Ok, right now we are in Santa Barbara and not a lot of cooking is happening, but a lot of eating is. My default bread and heirloom tomato sandwich is on repeat and I could eat it every day. Work has been a lot, but I am doing it from a glorious perch here where we drive 10 minutes to the beach. It’s the kind of place where people hang out and really talk, take time to ask you how you are. It’s also the kind of place where you drive for 45 minutes to a town so special that when you cannot decide whether you want to order the plain pretzel or the churo one, you decide on the plain one, they give you the churo one “as a gift”.
Where LA is all rush and glitz and grit and highways, here the pace is slower. And the food is amazing! And, well, we needed a slower pace, as everything was getting well, the opposite of a slower pace. I am doing a lot of the same things here but they feel easier, more intentional. I had a birthday here, and celebrated it with my favorite things like the beach, some dog walks, and a fancy latte and it struck me that if we can fill our days with things that we love that makes a pretty good life. We can’t really predict everything - we can’t even predict how many trips around the sun we will get. A wise person that I knew in Boulder wrote this….”We don’t talk about age on our birthday, we talk about how big our hearts can grow”. Yes, that is exactly it. Enjoy and see how big our hearts can grow.
Now, on with the list!
EATS
5 Minute Creamy Avocado Crema- This is amazing and so delicious (so much so I had to put it on the header in this post). Originally for Mexican food but has so many uses-on a hamburger, or a meaty piece of Spanish chorizo….it’s just so good.
These Earl Grey Citrus Morning Buns-What can I say about these except they are absolutely amazing. I love a good morning bun and these things top the charts, crispy, a bit of tang and rich deep musings of the earl grey.
Jalepeno Cheddar Scones- These are on my list for this week. I tried a savory scone a few weeks ago-hot Italian sausage, fennel and sharp cheddar- and now I’m hooked.
Burst Tomato Burrata Pasta-This is so good and so easy, pasta+the best tomatoes (heirlooms preferably)+burrata +basil.
Cristy Tofu is my new jam-I live with two wonderful vegetarians-my 18 year old daughters-until their international gap years begin very soon. And the three of us love our crispy tofu. This Tess Begg recipe tops them all. And you don’t have to be vegetarian to enjoy it, I promise!
READS
The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff. The most beautiful complicated love story. I adored it.
The Burning Side by Sarah Damoff. It’s rare I recommend two books by the same author but this one is just as good as the Bright Years. It’s about all the ways we change when life happens, after the initial bliss of marriage. It’s about forgiveness, second chances and being dealt unfair hands, and moving along anyway.
Selfish by Kerry Docherty. This book is about what happens when you decide to put yourself first for once, after years of putting everyone else first. It is high time all women get more selfish. Like now. We deserve it.
Retire by 30 by Cody Berman. I listen to his podcast called “The Financial Independence Podcast”. He is amazing, knew what he wanted and went out there to get it. He talks a lot about the “gap”, meaning the difference between how much you earn and your spending. According to Cody, if you pay attention to this you will be in a very good financial position, and his position currently is proof of this.
The Scone Queen Bakes by Danielle Sepsy. I am nuts for scones so this one was a no brainer. The scones in here are so good, with yummy unique ingredients like strawberry + cornmeal . Going to work my way through all of them!
TRUTHS
There are few things better than the pastries at the Duchess in Ojai, and believe me I have tried a lot of pastries.
I love reading the Cut every week, so much fun stuff in there. In an age where there are subscriptions galore, this one is worth it.
In a year where a lot of medical stuff went down I found this substack, and it is brilliant. It basically empowers people to take charge of their health by decoding labs to advocate for your own health.
“Almost everything great in my life came from making decisions that everyone around me thought were foolish.” I love and resonate with this quote so much.
The Invite (trailer below) is one of the most raw, funny, amazing movies I have ever seen. I adored it. The witty dialogue, the real and raw spotlight it puts on a marriage, the humor beneath the drama….it’s all here. And it’s amazing.
Have a great week.
xo,
Lesli
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