It’s been an extraordinarily tough winter so I’m in the need of all the “things” to pass the time. We can’t just sit in a park or by the pool for hours. Whether it’s trying something new in the kitchen, discovering a new show after Finn goes to bed, or traveling to a different neighborhood for lunch or date night, we’ve got to be doing things right now. Feel the same? Here’s what I’m currently working through and excited to try.
PS – My last Roundup is here.
Activities
- Cooking/Recipes/Restaurants:
- For my next date night at home, I want to do a chicken nugget flight and thinking of the following combos:
- Kimchi + kewpie + sesame seeds
- Whipped cream cheese + wasabi roe
- Blue cheese + hot honey + nut
- Olive tapenade + fresh mozz + lemon zest
- Caviar…obviously
- Umeko: I want to try one of their prix fixe don sets and overflowing maki rolls.
- I’ve seen a few tinned salmon recipes I’d like to play with:
- Lox and cream cheese onigiri (jew-panese: salmon mixed with cream cheese, scallions, and capers, rice rolled in everything bagel seasoning)
- Tinned fish cracker: salmon + whipped feta spread (or similar) + white beans + onion
- 7 Spring is a backgammon cafe – coffee, alcohol, backgammon, and vibes. It’s members only…and I kinda want to join.
- Ye’s Apothecary is a speakeasy where the mixology is influenced by Chinese herbal remedies. A coworker told me about it, and it looks fabulous with some great mocktail options.
- For my next date night at home, I want to do a chicken nugget flight and thinking of the following combos:
- Other Activities:
- Easyplants: I can’t keep a plant alive. Perhaps this will help.
- The Tin Building just closed (what an astoundingly pricey failure) and though I thought the space was cool, I never visited. I may, however, be more inclined to bring Finn to the balloon museum that’s replacing it.
Content
- Books:
- Phoebe Berman’s Gonna Lose It: not out until May but I’ve enjoyed Brooke Averick’s comedy on TikTok and this book about an anxiety-filled woman determined to lose her virginity by her 30th birthday feels just close enough to home but far enough removed to be comforting and funny.
- Two Can Play: Ali Hazelwood’s next romance will tackle the world of gaming. I really appreciate that she builds a whole life around her characters with meaty jobs and interests. They don’t just work in a nebulous advertising career or happen to have tons of unrealistic free time.
- Kathryn McGee’s adult debut comes out in July. I’ve loved all her YA series so I’m excited about this one. Also in July we’ll get Jessica Knoll’s next – she’s a true auto-buy author for me, so I’m chomping at the bit for that one.
- Movies:
- Champagne Problems: Gotta love a cheesy holiday romcom. This one takes us to a vineyard in France. A main character whose two main obsessions are wine and books? Ok. (Netflix)
- People We Meet on Vacation: I think this could have been better as a limited series, and the time jumps felt a bit off for me, but I thought it was a really good adaptation – that I actually liked better than the book. (Netflix)
- Maintenance Required: Another straight-to-streaming cheesy romcom, this one with an FMC who is an improbably perfectly coiffed mechanic. (Prime)
- TV:
- Heated Rivalry: Yes, I was as obsessed as everyone else with this romance about gay hockey players. It was a beautiful love story that captured a range of insecurities so well. There’s a lot of sex, but it really didn’t feel gratuitous to me. (HBO Max)
- The Rise and Fall of Reggie Dinkins: If you like Robert Carlock (30 Rock), you’ll enjoy this one about a washed up football player and his entourage as he tries to film a documentary for a comeback of sorts. (NBC)
- Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model: I will never forget watching the race-switching episode. This BTS look at a show that may have changed reality tv but did NOT change the modeling industry (which was the purported goal) should be good. (Netflix)
- Workin Moms: My friend told me about this years ago , and I only just started. It is a hilarious and relatively accurate depiction of adjusting to life as a working mother after having a baby. (Netflix)
- Real Housewives of Rhode Island: This franchise is EPIC. You’ve got a sugar baby, a woman who is somehow related to her husband, another who stole her sister’s boyfriend and knows lots of swingers, and one gal who ran over a lady with her car – and that’s the stuff that they’re nonchalantly mentioning in the first episode! I’ve always said these shows work best when the group being documented has history and knows each other/already hangs out. It’s why RHONJ and Summer House were both immediately so successful. They’ve done it again here, with only one woman (Ashley) actually being “casted.” (Bravo)
- Trust Me: The False Prophet: This 4-part docuseries follows Samuel Bateman as he builds his own FLDS Mormon polygamist cult after Warren Jeffs is in jail. (Netflix)
- Podcasts:
- Hot Mess-Terpiece Theatre: highbrow conversations about lowbrow entertainment; example: highlighting the link between Real Housewives and literary archetypes
- Deep Sy: This is a quick-bite-style podcast from a friend (from our parent group) about living as a blind man in NYC. Sy is funny and will make you realize all the little things you never thought of.
- Gays Reading: In case you’re looking for another bookish show, this one features generally good conversations with authors.
- Pop Syllabus: This goes deep into the psychology fueling the zeitgeist, like the origin story of valley girls and why they’re considered bimbos.
- Sold A Story: Kids are not reading well because, turns out, schools have not been teaching the proper skills.
Peaches to Apples 