Hello friends! Welcome to your Sunday! I went on a procrastibaking journey this Friday knowing full well I’d only play myself and stay up late getting the week’s work done. WORTH IT. I made a version of Claire Saffitz’s Glazed Apple Tart with store-bought puff pastry and rum instead of sherry. It’s the sort of recipe you can read through and then make up your own rules about. I’ll leave my version of the recipe here for you though I wholly suggest you read it through once and do your own thing. There’s no way this isn’t delicious.
Our friend Kim is here with our links this week, huzzah! But before we hear from Kim, let this serve as your reminder that you should totally come bake pie with me and dad this Wednesday over the Internet. Let’s make our holiday pies together!
Enjoy your day, friends. And now, KIM!
———-
Hello from a person who admittedly does not have 500K Instagram followers. Congrats on the huge milestone, Joy! I am nervous on your behalf. It’s fall in Nashville, which means the ground is covered in leaves and our cars are covered in sex-crazed female cardinals trying to mate with their reflections. Too niche? Let’s get to the links!
• Joy mentioned recently that famed author and Judge Mathis enthusiast, Samantha Irby, commented on one of her Instagram posts. Please allow me this opportunity to tell you 2 things: 1) ICYMI Sam wrote on the Sex and the City reboot, airing on HBO Max December 9; and 2) I chatted with Sam last year for my podcast, Ladyland. Viva la Irby! (Substack, Ladyland)
• Instagram is my drug of choice. I am constantly muting, hiding, and then unmuting accounts. I feel so guilty! But also, it has to be done. Good news, it’s not just me. Saeed Jones on The Friends You Make Online.
• One of my favorite independent bookstores outside of Nashville is Books Are Magic in Brooklyn, NY, owned by author Emma Straub. In Emma’s latest newsletter she’s giving book recommendations, and trust me, you want to know Emma’s Top Twenty Books of 2021. (Substack)
• “If the people you love have their sights set on something specific, God go with you as you make your way into the heart of supply-chain darkness,” Margaret Renkl on forgetting Amazon and buying your gifts closer to home this year. New York Times
• Have you watched any nineties movies lately? If you do, you’ll notice that the women in these movies have lines, wrinkles and non-whitened teeth. It’s an alarming contrast to what we see now, which is why I immediately clicked on this article by Glynnis MacNicol about turning 47 and looking it. (The Riveter)
• As someone who has spent the past 3 years recovering from chronic dieting and obsessive exercise, let me tell you, Aubrey Gordon and Michael Hobbes are doing the lord’s work with their wellness-debunking podcast, Maintenance Phase. Do me a favor and listen to this episode, Is Being Fat Bad For You?. (Maintenance Phase)
• Speaking of podcasts, I love Adam J. Kurtz and he has a new book out, You Are Here (For Now). To promote his book, he made a lil podcast with a bunch of his friends and the episodes are FANTASTIC. Give it a listen here. (AdamJK.com)
• You may have already decided what you’re bringing to Friendsgiving, but if not, may I recommend Joy’s easy pumpkin pie bars with toasted meringue? Um, yum! It’s what I’m bringing to the table (and to my stomach) this week. (Joy the Baker)
• My husband and I recently celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary. We decided to drive to a new city and stay in a nice hotel for the weekend. Reader, we went to Ohio and I… love the midwest now? Read more here: Columbus, Ohio Wrap-Up. (The Blonde Mule)
• Let me slap this dead horse one more time on my way out. Not everyone knows how to buy books online without buying them from Amazon. The answer? Bookshop dot org. You can make, save, and share wishlists on their site. Also? Audiobooks. If you think people love podcasts, wait until you hear how much people love audiobooks. A subscription to Libro.fm makes a great gift for the millennials in your life.
See you next month!
Kim Baldwin is a writer and social media strategist living in Nashville, TN. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram @theblondemule and at theblondemule.com.