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Category — Consumption

Consumption 18

by Mel

This is a monthly series, published near the end of the month summarizing what I found, ate, watched, googled, and felt this month. New categories added from time to time.

Books Added to My TBR (e.g., books I just learned about that I’m excited to read… maybe)

Notable Meals (new recipes, old favorites, and restaurant items we ate this month)

  • Smitten Kitchen’s cacio e pepe. She claims it’s foolproof, and I completely agree. But the clean-up was bonkers. So… delicious, easy to make, but difficult to clean up.
  • I’ve already written about making tiramisu, but it’s worth another mention because it was delicious and easy.
  • Vegetarian wonton soup.

Television, Movies, and Music (watching and listening)

  • We are four episodes into Unacceptable. It’s a standard comedian panel show where they share unacceptable opinions and try to convince the audience to agree with them. It’s very funny.
  • Mali turned us onto Would I Lie To You, another panel show where comedians tell a story and the other team have to decide whether it’s true or a lie. We play along at home, but we’re terrible at it.
  • We started the new season of Ted Lasso. It’s a little rough around the edges, but we love being with the cast again. Plus I like that it’s a new team vs. more of the same.

Added To My Ongoing Mix Tape

Tabs I Left Open (things I Googled and left up on the screen)

  • The words to the “We like to drink with…” chant.
  • The Wikipedia page for Myrddin Wyllt, thanks to a book I was reading.
  • A simple sugar bun recipe.
  • Tom Kerridge meat-free recipes.

Micro-Joys

  • This may be the most adult sentence ever, but I felt true joy when the plumber charged us the same amount he estimated the job would be.
  • Watching a tiny Atlantic ghost crab for an hour crawl out of his hole, toss some sand, and then race back down to hide.
  • Choosing a book at random and having it be the perfect read on the beach.

Mood

  • Super sad that the twins are going back to college soon.

What about you? Let me know what you’re eating, seeing, listening to, googling, feeling this month.

August 30, 2026   2 Comments

Consumption 17

by Mel

This is a monthly series, published near the end of the month summarizing what I found, ate, watched, googled, and felt this month. New categories added from time to time.

Books Added to My TBR (e.g., books I just learned about that I’m excited to read… maybe)

Notable Meals (new recipes, old favorites, and restaurant items we ate this month)

  • Soft serve ice cream at Jimmie Cone.
  • Burrata and nectarine salad on butter lettuce.

Television, Movies, and Music (watching and listening)

  • The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins is really funny. I know zero about American football, so I didn’t think I would like it. But they almost never talk about football. Tracy Morgan and Daniel Radcliffe are fantastic.
  • We finished Widow’s Bay. That was the best thing we saw all year. It’s creepy more than scary, and you’re laughing too much to be tense. I cannot wait for season two.
  • We loved Make That Movie. Some episodes were better than others. We especially liked Bog Prom and the Yooglet.

Added To My Ongoing Mix Tape

Tabs I Left Open (things I Googled and left up on the screen)

  • A poem by Edward Lear.
  • The Wikipedia page for the Saxons.
  • A walkthrough of runestones in Sigtuna, Sweden.
  • A menu for a nearby sushi restaurant we haven’t gone to in years.
  • A sandwich from M&S that the ChickieNob wants me to recreate.
  • Gudrun Sjoden clothing site.
  • A socca recipe from The Kitchn.
  • Evans and Peel Detective Agency’s site, a themed speakeasy in London.

Micro-Joys

  • Ordering books and having them arrive in the mail.
  • Hugging the kids after many weeks away.

Mood

  • Trying to set a limit on how many things I’m worried about.

What about you? Let me know what you’re eating, seeing, listening to, googling, feeling this month.

July 29, 2026   2 Comments

Consumption 16

by Mel

This is a monthly series, published near the end of the month summarizing what I found, ate, watched, googled, and felt this month. New categories added from time to time.

Books Added to My TBR (e.g., books I just learned about that I’m excited to read… maybe)

Notable Meals (new recipes, old favorites, and restaurant items we ate this month)

  • Gnocchi alla Sorrentina at Da Mario.
  • A vegetarian fry-up with potato bread.
  • Fusilli pastore (pasta, pine nuts, spinach, cream sauce).

Television, Movies, and Music (watching and listening)

  • We finished Last One Laughing UK, season 2, and it was fantastic. We missed the comedians from the first season, but we welcomed the new ones. Favourite moments: Jimmy’s prank on Romesh and the animal head-to-head session.
  • We started Taskmaster, series 21. Delightful discovery: competitor Joanna Page is Just Judy from Love, Actually. We laughed hard every time Kumail Nanjiani left the room during a task, and Amy Gledhill and Joel Dommett would whisper to each other, “He’s so famous!”
  • We watched so many episodes of The Chase while in the UK. I wish we could watch it here. Also Four in a Bed, which is on Tubi over here.

Added To My Ongoing Mix Tape

Tabs I Left Open (things I Googled and left up on the screen)

  • An article from 2019 about “Soviet Soldiers Dancing” from Twitter because we were talking about it.
  • A menu for Honey & Co in London.
  • A map of the ice cream trail in Maryland.
  • The website for Hypnos mattresses.
  • Jeremy Lee recipes on the BBC.
  • The Wikipedia page for The Famous Five.
  • A website about chalk horses in Wiltshire.

Micro-Joys

  • Getting caught by the tide in St. Ives and running through the water back to land.
  • Going to the amusement park with my nephews. I got dizzy on a ride, and my 7-year-old nephew said he would protect me by not having it spin, but then also let me know that because this was going to be less fun, he would like to go on the ride again. I love that kid.
  • Talking to the kids at night and hearing about their travels.

Mood

  • Trying to lean hard into only happy things.

What about you? Let me know what you’re eating, seeing, listening to, googling, feeling this month.

June 30, 2026   5 Comments

Consumption 15

by Mel

This is a monthly series, published near the end of the month summarizing what I found, ate, watched, googled, and felt this month. New categories added from time to time.

Books Added to My TBR (e.g., books I just learned about that I’m excited to read… maybe)

Notable Meals (new recipes, old favorites, and restaurant items we ate this month)

  • Burrata pasta with garlicky marinated tomatoes.
  • Fire-roasted red pepper burrito.

Television, Movies, and Music (watching and listening)

  • We had such high hopes for Vladimir on Netflix. We liked the first episode, it got even better by the second episode, and then it trailed off after a few episodes. We slogged through the end to know how it turned out.
  • I’ve been waiting for Widow’s Bay since it was first announced. (Before it was even cast! And we like so many people in the cast.) First episodes have been fantastic. I love this show so much.
  • We are three episodes into Last One Laughing UK 2, and it is just as good as the first season.

Added To My Ongoing Mix Tape

Tabs I Left Open (things I Googled and left up on the screen)

  • The menu for Bill’s restaurant featuring their partnership with Poppy O’Toole.
  • An explanation for how passkeys work.
  • A Google search for mocha muffin tops, looking for a recipe that looks like the one the Wolvog likes from dining services.
  • A tutorial on how to play the game Birdigo.
  • A Wikipedia page for the podcast Sherlock & Co, which our friend recommended.
  • The Wikipedia page for the Gaspe Peninsula so I can form a cohesive argument for why we need to visit. (Got to get the facts!)
  • A map of the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail.

Micro-Joys

  • West Ham lost. Spurs won. We got to listen to Bela Bartok with a mostly peaceful heart.
  • We couldn’t get the next Spurs game as we were driving to pick up the kids, so the ChickieNob watched and sent us updates. When our team got their first goal, Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song” was playing. We decided that we should continue to listen to said song until the end of the game just in case it helped the team. We listened to Shaboozey sing about being a little tipsy for over 20 minutes.

Mood

  • Trying to stay in the present and not catastrophize.

What about you? Let me know what you’re eating, seeing, listening to, googling, feeling this month.

May 27, 2026   2 Comments

Consumption 14

by Mel

This is a monthly series, published near the end of the month summarizing what I found, ate, watched, googled, and felt this month. New categories added from time to time.

Books Added to My TBR (e.g., books I just learned about that I’m excited to read… maybe)

Notable Meals (new recipes, old favorites, and restaurant items we ate this month)

  • Matzo ball ramen (for Pesach): My matzo ball soup with curly rice ramen noodles, tofu, corn, ginger, nori, greens. It was so good.
  • Salad of figs, candied pecans, butter lettuce, and burrata with a maple balsamic vinaigrette.

Television, Movies, and Music (watching and listening)

  • Still working our way through the Richard Ayoade seasons of Travel Man. I love this show so much.

Added To My Ongoing Mix Tape

  • “Love American Style” (The Cowsills)
  • “Bill is Dead” (The Fall)
  • “I Won’t Let You Go” (Robbie Boyd Band) – I bought this whole album many years ago, and it doesn’t seem to be on sale anymore plus the music video for the song has been removed from YouTube. Strange. I think it’s one of their best songs.

Tabs I Left Open (things I Googled and left up on the screen)

Micro-Joys

  • Finding out that Carla Hall has a vegetarian “chicken” option at her new restaurant Bumblebirds made out of oyster mushrooms.

Mood

  • Rushed. I don’t wish there were more hours in the day, but I wish there were more days in the week.

What about you? Let me know what you’re eating, seeing, listening to, googling, feeling this month.

April 29, 2026   1 Comment

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