Jessica Merchant's Blog, page 318

Smoky S’mores Root Beer Floats.

I’ve been waiting all summer for this root beer float!

I don’t know what it is about s’mores. I’m sure it’s the flavor. Definitely the texture. Probably the mix of chocolate-y goodness and melt marshmallow?

The s’mores combo just makes EVERYTHING better and it’s certainly the case with this root beer float.

The fact that this is not the first root beer float I’ve shared on my blog is slightly alarming. It’s not like you need an actual RECIPE, after all.

Remember when I was super into all things root beer float? I made these root beer float cupcakes and it’s been years since I’ve had them again, so perhaps this weekend will be it. Those things are insane!

I’ve made root beer floatsicles and early this year I made the root beer rum creams.

There is something about root beer floats that just taste like the greatest parts of childhood. And I can’t even tell you the last time I drank an actual root beer.

And you’re not seeing things! Last year around Saint Patrick’s Day, I made s’mores stout milkshakes with beer and they are deeeelicious.

Like super sinful and wonderful and such a treat.

So here we go again. These floats are my ode to summer.

I’m torn! Because with a month of summer left, there are still a handful of warm weather cocktails I want to make. But it’s also honeycrisp season, and since that lasts for only a few weeks, I can’t miss out!

I think that this s’mores root beer float is sort of my farewell to summer cocktails and mocktails. After all, I have shared nearly 20 (!) of them in the last few weeks. Definite options.

Here? We have a root beer float with vanilla and CHOCOLATE ice cream, which is super special if you ask me. I mean, okay, maybe it’s not special per se, but for some reason it makes the entire thing SEEM special? It’s like a black and white root beer float instead of a black and white shake.

You can also take this over the top and add some marshmallow cream if you wish. Sometimes I’m into that, other times it’s super duper sweet.

ALL the time I want a s’more though.

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Smoky S'mores Root Beer Floats










Ingredients:

1/3 cup milk chocolate chips, melted
1 cup chocolate ice cream
1 cup vanilla ice cream
2 bottles root beer
pinch of smoked sea salt
2 tablespoons graham crackers
2 marshmallows, charred or torched



Directions:

To melt the chocolate chips, place them in a bowl and microwave in 30 second increments until melty. I like to take a spoon and drizzle this around the rim.

Fill each glass with both chocolate and vanilla ice creams. Add a pinch of smoked sea salt into the glass. Pour the root beer over top just before serving. Sprinkle on the graham crackers and add a charred marshmallow on to finish. Devour!

As a note, you can char the marshmallows on a gas range, under the broiler (watch them the entire time!) or even just get them melty in the microwave if you don’t have a bonfire of sorts.

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How could you not?!

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August Favorites: Beauty.

HELLO August!

This month flew by! Like usual. It’s been super hot but rainy and I’m still using and loving everything I talked about last month. Especially that highlighter and the lavender lip mask. Haven’t been super adventurous with makeup or anything though!

So did you see that there is a surprise Sephora sale going on?! If you want to take part in it, I have my favorites to purchase during a Sephora sale right here. And there’s another post here! When they have a sale, I like to buy things such as skincare or perfume that I might need, because those rarely (if ever) go on sale anywhere.

Anyhoo, below are the beauty things that I’m l.o.v.i.n.g. this month. It’s a short list and some of it is a little ridic, but I haven’t used anything else new or special this month that really stands out!

Fresh Sake Bath. This is BY FAR my favorite of the entire month. First, I’m worried because I can’t find it anywhere. Has it been discontinued? I don’t know. But second, it is the most relaxing bath soak I’ve experienced. And this is coming from someone who never cared about a bath until, like, 18 months ago. This makes your muscles relax and kind of makes your skin tingle, but not in a it’s-2001-and-I-used-the-tingle-lotion-in-a-tanning-bed sort of way. If you ever tried one of those, you probably wanted to rip your skin off. This is ridiculously priced. I’d only buy it during a sale. But it’s AMAZING and such a treat. I’ve never felt anything like this.

YSL Tatouage Lip Stain in Rose Illicit. This is my all-time favorite YSL lip and I used it a ton this past month. It’s seriously the perfect pink/nude and goes with everything. The applicator is so easy. The shade is perfect! I know I talk about these all the time but I love ’em so much!

Lalicious Birthday Cake Scrub. This is possibly the first scrub that I have actually purchased since making tons of my own for The Pretty Dish. I’m obsessed with the consistency of the scrubs I make at home, but couldn’t resist this birthday cake one. I love it. It’s definitely a drier scrub (and I tend to like oil-based ones) but it works great!

Tom Ford Soleil Blanc. Have to mention it one more time because it’s the BEST summer scent. I’m drenching myself in it for a few more weeks. I adore this perfume so so so much.

Rose Quartz Facial Roller. This might be a weird and trendy one, but I love this. Not necessarily for any beauty or skincare secret – but because I get tension headaches all the time. I hold tension in my forehead like crazy and this is actually great for relaxation. I’m obsessed and wish I hadn’t waited so long to get one.

BaseCoat Cuticle Serum. So over the million years that I’ve been doing these posts, I’ve shared multiple different cuticle oils and oil pens. I actually love the pens because I can use them easily while stopped at a red light or something (as opposed to cuticle oil that has to be painted on like nail polish, you know?). I recently got this one and it’s a rollerball – so easy to use! It’s my new favorite and lives in my kitchen junk drawer. Please tell me you have a kitchen junk drawer. I should just rename it to the necessity drawer, because it holds things I use everyday.

What’s on your list for fall? I really want to smell the Tom Ford Vanille Fatale perfume, but I love all my fall scents and definitely don’t need anymore. I am also super interested in the Norvina palette! I definitely don’t need that either, but I tend to love Anastasia shadows. Other than that… bring on some dark lipsticks!

[as usual, none of this is sponsored and all of these products were purchased by me. i am not affiliated with any of the companies above, nor do i accept free products. just love to talk about what i like, makeup junkie to makeup junkie. there are some amazon and general reward style affiliate links above. thank you for being here!]

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Pistachio Butter Dutch Baby.

If you’ve never had the puffed up love that is a dutch baby before, you are in for a TREAT.

Breakfast is served! This perfect dutch baby is a lovely light breakfast with a rich topping.

I’m totally craving it right now.

I didn’t grow up eating a dutch baby for breakfast or anything. It wasn’t until a few years ago when I first tried it. But I’m completely obsessed and also love the idea of making one for a holiday tradition or something. It’s so fluffy and delicate and doesn’t leave you with that heavy feeling or in a carb coma like traditional pancakes do.

And it’s super EASY too!

However.

The best part of this dutch baby? The pistachio butter. And the pistachio sugar!

First up, the butter is a compound butter, not a nut butter. As in – I mixed a bunch of chopped pistachios into softened butter. DREAMY. I’ve done this before and have even used it on savory dishes and it’s delish. You will love it so much.

In fact, I’ve done it on actual pistachio pancakes before! So it’s like… pistachio butter inception? Pistachio butter dutch baby is almost a big pistachio butter pancake. So here we are.

Then, I crushed some more pistachios into a powder – until they were allllllmost reaching butter status. But right before they got creamy, I stirred them into powdered sugar, ultimately making some pistachio sugar. YES.

Pistachio sugar. I’d like to sprinkle this all over my life.

Drop on some fresh blueberries, slice this baby up and go.to.town.

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Pistachio Butter Dutch Baby

Yield: serves 2 to 4

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

dutch baby

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoons vanilla bean paste
1 cup blueberries, chopped

pistachio butter

3 tablespoons finely ground pistachios
6 tablespoons unsalted butter

pistachio sugar

3 tablespoons finely ground pistachios, almost to powder
1/4 cup powdered sugar



Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the butter in a (8 or 9 inch) cast iron (or oven safe!) skillet or baking dish. Place it in the oven just until it melts.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and vanilla paste. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry, whisk until no lumps remain. Take the skillet out of the oven and pout the batter in. Place it right back in the oven and bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until puffed and golden.

Remove the dutch baby and immediately add a few scoops of the pistachio butter. Dust on the pistachio sugar and top with blueberries. Serve warm!

pistachio butter

Whisk together the butter and pistachios until combined. You can use it just like this or place it in the fridge to harden a bit. If so, you can wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and store it until needed.

pistachio sugar

Whisk together the pistachios and powdered sugar. Use a fine mesh strainer to sprinkle.

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Maybe I’ll just make it my weekly tradition.

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Tuesday Things.

1. Last night I dropped my slow cooker lid and it shattered into a billion pieces. It was glass – but many of you reminded me that when I first started my blog, I dropped another slow cooker lid and it shattered too! What is it with me and lids?

2. I must ask: did you bite the pumpkin bullet today? Pumpkin spice isn’t my cup of tea, but I might get pumpkin iced coffee from Dunkin. It’s the best and not as spice-like.

3. Does this not look like the most perfect frozen margarita? I don’t even love frozen margs and I want to faceplant into this ASAP.

4. So I  know that plastic straws are horrible and we use mostly glass ones at home (these are my fave), but I CAN’T drink beverages from paper straws in restaurants or whatever. Those straws disintegrate in what seems like seconds! Guess I have to get used to the adult sippy cup.

5. Okay, so TV things! I didn’t watch anything except for the Yellowstone finale and I really liked it but was also confused. I wonder if I just like it so much because it brings me back to my Dances with Wolves Kevin Costner love. I mean, I was, like, eight years old. The other thing I did watch, however, was To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before on Netflix! It was super cute. So short and quick too.

6. OMG. I hate myself, but this is my life. When people don’t use punctuation, or worse yet, when they use A PERIOD after a text message, I just straight up assume they hate me. Like the other day I texted my mom about a time to bring Max over, and she responded “fine.” FINE? Like FINE, period. That’s the kind of text I would send my high school boyfriend in a fight or something. Communication in 2018 is the worst.

7. Guys, I have a horrific confession. You will not even believe this, especially because I love to read so much, but… I have never read Harry Potter. Never. I feel like it came out at an odd age for me. I was going into high school and I remember my mom reading it to my youngest brother, but I think I was bratty or something and thought I was too old? Maybe? I have no idea. It’s also a very different genre that I was into. But… I can’t wait to read them to Max. And I sort of want to read them now myself, but also want to wait awhile and read them together so we can both be excited.

8. After watching my friend Laura document her sourdough bread making adventures on instagram, I’m obsessed with making my own! However, I fear that this may not be possible for someone as impatient as myself.

9. Tell me about your paper mail storage. I sort of want to put some sort of thing on our wall so the paper and mail stops cluttering up the counter!

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Heirloom Avocado Bagelwiches.

Otherwise known as, the lunch that I am LIVING for right now.

This avocado tomato sandwich has been the best lunch ever this summer. I mean, this avocado tomato BAGELWICH.

That’s important. The distinction is important. Avocado tomato sandwich = avocado heirloom bagelwich.

A bagelwich just SOUNDS better than a sandwich because it sounds different. New. Maybe fancy. Not as normal. Not as boring!

I struggle with lunch the most. The most!

I don’t know. I mean, clearly I have tons of options and things that I know how to make. And I love a lot of lunch “meals” too. Things like tuna and egg salad and anything with avocado. Love eating fried eggs for lunch, I love making salads, I love overnight oats or chia pudding and I even love eating leftovers.

But for some reason, when it actually COMES time for lunch, I’m just clueless. I have no idea what to eat. And on Sundays, even when I think about prepping lunch ideas, I get stumped on what to prep.

Basically, yes, the question is why do I even have a blog. I’m not sure.

But here we are and I’m telling you about this because you have to make it for lunch. We probably have a good six weeks left of perfect tomatoes, so it’s necessary.

Plus, the level of deliciousness here is off the charts.

Here’s what we’ve got!

First up, everything bagels. You can totally make your own or… just buy them! Whatever works.

Next up, a veggie cream cheese spread. I’m currently obsessed with the kite hill chive spread. You could use that, you could make your own veggie cream cheese like I have in the past, or just use plain old cream cheese. SO GOOD.

Then, sliced ripe heirloom tomatoes. Juicy ones from the garden! Sprinkle them with smoked sea salt. Trust me.

Slice avocado too. You could also mash it, but (this probably sounds weird) I like a touch of texture with my avocado. Yes I know. I know. That doesn’t even make sense. But when it’s sliced, it’s more bite-able than mashed avocado! Swear.

Add some smoked sea salt on that too. For sure.

Sprinkle that whole mess with some garden chives and maybe a little basil.

Add a few microgreens on top! I like the spicy microgreens.

Sandwich it together and live your best life.

Now our lunch problems for the day are solved!

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Heirloom Avocado Bagelwiches

Yield: serves 1

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

1 everything bagel
2 tablespoons veggie cream cheese
1 heirloom tomato, sliced
1/2 avocado, sliced
1 pinch smoked sea salt
1 tablespoon chopped chives
1 drizzle extra virgin olive oil
1 handful spicy microgreens



Directions:

Spread the cream cheese on one or both sides of the bagel. Add the tomatoes on one side and the avocado on the other. Sprinkle both with smoked salt, the chives and then drizzle with olive oil. Add the microgreens on top, then sandwich the bagel together. YUM.

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Maybe chips on the side too. Or chips ON the sandwich!

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Currently Crushing On.

Happy weekend!

I hope you make it a great one and enjoy lots of delish summer bites. xoxo

A bunch of my favorite things on the internet this week are right here:

sesame chocolate chip cookies! oh my.

I definitely need a pickle grilled cheese. obviously.

white bean skillet crostini?! I’m in!

dying over this creamy horchata iced coffee.

roasted stuffed tomatoes for the million tomatoes in your garden.

love this italian chicken wrap for a lunch idea.

craving this hatch chile chicken.

and very into this fresh mint dressing!

pesto pasta with zucchini and ricotta. yum.

how delicious is this homemade cannoli?

spicy tomato watermelon salad. yes pleeeease.

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Summer Fridays, Vol 13.

Welcome to summer fridays! We’re nearing the finish line and I CAN’T BELIEVE IT. Here’s what’s up today!

MAKING

I’ve still got lots of peaches and number one on my list is this ginger peach galette with a toasted almond crust. It’s always such a hit!

SIPPING

I’ve spied some honeycrisps! This makes me SO ridiculously excited because they are my favorite apple. They just taste like… the best apple. You know? Anyhoo, I’m thinking maple honeycrisp margaritas have to make an appearance and of course, so does apple cider sangria. I’M READY.

EATING

I’m also sort of ready for warm breakfasts. That will last for approximately 43 seconds, but these oatmeal baked apples are going down in the next week or two. Even the leftovers are fabulous. And this oatmeal latte. I have a new version coming for you too! Oh oh oh and while you’re at it this weekend, make a big batch of this baked oatmeal because it’s basically cake. Oatmeal cake.

READING

Okay. So in true form, I finished All Your Perfects in ONE night. Guys, last Friday night I stayed up until 3AM reading it. Colleen Hoover is such an incredible writer. She just sucks me in! This week, I actually started another YA novel which is really unlike me. But I wanted to read To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before because I want to watch it on Netflix. Have you read it/watched it?

WEARING

Two things I’ve very into right now: this utility jacket that I bought at the anniversary sale. It’s been SO rainy here (like, so so so rainy) and it’s great to throw on to run errands or just have for inside when it’s cold with the AC on. And these are some of my favorite free people tops! I live in them.

BUYING

So apparently a little Sephora sale started today for VIB rouge members! I haven’t been buying that much at Sephora this year because their points system is garbage. I can buy almost everything at Nordstrom and then I get a Nordstrom note, so yes please I want money and not points. However! I can only get drunk elephant at Sephora, so I’m grabbing a few things today for the 20% off. And if you want to shop that sale, I have all of my favorites for Sephora right HERE. Weeeee!

LOVING

These bronze mosaic pumpkins. I saw them in the store and wanted one on the spot! Guys. I don’t care. I’m into it. I want to decorate for Fall. I might do it next weekend. Last year I did it on Labor Day weekend but I basically gave myself a pass since I was pregnant. No, I’m not going to eat or bake pumpkin junk or anything like that. I’m still going to swim and drink rosé until mid-September, at least. But I want some cozy feels in my house!

LISTENING

I always love a good dinnertime playlist mix. It reminds me of Saturday nights when my parents were getting ready to go out or even just weeknight dinners at our house. I could listen to this one on repeat!

Definitely finishing this weekend off with a classic. xoxo

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Brown Sugar Fig Bubbly.

Oh how this fig cocktail is a thing of beauty!

You GUYS. You know it. I get insanely excited for fig season. Even though it only seems to last for about 56 seconds in my area, I live up these weeks of fresh figs and enjoy. I buy them for cheese plates and risotto and now cocktails. I eat them fresh for a snack and caramelize them for desserts.

And dare I say that this fig cocktail is my new dessert right now?

Just look at that! I want to swan dive into that glass. Juicy fresh figs muddled with brown sugar.

It might rank up there as one of the best things in the world.

I have been obsessed with figs ever since I “discovered” them in my early twenties. They aren’t a fruit that we ever ate when I was growing up and I never even saw them in a grocery store. The dried version wasn’t something we had either, and when I found the dried ones?

I fell in LOVE.

Dried figs are one of my favorite snacks. I love them with nut butter too – they are super satisfying and I think they make a perfect snack before a workout or when you’re craving something in the later afternoon. They are so easily accessible and I enjoy them approximately 874 times more than dates.

A fig cocktail has been in my brain for awhile now and I almost used fig jam (something else I love!), but for once in my life decided to have patience and use the fresh fruit. There is no beating it!

Here’s how it goes down…

You’re going to muddle the fresh figs with some brown sugar and a little squeeze of lemon. This was the brainchild of Jess – she was staying with me last week when I first made this. And I tried bourbon first but it REALLY overpowered the fig and prosecco flavor. Way too much. As delicious as the bourbon + fig + brown sugar combo is, you should probably top it off with soda or ginger beer. Not prosecco! And I was sold on using some sort of bubbly.

The lemon works perfectly. You don’t get any tart or bitterness at all – it really just adds enough liquid to muddle and get the amazing fig base. You could even add a little vanilla bean if you wish. Oooooh.

Once you have a deliciously syrupy quick fig compote of sorts, add it to your crushed ice and top it with prosecco. The drink is not overly sweet because the prosecco is so dry. It’s refreshing and reeeeeally bubbly.

I’m in love.

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Brown Sugar Fig Bubbly

Yield: serves 4

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

10 to 12 ripe figs, sliced and stems removed, plus a few extra for garnish
2 tablespoons brown sugar
the juice of 1 lemon
1 (750mL) chilled bottle of prosecco



Directions:

Note: if you have reeeeally small figs, there might be a chance that you need a few more. Make sure the figs are soft and ripe and juicy!

In the bottom of a large glass or jar, add the figs, the brown sugar and the lemon juice. Use a cocktail muddler to mash and muddle the mixture for a full 5 minutes or so, until the figs break down and you have a syrupy mix. You can remove and large pieces of the fig skin at this time too.

Add ice to the glass (crushed or cubed – your choice!) and add in your fig mixture. You can do 2 to 3 tablespoons per glass or just divide it evenly. Top each glass with prosecco, add a sliced fig in there and serve!

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And now it’s a snack too!

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Skirt Steak with Avocado Pesto and Grilled Corn Relish.

Raise your hand if you want the most delicious dinner tonight.

Because this skirt steak is about to DELIVER.

Funny (or not) story.

For months – wait, no… for YEARS – I have been talking about recreating this amazing skirt steak recipe we had with chimichurri. I’ve wanted to make it each summer. Like, I’ve actually talked about it for so long that the restaurant where we ate it? Doesn’t even exist anymore!

So this was the summer. This was the summer I would bite the bullet and do it.

I tend to only make cuts of beef like flank steak for weeknight dinners because it’s easy and mostly lean and I’m familiar with it. This time, I decided I was going to make a different cut!

And I got up the courage. Actually found it. Made it a few times and figured out my favorite way. It was delish!

I was semi-shocked at how easily I was able to find it at my local store based on my previous attempts. I was never able to find it before! How lucky was I?

Only. Only to realize like two weeks later that the steak we had that I had longed to create? Was hanger steak. Not skirt steak.

Not freaking skirt steak!

I did a quick google search and learned that up until fairly recently, you couldn’t even buy hanger steak at the retail level. All of those years, I figured I was just losing my mind and that maybe I had not looked in the right place. You know, like there was an entire other section where the hanger steak secretly hung out.

Anyhoo. Turns out I still can’t easily find hanger steak. But also turns out that I really love skirt steak! It’s slightly more flavorful and kind of… rich? Yes, rich, that’s the word. Slightly more flavorful and rich than flank steak, which can easily dry out if it’s overcooked even a little bit.

So we’re loving this! So good, super easy to make, kind of foolproof for someone like me who still isn’t an expert when cooking certain cuts of beef.

While the skirt steak is fantastic, in true Jessica fashion, here we’re all about the toppings.

This fresh corn relish is just dreamy. I used local corn and ours is so, so sweet, it’s unreal. Mixed with red pepper, shallots, cilantro and lime, it is packed with flavor. A few years ago, I made a similar topping for salmon and I make a version of that often. Freaking love it. It makes things taste so fancy.

But! The other part of this delicious plate is a bowl full of avocado pesto. I want to eat this with a spoon. Drink it through a straw! A little bit goes a long way and once you have a batch, it’s incredible on vegetables and chicken and even regular old corn on the cob. The options are really endless because it’s incredibly versatile.

It’s also super pretty. And green!

This means it’s good for us, right? YESSSSS.

Now you have dinner tonight. I love you!

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Skirt Steak with Avocado Pesto and Grilled Corn Relish

Yield: serves 4

Ingredients:

1 (2 pound) piece of skirt steak (about 2-inches in thickness)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

avocado pesto

4 cups fresh basil
1 avocado
1/2 cup asiago cheese
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
3 garlic cloves
1/2 to 3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

grilled corn relish

3 ears sweet corn, cut from the cob
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 shallot, diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 lime, juiced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper




Directions:

In a bowl, whisk together the olive oil, brown sugar, garlic, salt and pepper. Place the steak in a baking dish or ziplock bag and pour the mixture over top. Place it in the fridge and let it marinate for at least 30 minutes or even overnight.

I like to remove the steak about 30 minutes before I cook it.

You can grill, broil or pan sear it to your liking. I tend to broil or grill it as I find that easiest. Preheat the broiler in your oven and move the oven rack as close as possible. Place the steak on a broiler pan or baking sheet and broil on each side for about 5 minutes. This usually results in a medium doneness in my oven – but since the edges are thinner, they tend to be more well done.

Allow the steak to rest for 10 minutes before slicing it thinly against the grain. Serve with spoonfuls of the pesto and the corn relish on top!

avocado pesto

To make the pesto, combine the basil, cheese, pine nuts and garlic in a food processor. Pulse until small crumbs remain, and then with the processor running, stream in the olive oil. Start with the 1/2 cup and add the extra if needed to reach the desired consistency. Add the salt, pepper and pepper flakes and blend again. Taste and season additionally if needed.

As a note, to toast the pine nuts, I add mine to a skillet and heat over low heat. I shake and stir until the are golden and fragrant, about 5 minutes.

grilled corn relish

Stir all ingredients together in a bowl until combined. You can make this a bit ahead of time if needed! It stays great in the fridge for a day or two.

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That is one big plate of flavor.

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Tuesday Things.

1. Cannot get over this vanilla cake with strawberry basil compote. Oooooh my gosh so good.

2. I haven’t been able to stop listening to Aretha’s greatest hits album. Ugh, it is so so so fantastic. I’ve had it on everyday and now Max is obsessed with having “dance parties” while we listen.

3. Not sure what it is about this time of year but  I always get the itch to change things around our house (or, um, finally do things) decor-wise… like get pieces of furniture or hang things on the wall or paint or change out rugs and what not.

4. Speaking of that, HALP ME with the toy storage. We sort of have an office/playroom on the first level and it’s just a disaster with toys. I need SOMETHING in there where I can throw all the toys and they are out of sight. Like a wall piece. I’m just not sure if I want one of those pieces with cubbies and baskets, you know?

5. Thoughts on creative failure? For me, the only thing that gets me through it is to keep creating! If I stop, I’m totally uninspired.

6. The last episode of The Affair! I really loved it and actually loved the ending with Helen. Was not surprised at all about Sierra – totally saw that coming. Kind of upset we didn’t see more of Sanaa Lathan because I love her. But almost died when the professor was Donna from The West Wing! And is there anyone out there watching Yellowstone besides us? I love Rip. Unfortunately, Eddie is doing what he always does with shows we watch together: losing interest. Pretty sure he is over it already. I bet he’s done this with at least ten shows we have started together!

7. Last night at the VMAs it was announced that The Hills is returning. Hmmm. Not into it. But I was verrrrry into JLo. She is amazing.

8. Whomp whomp: what happens to our metabolism after the age of 30!

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