A road trip, an easy pasta recipe and the new adventures of Frog and Toad
Plus, the collection of Amazon reviews I can't stop thinking about
It’s drizzling and humid in Hillsborough, NJ, and I’m writing to you from the steamy interior of my car. Lacrosse players, their families, and various college coaches are milling around outside. This type of event is called a ‘showcase,’ which means individual players arrive early in the morning and are assigned to a team with strangers. Alex has played three games today; he didn’t know a single teammate at 8 am. The vibe is kind; everyone here truly loves the sport of lacrosse, and it shows.
My father often reminds me that one of the joys of parenthood is that you learn to love whatever it is your child loves. Today, as I watched Alex surge up and down the field, as he passed the ball to his temporary teammates in a total state of flow - always where he needed to be - I felt an intense sense of belonging: to him, to the moment, and yes, to the sport of lacrosse.
We stayed in Princeton, NJ, last night - the vitality and community found in college towns never ceases to reassure me; the sense of possibility and purpose renews me, even on a quick visit. I spent an hour in a flow state of my own at Labyrinth Books, surfing from Kevin Kilhan’s Collection of Amazon Reviews to Making The Best Of What’s Left to No Straight Road Takes You There to Looking For A Story to Future Cities to A Natural History of Empty Lots to Frog and Toad Are Doing Their Best. Another Sunday, I’ll write more about Kevin Kilhan’s collected Amazon reviews, which I didn’t buy, but I wish I had. A clear sense of Kevin emerged from the reviews I skimmed: his joy in writing and his joy in the objects themselves. Not to mention his delight in the fantastically ‘meta’ quality of taking something mundane (an Amazon review!) and both elevating and subverting the form. Clever, yes. But also incendiary and subversive. Here’s a bit more about Kevin and his (1,000s) of Amazon reviews.
A. This was our second stay at the Princeton Graduate by Hilton. As someone who spends a lot of time thinking about the details of my home, staying in this kind of hotel is just so deeply pleasurable. I’m someone who notices little things like the use of the cafe curtains to divide the check-in area from the coffee “bar.” It is so much better than a wall and lets in light in a sophisticated (and easy) way. Then, the bathrooms - gah - a pretty bathroom is a small joy all of its own - the shiny black ceiling, the warmth of the wallpaper, and the green tile. Yes, yes, and yes! It turns out the wallpaper is custom-inspired by the Princeton Arboretum. You can see lots more interior shots here. The design team had fun with this one - all kinds of nods to ‘place’ without being overwhelming.
B. This federal-style chest caught my eye - old furniture - so much soul!
C. This parody of Frog and Toad - Frog and Toad Are Doing Their Best - made me laugh out loud in the bookstore - the description of Toad’s WiFi stopping working and his ensuing battle with the router in particular.
D. I have a suspicion I’ve linked to Alison Roman’s shallot pasta previously, as I do make this a lot. Recently, however, Tim cooked it and actually followed the recipe when Alison writes, at the very end of the recipe: In a small bowl, combine parsley and a finely chopped garlic clove, and season with flaky salt and pepper. I tend to ignore this kind of (in my mind, fiddly) extra step, and Tim tends to make the extra effort (in all things, truthfully). Holy smokes, what a delicious addition to the pasta. An evergreen reminder that, usually, the extra effort is worth it.
E. These markers are so good - it’s the connecting caps, I think. A great birthday gift for creative adults and kids alike. Then, I’m a lover of a thick pen - I’d write everything with a Sharpie if I could - and so a Paper Mate Flair is a good runner-up to that impulse. This magenta color used to only be available in sets, but now - oh joy - I can buy them by the box.
F. Dr. Schulze’s Air Detox - we’ve used this for years now to cover up all sorts of foul odors. From lacrosse bags to dead mice, we’ve known a few!
G. This is an extremely large lip balm and I can’t do without it (I’ve repurchased 4x).
H. My parents gave me this industrial tape dispenser for Christmas, and I’m not sure I could love it more.
This weekend, on a road trip that could have been a grind, I remembered again that finding joy (like parenting, like writing this newsletter) is a practice and is best cultivated by the deliberate action of looking for it, rather than waiting for it to arrive. ✨
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