Feel Good Friday 80
This week flew by – gotta love a short one! We’ve officially kicked off summer at our house with Emmy graduating from 8th grade this week, Sawyer finishing exams and Wilder starting his summer school. We’re headed to a wedding tomorrow and it feels so weird to be headed to a gathering. Last weekend, Chris and I were picking out his shirt and tie to complement my dress, chatting with the lovely young man who helped us (Shoutout to Jaylin at Brooks Brothers in Greensboro and huge shoutout to Brooks Brothers for hiring diverse empolyees!) and telling him that this was probably the last of our college friends’ weddings to attend. And with a shock, we realized that most likely the next weddings we’d be going to would be that of our own kids or their friends. (Assuming people want to marry our kids, that is.) Yikes! Let’s put aside that frightening thought and talk about all of the good stuff I have to share this week!
Just starting with this photo because it’s a quintessential summer shot.
Simple and Delicious Salmon
I forgot to take a photo of the delicious and easy meal we cooked last Saturday – and leftovers just don’t photograph as well, unless it’s soup. I had gone to the farmers market that morning and picked up more fennel and happened to come across this recipe for slow baked citrus salmon with fennel and herbs. It was absolutely delicious and so easy to make! I love a pan you can toss in the oven and forget about, at least for a little while. I don’t recommend forgetting about it for good. The only note I have on this recipe is that it was taking much longer to bake than it was supposed to at the suggested temperature, so I bumped it up to 375 degrees after 30 minutes and let it bake another 10 minutes. After that, it was perfect.
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Making Greensboro Proud
A coworker brought it to my attention that a local group, 1aChord from UNCG (UNC Greensboro), performed on America’s Got Talent this week. I immediately googled it and found their performance and, as it happens, they sang my all time favorite song – Fix You by Coldplay. They knocked it out of the park and their video is a must see. By they way, the three members met only one and a half months ago:
Newer to Me Clean Beauty Brand
I am always on the lookout for clean beauty products. I recently decided to give Ilia a try when I saw their Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40 which is a “clean, light-coverage, tinted mineral SPF 40 serum that boosts skincare benefits.” I absolutely love it! It’s the perfect lightweight makeup for summer and love that it has a higher SPF. I’ve also noticed that my forehead isn’t breaking out as much. After using it for a month, I added a few other items to my repertoire: this primer which is great under the serum, a lipstick and this illuminator in cosmic dancer, which gives a subtle glow to the skin. So far, I’ve loved everything I’ve bought from Ilia and also find them to be on the more affordable side for such great clean products.
A Thrilling Read
The Cutaway follows Virginia Knightly, a DC news producer, as she gets herself wrapped up in the story of a missing woman. As she dives further into the investigative reporting, she begins to question – and doubt – almost everyone she knows. This book was author Christina Kovac’s debut novel a few years back and I truly hope she writes more stories involving Virginia Knightly. I thought it was well told and kept my interest. And, of course, I love a thrilling mystery.
Restaurant with (Artichoke) Heart
Last week, a new restaurant opened in Greensboro called Little Light Bread & Soup Co. I got to attend their press night and the food was AMAZING. Little Light is LGBTQ owned by two women who are married to each other. One is the experienced chef and the other operates the front of the house. Between the two of them, they have years of restaurant experience, plus they’ve had their fair share of hard times so are out to do some good and shine their little light on others. The dinner menu is Italian inspired and insanely good – I loved the kale caesar salad! The trick, of course, is massaging the kale, but I never massage mine at home. What the eff, kale? I’d like a massage, too, high maintenance green. Ok, back to Little Light: Each week, there’s a new bread and soup offering for lunch and those items are “pay what you can,” so if customers don’t have much money, they can still find a warm meal. The location is not exactly ideal, but they chose it so they could better serve those who needed their help. This place was really sweet and I wish them the best! I’ll definitely be back. Better start massaging that kale, ladies.
A Fab New Shop & Journal
My friend Amanda, whom I met through blogging years ago, is a talented and soulful human being, and, now, artist. Her work speaks to me – it’s mystical, meaningful and spiritual. She has just launched her Etsy shop – love her Let it Rise pillow! – and has a beautiful guided morning journal available on Amazon. I dream of one day being able to get one of her large paintings for my living room. I am obsessed! Look at those colors and the birds. One day.
Life’s Little Moments
Memorial Day weekend provided nice cool temperatures, perfect for breaking in our new fire pit. Above you can see my charred-to-perfection marshmallow. Of course, one idiot in our family didn’t let the metal skewer cool enough before popping a puff of sugary goodness into their mouth and got a blister! It’s me. I am the idiot. But the marshmallow was worth it.
Wilder loves marshmallows, but was not a fan of the idea of roasting it. He just ate them straight from the bag and also ate a couple pieces of chocolate, so you could say he’s into the deconstructed s’more. It’s a thing. After a few minutes, he was laughing hysterically and running around on a sugar high. Mission accomplished.
We are so lucky that Greensboro offers so many fantastic parks and green spaces. Last Friday, I took Wilder to Gateway Gardens to run around. He had an absolute blast discovering all of the wonderments inside its gates. This magical garden has metal apples the kids can climb into, fun paths to discover, a huge vegetable garden and lots of opportunities to learn. It really encourages kids to become interested in growing fruits, vegetables and other plants. Now I just need to work on getting them to eat them. It’s taken almost 16 years with Sawyer and – actually, nope. We still aren’t there.
“Come sit with me, mama.”
After we brought home cinnamon rolls from Lavender & Honey last week, my baking neighbor whose business just launched told me she was going to make us some and she delivered! Literally. Monday evening there was a knock on our door and we were greeted with the smell of cinnamon and sugar. These are absolutely amazing- the cinnamon filling is incredible and gives a nice little crunchiness to the bottoms.
It’s a good thing the dress I’m wearing to the wedding is really flowy and not fitted. No one needs to see my cinnamon buns.
Have a wonderful weekend, my friend! I hope you fill it with joy, good food and friends.
