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Friends, good Sunday to you! Please take in this image of The Bakehouse in southeastern Texas blanketed in several inches of snow. SNOW! What I can tell you about this record snowfall is that my house has no insulation but several fireplaces.\u00a0 Texas Sage can apparently survive both brutal summer heat and Texas snow, and I\u2019m glad I kept my Christmas garland up for the twinkling yellow lights alone.\u00a0 We had a few days of a winter wonderland which was, despite its deep chill, such a delight!\u00a0 Will and I made soup about it, kept a close eye on the water pipes of the old house, and just nested \u2013 as we all should do in the deepest winter.\u00a0 I feel like we\u2019re thawing out this weekend which is the perfect time to properly clean the house (and all the muddy dog prints) and wash the linens.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re coming to the close of our Gentle January which has been outwardly and rather aggressively Not Gentle At All, but I hope this weekend finds you taking it nice and slow, with a fresh pot of coffee and maybe a load of laundry spinning.\u00a0 The offering today is our 501st Sunday post.\u00a0 Can you even believe we\u2019ve spent so many Sundays together?\u00a0 Grateful for you, friend. Here we go.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0<\/strong> I\u2019m just going to leave this tab open in my browser as a reminder: How To Help A Friend Through Grief<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0 It can seem like we\u2019re all going through so much, but let\u2019s just show up and talk about the elephant. (Substack)<\/p>\n \u2022<\/strong>\u00a0 You can\u2019t read about What They Grabbed<\/strong><\/a> fleeing the fires in Los Angeles without thinking about what you\u2019d grab from your home.\u00a0 It\u2019s sobering (among a million other emotions). (Curbed)<\/p>\n \u2022<\/strong>\u00a0 If you\u2019ve been here long enough you might remember a few years back when I was learning how to swim.\u00a0 Like\u2026 swimswim laps and such, with some semblance of efficiency and coordination.\u00a0 I took one lesson with a young man who really just enforced my insecurities about the matter and then I promptly bought a book and tried to teach myself (avoiding any and all eye contact with that young man forever and ever).\u00a0 Turns out swimming wasn\u2019t the sort of thing that came naturally to me so I quietly let it go. Welp:\u00a0 The Magic of Swimming Lessons in Middle Age<\/strong><\/a> has me thinking I need to not give up on myself so easily. \u00a0(NYTimes Gift Link)<\/p>\n \u2022<\/strong>\u00a0 With age and grace I can now see the end of some of my big friendships as simply coming to their natural conclusion.\u00a0 That\u2019s not to say it\u2019s any less sad but here\u2019s 5 Signs You\u2019ve Outgrown a Friendship<\/strong><\/a>. (Self)<\/p>\n \u2022<\/strong>\u00a0 What are you doing for Valentine\u2019s Day? It\u2019s on a Friday this year which makes it a little sexier, right? I still always opt for a cozy at-home holiday.\u00a0 Maybe a little fire in the fire pit, this Shrimp Etouffee Risotto<\/strong><\/a>, and a Manhattan<\/strong><\/a> as a nightcap. (Joy the Baker, Serious Eats)<\/p>\n \u2022<\/strong>\u00a0 I do recommend getting a Galentine\u2019s Day party with your girlfriends on the calendar now. Stop here and pop into the group chat. We\u2019re having a little potluck dinner at a girlfriend\u2019s house which will also serve as the catch-up we all need since the holiday season was so busy. I\u2019m hoping to make candles in thrifted vessels<\/strong><\/a> as little gifts.\u00a0 Something like this video here<\/strong><\/a>. It\u2019ll be a crash course in candle making but I think I can pull it off. (Modern Day Cottage, Youtube)<\/p>\n \u2022<\/strong>\u00a0 If you\u2019re a YouTube person, you should certainly subscribe to lil\u2019 ol\u2019 me for YouTube Shorts<\/strong><\/a>!<\/p>\n \u2022<\/strong>\u00a0 Still gathering all the small joys I can this January. A highlight has been dragging the big juicer onto the counter to make a very fancy citrus juice<\/strong><\/a> with pink grapefruit, oranges, lemon, and ginger. It\u2019s pure sunshine. (Instagram)<\/p>\n \u2022<\/strong>\u00a0 Abby influenced me to make Lasagna Soup<\/strong><\/a> (I made a stovetop version of this slow cooker recipe), and it\u2019s not so much a soup as it is a deconstructed lasagna in a bowl. Please don\u2019t read this as a complaint. It\u2019s an extremely cozy option for this time of year! (The Kitchn)<\/p>\n \u2022<\/strong> \u00a0Why Martinis Keep Getting Dirtier<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 we\u2019re close to jumping the shark on this one. (Grub Street)<\/p>\n \u2022<\/strong>\u00a0 If you\u2019re looking for a reason to leave the oven on for a good while this afternoon please consider making this Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0 (Joy the Baker)<\/p>\n \u2022<\/strong>\u00a0 We\u2019ve entered the glow-up portion of the Sunday post! The cold weather and snow made for a suprisingly dry week in Bellville and apparently, I thrive in humidity and absolutely shrivel up and need vaseline in dry air.\u00a0 Amy gave us many UBeauty tools in last week\u2019s post. I\u2019m very simply slathered in sesame oil<\/strong><\/a> layered with Glo Getter Body Butter<\/strong><\/a> which has me smelling like a vanilla cookie. And Amy is right, I think the key to hydration is drinking an annoying amount of water.\u00a0 That I\u2019m still working on. (Amazon)<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0<\/strong> Before our little wedding on Thanksgiving, I had taken several years off from getting manicures. Ahead of the big day I got exactly two gel manicures and while they were super cute and glossy, gel manicures make me feel claustrophobic.\u00a0 I just can\u2019t get past the fact that I have to go back to a manicure studio to get the color off or gnaw it off like a little badger.\u00a0 Also, the sandblaster used to sand the gel off absolutely destroys my nails. Paper thin. It\u2019s just\u2026. I can\u2019t do it!\u00a0 The past few weeks I\u2019ve been painting my nails with Dazzle Dry<\/strong><\/a> which, honestly I thought was a MLM (lol), and it\u2019s great! It strengthens my nails, dries in 5 minutes (it really does!), lasts for more than a week (sure, not as long as gel), it\u2019s advertised as non toxic, and I can remove it myself easily with acetone. (Amazon)<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0<\/strong> I clean my house A LOT. There\u2019s a lot of house, many dogs, many dishes, and a big cat to clean up after.\u00a0 By the time I\u2019ve spend an afternoon cleaning my hands were raisins so I\u2019ve developed an admittedly high maintenance hand routine before cleaning.\u00a0 First I rub the backs of my palms, wrists, and fingers with this retinoid stick<\/strong><\/a>. Then I slather my hands in handcream, pull on some food service gloves<\/strong><\/a>, and finally \u2013 these extra long dish gloves<\/strong><\/a> because if a drop of water gets inside my dish gloves \u2013 it\u2019s over for me. (Amazon)<\/p>\n My love to you, friends!<\/p>\n Have a lovely Sunday.<\/p>\n xo Joy<\/p>\n<\/div>\n