sweets — Blog — Zoë Sessums

Listening:

Similar to last week, I was eating another beautiful breakfast alone and the music playing was getting me deep in my heart. My brain then unlocked a playlist from another life and these jams just kept coming to me.

"New Partner" by Palace Music.

"Wish You Were Here" by Sparklehorse and Radiohead.

Reading:

My Grandmother’s Very Specific Meat-Related Rule for Finding Love

The 25 best icebreaker questions for team-building at work - #20: How do you like your eggs? Recently I went out for breakfast and when the server asked me how I wanted my eggs, I responded with "over medium." She then said, "is that over easy?" Me: "Uh, no." And then she walked off. It boggled my mind for days.

Angelica Hicks's NYC Apartment Is as Cheeky and Chic as Her Art - These murals are so good.

Always into cake. (illustration by Grace Lee via bonappetit)

Craving:

I have a strong urge to walk into every "healthy market" I come upon. There is something comforting about a store with rows of bulk bins (dried fruits, raw nuts, nutritional yeast, carob covered things) and oaten treats and maybe even a corner with a wheatgrass juicing machine. Yesterday, in such a store, I stumbled upon these healthy sweet treats called Cookie Brittle. It's just the right amount of salty and sweet and textured (almonds, chocolate, cocoa, oat flour, etc). The Brooklyn-based company, "Baked By Bibis," makes all sort of breads, crisps, and loaves. I've got my eyes peeled for more BBB delights.

"A healthy treat." If you say so... (image via sephardic.org)

Wearing:

I cannot wait to recover more of my clothes as I begin to live again beyond my suitcase. I have a simple formula lately: black puffer coat (looks similar to a thin sleeping bag), sweater (solid colored turtleneck), pants (jeans or patterned black slacks), wool socks, boots (black Frye hikers), sometimes a hat or a scarf or a handkerchief. At least I'm warm.

I went on a hunt for cheap sweatpants this weekend. I had the specific goal of finding a pair to wear for my wintery walk to the gym. As I was browsing the discount activewear section and all the not-totally-ugly sweatpants were too far in the double digits price range, I had my aha moment. The old standby: look in the kids section! I found decent pair, youth large, for $8. Perfect. When I paid, the cashier said, "I hope he enjoys them." Ha! My son, aka myself, will.

I didn't see enough wildness during Fashion Week. (image by Aisha Franz via nytimes)

Watching:

I can finally reenter the world as I fully, obsessively (now mournfully) finished my Australian show. Just a day later I miss my characters.

I'm interested in seeing HBO's latest series, "Here and Now." Holly Hunter and Tim Robbins with creator Alan Ball. Seems promising, but I've glimpsed mixed reviews. I'm also curious about Netflix's new show, "Everything Sucks." "A coming-of-age story, set in the 1990s, that revolves around the A/V and drama clubs at a Boring, Ore., high school; the two crews of outsiders join forces to make a movie and endure the purgatory that is high school." Sounds like a mashup of a variety of popular tropes.

Treasuring:

No Conclusions / Many Happy Endings. Cup of Jo is the land of wonderful stories and amazing comments. This comment was highlighted the other day and I found it to be more than I could articulate... Says Kate on an accidental wedding dress: “I was married in a rose-colored dress, am now divorced but count my ex-husband among my closest family members, and am in a monogamous (unmarried) long-term relationship and full-time parent to my partner’s two step-kids. On the day I got married in that beautiful rose dress, I never, ever would have predicted that a decade later I would find myself here, living a completely different life. And so I offer you this: There will be many milestones but no conclusions. The feeling of being settled is a transient one — regardless of whether we remain married to one person ’til death do us part or spend our lives single, stability comes and goes, and any belief to the contrary is an illusion. There is at once no answer and always an answer: It exists right here, in this essay, inside yourself, in the people you love and places you go and the work you do. You are the answer, the one constant in the cornucopia of happily-ever-afters that will most likely exist within the span of your lifetime. So, let’s let go of the idea that there is one happy ending and celebrate the many happy endings, the shapes of each other’s lives and the many shapes of our own. And let’s do it in whatever damn dress (or jeans or pajamas) makes us feel most like ourselves.”

(Mondays have been bustling lately. Last week, in particular, I started this draft, thought I'd finish it up in the late afternoon, and then showed up at my own surprise party! It was the most encouraging experience and my heart swells just thinking about it.)

Listening:

My listening lately is like two sides of one coin. The breakup anthems of Dave Longstreth and Amber Coffman.

"Keep Your Name" by Dirty Projectors.

"All to Myself" by Amber Coffman.

Plus, I've been putting on Chet Baker often. It soothes me.

Reading:

"Scratch: Writers, Money, and the Art of Making a Living." Edited by Manjula Martin.

I was wandering Manhattan today when the sky opened up. But it was an ideal moment, because I rounded the corner and there was The Strand! Eighteen miles of books kept me out of the bit of rain.

I picked up some really fabulous postcards and then stumbled on this book. Perfect timing. I hope it gives me a little insight or inspiration or at least a few laughs.

Can you tell I'm having an existential panic about what to do with my life? (Image by Maddie Edgar via Slate)

Craving:

Vegetables and sweets!

This is pretty much my lifelong craving and pattern of eating. I want delicious veggie-laden dishes and then I want chocolate cake and chocolate chip cookies and then I want some kind of greenery and then I want some treats again.

Let's just go through a smattering of favorite items this week:

A savory crepe filled with herb roasted mushrooms, spinach, walnuts, cashew cheese and topped with tahini basil sauce; a kale caesar salad with shitake bacon, avocado, almond parm and maple-wheat croutons (omg those sweet and salty croutons!); and some roasted garlicky broccoli.

By Chloe was really fun and delicious. Plus, the location is home to some Beat poet memories. (image by Krista Schlueter via The New York Times)

As for the sweets: A slice of key lime pie with coconut crust; a massive piece of chocolate cake with white frosting (buttercream? cream cheese? heaven?); and a tiny little brownie stuffed blondie that I could've had several more of.

Thiebaud paints my dreams. ("Pies, Pies, Pies" by Wayne Thiebaud.)

Wearing:

Nothing and everything.

I spent the beginning of last week in 90 degree Florida weather. I was sweating through tees and avoiding sleeves. So it was small pieces of clothing or breezy shirts and dresses.

The end of the week brought me to New York, where it was 60 degrees, then 50 degrees, plus many moments of intense wind and downpours. I'm in my snowboarding jacket or my pink faux fur, plus undershirts and socks. I'm going through an array of dressing.

Watching:

"The Handmaid's Tale."

I was counting down for this and as someone who really loves the book, I was a little nervous for the tv interpretation. Alas, it's beautiful and harsh and well done! Elisabeth Moss is divine and I cannot wait to keep watching.

Wanting:

All of my favorite people to exist in the same city or at least an hour commute away. Or a teleportation device.