Weekend Recs #18: Theater camp, houseplant hacks, and pumpkin focaccia
Plus: Our fall book club pick!
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This is Weekend Recs, a weekly send of ideas and diversions for your downtime. Not subscribed yet? Here you go:
Editorial note: Alisha is on maternity leave. How exciting! In the meantime, Downtime is edited by Aliza Abarbanel.
Four ideas for your weekend…
If you’re a self-described theater kid or summer camp attendee—or just looking for a lighthearted watch—this one's for you. The funniest mockumentary just hit Hulu, following an eccentric group of summer camp counselors played by actors like Ben Platt and Ayo Edebiri. It’s the perfect lazy weekend watch. (Check out the trailer here if you’re curious!)
📖 How Much Of These Hills Is Gold
I loved reading last week’s rec Land of Milk And Honey so much that I immediately picked up author C Pam Zhang’s previous novel, and gulped it down too. How Much Of These Hills Is Gold is a melancholy, high-stakes horseback ride through the end of the American gold rush, where two siblings are on the run in an unforgiving landscape. Highly transportive!
🪴Get your houseplants ready for fall
The leaves are just starting to change here on the East Coast, which is a good reminder that my indoor plants are undergoing a transformation too. In other words: It’s a great time to give that pothos a little extra TLC. Here are a few resources I’m using to figure out shifting light, fertilizer, and more:
Fall Plant Care Tips For Houseplants [The Sill]
Plant Kween’s Fall Care Tips [Real Homes]
Garden Varieties [New York Times] *gift link*
🍲 Recipes to cook right now
Tahini ranch dressing. An incredibly savory, just-so-happens-to-be-vegan dressing that’s ideal for grain bowls, roast veggies, and even sandwiches. Make a big batch for the week and call it meal prep.
Pumpkin focaccia. Focaccia = the easiest bread to make at home, in my opinion, and this autumnal version is just so tempting. Here’s a cute video of how it all comes together.
Marry me chicken. A cozy chicken dish nestled in creamy, tomato-y sauce, that recently went viral on TikTok for the claims that it’s so good, one bite will inspire a proposal. LMK if it works for you!
Hot and sour noodle soup. Peak comfort food. Chewy noodles, spicy broth, and lots of chopped peanuts for crunch.
Thanks to the supporting sponsor of this week’s newsletter, Hers:
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What paid subscribers got this week: A mega roundup of fall book releases with passionate recs from writers, BookTokers, and bookstore owners and employees. Plus: A giveaway for five new fall titles from the roundup. Winner will be announced next week!
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A grab bag of links and reads worth sharing with the group chat.
We’ve Hit Peak Beverage [TASTE]
Is your day not complete without a 3 p.m. seltzer/kombucha/tonic? I unpacked what’s been driving our obsession with fun little drinks and the economics behind the ever-expanding beverage aisle.
Gen Z Wants Feminine Care Brands to Just Say Vagina (New York Times) *gift link*
A new wave of brands are dropping the euphemisms in their marketing. But do their products themselves cause or fix stigma?
Why Your $7 Latte Is $7 [Vox]
A helpful explainer that uses coffee to unpack inflation, pricing strategies, supply chain woes, and more.
How to Find a Book You Won’t Want to Put Down [NPR]
Get out of a reading rut with tips from The Stacks podcast’s Traci Thomas
In Search of Lost Lipstick [Vogue]
On chasing the one that got away (ie, got discontinued) with some cool meditations on color theory, plus some great lipstick recs.
🚨 Fall Book Club Alert! 🚨
Downtime Book Club is coming back for fall. Contributing writer Madeleine Letellier, whose shared some great reading recs with us in the past, will be leading a discussion thread for paid subscribers on Melissa Broder’s new novel Death Valley on 11/7. Get your copies now, and read a bit from Madeleine about her pick below:
“I have been a fan of Melissa Broder’s writing since Milk Fed, a darkly hilarious novel about love, food, and religion. Death Valley also promises to deliver a dark and strange story, but that is where the similarities end. It’s set in the California desert, where our protagonist has run away from the grief consuming her for her ailing father and husband, and encounters a massive, mystical cactus, beckoning her to enter it. And so she does. I can’t wait to read and discuss this story with you!” –Madeleine
🌼 And more fun fluff…
The new trailer for Sophia Coppola’s Pricilla is here and it’s toooo good. // A genius new newsletter aimed at making dinner achievable from cookbook author Ali Slagle. // Cute lil home decor for olive (and martini!) lovers. // How to talk to your doc about period pain. // Nail strengthening polish that doubles as a Dior dupe.// Beginner-friendly bunny scarf (!) crochet pattern. //
Links continued below…
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