Have a Delicious Weekend.

What are you up to this weekend? We are throwing Toby a birthday picnic, complete with a Steph Curry photo cake. Have a good one, and here are a few links from around the web…

Love love love love these UPF50+ children’s swimsuits. (This gives me baby fever.)

Growing up Korean and American in a small Michigan town.

How gorgeous is this striped wedding dress?

I want to wear my hair like this.

“We can’t ask your age in this job interview but please take this quiz about rotary photos.” Hahahahaha. (New Yorker)

I just finished this book last night and was in tears! Thanks to all the readers who recommended it.

Survival secrets from six small business owners. (New York Magazine)

Hugging after the vaccine. (New York Times)

A West Texas thunderstorm.

Oooh, what a delicious dinner.

My sister is launching a podcast!

Plus, a reader comment:

Says Anon on my favorite swimwear: “Here’s a confession: I was very eye-roll-y when stores began using more regular bodies in their adverts. I told myself that it felt too try-hard and patronizing, but really it was my hate for my own body manifesting itself in a knee jerk reaction: I do not want to see jiggly bits. On anyone.

“But, seeing different bodies in swimsuits and activewear again and again and again while scrolling through different sites has IN A MATTER OF MONTHS made these bodies (and MY OWN) feel very normal and even good/desirable/beautiful. I know that is the idea (and that the reverse is true, too — that seeing all those perfect bodies for so long is why I hated my body). Still, it feels remarkable how powerful these images really are.

I’ve worn a boring full-coverage bathing suit (with tummy control) from Lands’ End for years, plus a men’s XL oxford as a cover-up, and now, for the first time since high school, I’m thinking, ‘Should I order that bikini?'”

(Photo by Erin Jeanne McDowell.)

Note: If you buy something through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission, at no cost to you. We recommend only products we genuinely like. Thank you so much.

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Rebecca

June 4, 2021 9:43pm 9:43 pm

I am just diving into Lucy’s podcast and got to your episode with her. YOU HAVE A VOICE!! I have read this blog since before you were married. I am just now realizing I have created a voice for you (and Caroline and Kim) in my head. But hearing your actual voice is so lovely!

Love this blog and love Lucy’s podcast. You are both remarkable humans and inspire me to want to create beautiful things for this world… in whatever form that may be.

Kiki

May 25, 2021 6:20pm 6:20 pm

I found the article about growing up as a Korean adoptee in Michigan very interesting! The author was so open and vulnerable about her feelings of shame (about even her middle name!), I really respect that.

May 24, 2021 7:46pm 7:46 pm

I’ve been really into looking up modest two-piece swimsuits (for going to the bathroom!) that are still chic. i like how being more covered is its own kind of elegance (like a long sleeve wedding dress) but also much prefer cleavage and tummy coverage! Not for any moral reason, I just feel more comfortable that way :).

I found this site via a Jill Duggar sponsored post on people.com (lol) the site feels kinda cheesy imo but there are some gems in there https://modli.co/

Also that growing up Korean American in Michigan post was really poignant. I also have a soft spot for anything Nederlands related.

honore

May 24, 2021 3:57pm 3:57 pm

I can’t see instagram and wonder if anyone knows where the recipe for those cookies in the photo are??? Searching her name didn’t deliver.

Beth Curtis

Reply to honore

May 25, 2021 3:02pm 3:02 pm

OMG! I’m with you – came for the cookie recipe and thought for sure it would be in the comments. Who cares about bikinis (jk) I want cookies!

Kate

Reply to honore

May 27, 2021 3:20pm 3:20 pm

she’s @emcdowell on Instagram and she has two fantastic cookbooks out and publishes recipes in the NYT Cooking section and has a ton on Food52, as well! Follow her at https://www.instagram.com/emcdowell/ and seriously, buy her Pie cookbook. It is literally hundreds of pages on pie. Her chocolate chip cookie recipes are MAGIC.

Vera

May 24, 2021 11:05am 11:05 am

I took a look at the podcast page you mentioned. Your sister wrote When Breath Becomes Air?! That book was amazing!! It had a lot of sad moments, but was also so uplifting at the same time. Her podcast sounds absolutely amazing too!

Anon

Reply to Vera

May 24, 2021 8:11pm 8:11 pm

Her husband, Paul Kalanithi wrote it.

Ellen

May 24, 2021 11:04am 11:04 am

I’m not into bikinis…1) because they provide less sun protection and 2) because I don’t have the patience to shave my underarms, legs, or bikini line (and I have dark hair and fairly pale skin)…and I don’t want to feel pressured into doing it. Shaving is just not a priority for me. I also kinda don’t mind trying to normalize female body hair…so I don’t mind having people see my legs. But I feel uncomfortable (immodest?) if the hair at my bikini line shows, probably because I think it makes other people uncomfortable, too. So I wear an old-school swimsuit that is almost like shorts at the bottom.

PNW GIRL

Reply to Ellen

May 24, 2021 3:15pm 3:15 pm

@Ellen, that cut is so flattering! We were just in Hawaii and everyone was asking where my wife got hers (and then we saw old-timey surfer suits in vintage photographs in our hotel!) Check out TomboyX unisuits, they’re amazing! https://tomboyx.com/collections/swim

honore

Reply to Ellen

May 24, 2021 4:03pm 4:03 pm

I always wear super short surf shorts and a pretty rash guard. Either that or naked when I can. One year I went swimming in a strapless flowy, floral print sundress, sans undies, and even though I was entirely covered I felt like I was naked and I highly recommend that to anyone who wants to feel bliss.

There is no point in the stress of a bikini even though I technically have a model’s body. It is ridiculous that women just submit to this torture when they can wear whatever they want!

Ellen

Reply to Ellen

May 24, 2021 4:44pm 4:44 pm

PNW Girl–thanks for the rec! TomboyX suits look great!

Ellen

Reply to Ellen

May 24, 2021 4:45pm 4:45 pm

Honore, the surf shorts & rash guard sound like a great combo! (And swimming in the sundress sounds fun, too.)

Catherine

May 24, 2021 5:01am 5:01 am

Hi,
I will definitely listen Lucy’s podcast, I loved the introduction, the project triggers curiosity also it may sound stupid but I like her voice and pronunciation, I am writing here from an non english speaker future listener.
Oh boy I love this blog!
cheers

Meghan

May 23, 2021 8:05pm 8:05 pm

Lucy! I’ll definitely be listening <3

Maryn

May 23, 2021 4:51pm 4:51 pm

Looking into ordering my first ever bikini and CANNOT WAIT

Jude

May 23, 2021 4:45pm 4:45 pm

A bit late, but thank you for posting the story from the adoptee who grew up Korean and American in a small Michigan town – such a refreshing perspective and voice amidst everything.

Kathy

May 23, 2021 4:20pm 4:20 pm

Wear that bikini!!

Kate

May 23, 2021 2:59pm 2:59 pm

I never wore a bikini growing up; in the Pacific Northwest we weren’t in bathing suits very often, and I don’t even remember seeing people wear bikinis at all. I would have been mortified about people judging me and my body as a younger person. Subconsciously I thought that I needed bigger boobs and a longer legs to “deserve” to wear a bikini.

After traveling to warmer climates, where people of all ages and all bodies are in swimwear and less clothing all the time, I recognized my own hangups about standing out and being judged; I was also older and less aghast at what other’s might think about me. (Wow, I wasted decades of my life being worried about that.)

I wore bikinis for the first time in my life starting in my mid 40s. No one cared! I wore them in Mexico. No one cared! I wore them in Hawaii. No one cared!

Admittedly, back in Oregon, I don’t think I’d wear a bikini – but that’s because I don’t see my self wearing a bathing suit either – I’ll wear a long sleeve rash guard and some surf shorts if I’m going to get wet (on a boat) because I’m not swimming in the ocean (brr!) or river (brr!) or lake (brr!) when I’m here. So it’s more about practicality, sun protection, and the activity.

But if I go back to Mexico one day? I’ll wear whatever I want. And no one will care :)

Jessica

May 23, 2021 12:51pm 12:51 pm

Order the bikini!

Jo please share a pic of the steph curry cake!

Kate

May 23, 2021 10:50am 10:50 am

Is the Steph Curry cake for Toby…or for you? ;)

Also, SO excited for Lucy’s podcast!!!

Joanna Goddard(@joanna)

Author

Reply to Kate

May 23, 2021 6:13pm 6:13 pm

hahaha for both of us :)

Chelsea

May 23, 2021 10:33am 10:33 am

I love the West Texas storm photo. I lived in Lubbock, TX for 7 years (near where the photo was taken). I’ve seen many of my West Texas friends posting it, but it’s even more amazing to see it spreading beyond that. What West Texas lacks in landscape beauty it makes up for with some of the most incredible skies.

reba

Reply to Chelsea

May 24, 2021 10:27am 10:27 am

Willa Cather wasn’t talking about Texas when she wrote, “‘Elsewhere the sky is the roof of the world; but here the earth was the floor of the sky.”–but she might as well have been!

Pauline

May 23, 2021 8:02am 8:02 am

This book looks very interesting ! But we should not buy it from Amazon… There are lots and lots of independent bookstores that need our support. A great site like yours should act as a good example…

Joanna Goddard(@joanna)

Author

Reply to Pauline

May 23, 2021 6:14pm 6:14 pm

yes, we do 95% of our book links to bookshop, indiebound, etc. thank you so much!

Kylee

May 23, 2021 1:08am 1:08 am

I just subscribed to Lucy’s podcast! I can’t wait to listen to it during my 6 hour flight home from Maui tomorrow :)

Jenny

May 22, 2021 11:03pm 11:03 pm

Speaking of the Steph Curry crush… the thing for me was all the press conferences where he let Riley jump into his lap and interrupt his interviews… and was she not the cutest?!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kDz538Hbtkk

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MNkpMusSaEk

Julie

Reply to Jenny

May 24, 2021 9:16am 9:16 am

Okay, that is so cute. Can’t even handle it.

Susan

May 22, 2021 9:47pm 9:47 pm

Thanks for sharing Nicole’s story on adoption and belonging and wrestling w/ her racial identity. I’m from the same town and graduated from the same religious, private school. I too am obsessed w/ salted black licorice and my family is Dutch & I was a Dutch Dancer (and I also live near Philly!) we ate frequently at the Peking House. So interesting that our experiences are so uniform, so very similar, but also, that’s the kind of place it is. Everyone was very “nice,” but differences were not tolerated, which I’m sure complicates things a lot. We didn’t really “see” race. Whiteness was (maybe still is?) the norm. I hope things are changing. I wish Nicole the best as she embarks on this journey of self-discovery & that maybe she’ll even be able to tell her biological mom she’s okay in person someday.

Suzette

May 22, 2021 8:03pm 8:03 pm

Happy Birthday Toby!!! ? Have a full-on blast and then some! I am so excited for Lucy’s podcast. Fantastic and therapeutic. And yes! get that bikini; bikini or nothing at all. We need alll the sun. ‘Tis the season. Happy weekend.

Diane

May 22, 2021 4:49pm 4:49 pm

That new yorker article was a bit offensive. Ageism is not funny.

Andrea

Reply to Diane

May 23, 2021 10:42pm 10:42 pm

I think I have to agree with you.

rose

Reply to Diane

May 28, 2021 11:54am 11:54 am

I found it amusing but then again I am having a hell of a time finding a job at 55. At this point I need help and would love to know of any useful resources out there.

laura

May 22, 2021 4:25pm 4:25 pm

ORDER THAT BIKINI!! <3

abi

May 22, 2021 3:41pm 3:41 pm

Please, please no links to amazon! (small (book)stores and we’ll find the item in our local (book)store)

Reply to abi

May 24, 2021 8:43am 8:43 am

The vast majority of the time, per readers’ requests, CoJ links to independent bookstores. The very few times they choose to link to Amazon, for whatever reason, it rly doesn’t take much for a reader to click on the link and decide they want to purchase the book elsewhere – I do it all the time! It takes two seconds (an insanely minimal amount of effort) to find your own local bookstore and see if the item you’re looking for is available there.

Again – the vast majority of the time they spoonfeed us links to independent bookstores. Considering all the content we get (for *free*), it really isn’t asking so much to do your own tiny bit of research. Individual accountability – it’s a thing ;)

Wendi Aarons

May 22, 2021 2:41pm 2:41 pm

Thanks for sharing my age quiz!

JeanneK

Reply to Wendi Aarons

May 24, 2021 11:43am 11:43 am

Wendi, my husband and I (both 50) LOVED it! Thanks!

Dee

May 22, 2021 2:31pm 2:31 pm

Help! I’ll be driving through Albuquerque next week and need suggestions for lunch and dinner. I don’t even know what the food scene is like there, but I figure there will be good tacos?

Also coffee suggestions :)

Johanna

Reply to Dee

May 25, 2021 9:40am 9:40 am

I lived in ABQ for 8 years and I miss the food SO much! Tia Betty Blues is my absolute favorite. Barelas Coffee House or El Pinto are also great. Michael Thomas Coffee was our neighborhood coffee shop and one of my favorite spots. Enjoy your visit!

Ray

May 22, 2021 2:07pm 2:07 pm

I am absolutely crying with the article about hugs after the vaccine! I live in Brazil and our situation is chaotic… we are a people who love touch!
we hug and touch each other all the time..
I don’t know when I’m going to touch my friends, my people … and these photos are so beautiful – I thought when I felt someone else’s heart beating with mine

Anna

May 22, 2021 12:22pm 12:22 pm

Yes Anon! Add your body and voice to this song!!! You are so beautiful

Katie Larissa

May 22, 2021 11:42am 11:42 am

This is such a long shot, but do you remember mentioning marbled chocolate cookies a few years ago? You posted a recipe, but I think it was a link to a recipe. I made them a couple of times and they were PERFECT but super time consuming, so it’s been a long time and I can’t find the recipe. Fingers crossed you might remember! I’ve tried googling, but nothing has sparked my recognition.

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