A Week in Review

Happy Friday, Friends!

In July, I wrote about things starting to shift for me — an underlying belief that things actually do work out. I’d started to believe it, but the real shift has been learning to receive the goodness coming my way. It still doesn’t come naturally, but I’m doing it, Friends.

One of the biggest gifts has been travel — the chance to host retreats and food trips with my friends at Byline. Last weekend was my first: a weekend at Autocamp Sonoma with the greatest people, amazing food (thanks to Chef Christa Luedtke and caterer Gina Popuolo cooking my recipes), redwoods, stargazing, and my sons along for the ride.

Speaking of trips — there’s still room if you want to join me and Michelle Tam in Kauai September 9-13th, and we still have spots for Cavallo Point too — with more to come that weekend, thanks to Byline.

A few more gifts I’m soaking up. Hope you’ve got some on your list too:

• Ted Lasso is back. Get through episode 2 before you come for me. Hope is back, baby.

• A new coffee klatch with friends from my coffee shop. Our first meet-up was this morning, and it was such a joy watching everyone connect.

• Reunited with Pat, one of my favorite people on Earth, who I met 31 years ago at the Williams Sonoma store on Chestnut. She’s a north star for me — more on her soon.

• More ease, generally. Connor is settling into his career and community; Charlie is off to study abroad this fall. The mother-son dynamic is shifting as they launch into their own worlds, but I feel nothing but gratitude for the life I’m building here in San Francisco. I’m sure of my decisions.

• Still not perfect. My chronic fatigue is at an all-time high thanks to this dang MCAS, Lyme and mold toxicity, but I know I’m healing, and I see my doctor next week to get back on track.

• Doing less, on purpose. Instead of packing everything in, I’m focused on finishing what I start — even if that means fewer checked boxes on my to-do list. There’s satisfaction in trusting that everything is happening at the pace it should.

Here’s to a weekend with a little more ease in it than the last. And grace for our own habits that can drive us nuts. I’m sending you all lots of love and gratitude for hanging out with me around these parts of the internet— and hopefully in person, too!