5 Quick Things

Project 365, Day 29

After a few days of being a complete and utter tease, then an hour by hour tease, it’s raining here in LA. Which is my most craved weather. So I’m looking forward to crawling into bed and hearing the water slap against the windows. Meaning, I have places to be friends. Let’s do these 5 quick things, well…quickly!

Quick Thing #1: Hearts of Palm “Pasta”

I mentioned these in my post this past Sunday, and a few of you asked for me to report back. So here I am, reporting back. I ordered the Palmini brand, FYI. At first, it was a big ol’ nope for me. I rinsed them for a solid minute in cold water (the internet says rinsing is key), popped a “noodle” into my mouth, and thought “well, this is a farce.” Vegetables—is heart of palm a vegetable?—shaped into noodles are exactly that. Noodle-shaped vegetables. They do not taste like the glory that is pasta. But if you can’t eat gluten or even gluten-free pasta, I can see why someone might want to try this. Alone, they were a bit sour and kind of tasted like they came out of a tin can even though they came out of a pouch. But once I put them in the soup, they were perfectly fine. Visually, sure they looked like spaghetti, but they basically just tasted like another vegetable in my meatball vegetable soup.

Quick Thing #2: Another Report Back

This time, it’s Target shoes. I ended up purchasing four pairs of shoes from my own post last week and I liked them all very much. I bought these sneakers (as did my sister and a few other friends), this pair of boots and this pair (these I ordered a size too small and they’ll have to be exchanged), and these sandals. The sneakers fit great and the boots that were in my correct size are very comfortable. They have a memory foam insert which I hope doesn’t flatten out too quickly. But the sandals were the biggest hit. It feels like you’re walking on clouds. Seriously. Soft and cushy is my ideal combination for a shoe, so I consider myself a winner. I’m typically a 7.5 or 8 in sandals, depending on the brand, but I got these in a 7 because they didn’t have my size when I ordered. They fit, but just barely, so I’d say def stick to your true size.

Quick Thing #3: A Glorious Chocolate Babka

I’ve been bookmarking recipes I want to try when I’m done with my Whole30 (THREE MORE DAYS), and this is very near the top of my list. It’s a chocolate babka from this challah account I follow on Instagram. If you’re wondering, I’ve never once made challah in my life, but yes, I follow and admire everything posted. Staring at pictures of food is a favorite pastime. Please let me know if you make it!

Quick Thing #4: A Show to Watch (If You Haven’t Already)

The series Little Fires Everywhere premiered on Hulu nearly a year ago and I’m just now getting to it. I had heard goods things about it for a while but ignored it (though Charles would tell you HE was the one who heard good things about it and ushered us into watching it, yeah whatever Charles). Anyhow, we’re almost done with the available season and it’s quite good. The episodes are long but they go very quickly; a testament to how much each totally sucked me in. I have two episodes left and eek! I’ll be sad when it’s done.

Quick Thing #5: This Essay From a Friend

You know those friends that you feel absolutely comfortable calling a friend even though you’ve never actually met them in real life? Kelly Dawson is that friend to me. She’s a fantastic writer I’ve crossed paths with over the years (I wrote this essay for her about my move cross country!) but I constantly marvel at her hustle. She’d probably laugh at the idea of writing ONLY one thing a day. She wrote this essay on Cup of Jo back in September entitled “On Becoming Friends With a Non-Disabled Person” and I bookmarked it because I loved it. Again, I don’t actually know Kelly in real life, but the picture I’ve painted of her in my head came into clear focus when I read this. It’s so wonderful. She’s so wonderful.

Okay, time to go listen to rain.

See you tomorrow, friends!