It feels like a summer weekend is starting over here. It’s unseasonably warm, all the leaves finally came out on the trees, and we have another busy weekend on deck. We’re taking a bunch of river rock out of this one garden bed and transferring some perennials in. I’m also hoping to put mulch on a bunch of beds, plant lettuce, kale, and herbs, and hopefully deal with a pile of bricks/patio stones/cinderblocks left by the previous owners of the home. I’m going to try to repurpose as many as I can.

On Sunday, I’ll be baking some treats and visiting with my mom–hopefully I’ll be successful at sour cherry danishes and if not, I’m going to an old standby: her coffee cake recipe made into muffins. Happy mother’s day to all the moms and mother figures out there! Thinking of all of the folks that have a hard time on this day too–you are supported and loved.

Here’s my usual assortment of reads, nice things, and your questions answered. As always, if you have a question that you’d like me to answer next week, you can leave it in the comments, message me on Instagram, or email me :)

5 Things I’m Reading:

1. What Is De-Influencing, And Is It More Than A Trend?
2. Food blogger Nisha Vora tried ChatGPT to create a curry recipe. She says it’s clear the instructions lacked a human touch — here’s how.
3. 4 Questions to Help You Find Joy
4. There Are Too Many Celebrity Cooking Shows
5. I Learned to Talk Less and Listen More

5 Things I’m Enjoying:

1. Tim Pilgrim’s garden style
2. A local shop just started selling Honey’s plant-based ice cream (made in Toronto) and it is wildly delicious. I picked up Cookies and Cream, Atlantic Salted Caramel, Mint Chip, and Coffee with Chocolate Freckles.
3. Loved watching this woman place googly eyes on everything in a store 😂
4. Behind the Scenes at the Westminster Dog Show
5. We Tested 9 Methods for Keeping Guacamole from Browning and Found a Winner (Once and for All)

5 Questions:

1. What brand of nonstick pans do you like to use?
   This question shows up in my inbox every week! I really like the new Always Pan 2.0–it has a ceramic-based coating and the pan itself is super versatile. I also love classic GreenPans and have heard great things about ScanPan. There’s a lot of information and probably misinformation online about nonstick pans. For me, the most important things to remember: only use wood or silicone tools on them (never metal), don’t take them over medium heat, and resist the urge to rinse them with water when they’re piping hot straight from the stove (let it cool down completely). All of these tips will preserve the integrity of the coating.
2. Have you ever thought about podcasting?
   I actually recorded a full season of a podcast with a friend a few years ago! It was about skincare and questions surrounding the health of skin. Ultimately, we decided to scrap it because we both had too much going on. I feel like it’s a bit too late for me to get into the podcast game if I’m being honest. Also, not sure if you’ve heard me talk on Instagram stories, but I pepper in “like” and “uuuhm” a little too often to be working in a voice-based medium haha.
3. What breed are your dogs?
   We’re just going by what each of the rescues told us (haven’t done one of those formal mail in tests or anything), but Cleo is a Jack Russell and hound mix, and Mickie is a chihuahua whippet mix. Both 100% cuties :)
4. What would a “reset the system” day look like for you?
   Resetting for me is more about my mental health and feeling present in my physical body, and not about what I eat really. I’ll get up early and take the time to journal, go on a walk first thing to get sun in my eyes, have tea/coffee with the dogs. And then I’ll just try to spend the day doing things that help me regulate my nervous system–going in my cold tub, gardening, staying off of screens if I can help it, making meals that feel good and sitting down to enjoy them etc. I also just try to be fully present with whatever I’m doing ie if I’m sitting with one of my dogs, I’m really focused on sitting with my dog, enjoying their presence, and how that feels. Maybe it sounds silly, but it does give me a new perspective!
5. The cold plunge: Can you tell us about the benefits and the differences you see in your life?
   It’s really helped with inflammation issues! This is the biggest benefit so far. If I do a lot of gardening or I work out in a new way that’s hard/challenging, I don’t really have the aches and pains like I used to the next morning. It’s also just a mental toughness/resilience thing for me. If I sit in the cold water first thing in the morning, everything else on my to-do list for that day feels a lot easier. Andrew Huberman has some information here.