Say It Out Loud (Apparently It Works)

💌 Apparently, I’m a Manifester Now

A few weeks ago, there was a book-related thing I was really hoping I would get, and a friend told me to say it out loud. I’ve never been a big believer in manifesting, but I did it—I told her I believed I was the right person and should absolutely be chosen.

Maybe this is what Kit from The Slow Burn has done for me—she’s helped me be less apologetic about owning the pieces I’m good at. You can still be humble and kind while also owning what you’ve worked hard for. And I have to admit (even though I can’t yet share anything beyond vagueness)…it worked? And then I did it again for something else, and that worked too.

Now, maybe (probably) the truth is that it was always going to be this way. But I should’ve been okay with admitting my ambitions out loud. So this is all to say: don’t be afraid to say what you want openly, because you’ll either get it, or you’ll have a friend to buck you up when you don’t. And I’m excited to say there will be two very fun things to share here soon.

But now, onto books!

📚 What I’m Reading

Well, if I learned one thing about this newsletter after the last one, it’s that y’all love giveaways! What a treat to have so many of you saying hello. Congrats to Emily H for winning The Fortune Flip and The Bridge Back to You! If you didn’t win, I highly recommend picking up both books!

So this week I got to do a wonderful event with Trope Bookshop in Charlotte with Tarah Dewitt that was rescheduled after the snowpocalypse disaster during my book tour. And it was worth the wait! I’m on record as being fully obsessed with all of Tarah’s books—she is truly the queen of rom-com-traum. Her Spunes series is perfection and you guys are not ready for the last book in that series, Lost and Found, which is coming in August. If you haven’t read the others, catch up before then!

The other book I’m nonstop shouting about is Kate Clayborn’s The Paris Match. I always like to say that Kate is every author’s favorite author, because she really writes with a level of heart and precision that is unmatched. Her newest is about a woman attending her ex-sister-in-law’s wedding in Paris and the landmines that come with that. It is truly wonderful.

🍴What I’m Cooking Up

Spring is here! Sort of—we’re not ready for all the best items yet, but the warmer weather has got me ready to make something lighter. I’ve been pulling out this black pepper shrimp recipe that I once made for the Today Show, and the lettuce wraps, in particular, feel of the season.

In terms of cookbooks, I adore all of Colu Henry’s, and she has a new one! It’s called Better at Home and it’s all about casual entertaining. She always seems to find a way to make everything seem chic without a lot of effort. And if you like those recipes, she’s got a great Substack too.

💛 Happy News

This week, the astronauts of Artemis II really brought all the good news we desperately needed. It was the perfect reminder of why we send humans to space instead of just spacecraft—because we need poetry amidst our science too. And that’s what this wonderful crew gave us. If you haven’t checked them out, I’d recommend starting with the crew naming a crater after Reid Wiseman’s wife, Carroll, whom he lost a few years ago. But lean into Moon Joy, the wake-up songs and their powerful speech about being a mirror for us all after they returned to Earth.

✨ Thanks for being here!

I’ll do more giveaways soon, I promise! And if you need a bit of spring joy in book form, Recipe for Second Chances takes place in April, so if you’ve never read my debut it’s a good time for that one. Have a lovely rest of the week, everyone!