June’s almost over? Julying.
^^^ Can you believe I’ve made that joke every June for 3 years now?
June was such an insane month, with 3 of my closest friends’ birthdays falling back-to-back-to-back, the start of summer, pregnant friend fiestas, and navigating travel plans.
Reading
Plato’s The Republic. As if I didn’t have enough to ponder on my own, I thought I’d take notes from the founding ponderers.
Between pool days and longer mornings, I tend to read a lot more in the summer. I needed a break from my usual material, and I landed on philosophy. I’d recommend it to anyone looking to reflect on their ethics, politics, way of thinking.
Eating
I came across a salmon-tomato-feta pasta recipe on Instagram that I’ve been eating on repeat. If you’re willing to turn your oven on in this heat, this is the meal you gotta make. It’s such a good change from the chicken or beef rotation, and it felt like a much more creative approach to salmon. Personally, I love it with bow tie noodles.
The Recipe:
• 2 portions salmon fillet
• 1 block of feta
• 4 cups spinach
• 2 cups sliced cherry tomatoes
• 1 bulb of garlic
• 2 tablespoons of pesto
• season the salmon with lemon juice onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, paprika
• drizzle with olive oil, bake at 375° F for 30 mins
• add some pasta water
• toss cooked pasta and enjoy!
Playing
Mahjong.
You know that group of women who got together to play bridge? I think this is the new version of that. My gang, Mahj + Sang, gets together monthly to sip on sangria and play mahjong. I don’t really understand it yet, but if we keep it up at this rate, I’ll hopefully have a better idea by November.
Obsession
The orange-coffee combination.
I had this for the first time in Florida. It was some sort of espresso spritz with fresh orange juice and soda water, and it was so refreshing and different. I am typically pretty averse to citrus with anything “sweet”, but it was the signature drink at this little FL shop, and I figured it was worth a try.
Most recently, I had it at a local coffee hub. They had a limited menu, and most of it was in Spanish – which I unfortunately still haven’t learned – so this was ordered on a whim. I have been so obsessed with it since. One time I ordered two in one working session because it was just so good. I’ve been searching for other coffee shops that make something similar, and I’ve only found two so far. However, I stay searching.
Recommendation
Obviously I recommend orange-y lattes.
But other than that – HAPPY HOURS.
I discovered happy hours when I lived in Seattle, when there wasn’t much wiggle room for drinking and dining on intern budgets. And in this economy, they’ve never looked better. I so strongly encourage you to research happy hours in your neighborhoods. Some of the deals are insane – and what’s better than sitting on a patio, eating $6 wings and sipping on $2 schooners?
Treating
Commitment issues? Couldn’t be me. I have permanent jewelry. I recently treated myself to a dainty silver horseshoe bracelet at a permanent jewelry popup in Austin.
I always love the idea of jewelry, but I’ve never been very good at wearing it. Either I keep it on all the time, and it starts to change colors, it falls or breaks off, or I just take it off and forget to put it back on. This solved most of those – assuming I don’t break it off.
Shut Up Madi 