Good morning, everyone! I hope that you’ve all been enjoying a restful and sunny weekend. It has been a very domestic week here. Without class to rush off to, I’ve had the pleasure of interrupted time for work, and I’m savoring the opportunity to feel creative and immersed. It’s easy to disregard how important continuous stretches of time are for the creative process (whatever that may be–for me, it’s writing and recipe creation), but the past few days have reminded me that the…

As New York City reopens, I’m thinking a lot about the things that have sustained me most through the quarantine. I figure it can’t hurt to ask myself what buoyed me through all of this, and to consider the meaning of my answer. One of the things that I’ve been most grateful for is community. I’m accustomed to spending time on my own, but the Covid experience tested the limits of my comfort with solitude. At times, I felt acutely aware of being…

Happy sunday, all. I hope you’ve had good and restful weekends. For those of you who missed yesterday’s post, I’m giving away a copy of Cara Reed‘s wonderful new book, Decadent Gluten Free and Vegan Baking. Check out the giveaway for a chance to win! On to weekend reading. These savory mushroom pancakes are so unique, and would be a delightful weekend brunch dish. Can’t wait to try them! Before eggplant and peppers go out of season, make Golubka’s gorgeous eggplant and pepper…

I asked for an extension on a big project this week. I’d been trying to avoid it, telling myself that an urgent deadline is a good motivator and that I could get it done if I really pushed hard. But my ability to work in a time crunch just isn’t what it used to be. And, like many people, I’ve been having a lot of issues with productivity this year. I know that an extension only draws out the process of completion. Still,…

Last Sunday, I came clean about being stuck in a cycle of repetitive, anxious thoughts. My friend Maria shared the following response: When I was in my thirties, I had a therapist who suggested something that sounded really counter intuitive to me about my fearful thought patterns. She said that when I started into a worrying self-critical spiral, instead of getting frustrated or mad at myself, to say “thank you” to myself. “Thank you” to that part of myself that was trying to…

Happy Valentine’s Day, friends. It’s the coldest Valentine’s on record here in NYC, and I’ve been listening to a howling wind outside since I woke up this morning. I’ll be staying inside as much as I possibly can today, catching up on school and work, probably baking something sweet for me and Steven as part of our Valentine’s Day at home, and whipping up a batch of my lentil sloppy Joe’s for a date night dinner. I hope everyone who’s reading from the Northeast is…

Lately I feel as if most of my Sunday reflections are inspired by, or a paraphrase of something that someone else has told me. I’m short on words lately, so I’m more than happy to take inspiration from others. Last Sunday, I wrote about a case of the Sunday Scaries and the good advice that I got in response to it. I’m not quite in the throes of the Scaries right now, but my anxiety has been pretty bad this week. It’s been…