It's supposed to get to 100 degrees in Oakland today, God help me
Look, I'm a soft Californian, I'm used to temperatures that don't go above 77 or below 55. Plus, this is the Bay Area, where we have neither air conditioning nor insulated homes. I'm terrified about what my (upper story) apartment is going to be like when I walk back into it this evening. Send cool thoughts and/or popsicles my way, please.
Speaking of cool things, when the weather gets this hot, I crave watermelon agua fresca. I don't even generally like watermelon most of the time, but blend it up into a cool drink and I'll happily dive right in. Importantly for weather like the kind most of California is experiencing, it requires no heating of anything, and very little time in the kitchen. You can make simple syrup to add to this, and look, when it's less hot, I would probably encourage you to do so, and like, add some mint or some bullshit like that to your simple syrup, but this is the kind of weather where I avoid turning on any heat sources at all costs. I bet you could turn this into popsicles, honestly, though I've never done that, so if you are good at making popsicles please email me and tell me how to make watermelon ones.
Watermelon agua fresca
A watermelon, any size (one of the seedless ones makes this easier), chopped up into cubes
A few tablespoons to a half a cup of water
Put the watermelon cubes into your blender or food processor (or into a big bowl, if you have a hand blender, I love mine, I have this one, but there are many cheap and perfectly fine ones at any kitchen store). Add a little water, and blend away. Do it in batches if necessary. Strain the liquid through a sieve on top of another big bowl, letting as much liquid go through as possible. If a little of the pulp gets in, I don't mind, but if you do, strain it again or use cheesecloth. Refrigerate until cold, add ice and/or booze if you so desire.
Okay, so my beautiful eyelash extensions that I talked about in a newsletter a few weeks ago are all gone, and I'm bereft. Somehow my lashes look even shorter and stumpier than they did before, which is tragic. And now I have to go back to putting mascara on in the morning AND taking it off at night, which is a pain in the ass. No matter what I used, I would have to use at least two little cotton pads on my eyes to get everything off, and I would still have mascara under my eyes that I needed to remove again the next morning. But then! I remembered that months ago in her wonderful tinyletter, Kate Spencer had recommended this Bioderma micellar water, which she said was a lot better than the Garnier micellar water that I had been using. I was almost done with my bottle, so I gave it a shot, and you guys, this stuff is so much better! It's more expensive than the Garnier, but I use far less of it (like, probably a third of the amount every night). I used it for the first time last weekend after getting home from a wedding, so I had a lot more makeup on than I wear on a normal day, and it still got everything off with one little cotton pad, and it didn't irritate my super sensitive eyes in the slightest. I'm a convert.
Last Friday on Twitter, as once again the news of the world was terrible, I asked for recommendations for engaging, not stressful, happy books. There are lots of great recommendations in that thread (though I will say, some people have different definitions of not stressful than me!). One person recommended I Believe In a Thing Called Love, a book that I started right after it came out, went away on a trip and forgot to bring it, and then lost in a pile of books in my apartment. I'm so glad that I dug it out, because this is the perfect book for when you need a funny, joyful, engaging book. I love the main character, Desi, SO MUCH, her friends crack me up, her dad is delightful, her crush is super swoony, and the plot is so fun that I'm angry this hasn't already been made into a rom com I can watch in an ice cold theater this weekend. Everybody go buy this book and read it if you need something to smile over.
Have a great long weekend, everyone!
Jasmine