Sunday Summary - 4.10.23
Reading
The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
My friend Kesler vetted this incredibly popular book before giving me the green light to read, and MAN am I glad she did! This book hooked me from the first page, and every single chapter leaves you on a cliffhanger. I couldn’t put it down.
Plot description from Amazon: Before Owen Michaels disappears, he smuggles a note to his beloved wife of one year: Protect her. Despite her confusion and fear, Hannah Hall knows exactly to whom the note refers—Owen’s sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey. Bailey, who lost her mother tragically as a child. Bailey, who wants absolutely nothing to do with her new stepmother. Hannah and Bailey set out to discover the truth. But as they start putting together the pieces of Owen’s past, they soon realize they’re also building a new future—one neither of them could have anticipated.
If you’re not a reader, this story is about to be released in the form of a limited series on Apple TV+ with Jennifer Garner on April 14th.
Cooking
Monday - Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Basil Chicken - She calls for coconut milk in this recipe, but whenever I use canned coconut milk as a dairy-free substitute, I taste way too much coconut and it ends up tasting like half pina colada, half sun dried tomato basil chicken. Not really my favorite flavor combo. I recommend using the original flavor Nutpods instead of canned coconut milk if your taste buds really taste coconut like mine do! Tip: Butterfly the chicken breasts or cut them into strips for quicker, easier cooking and a better texture.
Tuesday - Chipotle Cauliflower Tostadas - This is one of those super quick, easy, filling recipes that make weeknight dinners easy. The salsa verde added to the black beans adds a ton of flavor, and don’t skip the arugula and cilantro!
Wednesday — Mediterranean Orzo and Chickpea Stuffed Bell Peppers — This long time favorite recipe is better as one big casserole (in our humble opinion.) As fun as stuffed peppers may seem, they’re kind of hard to eat! We opt to chop the red peppers up and mix it with the filling to create one big easy-to-eat meal. No cooking time modifications are necessary either!
Thursday — Orecchiette pasta with sausage, broccolini, and roasted red peppers — We cooked the version of this recipe found in the original The Defined Dish cookbook. It’s on the last page of the first chapter, and it is incredibly simple yet so flavorful. The recipe I have linked is almost identical! If you swap out broccoli rabe with broccolini and add a squeeze of lemon juice to the final product, it’s basically the same recipe.
Weekly Favorites
Spring Dresses
With several trips, weddings, and showers on the horizon, I recently picked out a few dresses that could work for a variety of occasions AND that could be dressed up or dressed down. Everything is 25% off right now, if you have a several spring events on the horizon too!
Blue printed midi dress | Black flutter sleeve mini dress | White flutter sleeve maxi dress
Sizing tips: If you’re shorter than 5’3” (like me!) I recommend getting your normal size + petite in the midi dresses to ensure the hemline hits your calf properly. For the mini dresses, I always go with the “regular” sizing to ensure they aren’t super short!
Gua Sha Facial Tool
I was skeptical about this skincare tool for a while, but after 3+ months of use, I can confidently say this tool has made a difference! The description of the product does a great job touting its benefits: Facial Gua Sha moves lymphatic fluids so skin can function better and improve blood circulation. Reduce puffiness and add energy with our one minute massage, helping skin to feel lifted and brighter. I have definitely noticed a reduction in puffiness and in my overall face shape after being consistent with it. It’s nothing dramatic, but I feel that my cheeks/jawline are less puffy, and I like that it makes me slow down, both morning and night. I rub two pumps of marula oil into my skin before I jump into a simple 1-2 minute routine, like this one.
Oldie but Goodie April Favorites
I’ve been itching to get back to filming lately, but we have so much coming up over the next 3 weeks (work trip, Hawaii trip, and an exciting edition of the Sunday Summary in the works) that I think I’m going to wait just a little bit longer to dive back in. My hard drive is also still acting up since updating my computer to the latest operating system, SO I thought it would be fun to revive the April Favorites video I posted this time last year. I’m still using 100% of these products (minus the candle, because just ran out of it), so I hope you love them as much as I do!