Mulling it Over vol. 11
A weekly recap including an overflowing book stack, a salad I can't wait to recreate, and general life catch up!
Welcome August! Welcome Readers! Four weeks of summer left for us, officially. We’re hoping to squeeze in a few more summery activities, but I think we’re all ready for school to start in my house. While I like the longer days and sunshine, I crave crisp fall air, a sweater, and the changing leaves. That being said, we will still try to squeeze in another beach trip, eat some popsicles, languish in the late nights and slow paced mornings (at least for the kids, I have to commute to the office most days :P), and warmer weather.
Reading
I just started Landline by Rainbow Rowell per the recommendation of a librarian friend. I’ve only read one other Rainbow Rowell book (Eleanor & Park years ago), so I think I expected this to be young adult. I’m pleasantly surprised by this one. The premise is a couple’s marriage is in rocky waters, and decide to separate over Christmas due to the wife’s work schedule. While evaluating her relationship, she discovers a way to communicate with her husband in the past and tries to save her marriage. It’s creative, and I’m intrigued to see where the story goes.
I also have a massive stack on my nightstand, which may take me months to get through. I clearly need another bookshelf…
Eating
I finally have some food to report this week! We made a super delicious soba noodle salad for dinner that my kids took the tiniest bite of, but Jake and I really enjoyed! It was refreshing, easy to put together, and filling. We served it with air-fried gyoza.
We also had Romesco Butter Beans with roasted asparagus and garlicy green beans. They were fine, but I found the sauce to be a bit grainy and not as creamy as I anticipated. Maybe if I had a stronger blender it would have turned out better. Not sure if I’d make them again, but it was a nice way to shake up the meal rotation. The kids ate some of the beans, but they surprisingly love green beans and asparagus. And of course bread. They’re probably 50% bread at this point.
Oh! And one day for lunch at the office we ordered salads from a local Italian place. They have a "European Salad” that typically comes with chicken, but I subbed chicken for artichoke hearts. It has romaine, cucumber, tomato, canellini beans, kalamata olives, and home made croutons and a balsamic vinaigrette. It was so good and I can easily replicate it at home.
Listening
I started an older podcast called Dead Eyes. Here’s the premise from Spotify: “Actor/comedian Connor Ratliff (The Chris Gethard Show, UCB, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) embarks upon a quest to solve a very stupid mystery that has haunted him for two decades: why Tom Hanks fired him from a small role in the 2001 HBO mini-series, Band Of Brothers.” It’s funny and entertaining so far. I discovered it from the r/podcasts subreddit!
Anywho! Not much else to report this week. Our weekend includes tickets to finally see Inside Out 2 in theatres (I’m packing tissues), and catching up around the house. I desperately need to fold laundry and organize my skincare set up. Our bathroom has little to no storage or counter space, and drives me nuts on the daily, so I may try to solve that issue. Exciting times! We were hoping to make it back to Rhode Island this weekend, but there are thunderstorms in the forecast, which would really put a damper on a beach day. So, perhaps next week!
Thanks for reading!
Until next time,
Cassie