I can hardly believe I’m sitting here about to whip out a Weekly Digress, but Rhodes is fast asleep so it’s now or never and I’m choosing now. No bullshitting — let’s get down to brass tacks.
READING
The back of the Always pads package that lives in our bathroom for this postpartum stint.
No, just kidding (I mean, I’ve read it for sure. But that’s not what I’m actually reading). I started Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese a little less than a month ago and was rudely interrupted by having a baby, so it’s been slow going BUT I love it very much so far. I’m over 100 pages in (which isn’t saying much because it’s over 600 pages long), and drinking up every sentence just like I did with his other book, The Covenant of Water. Verghese loves to tell a story through a lot of backstory and through multiple POVs, which is my favorite kind of writing. It’s so involved, so descriptive. He leaves no Stone (pun intended) unturned when setting up a sweeping drama. We love a verbose king.
WATCHING
Y’all know how I feel about reality TV. I hate it. I find no point in it, especially because it’s all so contrived and manicured. You don’t have to use your brain to engage with any of it, which is why it’s so perfect for postpartum when my brain is incapable of being used for anything but baby stuff. Therefore, we started watching The Real Housewives of Rhode Island (I’ve never watched a RH series in my life), and it’s just the perfect hate-watch. The fake titties and fake faces on these women are beyond, and witnessing the drama they come up with to fight about is mind blowing. Here are my high level thoughts about each house wife thus far (we are halfway through the most recent episode, so keep that in mind):
Alicia cannot be 41. That doesn’t make any sense. I swear, these women think getting all this work done makes them look younger, yet it so often has the opposite effect. Anyway, I love her. She’s a mostly harmless, lovable dummy.
I love that Liz is the matriarch of this group. While her breasts look like mine do in the morning after not pumping for 7 hours, I love her vibe and the fact that she is probably high 99% of the time.
Rosie is horrific. I dislike literally every single thing about her.
Ashely is a dork and very unattractive. Harsh? Sure. But isn’t that what these house wives are? Harsh? I know we should root for her because she’s not one of them, but I just can’t do it. She bothers the fuck out of me.
Kelsey is undeniably gorgeous (I mean, she was a damn beauty queen), and I want to dislike her, but I guess there’s something refreshing about how honest she’s been about her setup. She doesn’t want to do anything but live grandly on someone else’s dime, and she cops to that. She also walked away from it recently because the loneliness ultimately got to her, which is commendable as well. I’m interested to see what her trajectory is from here.
Rulla intrigues me. Her poker face is seemingly impenetrable, so I’m eager to see if she finally cracks over “the ongoing…” with her husband.
I love Jo Ellen so much. She is a tough broad and an absolute bitch who will not be trifled with. I do find her obsession with Rulla and her husband’s relationship odd, but I also understand not being able to let something go that you know to be true and won’t settle for others blatantly ignoring the truth.
We also very randomly watched a new thriller on Netflix this week called Apex. It stars Charlize Theron and Taron Eagerton (who is so crazy talented, my God) and is pretty much non-stop from the jump. Taron is a psychotic serial killer and Charlize is an adrenaline junkie on a sort of Eat, Pray, Love mission and my only complaint is I wish it was longer? It’s like an hour 45, but I was really enjoying it and wanted more, which is not standard for me when it comes to thrillers.
LISTENING TO
Goose! Zac “discovered” this band recently, and we’ve been playing them daily. Ziggy automatically starts grooving when they come on, which is hilarious and amazing. We like them so much, we’re contemplating traveling in August to go catch one of their shows.
MAKING/EATING
Butternut Bakery’s Blueberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake and her Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread. Both are perhaps the two best breakfast-centric bakes I’ve ever made at home, especially the fucking banana bread. Like, I will never make another banana bread recipe. The cinnamon swirl is just too perfect.
This is the best taco meat recipe ever, ever, ever. Any time we do tacos, this is what I make and I’ve also been throwing together a creamy salsa on the side with sour cream, salsa, and a touch of lime juice. I don’t have exact measurements — I just go with my heart.
Target’s shredded triple cheddar cheese is SO GOOD. I haven’t ever seen a triple cheese option anywhere else, and it really packs so much more punch than just regular, one-note cheddar.
Also, Whole Foods fruit popsicles are insane. They have strawberry, lime, and mango and are such juicy, hearty pops. They’ll be in our freezer at-the-ready all summer.
OH! And this popcorn is the best I’ve had in a while. Perfect flavor!
SHOPPING
I fear Rhodes is about to wake up any second in a blind rage of hunger, so I’m gonna hit y’all with some quick bullets.
These Lego-esque block letters I got for Ziggy’s room continue to make me so happy every time I see them. Could be a really fun gift for a new baby.
Hatch sent us TWO Hatch Babies and an adult Restore, and I have to admit their products are really lovely. They’re nice to look at, easy to use, and so functional in all the right ways. You can set it up exactly how you like and choose from tons of soundscapes and colors that appeal to you and your kids the most. Seriously, I love it all very much and can honestly say I get the hype.
Our shower was in need of some sort of storage solution, so I ordered these chic shower shelves, and they’re perfect. The “install” is so easy, they’re incredibly sturdy, and they look fantastic. 10/10 recommend.
We had a cabinet installed in our bathroom because we had next to no storage space in there, and I chose these gorgeous knobs from Anthro (in black) to install on our new doors. They are so heavy and pretty.
Are you or your family in need of a jumbo-sized apple slicer? So were we and this red one did the trick.
I am a freak about taking care of my heels so they aren’t dry and cracked and gross. It happens so easily and so fast, and I just hate it. I hate it on me and I hate it on others. This heel shaver by Dr. Scholl’s is the most legit tool I’ve used when it comes to this issue. I keep it in the shower and use it every time, followed by spraying Aquaphor on my freshly-shaved heels! Not to brag, but my heels are pretty fucking smooth.
There’s no world in which I need another water bottle. Alas, I saw this Hydro Flask at Target and literally couldn’t resist. I love the straw SO MUCH and go through four of these a day, I STG. I got the Agave color because of course I did.
Zac has been a white-sheet-only kind of guy his entire life, but they’ve always made me feel like I’m in a hotel (and not in a good way). I finally convinced him to open his mind and let me try and find some more involved sheets, which he did and guess what? He loves them. These Ikat patterned sheets are cute as hell and come in a red/pink for a girl or lady’s bed.
Last but should’ve been first is this wall-mounted drying rack. We didn’t have space for something like this in our last house so I stuck with the tried and true standing drying rack like I have for years, but Zac pointed out a perfect bit of wall space outside the laundry room where this could live, so we went for it and it’s amazing. I can’t even begin to describe the joy it brought my anal retentive tendencies. I love that you can angle it or it can stick straight out, and when it’s not being used, it folds down flat into the wall. So good.
also missed the apple slicer link. good god. here!!! https://go.shopmy.us/p-57201048
Wait I need the link to the heel shaver, I’m getting a link to Anthropologie knobs!