All week I’ve been fixated on the idea of buying a new cookbook. Like I just need to be whisked away to somebody else’s organised kitchen and feel soothed by the fact that their right burner knob isn’t broken and that they know exactly what to do with sumac, a spice that I bought for an Ottolenghi recipe years ago and have neglected ever since. (Does it go bad?? what are we supposed to be doing with this???)

I studied book publishing in college*and remember a professor once explaining that cookbooks are like travel books, they transport readers to a different place while opening up a world of possibility and adventure. They’re practical, but they also let you get lost in the daydream of a better life, and right now, in the grey of January, I think what I’m really looking for is an escape. I want good natural light. I want fresh produce that’s been ripened by the sun. And I want all my meals to be as picture-perfect as the life I’m trying to bullet-journal into existence.

And even though I don’t need a new cookbook (I have so many already, many of which are still fairly new and disgracefully under-used) I want one, and have my eye on this one which is actually quite cheap! Perfect for a thrifty January. This next week, I just might buy it and escape from this grey world for a little while. And who knows, maybe Ella Risbridger will tell me what to do with the rest of that sumac.

Speaking of the ever-present grey, here are a few things that sparked my interest and/or made my week a little brighter!

This is the cutest typing test. And not to brag, but I can type 85 words a minute. 💁🏻‍♀️
I’m so on board with Anne T. Donahue coming out and speaking the truth: Chasing Liberty was a charming and perfectly entertaining movie. Plus it introduced little teenage me to Matthew Goode and I’d be lying if I said I haven’t had massive crushes on both him and Mandy Moore ever since. Sigh.
House plant? CHECK.
Pale pink walls? CHECK.
Insufferable Millennial home design? CHECK!
I really like this article on how recessions have shaped fashion and interior design.
I’ve spent so much time ogling the photography on Sophie Billie Brahe’s site. Also I would v much like these earrings. Someone pls tell David.
I would also very much like to sit in the Pederson lounge chair.
I got all the warm fuzzies (+ omg those photos!) reading Ashley C Ford’s piece on Serena Williams in Allure.
LOL’d reading the reviews of the Wenger 16999 Swiss Army Knife Giant. Be sure to forward it along to your dad**. He’ll love it.
And lastly, so much of this piece on millennial burnout by Anne Helen Peterson hit home. This brilliant cartoon about the mental load women take on in relationships by Emma Clit is mentioned in it and should be required reading for everyone in a heterosexual relationship***. And this response to Peterson’s article by Tiana Clark about black burnout is very thought-provoking and important. What a time to be alive!!

And now, having shared that last one, I feel that the pre-amble to this post is absolutely a sign that I need to CLOSE THE COMPUTER, KATE and chill out before I burn out****. Bye!

*Guess how fun it was to graduate with that degree in 2009!
**And everyone else too.
***Could someone also send this to David? It’ll be better if it doesn’t come from me.
****Isn’t it so sadistic that this thing that I do for myself and for fun is like a mini job that I put on my to-do list each week? Hahaaaahhhhhh 😱