Hellloooo my summer chickadees,
What a week it has been. Here in NYC, we endured the heat wave, legionnaires in the water supply (bless you, UES), The Odyssey premiere (bless you, traffic of the UWS), Canadian wildfire smoke (is the fire punishment for the Canadians killing all those Emus? Kidding— but also not), and life being life. And here we are. We made it.
Also, can I just say that Parks and Rec is HILARIOUS. Not as great as St. Denis Medical, but a wonderful show to watch while we wait for St. Denis Season 3. I am still debating on whether The Five-Star Weekend with Jen Garner is worth it or if it will ruin the book. Garner in the ads already annoys me— is this a sign?!
My mornings consist of me fighting with the Hume Health Pod, strength training and sweating so much I can’t see anymore. We have reached that point in summer where I shower multiple times a day.
Something I am learning is we sometimes feel incapable of certain things— we opt for low-impact and soft movements thinking we can’t or shouldn’t jump, we can’t/shouldn’t do the explosive step-ups, that somehow, we are better off without it and our hormones are healthier if we take it slow and controlled. I just want to go on record to say that as a Pilates addict for more than a decade— all of that is a lie. I wish I had been doing what I started doing this spring a decade ago. That’s your PSA. Don’t let hormones, chronic pain or conditions keep you going at a pace that ages you at a cellular level. F-that.
I read The Courage to Choose Yourself, and while there are some suspect concepts in it, there were also parts that touched me deeply. I gave it 5/5 stars ⭐️. Mimi Ikonn should be proud of her book. I am now halfway through The Anti-Burnout Book and after will be Nantucket Second Chances because I love a Pamela Kelley Nantucket book in summer. (Let’s be honest, I read Nantucket books year round. How have I not been there yet?)
Country Living Magazine is doing its fair in Rhinebeck, NY in October, and not gonna lie— I want to go.
I sent some handwritten postcards and decided I miss snail mail. We are bringing it back. As a kid who moved every ten seconds, I sent hundreds, if not thousands of letters between the ages of eight and fourteen— then, emails took over unless you were at camp. God, I miss camping.
In the middle of Odyssey nostalgia, the smoke haze, Nantucket dreaming and my explosive HIIT sessions— these were some of the things that made me smile and/or think:
“Sometimes the life lesson is that the peach was delicious.” Garance Dore (Sometimes, things are just simple. Why do we complicate everything?)
“We have to consciously study how to be tender with each other until it becomes a habit.” Audre Lorde
“Faith isn’t certainty about tomorrow; it’s intimacy with the present. It’s letting love finish what effort began. It’s remembering that even when I can’t hold everything, I’m always held.” Mimi Ikonn
“The unknown isn’t against us. It’s where life meets us.” Mimi Ikonn
“This is the richest life.
Not a life free from heartbreak.
Not one where every prayer gets answered the way we’d write it.
But a life so full of love that even the hardest days feel like miracles.” Dr. Edie Wadsworth
This podcast episode was excellent and divine timing. I am now tuning into Ben Azadi’s podcast. So much good info and scientific studies.
Dr. Ewoma has all the tips and tricks:
I love Chef Khanna’s energy:
This message inspired me:
Lastly, Michelle Branch announced her tour. Guys. I am so excited to see this woman play her hits live. Her music takes me back to windows open and wind-in-my-hair Charleston days (with that particular Charleston marsh smell that hangs thick over the water). Pretending to be her in the church gym. It was her, Jaci Velasquez, Vanessa Carlton and JLo. Now, Branch is baccckkkkk. So in honor of her Everywhere and Back Tour— the song of the week goes to her.
Song of the week EVERYWHERE:
GABRIELA YARELIZ 