Have a Yummy Weekend.

That cruises ice break in a landlocked country? LOL

The teaser for this post says, “11 fun links, including pretty pajamas and the real reason Pete Davidson is so sexy.” I noticed this on Instagram too… but I’ve been looking and looking and cannot find these pretty pajamas anywhere. LOL. I think I’ve looked at this post 4 times trying to figure out if there’s a missing link or if I’m losing my mind… just…fyi. ;)

The biggest boat I have ever been on was the RMS Queen Mary in 1967. I was 8 years old. My parents drove us all down to NYC from our home in the Hudson Valley to see my grandfather off. He was Irish, and was making a return trip back to Ireland for the first time since he emigrated to the US on a ship called the Baltic, arriving through Ellis Island on May 8, 1910, at the age of 10. The year of his return trip, 1967, was the tail end of the demise of the Luxury Cruise Liners. Modern jet passenger planes had taken over the transatlantic passenger trade. This would be the last New York to London crossing for the RMS Queen Mary, as she was scheduled to be retired from service. I remember only little snapshots of the ship- very narrow hallways, lots of people trying to squeeze through. My little 4 year old brother became lost for a while (soon found) because he got tired of walking so he sat himself down on the grand staircase to watch the crowd go by. My grandfather somehow had a party going almost immediately in his room, and sent my father off on a mission to find champagne. The mission was soon abandoned when, on the way to the liquor store across from the pier, he discovered the family station wagon had been towed. Apparently the mayor was doing a photo shoot by the ship and decided the parked cars blocked the view, so he had them all towed. My father had to hike to the tow yard and pay $175 (a fortune back then) to get his car back. My grandfather ended up falling for a woman on the ship and going to London with her, and I am not sure if he ever made it back to Ireland. He also alienated the ship’s crew by telling ghost stories at dinner one night. The Queen Mary has a reputation for being haunted and I guess the crew was over it and did not want him tempting any ghostly mischief.

I appreciated Ruth’s comments about Amazon, structural challenges and individual responsibility. The book Wallet Activism by Tanja Hester also covers this well. And highlights what we as consumers can do to use our dollars for good. She’d be a great interview or guest post!

I’m going to Audible the Rob Delaney book and listen to it on dogs walks along the beach and cry for sure. Frozen tears and snot all over, but it will be worth it.

Biggest boat I ever went on was a dinner dance cruise around Manhattan with my best friend, he went to school in NYC. I wore a black strappy dress and one of those floating gemstone necklaces that were popular in the early 00s, we drank champagne and admired the skyline and the Statue of Liberty at night. It would have been stupid romantic if he wasn’t gay :)

A big part of climate change is that we are buying too much stuff: our demand for things we don’t actually need means that endless amounts of stuff is being made, which relies on the use of fossil fuels to power the machinery to make stuff and to send it around the world. While I think it is unrealistic to suggest that no one buys any holiday gifts, it would be nice to have options for the adults on our lists. As Part 2 of the gift guide, maybe COJ could do some research into charities that actually make a difference in the world in order to make it easy for readers to choose a donation instead of a gift. For example, when I wanted to make a donation to a food charity I did research and decided the World Food Program would have the most impact. I think more readers would choose to make a donation if that legwork was done for them and you identified charities in a range of categories: health, food, children, women’s rights, etc.

I am obsessed with the boat question. I went on a FOURTEEN DAY cruise from LA to Hawaii and back with my best friend and her parents when I was a senior in college. Do you know who can afford to take a 14 day cruise?!?!?! Not young people!!!!! We ended up being the youngest people on the boat by a LOT and once I got over being seasick, we basically made the boat our playground. I ended up falling a little bit in love with our junior waiter and we played Scattergories with him and got him come to the “dance club” at the top of the boat. It was so much fun.

That soup in the pic looks yummy – craving for it now!

Anyone else seen Can’t Buy Me Love, an early Patrick Dempsy film? I think Pete and Kim’s “relationship” was purely transactional. He puts his former relationship in the shadows and she gets her viscous ex husband to finally understand it’s over.
Also, brilliant and random group ice-breaker! Biggest boat I have ever been on was a US aircraft carrier. I installed some equipment onboard. Depending on how coy or mysterious I want to be in a given setting determines how much information I divulge on what this equipment was (spoiler; it was a printer). Always gives me a sense of pride for our military and the amazing men and women who serve our country plus my daughter thinks this is like the coolest thing ever.

Hi CoJ hivemind, I am on the search for a swimsuit that can provide me some solid support (33F). I plan on taking my toddler to his swim classes. I would also love to leave behind my maternity leggings for some better ones. Any recommendations?

Thanks!

I watched the first two episodes of Fleishman this weekend. I knew I would like it as soon as I saw the preview. It’s a little hard to see Jesse Eisenberg as an adult (getting it on with all his tinder dates!) but…I’m loving the whole vibe. Thanks for sharing that article – helped explain why I’m liking it.

I am loving reading everyone’s boat stories! Who knew boats were such a cultural touchstone of zany fun?

I have a question for the CoJ collective wisdom, inspired by reading through the conversation starters: any advice on breaking the ice when meeting my boyfriend’s kids for the first time? Two boys, 8 and 10, and a daughter who is 5. He’s met my boys each individually, who are the same ages as his, and won them over immediately with his quiet charm and knowledge of Star Wars and sports (bringing his adorable dog along didn’t hurt). I know *how* to talk to kids, but finding that right spot of not trying too hard or coming off as a mom or a teacher feels daunting. I’d love to bring something cool or new to their worlds so they see that I’m interested in who they are as people, and maybe (maybe?) look forward to seeing me again. Thoughts?

I’m so happy you’ve been enjoying my soup!! Love this list–such a fun cross-section of life and joy, and so many thought-provoking starting points for weekend reading. Thank you! Sarah

I have owned that Rains trench plus the Rains warm liner (it buttons at the nape) for 3 months and really love it. It has kept me completely dry on my 2 mile round trip walks to work in Boston. I own a coordinating cross body bag to carry my wallet and essentials.

Also, I loved their stuff so much I got my husband a Rains backpack so his papers would stay dry on his walking commute.

Never a cruise! The biggest boat I’ve ever been on was a ferry running between the north and south islands of New Zealand and it was absolutely beautiful!

Soup…my friend makes this incredible pickle soup with meatballs. Yes pickle soup. She’s Russian and apparently it’s very common to eat pickled vegetables in soups in Russia. My kids LOVE it and of course I ask for the recipe and she says “I’ll type it out and email it to you dear” because she doesn’t actually have a recipe…

And no thank you to Pete Davidson.

I dont know if its me but in the article about Pete Davidson I see more red flags than anything else ?! But I never heard of him before (I live in France) so maybe I dont have all the necessary informations to understand!

This list brought me right back to my childhood. Exhibit A: my older brother arguing with my mom about wearing shorts all winter (the masculinity was indeed frail in the 90s too). Exhibit B: Why did my mom make boiled eggs for every road trip? How far were we going that eggs wouldn’t keep in our fridge?

I also used to ask people about cruises and why they were terrible until….. I asked this question to my sons new friend’s mom and discovered that she used to work for a major cruise line. I was so embarrassed. Just be careful! Cruises may be horrible and bad for the environment but they have their super fans!

I think the tv show Atlanta is so good! I was trying to explain season 4 episode 2 “The Homeliest Little Horse” to some friends because it was so smart and entertaining, but my recap was too convoluted. I ended by saying- just watch the series, it’s so good!

made this soup (with beyond sausage and orzo) today and it was perfect!!

I make “Grandma’s stuffing” which is oft requested. And now my kids make it when they have to contribute to a group gathering. White bread cubes, onion, celery, YAMS, breakfast sausage, parsley. Use chicken broth and yam juice for liquid as needed. I really loved my Grandma.

That headline! We had to make a rule that the daily high had to be over 70 degrees for my tween to wear shorts. And all winter long it’s shorts with tights.

Unpopular take: Pete Davidson isn’t attractive (imo!) and stuffing is, at best, a nostalgic tradition that you only appreciate because it is familiar not because it’s good.

Okay, you gotta not overthink the charcutes. No need to individually touch every slice of meat. The key is *abundance;* fill every square inch of the board. If you can see wood, more dried apricots, more meats, more grapes, more almonds, more cheese, more sweet potato chips. I always size down the board itself so it gives the illusion of looking like there’s more.