Sunday Summary - 02.06.22
New year, new format
If you’ve been a long-time follower, you may be familiar with the Sunday Summary - a weekly Instagram check-in about things I’ve been reading, watching, cooking, & working on. While that was fun, quick, and easy, I noticed the content wasn’t easily referenced, and each week I’d get DMs about old books mentioned and recipes featured. Don’t get me wrong - I LOVE messaging back and forth and getting your thoughts on it all, but I felt like the resources I was providing were scattered. Rather than having you sift through hundreds of “highlight slides” to reference everything, I’ve decided to deliver the deets directly to your inbox!
In addition to the books, recipes, and shows we already discuss, the same people who were interested in this newsletter also requested more content around budgeting & finance, travel, home decor, organization, careers, and more. Expect this newsletter to run in several directions - this is just the warm up.
Reading
I’m still working through Anxious People by Fredrik Backman, but after reading two heavier books back-to-back I need some levity. Here are 3 lighter books I’m looking forward to reading this year:
The Soulmate Equation - I think this will be the 5th or 6th book I’ve read by this duo, and their books are hit or miss for me. The promising reviews on Goodreads have me hopeful this will be a hit.
Book Lovers - Releases May 3rd. This is the same author who wrote Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation.
One Italian Summer - Releases March 1st. This is from the author of In Five Years, and apparently she likes to dabble in time travel. One Italian Summer also involves time shifts, but it’s a unique take on the idea and sounds super interesting!
Watching
On Monday night (I’m not sure how it happened), I went down a Tom Holland rabbit hole on YouTube and watched his episode of Hot Ones, a Jimmy Kimmel interview, and one of those Autocomplete videos. His American accent is so good that it’s truly shocking to hear him speak in his native English accent. Oh - and did y’all know he is only TWENTY-FIVE?! What.
Aziz sneakily came out with a new, short stand-up special on Netflix, and it was really good! (It may have been advertised everywhere, but I honestly didn’t know a thing about it until a friend mentioned it!) I feel like he did a great job of punctuating serious topics with jokes, and it left us both laughing and thinking. Highly recommend!
Will Arnett stars in this hilarious improv show on Netflix as Detective Terry Seattle. In each episode he works alongside a celebrity guest who has to try to solve the “murder” by the end of the episode.
From the celebrity guests’ perspective, the show is entirely unscripted, and Will Arnett does an insanely good job of staying in character and improving alongside them. We cracked up in every episode. Add it to your list, stat.
Cooking
I was bummed to find out the Half Baked Harvest cookbook release was pushed back a month, but that means you still have time to pre-order it! Her latest cookbook features 120 recipes, and I truly think she has the best flavors and sauces in the cooking blog game. To get us excited for the book release, I’ve included 4 of our go-to winter recipes from her blog below!
Working On
I want to do a better job of researching terms or concepts I’m unfamiliar with as soon as I come across them.
For example, I was listening to the Armchair Expert episode with Jeremy Renner, and they mentioned the acting term “sides.” Since then, I’ve heard the term like 10 times! (That’s called the Frequency Illusion - had to look that up, too).
I never bothered looking up the definition of sides at the time (in my defense, I was walking Nash), but had I looked it up when I got home, it would have made sense the next 3 times it was mentioned rather than me just being like “DANG IT - WHY IS THIS BEING BROUGHT UP AGAIN?!”
In case you were curious, sides are the portion of a movie script that actors memorize for auditions. Think of it as a synonym for “scenes.” That’s it - but good to know.
Life Hack
I can’t take credit for this idea. I saw Anna Groves do this and was kicking myself for not thinking of it sooner.
POV: You’re washing your face at night. You’ve splashed water on your face, pumped some cleanser onto your hands, and you reach up toward your face and alllllll the soapy water just drips. down. your. arms. It’s the worst. Truly.
This is a major first world problem - I’m very much aware. BUT there is a solution, and that solution is sweatbands. My friends, they’re TOTAL GAME CHANGERS! I got the navy to hide any potential weird stains, and they are very tight and secure (in a good way.) While I was only in the market for the wrist bands, the headband was a nice bonus for holding my hair back.
Ridiculous? Maybe. Effective? Definitely.
Sidebar: Anna has taught me so many tips and tricks, and her authenticity completely outshines the often-mundane influencer space. If you don’t already follow her, I highly recommend!
The Latest
Last week I was laser focused on getting this newsletter ready, so I put YouTube on hold. In case you’re still in the market for the perfect Valentine’s Day Gift, I do have several ideas to help you out in this video. While those ideas are largely experience-based, I also have a full playlist of gift guides filled with tangible ideas. I’ve linked a few that may come in handy below!
Thank you for reading the VERY first [newsletter] edition of the Sunday Summary! I truly can’t thank you enough for the support. See you next week!