No. 79: What to Read, Watch, Eat & Wear in April

plus my C+C update, the March favorites and poll giveaway winner announcement

Happy April, friends!

I had to look back on everything I said in the March introduction because it genuinely feels like three years ago. I was in a reading slump, I hadn’t had a new show outside of my WWII deep dive and I was feeling so daunted at the start of my new (even more) restrictive diet to heal some severe gut problems. Here, a month later, I feel mentally lighter than I have in months and I wasn’t quite sure if that’d be the case in a thirty day span. Have I lost the weight my thyroid has packed on to my body? Nope. Have I tackled the biggest things on my plate? No, maam. But God has been so faithful to cut down a path of the thicket right in front of me as I go. He hasn’t cleared the forest, I can’t see where we’re headed but I’m on the path—step in step—and it only takes one look behind me to remember where I’ve been is nowhere I want to be again.

The absolute most exciting work bit for the month was announcing that my children’s book is officially available for pre-order! I turned in my final manuscript right before Enakhe was born and Left Out has been alive in some form for a year and a half. Working on something this deeply personal and special without sharing a word of it here felt strange after a while and I’m just thrilled to have the news—and pre-order—out in the world. My publisher let me know that while it’s available at Target and Barnes & Noble and Christian Books and some other spots, Amazon is the most helpful when it comes to pre-orders to give a proper depiction for numbers. Thank you so much already for your sweet words, orders and excitement. I’m so grateful for you.

Reflections from the Poll

Thank you guys so, so much for taking the poll I shared this month. It really does mean the world to me. For as long as I’ve shown up on the internet, my goal has been to create the thing I myself wanted to read, to listen to, to enjoy. I’m one person with one perspective and there are many of you that show up here every week so I find it super helpful to check in and gauge what y’all are enjoying most and craving more of in this space. As I know you understand, I can’t change the content to cater to one single person and also wouldn’t change the content in a direction that isn’t natural for me. That being said, it was nice to see the vast majority of you content with things as they are and craving more of the things I was itching to talk more about.

And for the handful of people who had requests for changes in the minority, I’m grateful for your kind words and encouragement. Without further adieu, the winner of the poll giveaway is…

Megan Scott!!

Megan- please email me and I’ll send you your gift card!

again, this is a long one so be sure to click “view more” at the bottom or see the email in all its glory here.

1. trench 2. no-touch thermometer 3. The Women 4. None of This is True 6. COS spring collection 7. AIP cookie mix 8. best spill-proof tumbler 9. Every Moment Holy liturgies 10. my children’s book available for Pre-Order, Left Out

The Daily’s March 14th episode, It Sucks to Be 33, was more validating than I realized or expected it to be. If you were born in 1990 (me) or 1991, this is a listen regarding the economics that result from being what is the current largest baby boom living in America. As my kids would say, “mind. blown.”

O did a three month long Daniel Fast along with his Bible reading plan and when he finished last week, he decided that for the time being, he doesn’t want to go back to eating gluten. Thus, my sourdough baking dreams have come true. I’m currently feeding my starter and crossing all my fingers and toes, but this channel has been my obsession and go-to for all things sourdough for years. Also, Claire Saffitz has been one of my favorite chefs for eight years and watching her do anything is my favorite past time—especially if she’s making sourdough in an outdoor oven she built herself. If you have warm, happy, thriving sourdough vibes or thoughts please send them my way.

I’m an overall gal—especially with a tank top or little white tee in the summer—and have my eye on this viral pair. They had me at “longer inseam.” This Abercrombie pair is a great shape and slightly less while this Old Navy pair is a whole lot less at $41 today.

Lastly, this week’s Coffee + Crumbs podcast episode shares some difficult but absolutely necessary next steps. I’m so grateful for my time on the podcast and will continue to show up as my best self here even though I can’t show up there anymore. I love my final episode so much and love those girls even more—always.

---

What to Read

The liturgy book has become such a beautiful routine in our marriage. We don’t remember (or prioritize) reading it every single day without fail, but nine times out of ten, we start and end our day with the Liturgy for Husband and Wife at Start of Day and Liturgy for Husband and Wife at Close of Day. It’s a practice that took time to stop feeling…hokey? That’s a rude word, but I’m pretty sure it’s the most accurate description for how I felt those first few times we read these words aloud together. Now, we both so look forward to the slowness and closeness this moment brings every day. I can’t recommend the liturgy books enough.

I’ve always found it takes all of Q1 to truly dig into the year. I used to rush my goals and expectations without realizing that I flipped a month in the calendar—I didn’t flip my life. O and I decided to read Atomic Habits together this month and I’m feeling genuinely excited to dig into it—past halfway this time. I’m sure if you’re Type A, this doesn’t feel like an “April” choice. Maybe you’re digging into a Beach Read by now. Maybe romance floats your boat today. But for me, I plan on working my way through that along with The Anxious Generation and The Status Game: On Human Life and How to Play It.

What to Eat | If I Could Eat Anything Edition.

As most of you know, O is vegan, my kids are gluten and dairy free and I’m six years into a fully paleo diet—currently on day 30 something of 90 days on AIP protocol. This obviously means my kitchen is full of adaptations and adjustments, but these dishes are what I’d add to the rotation if we were back in 2017 where I had an 80/20 perspective. I’ll share a full Spring Recipe Roundup soon, like this one that goes live every Fall, but here are a few ideas to start:

This BLT Pasta Salad is everything I want to eat right this minute, in an ideal world I’d serve it with this perfect top-rated No Knead Foccaccia. This Honey Mustard Chicken Avocado Sandwich with Tahini Ranch (hold the avocado for me) is what I want to make on a homeschool day with a side of kettle chips and grapes. This homemade pizza dough is award winning—although just throwing some chili oil, pepperoni and great mozzarella on grocery store naan is a great alternative. Red Wine Braised Short Ribs over rice or yukon mashed potatoes with asparagus on cooler days feels like the right move and these Chipotle Cheddar Chicken Burgers sound unreal.

For dessert, Ina Garten’s Strawberry Country Cake has gotten thousands of rave reviews over the years and it always sounds like the perfect thing after throwing some chicken on the grill. For a no brainer, these Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Toffee are mouthwatering. Lastly, April screams Lemon Bars and these are a dream.

What to Wear

This is my go-to store when looking for quality investment staples in the Spring, this is my favorite shop for my kids and I find most of O’s essentials between here, here and here (of course with more staples from H&M and Zara across the board.) Here are my April picks from two different stores and two different price points.

$:

1. ribbed striped dress (I’d wear this under a linen shirt or denim jacket) 2. raffia sneakers 3. striped button-down 4. black buckle sandals 5. oversized cotton button down 6. oversized linen button down 7. baseball cap 8. bow shoulder swimsuit 9. linen shirt paired with 10. linen shorts (or, not shown, these perfect linen pants) 11. straw hat 12. perfect denim shorts

$$/$$$:

1. gauze collared v-neck 2. leather strap sandal 3. light linen pants 4. striped canvas tote 5. rolled ankle denim 6. belt 7. striped shirt dress 8. striped knit top 9. t-shirt dress 10. simple sandal 11. short t-shirt dress (I can already hear some of you saying, “that’s a lot of white!” but you know your girl.)

What to Watch:

I’m enjoying Palm Royale so much right now. It feels like the lightest and most fun backwards “whodunit” ever and Kristen Wiig is fantastic in it. Do I know what the point of it is? Nope. But I’m enjoying the ride. Also just started watching the STEVE! (martin) Documentary and he’s such a joy. He’s been a constant in my life since my earliest memories of watching movies with my Dad so it’s just been a warm fuzzy watch so far. Our kids are a month into a TV break and we’ve had so much fun with the extra outside time and puzzles and music in place of TV on the weekends. I have a feeling we’ll pause the break to watch Singing in the Rain or Sound of Music on some Friday night this month because it feels right.

---

This was a hefty Friday Letter but you know how the Monthly Favorites get, friends. I can’t believe how many things are lined up for the month of April and I’m not sure how we’re gonna fit it all in but that’s The Lord’s business and not mine. As always, I’d love to hear about your plans for the month, your April cravings and everything in between in the comments.

Have a beautiful weekend, friends.