Joy Wilson's Blog, page 4

My Not-So-Definitive Guide to a Joyful Summer (pun intended)

We’re in the early days of summer, friends! The air has been heavy this week with warm rainstorms and thunder in the distance (to Graham’s dismay), and I’m fresh off a successful Pool Dad Memorial Day weekend. Vibes are on the up!  I’ve decided to ease into the season relaxed, with Diet Cokes stocked in the coldest shelf in the fridge and chilled washcloths on another.  Luxury in the small things, you know?

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Pool Dad Diaries

Hi friends, happy Sunday!

This weekend marks a particular anniversary in my aging journey: my 44th birthday. I can already tell this is the era when I start forgetting how old I actually am, because I nearly introduced myself as 45 the other day without blinking. One thing that truly delights me about getting older is the way our personalities branch off into little side quests. You know what I mean?

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Sensory SZN

Summer is approaching, and as a solar-powered human, I couldn’t be happier. The air smells of jasmine. This weekend, I got to eat a perfect fresh strawberry my brother grew in his garden, and in the mornings, I’m awakened by birds chirping outside my window. We had our first 89-degree day last week. I was overheated all day, but I didn’t mind because I know that in just a few weeks, I’ll find 80-degree temperatures to be a refreshing respite from the heat. 

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Like My Mother, But With More Clogs

Hi friends!

This week I treated myself to a new haircut. Spoiler alert: it’s the blunt bob everyone is getting.  The feminine urge to chop your hair for summer? Exactly. I had mostly given up on finding the right stylist since moving to Texas and settled on drooping mid-length curls with frayed ends until I looked in the mirror one day last week and thought “absolutely not”.  I mentioned Will to I needed a haircut to which he replied “your hair looks fine” which, obviously sent me sprinting to a stylist.

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Five Joy The Baker Recipes Kids Can Make On Their Own

The biggest game changer for our family this school year has been having the kids—ages 7, 9, and 11—make their own lunches. I’ve been trying to get them to do more around the house, specifically in the kitchen, and they enjoy being trusted with the responsibility. Following the loose guidelines of including one fruit and vegetable, they love having autonomy over their lunchboxes. Then, once their lunches were in full swing, I started incorporating weekly “Helpie Selfie” dinners they make themselves.

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The Tiny Task Tipping Point

Happy Sunday, friends!

This week I did something truly wild: I picked up the phone and made the doctor’s appointments and mortgage calls I’ve been avoiding since… well, let’s just say longer than I’d like to admit. Isn’t it funny how the smallest tasks can feel like climbing a mountain in flip flops? But I swear, there’s something about spring — the longer light, the green bursting from every branch (I didn’t kill my oak trees!) — things that shake those stories loose, at least a little bit.

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Stovetop Zatarain’s Shrimp Boil with Cajun Style Smoked Sausage & Garlic Butter Sauce

If you’re looking for an easy and wildly flavorful shrimp boil recipe you can make right on your stovetop, you’re in the right place. This stovetop shrimp boil recipe with Zatarain’s smoked sausage, potatoes, and a garlicky butter sauce is backyard party magic made simple.

Every May — easily my favorite month of the year — my husband Will and I throw what we lovingly call the Birthday Boil. It’s a backyard bash where we invite everyone we know and love, crank up the music, fire up the boil pot, and spend the afternoon hopping between the boil and the pool, cold drink in hand.

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The Spring Hustle

Hello friends! I am back from a trip to Edinburgh, Scotland. It was a fantastic way to spend Spring break — wandering streets with old buildings that look like they’re straight out of a fairy tale, sipping coffee, exploring the endless green spaces near the city, browsing bookstores, and having fancy tea. All of the cliches about travel being inspiring and wonderful are true. 

The other thing about travel is that it’s kind of a pain.

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One Year in Bellville

When I was a kid, I’d sneak away to the attic above my grandmother’s garage on Victoria Avenue in Los Angeles — a dusty, no-go zone for any reasonable adult. The stairs were rickety, the floorboards weren’t to be trusted, and the whole place was littered with the kind of forgotten storage adults pretend doesn’t exist.  Mostly half empty boxes, paint cans, and miscellaneous mops, rags, and lamps. It was perfect.

I turned that forbidden loft into my clubhouse. 

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Lowland Celery Salad

If you think a celery salad sounds like a snooze, let me change your mind. This one’s packed with toasted walnuts, sweet dates, and sharp cheddar—like the fresh, crunchy dream at Lowland in Charleston and haven’t stopped craving.

I’ve been thinking about Charleston a lot lately—probably because I visited for the Wine and Food Festival a few weeks ago and already want to go again. The food in Charleston might be my favorite in the whole country (with deepest love and respect to New Orleans, of course).

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