chocolate chip cookies and other 90s mom things

Hi, it’s Andi again with another roundup of 90s mom recipes, activities, and products to try out!

I am also ✨celebrating✨ over here because I learned that if your podcast gets over 1,050 downloads in the first 7 days you are in the top 5% of podcasts and y’all somehow my first podcast got 1.5K in the first 7 days!

So grateful and excited to keep creating content in this way! I just interviewed Brittany Viklund and it was a lovely and packed conversation with so many ideas and tips on how to be a more joyful 90s mom. Cannot wait to share it out next week!

But for this week’s activity recommendation, I am recommending that you go to Olive Garden 🪴. Because when is the last time you’ve gone to an Olive Garden? We went for a girls dinner with 4 of us and 2 toddler girls and we really, really enjoyed it.

We got The Tour of Italy (which is Alfredo Fettuccini, Lasagna, and Chicken Parmesan — YUM), and Shrimp Carbonara. Both came with soups so we tried the Zuppa Toscana as well as the Chicken Gnocchi: roasted chicken, soft potato dumpling gnocchi, and spinach in a creamy, comforting broth.

The toddler girlies loved the chicken gnocchi and the endless breadsticks were a huge hit and they kept them very occupied so us grown ups could chat. And then we ordered the chocolate cheesecake for dessert because why not?

The vibes and the food were all excellent and it felt like a very nostalgic 90s girl dinner. Visit your local Olive Garden! 🪴 (PSA they have a deal right now where you can order a whole entree to go for only $6!)

And my product recommendation of this week is the book Atomic Habits by James Clear! I lucked out and found two copies of this book up at my local Goodwill and got both because I thought I could form a little two person book club with my mom friend. And you guys, I am learning so so much and so excited to implement what I’m learning in how I am growing in motherhood and on Substack.

Here is a quick example of what I’m learning:

The simple way to apply this strategy to your habits is to fill in the blank:

I will [BEHAVIOR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION]

“People who make a specific plan for when and where they will perform a new habit are more likely to follow through..

Too many people try to change their habits without these basic details figured out. We leave it to chance and hope that we will just remember or feel motivated at the right time. An implementation intention transforms notions into a concrete plan of action.” — James Clear

I have done this with my Substack by intentionally announcing I will be deleting Instagram and instead challenging myself to write one article a week and just this simple implementation intention” has helped immensely.

I have also done this with telling my husband I will go to the gym by our house during her naps Monday - Wednesday and I have gone a lot more regularly than if I hadn’t said that out loud.

There will be absolutely more to come because this book is also teaching me about creating identity-based habits (deciding the type of person you want to be and then proving it to yourself with small wins) and designing your environment for success (hello, office makeover?). And all of these ideas are also giving me a lot of inspiration for how to utilize AIM (Andi’s Instant Messenger) so we can grow in having 90s mom habits while keeping each other accountable. So absolutely love and recommend this book, you can either hunt for it secondhand or grab it here ↙️

And then for the recipe of the week, I am sharing with you the very best and most classic chocolate chip cookies. I made them for the garbage truck drivers this week and the recipe was highly requested so I’m really excited to share with y’all the recipe that has made our household kind of known for having the best chocolate chip cookies, just saying. It is my absolute favorite to make during the holidays too and I think we could all use a little something to look forward to in those holiday months right now! Here’s the recipe:

Please try them and let me know what you think or how they turned out, I honestly love making these and it will make me so happy to see you making them too! Okay, I’m off to pick up my neighbor from the airport (so 90s mom lol). But I love writing these for you, it honestly makes me so happy and is such a fun recap of the things I’m loving and can hopefully inspire you in your week.

Also, I was so honored to be included in this list by Chloe and totally agree with her recommendations, I love every single one of these writers and how they make motherhood delightful. If you like my articles, you’ll love theirs too:

Here is to making motherhood delightful together! 🌷

xoxo

Andi