I recently discovered another food writer that I follow, Half-Baked Harvest, shares a similar article from time to time. I hadn’t seen it before, but stumbled on it by accident as I looked for a recipe this past weekend. I need to read her site more. So far I’ve mostly just searched it for recipes of a particular stripe. If you haven’t read it, she has a lot of great suggestions in her latest post.

My (mostly) weekly article started as an avenue to share some of the things I’ve been obsessing about, and to save my husband from too many monologues about things on my mind. The title is inspired by an old closing night tradition from the theater company I was a part of in college. Two people would share rather 10 rather tongue-in-cheek highlights from the play we had just closed. Those are good memories.

And with that, here are a few of my favorite things from the last few weeks.

1. The waning days of summer. It’s always about this time of year I start missing summer even before it’s over. This has been one of the weirdest summers of the century, with quarantining and no travel or pools or beaches, all of the things I like to make summer with. Still, I have had some lovely mornings sitting on my deck with a cup of coffee and a book and I will miss these days when they fade away.
2. This Peach Sesame Crumble recipe from Bon Appetit. I have a million peaches coming in from my CSA. I love peaches and often can bear to part with them for baking, because I just love eating them raw so much. But I had more than I could eat, so I tried this new recipe and LOVED it.
3. Birkenstock sandles – I have always wanted a pair, but whenever I tried them on they were just so hard and I knew you had to break them in but I just didn’t believe they could ever get comfortable enough. I just didn’t believe it. Well, I finally got over that fear and bought a pair earlier this summer (if I couldn’t travel much at least I could get a new pair of shoes, amiright?) at the local Mirabelli shoe store. I’m officially hooked. They are the comfiest, they are so cute, I wear them even when I’m dressing up a bit and make it work. Love love love. The salesperson that sold them to me shared the awesome advice to follow a 2-4-6 method and I am sure that made all the difference. Wear them for 2 hours the first time, 4 hours the second time, 6 hours the third time, and after that you can wear them all day if you want. And I do.
4. Stars Thrift Store – I haven’t visited this second hand shop in many years, but I stopped in the other day on a whim. Their selection was actually quite impressive, especially their home goods, which is honestly mostly what I shop for in thrift stores. I love outfitting my home with things unusual and unique. Thrifting is just the best way to do that (and it leaves more money in my account for that new summer dress I’ve been eyeing). On this recent visit, I found this lovely hand painted Italian candlestick.
5. My new Blessed is She planner. Here’s to some more intentional living (and less forgetfulness!). I love all of the space it has for notes, the sturdy cover, and the spaces to not only write down your schedule, but plan out pieces of your week like meal planning and to-do lists. I got stuck in college on a “School Year” planner schedule and I’ve just never gotten out of it. They are taking pre-orders now for 2021.
6. Zinnias and sunflowers finally blooming in my very own garden! I haven’t gotten many tomatoes yet because I’ve been a bad plant mom this year, although just this week I pulled in one of my “lemon cucumbers.” I haven’t cut it open yet, but I can’t wait to try it.
7. This cake stand I got as a wedding gift. It is now sitting on my Ikea Kallax shelf in my living room and it makes me smile every time I look at it.
8. Homemade cold brew. I believe the Smitten Kitchen website can do no wrong, but I tried her recipe and did not love it. I love strong coffee, and this was a bit too strong for me! I did scale it up quite a bit, so it may be just that. So then I went back to the tried and true Pioneer Woman recipe and found it a bit too weak. Next time, I’m splitting the difference when it comes to the brew ratio. But I will always and forever love how the Pioneer Woman doctors up her cold brew with sweetened condensed milk and heavy cream. I even got my husband hooked.
9. Donut/Saturn Peaches. They are the cutest. They make me feel like I’m eating donuts but they are much healthier. It might just be the cute factor but I think they also taste better and I’ll stick to it.
10. Guthrie’s Tavern – Where do I even begin. This small, quirky, amazing, cozy, delightful, artistic tavern that honestly was as much my home when I lived in Lakeview as my actual home closed in the wake of covid-19. I am heartbroken. I came here so often – after work, with friends, with family, alone, with a book, on Christmas Eve before Midnight Mass, on Easter after attending the Easter Vigil. We celebrated here with my family the night Wesley and I got engaged in front of Wrigley Field. We even celebrated here after our wedding reception closed down. About 20 guests from the wedding made their way back east from our Portage Park reception to sit around a long table in the back and drink Guinness and do shots of malort. I made friends with the staff, some of the best friends I made in my neighborhood. Their craft beer selection was stellar and they boasted great back bar where you could find the more expected bottles plus some fun, unusual treats. I will miss this bar so much, for the dynamic community it built and the memories that it holds within it’s four brick, ivy covered walls.

Have a great week!