What are you up to this weekend? We are throwing Anton’s birthday party tomorrow — it’s the first time he’s wanted a real one because he can feel a little shy! We made a shark cake (naturally) and are heading to the neighborhood playground. Hope you have a good one, and here are a few fun links from around the web…
My new summer read. (It’s getting so much buzz!)
The simplest spaghetti al limone.
Loving this pretty work dress.
“I look like a pencil.” (Can’t stop, won’t stop.)
Do what you love in front of the kids in your life. Says Mr. Rogers: “If you love to bicycle, if you love to repair things, do that in front of the children. Let them catch the attitude that that’s fun. Because you know, attitudes are caught, not taught.”
How to dig out a boob trench for your boobs at the beach.
Dictionary.com is updating the definition of “black.” (“If you look on Dictionary.com today, the adjectival sense of Black that refers to people is the third sense on the page. Currently this definition sits right above a definition that reads ‘soiled or stained with dirt.’ While there are no semantic links between these two senses, their proximity on the page can be harmful. It can lead to unconscious associations between this word of identity and a negative term. These are not associations we want anyone to get from Dictionary.com, and so we will be swapping our second and third senses on the page… Another change we are making is that we will be capitalizing Black throughout the entry when it is used in reference to people. Why capitalize Black in this context? It is considered a mark of respect, recognition, and pride. This is common practice for many other terms used to describe a culture or ethnicity. Not capitalizing Black in this context can be seen as dismissive, disrespectful, and dehumanizing.”)
The joy of low-key dinner parties.
Are you sober curious? (Alex for the NYTimes)
Plus, two reader comments:
Says Madeleine on do you hug and kiss your friends: “Love the comment about how Brazilians hug. My best friend’s wife is Brazilian and we always joke about the contrast between British hugs (at arm’s length, lasting a nanosecond) and Brazilian ones (full body contact, from head to toe, lasting waaaay beyond the point where gets uncomfortable). It’s entered the family vernacular: ‘sending you Brazilian hugs.'”
Says Grace on do you hug and kiss your friends: “I’ve been thinking about the importance of physical touch, particularly for the elderly. My husband’s grandfather died several years ago, and I am close with his surviving grandmother. She and her husband were always very physically affectionate, and I recently noticed how much she enjoys appointments, like getting her nails done or her hair cut. I realized that these routines are not only about her appearance, but they’re also some of the only times she experiences physical touch – a hand massage or a long shampoo probably feels especially good. Now I make sure to give her extra long hugs when I see her, and make an effort to touch her arm or gently rub her shoulder while we’re talking.”
(Photo by 3191 Miles Apart.)