Hello and welcome to a long weekend from our corner of the world. We have a couple family get-togethers to attend–I’m bringing the salad (mixed leafy greens with thinly sliced radishes, cucumber, carrots and shallot thyme champagne vinaigrette). I think we’re going to get out to see a movie, maybe some sim golf, long doggy walks, reading galore, as well as the usual errands and running around.
Keeping it brief today, as I’m sure you’re all a little busy with the holiday happenings. Hope you get to enjoy some relaxation and chocolate this weekend :)
5 Things I’m Reading:
- You’re being rude. Put away your phone. via The Argument on Substack
- Toxic Confidence Has Taken Over via The New York Times (gift link)
- Decades in the making: Mi’kmaq and Parks Canada strike historic partnership in Nova Scotia via The Narwhal
- The Renegade Beauty Guide to Hair Maxxing via Nadine Artemis’s Substack (I have been a fan of Nadine’s Living Libations brand for a long time–the seabuckthorn Best Skin Ever in particular)
- My Week of Eating Literal AI Slop via The Cut (non-paywalled link)
5 Things I’m Enjoying:
- Thinking about Claude Lalanne’s Ginkgo Chairs a lot lately
- A wolf reunites with his pack in Yellowstone
- From Hasan Minhaj Doesn’t Know: Will AI Take My Job? with Karen Hao
- Trying to find a Canadian broadcast of Ken Burns’s Henry David Thoreau documentary series for PBS to watch this weekend
- Listening to Nala Sinephro at my computer, while cooking, reading, walking, spacing out etc.
5 Questions:
- Hi Laura, just wondering the best way to sharpen knives. I seem to recall you mentioning a method ages and ages ago, but I can’t remember the details.
We use a whetstone following this video tutorial! I got our whetstone at a Zwilling outlet years ago, but there are plenty of similar, cheaper options elsewhere online. - What would you make for dinner for a very special vegan friend’s birthday?
It really depends on what they like! If they like cozy Italian food, I’d make bolognese and garlic bread. If they love Indian food, I’d go for Nisha’s Dal Makhani (it’s so good, it’s crazy). If Middle Eastern food is their thing, I’d make a full feast from Sami Tamimi’s Boustany–everything I’ve made from this book has been incredible. - What vegan butter to use that isn’t Miyoko’s or canola oil-based?
Nuts for Cheese makes an excellent vegan butter with whole food ingredients. Umyum’s butter is also good (it does contain sunflower oil). - What are you doing for your insomnia?
I’ve tried so many things lol. I was on a small dose of melatonin and sleep meds from my doctor, which was working fine! But the side effects eventually got too hard to deal with. I should probably go back and revisit, but going to the doctor requires a lot of psyching up on my end if I can be honest. I’ve tried magnesium, theanine, every type of tea, herb tinctures, CBD, CBN, breath work, yoga nidra, you get the idea. All of these are fine when it comes to falling asleep–my issue is staying asleep. When my insomnia is really bad, I wake up an hour after I go to bed, alert as anything. Right now, I’m sticking with the small dose of melatonin (0.5 mg) 1-2 hours before bedtime and 3 grams of glycine right before I hit the hay. There’s some improvement–I can sleep about 3-4 hours before waking up and am often able to fall back asleep. I’m also focused on daylight in my eyes right away/SAD lamp use for early gym mornings, cool and dark bedroom, and all the obvious things like limiting screens in the evening, stress management, no caffeine in the afternoon, avoiding excessive stimulation etc. I am definitely at that age where sleep can start to break down, so its an ongoing journey. - Do you have daily protein or fiber goals that you try to hit?
Timely! I just started tracking this again because it felt like my progress in the gym was stalling out a bit. I like to hit 120 grams of protein and 30 grams of fiber every day.
5 Seasonal Recipes:
- Fresh Shredded Snap Pea Salad with Lemon & Mint
- Pesto Quinoa & White Bean Bake with Spring Vegetables
- Green Lentil Edamame Salad with Spiced Lemon Dressing
- Seedy Rhubarb Strawberry Overnight Oats
- Lemony Spring Pasta Salad with Vegetables & Herbs
I’m sure I’ve commented about this before, but it’s worth another mention! I’ve been dealing with insomnia for a couple years now, and what’s really helped is reframing the mental aspects of insomnia. The Sleep Coach School on Youtube as well as Beth Kendall’s mind.body.sleep podcast have both been immensely helpful!
Look forward to these emails all week
Some sleep things that work for me is sleeping with a weighted blanket and also an eye mask. Just wanted to offer that up.
Hi Laura- another sleep tip that worked for me, I noticed my sleep drastically changed (for the worse) in the second half of my menstrual cycle (luteal phase/after ovulation). I found out a lot of women 30+ benefit from a little dose of progesterone during this cycle phase. I use my oura ring to track my cycles and take 100mg of prometrium before bed. It has really had a positive impact on my sleep and relationship with sleep. Good luck on finding what works for you :)
Very random I know but I’ve started eating kiwi fruit before I go to bed as it contains melatonin. It’s been working well for me and a nice treat in the evening
As someone who’s struggled with insomnia in the past I just wanted to drop a recommendation for the Insomnia Coach podcast/website. My biggest takeaway was that the more you “try” to sleep, the harder it becomes because your brain learns that sleep is a “problem”. Putting lots of effort into sleep rituals can actually make sleep worse, paradoxically!
You get it, Hannah!!! I’ve stopped trying to fix my sleep and I’m finally sleeping well 6+ nights of the week!
Hello, YES to those chairs….to die for! Thank you SO much for the article on Wolves. will be following these women. Your little ‘wolf’ liking a snooze in the sun.
I hope you have a great weekend! I went and saw Project Hail Mary this week. I had no idea what it was about going in to it and it was so good. Fantastic! Im still talking about it.
I always love your newsletter. Thanks for sharing with us
Hey Laura, thanks for all your Saturday Suns – I enjoy them every week. I use the Kanopy app through my library to view lots of great stuff. I noticed they have some of Ken Burn’s documentaries available but didn’t see the Henry David Thoreau one. Maybe it will be there eventually. Here’s a link to Kanopy if you’re not already using it:
https://www.kanopy.com/en/torontopl/