Lol
The guy who plays Patrick on Schitt’s Creek was my crush back when he was on Strange Days at Blake Holesy High!
@Kelly Dawson that actor from Schitt’s Creek was also the voice of Franklin the Turtle : ) He went to my highschool.
I’m hoping to make this cake. It looks so yummy. The flowers you sent your friend are gorgeous.
the florist nailed it 🌸🫶🌼🌿🪽
this post is a balm and amen to women helping women help other women–what can’t women do?! literally nothing, i love us. xoxo
Yes! Agree with you Karen! Women helping women help other women. This is everything!
Making Karen great again! You guys got a bad wrap (my mom is a Karen too)!
Hahaha, Jess, that is too funny. I don’t think anyone named Karen is actually a Karen and because of that I don’t mind the “Karen” thing because white women need to be checked for ridiculousness and if calling them a “Karen” gets the job done, that’s fine with me! Tell your sweet mom hi from this non “Karen” Karen :-)
I think my admiration for women has led me to just absolutely marvel at the women of Trump 2.0. Who ARE these women? Karoline, Kristi, Pam… They’re not dumb. They’re articulate and forceful speakers. Yet, they don’t seem to have any reservation with lying or exaggerating and spreading harm. I suppose there have always been plenty of women capable of applying their skills for evil but I’ve been lucky in my life, particularly as an adult, to be surrounded by smart, caring, thoughtful, insightful, practical women – including the women who gather here. What a beautiful bubble.
every karen / karin i have ever met has been a cool dude.
When I heard that Brian Wilson had died, my thoughts were full of my best friend, who introduced me to “God Only Knows” on a mix tape she made for me decades ago and has embodied that song for as long as I’ve known her. So last night as I was cooling down after a run I recorded a little voice memo of me singing the opening lines, probably breathlessly and off-key, and send them to her, no note. So my feel-good advice for you all is to sing and send someone a love song. For you I also have a question, which is: Q: Why do Swedish ships have bar codes? A: So they can Scandinavian.
Oh excellent! I cannot wait to tell this joke to as many people I can find who will stand still long enough. LOL!!
Brian Wilson’s death hit me HARD, especially in the same week as Sly Stone. Listening to Pet Sounds mono on a loop since last night–that man was a balm to all the brokenhearted and I hope he is with his brothers and beloved wife, in whatever form or fashion comes next.
Beautifully put, Karen, and I’m right there with you.
My wedding song was Wouldn’t It Be Nice. I never have (and never will) forgive Scott Simon for being unkind to Brian Wilson in an interview once (now years ago). Brian Wilson was such a broken hearted pilgrim through a time of uncertainty—now wonder those songs feel so good to listen to now.
Brian Wilson’s passing hit me hard too. Years ago I read and loved the book “I am Brian Wilson”. It was a wonderful and fascinating insight in how he perceived sound and how he experimented with music. I feel I learned a lot about music composition and I def recommend it if you’re interested in the subject. The movie “Love and mercy” was great too. Now i’ll go back to listen to Pet Sounds. :)
Cracker of a joke. Tanks tanks…
This joke was the perfect salve to my tears from your story about recording the voice note. BW’s passing is so very sad, I love how you commerated it and I’m imagining all sorts of little zings going across the universe today for him. On my end, I sent a note to my husband’s Uncle, who loves the Beach Boys and who flew to California from New Mexico along with his best friend to take my husband and I to see Brian Wilson play in 2014. We had to drive 2.5 hours and got home at 1am, and it was so worth it. We still talk about how much fun we had together.
I love Brian *and* a great platonic love story, so this is a perfect comment. What a gift he gave us.
Hahaha! Such a great joke. Thanks Lauren O!
My kid, an old soul in a college student’s body, LOVES the Beach Boys and was devastated to hear of Brian Wilson’s passing. We listened to the Pet Sounds in silence as tribute over dinner. Sometimes good taste skips a generation hahah
omg I read this over breakfast with my husband and had to immediately tell him the joke. He put his head in his hands :) :) :) hahah. Love it!
@ Kipp: “Brian Wilson was such a broken hearted pilgrim through a time of uncertainty.” not me crying at my desk again, well well well said. xoxo
Lauren O – Fun tidbit: Paul McCartney has stated many times that his favorite song is “God Only Knows” and he feels that it’s the best song ever written. The harmonies and melodies were cutting edge and he said the lyrics bring him to tears.
Very low rate comment here but wow does the cover of that memoir (presumably Keith) look like Matt Le Blanc.
omg you’re right! also, there are no bad comments haha
I just finished reading the memoir I Regret Almost Everything and left me with such contradicting feelings. Finished it yesterday, this is how I feel today. Maybe I’ll think more of it and change my mind? Learned that currently I like the author approximately 85% (perhaps because I’m a little bit like him?). The snob in him has been identified – by himself – but not cured. Maybe there’s no cure… :) The Instagram presence is what irks at me… I too, encountered a terrific experience, near death one. Haven’t changed much since then, unfortunately. Although I understand him and perhaps myself, I still dislike who/what we are after we “brag” about ourselves in a sincere way. Looking forward to his promised revised paperback version. I’ll read it, for sure. Want to see what the editing will be all about.
Mirela, the snob in him has been identified…but not cured. So true. I think we all have little (or big) things that we are snobs about and can never control, change, or cure. Mine is people who don’t read. Can’t read is one thing, but doesn’t read is an entirely other.
Mirela: Did you say you had a near death experience? If you’re comfortable sharing, I am really curious about what you experienced.