Stuff We Like :: 7.24.15
First stories are starting to roll in for the fall issue around here, but we are firmly committed to believing that summer will never end. Hence: Much time at the pool, coffee dates with new friends, matinee movies, and reading on the porch.
around the web
It’s no secret that I love Joss Whedon, but Joss Whedon + a female Victorian Batman? Sign me up now.
This review of the Egg Master make me laugh out loud. (Under redeeming features: “It’s quite space-efficient, being so dense with evil.”)
I was fascinated by this article on the physiological effects of reading great literature — and pretty delighted by the possibility that thoughtful reading might make us, ultimately, smarter.
at home/school/life
on the blog: People often ask us why we don’t have a print edition of home/school/life — here’s the answer.
on pinterest: Wouldn’t it be fun to make a set of these storytelling dice with images that inspire your kid’s imagination?
on the blog: Have you been following our summer reading series?
reading list
My daughter has had her nose buried in Ready Player One for most of the summer — I think she’s on her second reread.
I feel like I’ve been waiting forever to read The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate, which I’ve finally gotten my hot little hands on.
I’m a sucker for a good biography, and David McCullough’s The Wright Brothers has been my poolside reading material recently. I thought I knew all about the Wrights, but this book has been full of fun surprises.
in the kitchen
Tacos are my oops-I-forgot-about-dinner solution, and this vegetarian version (with goat cheese!) is a great way to use a little summer produce, too.
I've been freezing basil puree (puree 1 cup of basil leaves with 1 tablespoon of olive oil) in an ice tray so that I can pull out the taste of summer for pesto and salad dressing throughout the year. Lucky for me, there's tons of basil at the market right now.
I made these ginger-peach cobbler bars as a back-up dessert, and they were a sleeper potluck hit.
at home
Jason and I went to see Mr. Holmes, which I loved — it feels ragged and lyrical next to the logical cohesion of the Holmes narratives, and to me, that felt just right for a detective near the end of his days. Plus, Ian McKellen can do no wrong.
I’m prepping for my Buffy the Vampire Slayer seminar this fall by screening season two. It's obviously a tough job.
I knitted a longer version of this little lacy top (free pattern) in recycled silk/cotton yarn for my daughter’s swim cover-up this year — it’s really cute and a super-quick knit.
I think Space Camp was our favorite week of Camp Google so far.
notable sales
Craftsy has a big supply sale going on this weekend through Monday, July 27. I’m tempted to pick up a pack of Copic Multiliner pens for our sketchbooks bag (they’re 40% off), and I think I’m going to finally shell out for a Trim N Turn Cake Turntable so that I keep my frosting tidy (it’s on sale for just under $14), though of course, then I will have no excuse for my messy frosting. It's a real dilemma.
A few good young adult book deals: John Greene’s An Abundance of Katherines is just $5.92 in paperback right now, and the Kindle version of Rainbow Rowell’s (delightful) Fangirlis just $4.99.
