The 2018 Summer Bucket List

Every summer, I write up a bucket list of things I want to accomplish or try by the season's end. Here's this year's list:):

Use those Kennywood/Sandcastle season passes like a boss.
Lunch at Everyday Noodles.
Take the kids to show them how to work a pinball machine.
Actually GO to the Drive In rather than just say we're going to go to the Drive In.
Go for a night swim.
Take a weird vacation to see Salem and the House of the Seven Gables.
Go to the movies at Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville.
Read and finish the following books: The Merry Spinster, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck, (re-read) It, Nasty Women: Feminism, Resistance, and Revolution in Trump's America, Wild, and Neverworld Wake.
Send in two essays for publication.
Clean and organize the entire house.
Repaint girls' rooms.
Get ice cream at Klavon's.
Watch movies (with Maggie especially), including Kong: Skull Island, Karate Kid (old and new), The Lost Boys, Rosemary's Baby, The Exorcist, Poltergeist, and The Stepford Wives.
Lunch at the Riv.
Make cool stuff with Sophie at the Three Rivers Arts Fest.

That's all folks. What are your big summer plans? ~Jess

Comments

Things I Love... Chef's Table: Pastry

Ever since I was a small child, I've loved food. Food was the thing that drew my family to the table. It was the way my grandma showed me her love, piling up a bowl full of handcut noodles in a small pond of broth. To this day, the smell that brings me closest to home is the aroma of simmering chicken soup. About a year ago, I came across a show that I couldn't stop watching, Chef's Table , a meticulous love letter to food and the genius people who produce it at its best. I binged the first three seasons, devouring episode after episode. Earlier this week, the fourth season of the show, Chef's Table: Pastry , dropped into my Netflix feed. The thing I love about this season (actually, every season) is that it doesn't just have to do with pastry, something I honestly find deeply mystifying. (I can cook a decent savory meal, but put me anywhere near a dessert that I'm supposed to make from scratch and things go desperately awry. Baking is a science that I don...

A little odd goes a long way....

One of the podcasts I really like to listen to weekly is Happier , featuring Gretchen Rubin of The Happiness Project and her sister, Liz Craft, a Hollywood TV writer and producer. The two are down to earth, and I appreciate their quirky voices and ideas for improving the day-to-day quality of our lives. One of the regular features in Happier , for example, is "Try This At Home," with the two sisters recommending little tips like "Write it down" (i.e. even if you think you're never going to forget something, write it down ... because likely, you will indeed forget it). About a month ago, the sisters made a pact that, for an entire month, they would wear "real clothes" every day. For example, instead of living in leggings and sweat pants (both have jobs that allow them some freedom when it comes to regularly sporting activewear), they both vowed to put on put-together outfits that were more serious and work ready. Every day. I don't know if I...

Things I Love: A Tale of Two Apps

In January (I know. Shocker haha), I set two goals for myself. Goal 1: Feel like an athlete again. Goal 2: Chill the f*&$ out. On Goal 1 : Last year, I turned 40 and started to feel like an overweight slug with bad knees. It was NOT working for me. So, I bought a fitness journal to schedule and track my workouts. And, most importantly, I downloaded this amazing app called Aaptiv . This is not a paid advertisement. This app has changed my life. I'm a Gemini. I get bored with doing the same shit every day. I can't. What I love about Aaptiv is that I can choose something new every day. They have hundreds of workouts between 5 minutes and an hour to choose from. They're always adding new workouts. It's like having a trainer in your ear while you're at the gym, and the cost is minimal (I think when I signed up, it was $8 a month). Long story short, I can't recommend this app highly enough. While I don't yet feel back to my top form, I'm getting there, l...

The Skull

Search This Blog