I have been too excited to come update you on my swimming journey. Right after last month’s post, I started swimming lessons. For anyone who wants to watch me word vomit through this, feel free to watch my Instagram highlights for some laughs. Most importantly, yesterday I was able to swim half the pool length with out a kickboard! My lifeguard told me, “I think you need to let go of the kickboard. I think you’re ready,” and my goodness if that’s not a life lesson right there! I am finally learning to trust the water, and in turn, my relationship with swimming is becoming joyful.
Life is getting more and more stable lately, and I’m extra grateful for that. I set a boundary a couple weeks ago, and something I did not expect was grief! Why does grief accompany every decision, good or bad? This is why I don’t set them! Kidding. However, boundaries are something I am continually working on as I reintroduce myself to myself.
How’ve you been? I hope this fall Sunday is extra cozy for you. I wish you candles, soup, blankets, and naps. And these links!
• My latest 5 star read is “Atmosphere” by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Someone recommended it to me last month, and I will tell you this: I sobbed. AT WORK. Water works the likes you’ve never seen. I am currently reading “For Whom The Belle Tolls” by Jaysea Lynn, which, admittedly, is TikTok lore. I highly recommend her mini series, Hells Belles, and her book if you’re very much into fantasy, and maybe you’re healing from religious trauma, too. Honorable mention to “Katabasis” by R.F. Kuang. It bent my brain in the wildest way and ended up being the most heroic love story. (Bookshop, YouTube)
• It’s soup season y’all! By soup, I do mean chili, which is not a soup, nor a stew, but its own special category. Confession: if you give me a bowl of chili without beans I will ask if you’ve always hated me or is this new. Show me the beans! Speaking of beans, I signed up for the waitlist for the Rancho Gordo Bean Club. Cross your fingers I join before 2027! (Joy the Baker, Rancho Gordo)
• I don’t know about you, but Diane Keaton’s passing blindsided me. I have a scheduled date to cry every time I watch The Family Stone! In some ways, she was everyone’s mom, so that loss feels very close and very real. Why Diane Keaton’s Death Hits Harder, and for the love of everything someone shield Dolly Parton and Julie Andrews! (NYT Gift Link)
• Unexpectedly, I’ve started wearing barrel jeans on purpose and loving them. Someone called them parenthesis pants and, welp, that’s their new name. H&M has my favorite pair so far, but Old Navy is a close second!
• Have you ever had a friend you can just hang out with and no matter how much time has passed – it’s like you saw them yesterday? I’m choosing to believe that’s the kind of friend and host Amy Poehler is. She’s genuine and funny, and a real safe space. I’d end up telling her my entire life story accidentally. (New Yorker)
• Friends, I’ve decided not to go to The Body Holiday for my 40th birthday next May. That means I’m taking suggestions! Truthfully, I’m tempted to run back to Mexico City, but I’m down for anything. I’m excited to hear your suggestions! (Instagram)
• Do you need these book lights? Yes. Does Abby need these book lights? Yes. I just needed to make sure you understood – we all need these. (The Light Within)
• Today’s long read is a serious one, and with good reason. Lately, I’ve been in so many debates where people expect me to be kind in the face of hate, all in the name of civility. “The people that call for civility harbor the belief that we can be open to changing our minds, and we can be well mannered even in the face of significant differences. For such an atmosphere to exist… we would have to believe that the world is a fair and just place. And we would have to have nothing at stake.” (NYT Gift Link)
• For those who swim often, let me make a solid swim cap recommendation, especially for the curly haired/braided/loc’d among us. Hairbrella is a game changer! It is satin lined, which is so helpful since chlorine is incredibly drying. The back also has a tightener so you can make it as tight or as loose as you need.
• In this spooky season, we’re celebrating Rocky Horror Picture Show’s 50th anniversary. It changed the face of film while solidifying Tim Curry as a sex icon—facts are facts. The cast came back together for a round table interview, and casually do the time warp again. (Interview Mag)
• A successful Sunday into Monday must involve this apple fritter focaccia. Trust me, it is proven to reduce the Sunday Scaries by 50 to 75%! (Joy the Baker)
