11 Things of Note

A fun trip, my favorite recent purchases, a revelation, COWBOYS, and more!

Hi friends! No preamble today, just a borderline chaotic round-up. The topics are wide-ranging, but hopefully semi-relevant, so buckle up and let’s dive in.

ON ALISAL RANCH

My family and I recently spent the weekend at Alisal Ranch in Solvang, CA. The resort is part of an actual working ranch with hundreds (thousands?) of farm animals, many of whom you can interact with. It's by no means new (opened in 1947!) and has an old school vibe (“country formal” is required dinner attire), but there is something so incredibly charming about it. My son, Ollie, had the best time petting goats and shouting “cow” at full volume.

ON THE SEZANE SUEDE JACKET

After being heavily influenced by quite a few people, I finally ordered Sezane’s suede Will Jacket. I’m very happy about this purchase, even though Ollie smudged his grubby (though sweet) hands all over it less than a minute after I cut the tag off. Fingerprints aside (here’s hoping I can find a great suede cleaner), I can’t wait to wear it for spring! I sized up for more of an oversized look (this is the L), but Sezane is really great about notating how their sizing runs.

ON ROSES

I found Eden climbing roses at my local nursery after almost ordering them on Etsy from a farm in Texas. Don’t you love when you’re about to do something overcomplicated (like order roses on Etsy) and then find the exact thing you were searching for five minutes from your house, cheaper and in better condition? They’ll go in a planter in the front of our house and (hopefully) climb around a window. The charm! Now I must learn how to properly care for roses.

not mine—just a bit of wistful inspo

ON GREEK TURKEY BURGER BOWLS

Pia Baroncini (who I love to follow) recently made a turkey burger bowl on TikTok that sounded so good, I immediately rounded up the ingredients. You guys! It was easy, delicious, and I’ve already made it multiple times. Pia only recited the recipe on her TikTok, so I roughly wrote it out for myself. I’ll drop it in the comments on the Substack app, but if you don’t use the app and want the written recipe, shoot me a message and I’ll send it to you.

ON THESE PERFECT SNEAKERS

I rarely crave a sneaker, but I can’t stop thinking about these ones from Autry, which I recently discovered on Reva Luft’s instagram (another great follow, by the way). My gut is telling me to order the red, but I also love the green ones, too. The indecision!

ON YELLOW SWEATSHIRTS

I immediately ordered this DONNI. sweatshirt when it launched (hopefully they bring it back!) and it’s the most perfect, buttery yellow color. I wish I had a pair of yellow pants to wear with it (you know I love a monochrome look), but for now, it’ll be a solid companion with my trusty Levi’s. Also, I definitely ordered this Zara Kids version for Ollie (thank you for the find, Vy!) and plan to match him for the rest of time.

ON THIS $26 VASE

I love vases, but I have a hard time spending money on them. I’d rather buy yellow sweatshirts and red sneakers, to be perfectly frank. BUT, I found this one on Amazon for less than $30 and I’m so impressed with the quality!

ON HANDS-FREE KINDLING

Have you seen the Kindle remote and stand that’s making its way around the internet (here)? I’m mostly confused, partially intrigued. I’ve never really found the Kindle to be that laborious to use, but to each his own! Am I missing out? Let me know if you have this set-up.

ON GARDENING

When I’m not reading romance novels, I’m gardening (last year’s harvest here!). It has been such a grounding (no pun intended) hobby for me. I just cleaned up our old beds and added two more small ones that I’ll dedicate to herbs and lettuces. For the season, I planted two tomatoes, cucumbers, yellow squash, sweet peppers, peas, onions, french radish, spinach, swiss chard, little gem, and a TON of herbs. I am NOT a gardening expert—in fact, I still consider myself a novice—but I have two pieces of advice when growing veggies and herbs:

1. Companion plants! I’m a huge advocate of learning what grows well together. There are also really helpful flowers that keep pests away, attract pollinators, and act as perfect sidekicks, like marigolds, nasturtium, alyssum, borage, calendula, zinnia, cosmos, etc. Plant them alongside your veg!

2. Your soil matters, too, but don’t waste it on filling up your garden beds. Depending on how deep the beds are, I fill at least half of its depth with cardboard (tape and staples removed) and raked leaves/sticks/grass. Then, I do a thin layer of a really good potting soil (Foxfarm is my favorite) to create a nice even base. Finally, with about 1/3 of the bed’s depth remaining (is the math mathing?), that’s when the really important stuff goes down. I mix together my own little recipe: 1/3 coconut coir, 1/3 vermiculite, and 1/3 organic compost (which is then comprised of several different organic composts and, most importantly, organic chicken manure). This mix, in my opinion, is GOLD (adapted from this method), but there are so many garden recipes out there, so do whatever works for you!

Pre-irrigation, mid-planting, but my sungold tomato is surrounded by all of her BFFs: nasturtium, marigolds, borage, and basil—with sweet alyssum incoming!

ON WRITING

I mentioned that I’m in a bit of a writing slump (if you are new here—HI!!—I’ve been working on a YA fantasy novel for the past five-ish years). Ever since Ollie was born, I can’t seem to get back into my story’s world. Although I have a completed draft, it has never felt right to me. I’m sure my extreme perfectionism is partially to blame, but I don’t feel comfortable sending something out in the world unless I absolutely love it. I figured a nice long break from the manuscript would bring a fresh perspective, but up until now, I’ve yet to dive back in.

Then, a few days ago while making dinner, a song came on (my husband, Kyle, is always playing music for Ollie) that immediately thrust my brain into writing mode. Back when I was drafting, I always—always—listened to music with noise-cancelling headphones. More specifically, a playlist I created for this novel. Every song on the playlist connects to a scene in the storyline—and when I was working on a particular scene, I’d listen to its song (or songs) on repeat. Music played a huge role in my drafting process. It’s truly no wonder I haven’t been called to write—I’ve almost exclusively been listening to Wheels on the Bus for the past 18 months.

Cut to: this song. It triggered a chain reaction in my head: Act II’s “fun & games” > Chapter Twenty One, Scene I > montage of lessons with mentor > cue banter. ETC ETC ETC.

And now, I’m itching to get back into it. Thank you, Kyle!

ON WHAT’S NEXT

Get ready, y’all. In the next newsletter, I’m going to deep dive one of my very favorite romance subgenres: COWBOYS. Bella Hadid knows what I’m talking about. In preparation, I’m currently reading Lyla Sage’s Done & Dusted, which one review claimed to be “a bit too vulgar for my preference!” That sounds right up our alley, friends. I’ll let you know what I think of it. Need a fix in the meantime? COWBOY CARTER!

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I’ll be back soon! In the meantime, ICYMI:

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*I occasionally use affiliate links and will receive a small percentage of a sale linked through this newsletter. For books, I always advocate to borrow from the library (Libby!) or buy in your local bookstore. If you’d like to buy online, consider bookshop.org.