A week ago, I introduced ADR Friday Loves, a weekly collection of my current silly and serious loves. I was thrilled by your response; it seems that many of you are game for some more frilly Friday fun. This makes me happy as I really enjoy sharing the things I’ve found in life and online. So, here it is. ADR Friday Loves Round Two. Enjoy and have a good weekend!
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1. Center for Humans and Nature
Before Dad (Strachan Donnelley) died in 2008, he founded the Center in 2003 and thereafter invested his heart and soul in the non-profit organization. Recently, the Center launched a wonderful new website that’s worth checking out. Click on over to think big, ask the Louisville Slugger questions, and take part in the CHN’s inspiring community and conversations. If any of you are interested in joining for the Center’s Questions for a Sustainable Future free event at the American Museum of Natural History, click here to learn more.
2. Kenneth Jaye Lane Stud Earrings
I am a big fan of fun costume jewelry because these days real jewelry makes me nervous, particularly with kids in the picture. I have also become very fond of studs and these Pearl Bee Earrings and Enamel Twist Stud Earrings are right up my alley.
3. The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.
If you are a writer or artist of any stripe, or simply face existential “Resistance” in your days, grab a copy of this book. Written in short sections, it is easy to gobble up and extremely motivating. All of us face blocks in our life and Pressfield thoughtfully addresses this reality in the book. Pressfield also has a great blog.
4. Ali Ro Classic Black Jacket.
I bought this jacket a few years ago and I still wear it all the time. Great for trips to the gym, rainy day errands, and even layered over dressier clothes. Buttons are big and bold. Note: I’ve had to resew my buttons a couple of times now, but I think I am particularly hard on buttons. An interesting characteristic, no? I have the jacket in black, but there are other great colors available.
5. Sugar & Plumm. Purveyor of Yumm.
I know, I know. I’ve already mentioned this yummy haven a couple of times this week, but it is worth another mention here as we Rowley girls (Daddy has yet to go) adore this place. My girls dig the Candy Shop and Grasshopper milkshakes and I am a big fan of the Heirloom Tomato Soup and the Whole Grain Salad. Curious about the various menus? Click here.
6. PicMonkey Photo App.
Have you noticed how I’ve begun to have some fun with my photos, adding words and frames and special effects? I have fallen madly in love with an app called PicMonkey. In fact, I used it to make the above graphic! Be warned: PicMonkey is absolutely wonderful, but can be a major time-suck for the creatively inclined.
7. Claire Messud’s The Emperor’s Children.
I read this novel a while back, but I loved it. Messud’s characters are complex and compelling and she paints the city of New York with beautiful and abiding detail. For what it’s worth, I read this book and my first thought after flipping the final page was: I want to write a book like this.
8. Jonathan Adler Junior Letter Pillow.
This pillow has become my go-to baby present. It comes in pink and blue and with the letter, it’s personal, but also simple enough to blend nicely with almost any nursery decor. Love it because it is not super babyish and would work well in a bigger kid’s room as well. Also comes in larger sized black and white versions; My big girls each have one of these on their beds!
What are you loving these days? Anything goes!
Once, again, so much here I love. Adore Picmonkey, ADORE, adore, adore … and I am a huge Claire Messud fan. Huge. Happy to say she lives a mile from me (on the street my parents live on, no less). I am not a breakfast lover and it’s a source of tension in my life, actually. For example, I have a breakfast for work this morning. What to order? I’m not hungry. And I do’nt like eggs. My children eat cereal, waffles, toast (with peanut butter usually), yogurt, or fruit, or some mixture of those things. I usually drink coffee! Super healthy, I know. xox
I LOVED Emporer’s Children too. I love breakfast smoothies. And oatmeal with dried fruit and peanut butter on top.
As a child I would not eat breakfast foods–at all. My mother, a patient, patient woman, was adamant we eat breakfast, however. She made us grilled cheese, plain pasta–any non-breakfast food that was nutritious and would get breakfast in us. Ironically, all these years later, I love breakfast food!
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Love your loves, esp. the pearl earrings. Now, on to matters of breakfast – my FAVORITE meal of the day!
I typically eat a slice of whole wheat toast (I make my own – though you obviously don’t have to – and would be happy to pass along the recipe if you’re interested), nonfat plain Greek yogurt with a smidge of honey, and hot chocolate made with skim milk, unsweetened cocoa powder and Truvia. If I’m out of yogurt I put PB on the toast. In summer I also have about a half cup of sliced strawberries, and in winter I have orange and grapefruit segments. I’m sure this is well over 300 calories (I’m still nursing) but if you replaced the cocoa with coffee (which I know you would, I’m just not a coffee drinker) I’ll bet you could keep it under 300.
For IEP I make a breakfast casserole with eggs, sauteed veggies, cubed bread, grated cheese, and a splash of milk. It’s easy to heat up and then I don’t have to cook from scratch each morning. We did yogurt and wheat toast for a long time, but the poor kid is totally burned out on yogurt. IEP also sometimes gets tiny little cups of hot chocolate. As the weather cools down we will also do oatmeal. And from time to time he really loves a PB&J with a glass of milk to kick off the day.
All of this said, I also like S’s mother’s ideas of non-breakfast food in the morning. I remember when I was a kid on standardized test days my mom would feed us spaghetti and meatballs, PB&J, etc, to make sure we had enough to power us through!
PS – In summer we also do smoothies (banana, nonfat yogurt, frozen berries, skim milk, whey protein powder), but I’m closing the door on smoothie season now.
PPS – Sorry. I’m a little passionate about breakfast…
So many goodies here! The Emperor’s Children is one of the best novels about pre-9/11 life in NYC, I think.
Re breakfast: Lawton makes a big protein-rich smoothie every morning (I can give you the recipe if you’re interested–he basically throws in everything but the kitchen sink), which we all share, and then the girls also have toast with melted cheese, almond butter on toast, oatmeal, or waffles with cream cheese. A pediatric nutritionist came to our school last year and talked about the importance of balancing protein and good fats with whole grains in the morning, to stabilize blood sugar etc. So we try to keep that in mind. Good luck!
I’ve had the War of Art on my reading list for a while now, but haven’t gotten to it yet. Glad to hear you found it worthwhile!
I mostly eat yogurt and granola for breakfast these days – or sometimes just yogurt. I don’t have any little ones yet, but I can imagine that would be a challenge!
Kenneth Jay Lane is one of my Friday favorites. (So is Joan Eivers Classic Collection, you might consider checking that out. ) I always get dressed up on Friday. After work, I do some volunteering and since its a dinner service I always dress as if I’m going on a date at a 5 star resturant. I’m glad you’re posting you’re favorites on Friday as it will give me something to talk about with my clients. I know they’ll want to hear about monkey pic.