What are you up to this weekend? We don’t have any big plans: I’m looking forward to leisurely mornings, a hike in the woods, dinners of the decidedly non-weeknight variety, and plenty of reading time. Maybe I’ll make time for some yard work: I’ve been working to eradicate some climbing vines that keep trying to make themselves at home in our yard. If you have tips, send ’em!
I hope you have something to look forward to this weekend, and that this collection of interesting reads and favorite things helps ease you into that weekend frame of mind.
My favorite finds from around the web:
Beach Reads. (The Cut) What New Yorkers are reading on the beach this summer. Unlike my 2024 beach reading report, this includes photos.
How to Feed the Olympics. (Eater) I can’t wrap my mind around the logistics!
Went shopping with my 14yo last weekend and bought the JCrew Factory girlfriend tee in five different colors. (I wore three of them this week, paired with cute shorts or these these ever-awesome cropped pants.)
When a Book Series Turns the Final Page. (Wall Street Journal gift link) On the emotional punch of a beloved series ending: “Since individual titles in a series are usually published over a long expanse of time, series fiction accompanies its readers through the changes and milestones of their own lives. Simply put: In most series, the characters get older, and we readers get older, too. Perhaps we don’t age in tandem, but we head in the same direction together.”
Your flight was canceled. Now what? (Vox) This 2023 article resurfaced after last Friday’s global debacle. I hope none of your flights were impacted by the Microsoft outage!
On the Simple Prophecy of Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower. (Literary Hub) The book opens on July 20, 2024, prompting many readers to start it this month.
6 Ways to Make S’mores, No Campfire Required. (Martha Stewart) YUM.
Not Your Usual Secondhand Book Sale. (New York Times gift link) “Bibliophiles and film fans leafed through hundreds of books that once belonged to the eminent editor Robert Gottlieb.” Whoa!
Retaining flavor while removing caffeine − a chemist explains the chemistry behind decaf coffee. (The Conversation)
Head to summer camp with these 7 novels. (MMD) Eclectic novels offering a variety of vicarious summer camp adventures.
I just refilled my favorite summer lip gloss, again—golly I love these little “snack”-sized ones from Target. (In any size, it’s the Fenty Gloss Bomb in Glow that I’m reaching for.)
The Entertainmentification of Fashion. (InStyle) On celebrities and fashion: ““You can be in movies. You can make clothes. That’s all amazing. But will it ever be as fun as it was in the ‘90s, when people weren’t getting paid to wear stuff, they just thought it was cool? And nobody needed you to tag them on Instagram?”
One of Ikea’s Most Iconic Products Just Got an Ingenious Add-On. (Gear Patrol) A new desk add-on for the Billy Bookshelf: we might be getting one of these soon.
Don’t miss these posts:
12 recommended reads for those traveling to Maine (or who want to). If you’re looking for a book with a strong sense of place, try one of these books set in Maine!
20 terrific tomes to add to your TBR (or teetering to-read tower). Summer is a great time to read big books!
14 books about nature to inspire your next outdoor adventure. Between the fresh air and beautiful scenery, the outdoors can be vital for mental health.
Have a great weekend!
10 comments
My favorite take away from The Cult article is 20-somethings are reading! Yay! It always makes me hopeful when 20s and teens are reading 🙂
Last year I discovered the JCREW Factory girlfriend tee. I too have it in many colors. I admit I am a jeans and t-shirt gal.
Loved The Cut article. There were a lot of upvotes for this comment, so I hope the editors take note:
“More of this please.
Do the 6 train, do Central Park, do the staircase in front of the MET. Do Bryant park- this needs to be a monthly thing with a new spot every month. Visit queens, visit the airport, coffee shops- what pages are people turning? We want to know!”
I love Fenty’s Gloss Bomb in Glow. It’s the perfect color!
I’ve been dreaming of putting a bookcase (or two) in my living room (because you can never have enough bookshelves!) and wondering how I could fit a desk in there also. The desk add-on to the Billy bookcase is the perfect answer to my dilemma! Thanks, Anne!
My best weed control trick involves time travel back to whenever the ground thaws in your part of the country. I go out and chop all the baby weeds and let them compost in place. I sprinkle Preen weed control. Wait one month and chop all the new weeds. You’ve now knocked out about 80% of your garden’s weeds for the year.
If you’re anti-chemicals, you can compost instead and improve the soil. I originally composted but after a few years, the soil got built up too high near the house and I had drainage issues. But I sure had great soil!
I discovered Preen this year and it is AMAZING. I didn’t quite get it on right as the ground thawed, but a little later (so I still had to do quite a lot of weeding to start). But after that, I spread it and watered it in well and now I have my summer weekends back. Love it so much.
We recently splurged on a professionally created landscape plan for our newish home that we’re renovating in and out. We loved working with our planner, and one of the best things we learned from him was how to eradicated invasives. One species in particular grows back quickly, and he said we basically need to go pull it every time we see leaves and, eventually, the roots will die out. I’m paying my kids to do the pulling! Then we lay all the pulled plants out to die/dry out in the sun. Results TBD. Good luck with your vines! They are so persistent.
WEEDS
I’m an organic gardener in Charlottesville, VA- no petro chemicals, no pesticides or herbicides here. My recommendations for weed control involve a)Native Plants: learn to recognize and embrace plants native to your area. Some of them might be considered “weeds”, some actually might well encourage wildlife. Leave seed heads and let them spread.
b) I’m not a fan of lawns- they’re not native and take a lot of chemicals and water to preserve. IF you’re battling weeds in your lawn either hand digging or application of Corn Gluten in the spring works as a fertilizer and a “pre-emergent” weed suppressant.
c) if there’s an area of “hardscape” or rock that you’re trying to keep free of growth horticultural vinegar is effective. It should be applied with caution as it is caustic- wear gloves, ear protection and a mask and only apply on a windless day. STRONG horticultural strength vinegar will kill everything so it’s not an ideal solution when there are other plants you want to preserve. Some people also use boiling water on “weeds”.
d) use the heat and black plastic to “solarize” any large area of weeds -weight down with bricks or rocks and let the sun bake those weeds which will be easier to remove at the end of a couple months of baking.(or you can “sheet mulch” and use heavy sheets of overlapping corrugated cardboard to smother the weeds- this also builds soil but I’ve found this to be a better method in autumn when you can smother and add layers of cardboard, leaves, manure, compost and more cardboard.)
e)lastly- the best defense is a good offense. I’ve always found that a densely planted garden full of healthy plants leaves little room for unwanted plants. Good mulching (leave the leaves in the autumn) and shredded bark in the summer helps keep moisture in and weeds out.
Thank you!! I really appreciate alternatives to herbicides and pesticides that are chemical. I have been fighting this fight in my own family for years with some cooperation. The biggest hurdle is living in a “nice” neighborhood with plenty of retired folks who live to tinker with their lawns. How I would love to see parkways turned into pollinator strips but in my area the concept of resale value is a real issue. Still, every little bit helps and my town now has a “no mow May” program that you can register for so you don’t get fined for having grass that’s too long. Baby steps.
PS Horticultural vinegar is the bomb for brick patios.
Comments are closed.