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What about you? By the wonderful Grace Farris.
P.S. Another Friday night, and Grace’s beauty uniform.
Friday Night Plans
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But mine are the same exact ones as Grace!
A trip to my neighborhood bookstore to pick up my weekend reading- Tell Me Everything. Reading it on my new chaise with a cup of tea. Cooking dinner for my two kids home from college. Shrimp scampi and a glass of cold wine (for me not the kids ha ha).
Watching my son ride a bike for the first time! He just figured it out tonight and is so, so proud and excited.
My kids gave me a pedicure and my husband have me a foot scrub and massage after a long day of teaching. Then I took a NyQuil and headed to bed. Laying down next time my kids and reading Cup of Jo is my idea of a perfect Friday night for right now.
I just started a new job and,—well, you know the Ira Glass quote about the taste-talent gap? (https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/309485-nobody-tells-this-to-people-who-are-beginners-i-wish) I am living in that gap! Totally my own fault: I was offered a perfectly good lateral move, but no, I had to dream big! This week has been a fiasco, with a capital F-word, and my weekend is full of catching up on work tasks that I still do too slowly to fit in during the workweek, plus studying for a stressfully big exam on Wednesday. Also, I have had Jenny R’s new cookbook on hold at the library since JUNE and there is no sign of it arriving. Rude! So we are looking at pizza, sugary soda, and an engrossing book I have already read so I don’t have to pay too much attention to it before I fall asleep on the couch.
I’m not “creative” and can’t totally relate to that quote but I can relate to beginning a new job and feeling inadequate! It’s the worst part, for me. Learning the ropes and figuring out what we are supposed to be doing. Hang in there! Take one week (or day) at a time.
Tea on the couch with my pup next to me, finishing my book – The Wedding People.
Been enjoying it but am REALLY excited to dive into spooky/fall reads next!
I am here for any and all of your spooky fall recommendations!
Yes, would COJ hive recommend some spooky/fall reads? Not horror for me, but spooky would be great! Thanks, all.
I am reading Thistlefoot and loving it as a spooky-adjacent read!
Yes! Bring on the fall recs. Here’s a list I’ve compiled.
– The Invisible Life of Addie Larue
– Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries
– The Secret History
– The Unmaking of June Farrow
– Practical Magic
– Murder on the Orient Express
– A Discovery of Witches
– The Very Secret Society of
Irregular Witches
I just finished and loved reading The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley. Spooky for sure!
Add “The Change” by Kirsten Miller to your list. It’s about witches, it’s about menopause, it’s about feminism. IDK, it’s spooky & amazing.
just this morning I got an email that a library book hold was available!
This is spot on, but I’d propose substituting tater tots and siracha mayo for the artichokes. I work in health care, and even though I love my job, I’m peopled-out by Friday night. My husband is a lawyer who works at a desk all day, and his dream Friday would be staying out until midnight…
I grew up in Northern California and we ate artichokes all the time! For my Friday night, I’d add a home made craft cocktail, taking off my bra as soon as I get home, and my comfy slippers!
I’m planning to finish The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning narrated by Amy Poehler.
It was released in 2023, but I didn’t get the chance to start it until recently.
I’ve already seen two episodes and was totally unprepared for how many emotions I would feel while watching it. It’s made me cry and laugh and cry-laugh and sob and snort and giggle.
I just bought a big box of tissues so I can get through the remaining episodes without getting slobber all over my t-shirt.
I’m watching this after I finish Deadloch! I loved the book and had no idea it was a show. Thank you, stranger friend 🤗
Hahaha the exciting face wash ! I do that too, wait till I use something with a lot of excitement 😂. Friday night on the couch watching some movie my kids chose…having a drink with my husband , after cleaning the whole house cause tomorrow we have family coming to stay for the weekend ( they come from Holland, we live in northern Italy) so it will be a nice weekend with two more.kids in the house, a good opportunity for my own kids to practice English ! ( The Dutch girl’s father is from USA ) Have a lovely weekend :*
For me it’s pizza, snuggles with my kids, a bath, and then Only Murders In The Building. Looking for something similarly cosy to watch, so if anyone has any suggestions I’m all ears!
Astrid! It’s a French procedural with the main character being autistic and becoming employed to help with police. I loved it! It’s on pbs via Amazon too.
Temps are cooling where I am–perhaps beginning the wardrobe switcheroo whilst listening to this: Small Rain by Garth Greenwell. Just came off my Libby holds! Fridays in this house are almost always for nesting.
I read a couple days ago that “Clutter is nothing but delayed decisions.” I need to make some decisions, STAT! I took a personal day off of work so that I could declutter and purge some things around my house (and therefore relax on Sat and Sun with my hubby and kids). I got motivated with an iced latte, took shoes i’ve been meaning to have resoled to the cobbler, shipped a box off to ThredUp, packed up bags for Goodwill, bought a couple frames for things I’ve been wanting to frame, decluttered counters and the pockets of my room where I shove stuff…ha!
That sounds like a day well spent – you’ve inspired me to do something similar!
This is what I have been thinking, take a few days off work to get it done. Also, where it states “By the wonderful Grace Farris” I read that as BE the wonderful, so that’s what I’ll take with me this weekend, to be the wonderful for someone.
Tonight I’m making zucchini risotto and starting Love and Other Conspiracies. <3
New Elizabeth Strout novel, a cup of rooibos tea, a bath, and as much time being horizontal as my spine can take!
rooibos tea is my favorite kind! enjoy!
Just finished that book. It was lovely catching up with those characters, they feel like old friends now. Hope you enjoy it!
I am reading Tell Me Everything too! It is a warm hug :)
Peppermint tea and my spooky season read
Squeezing my toddler so hard and smelling his head. It was my first week back at work (new job) since becoming a stay at home mom when he was born. He’s now 2 and half.
Feeling so many emotions, it’s been a huge adjustment !! Can’t wait to be with him all weekend.
I remember those feelings. I LIVED for time with my girl. Felt grateful to be a part-time nurse during her baby years and throughout her growing up years. But still, there was nothing like time immersed with the miracle who is my daughter.
And making my plan with Neighbor2Neighbor to knock on doors for Harris-Walz this weekend!! Let’s DO It!
Listening to “The Husbands” on Libby audiobook and loving every chapter! It’s due in 1.5 days so trying to get in bits between WFH intrusions. Quiet night at home, rose, pizza, and looking forward to catching up on COJ posts and comments!
i’ve got homemade apple crisp to heat up at home! counting the minutes…
Having some me time. A cup of hot chocolate and a good rest.
Artichokes: The thistles that love you back! (Lifelong favorite food.)
I am 100% stealing that line! hahaha (plus I do love artichokes)
Same, Lauren. When I was a teenager, at one point, I ate an artichoke and a pomegranate for dinner every night. What that says about it me, I don’t know… 2 foods that couldn’t be harder to eat, together?!?!
That totally makes sense to me, Marisa! I love pomegranates as well, and if you think about it, they have a lot in common with artichokes: they’re beautiful and heavy, they have very satisfying radial symmetry, eating them is a process, and they have very distinctive mouthfeels and flavors. I’ve loved artichokes for as long as I can remember, but I’ve been a vegetarian since I was a tween, and I find myself getting more and more drawn to what I think of as “puzzle foods” over the decades – maybe it’s my version of the thrill of the hunt? They aren’t so beautiful, but I also really love preparing fava beans – the weird sponginess of their pods, the way you slip-shuck the vivid little greenies out of their inner skins after blanching, it’s all very tactile and meditative.
I just posted the same comment on the subs post, but wanted to post here too, and hopefully make some momentum happen!!! I just discovered Smitten Kitchen’s yearly teacher wishlist spreadsheet, and went through to order some books and supplies today. Just thinking about the massive generosity in this community makes me feel so happy. Let’s make some change for these teachers and students!!
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/163W1kGtcODPqbN5x8otS8Z_DqKTUVc4KRlbAGaHYakI/edit?gid=0#gid=0
Ohh, this is awesome. I had no idea this list existed! I just placed an order for a math teacher nowhere near my home state because…why not? Thanks for sharing this!
Thanks for sharing!
I love this :)
Julia at Lemon Stripes blog/ instagram does the same. She has been doing it for quite a few years. I believe her list was full and some teachers missed out. I’m in Australia and I’m sure some teachers purchase items for their classrooms, however, I don’t think to the extent that I have read on Lemon Stripes.
Oh this comic reminds me of my favourite movie as a teen, Amélie, when she says to the mean greengrocer: “you’ll never be a vegetable, even artichokes have a heart!”
My daughter is named Amelie – partially after this movie :)
Oooh I love that movie! Thanks for the reminder, I must rewatch:-)
All this plus reading the Friday links post and Big Salad! My favorite ways to wind down on a Friday night.
My husband and I have created, in my opinion, the perfect Friday tradition: takeout and what we’ve deemed “90s dad thrillers.” Think, A Hunt for Red October, The Fugitive, A Few Good Men…any movie in which a man yells into a phone, a helicopter is involved at some point, and the phrase “geopolitical conflict” is bandied about. Max Read did a great Substack on this a while ago, which is what set us off: https://maxread.substack.com/p/90s-dad-thrillers-a-list
We have varied from this format due to streaming service constraints, wanting to watch a movie with actually good female characters in it (although I would posit that The Net and Contact are both ideal 90s dad thrillers, despite starring strong female leads), or wanting to watch a buzzy new movie. But the 90s dad thriller is our tried and true — interesting enough to keep you entertained, far enough removed from modern day to not induce anxiety, and silly enough that you can still enjoy your takeout while watching. It is my favorite thing, and I actually get sad when we end up with plans on Friday and can’t do it.
This is such a wonderful tradition. Might steal this idea!
Despite this fabulous copy, my first instinct was “good for her, not for me.” Then I recalled that:
(1) two of my favorite movies are Sneakers and Spy Game (technically 2001, but definitely meets the criteria of “any movie in which a man yells into a phone, a helicopter is involved at some point, and the phrase ‘geopolitical conflict’ is bandied about” hahaha), and
(2) my husband and I were just talking about rewatching Armageddon and Independence Day, since it recently became apparent that my mind (understandably) merged them into one movie – although I distinctly remember the credit song to Armageddon and loudly sang it in the restaurant to embarrass my teenage children.
Gasp! I am also a fan of “90’s dad thrillers”! I didn’t even know it!
PS, as a woman who lived through the era, “ideal 90s dad thrillers, despite starring strong female leads” is absolute truth. I laughed, but also sighed.
This is mine and my husband’s favourite thing to do, and I had no idea it was a thing! I don’t think it’s on the list, but I can heartily recommend Con Air – so good in every possible way!
This sounds Incredible!
I love this! Although it isn’t a Friday tradition for us, my husband and I love 90’s disaster films. Dante’s Peak is the best! I have insomnia and anytime all of my sleep tricks fail, I will turn on a disaster film and enjoy the 2am.
Oh my goodness, this. Date night, planned.
Abbe, thank you for the excellent substack link!
Welcoming my husband back home with open arms – he has been traveling for work all week and my kid got croup the day he left – and then RUNNING into bed and staying there for several long uninterrupted hours 😅
Teens at football game, husband’s out of town = movie and dog snuggle time. I’ve never seen “Bull Durham” so maybe that one.
I watched Bull Durham this summer for a baseball/literature/film/American identity class and enjoyed it more than I expected. Would recommend! I’d only seen Tim Robbins in Shawshank Redemption, so it was really fun to see him in a comedic role.
Checking out a new outdoor pizza place now that NJ shore traffic has simmered. Asian Pear picking at the farm. Catching His Three Daughters on Netflix later.
Library Holds ! Picking up The Wedding People today, returning God of the Woods. Awaiting Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout, Intermezzo by Sally Rooney, The Husbands by Holly Gramazio, Playground by Richard Powers… the list goes on ! Just finished Sandwich I put on hold in July. Laughed, Cried and jotted down a ton of page numbers of lines I loved. So yeah…… my Friday plans are to sit on my porch in the sun, reading, here in the gorgeous PNW… grateful indeed !!!! :) Wishing all of you a weekend built for YOU.
I am in the PNW, too! Last nights sunset was amazing!
Have a great weekend.
:)
Another PNWer looking forward to book time outside in this perfect weather! Queued up are: Finding the Mother Tree, Dreamwood, Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries, and You Are Here (Poetry in the Natural World anthology). I’m always tickled when my library holds somehow cluster themselves in a theme!
I also read Sandwich and God of the Woods this summer! They were both so amazing!!!
Crafting on the couch with a glass of wine and my puppies.
Add in, time on my couch with a cozy blanket and my dog and Only Murders in the Building!
TGIF!!
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