Sunday Smatterings: The Kerr Edition!
Hello, good people, don't spit out your coffee. It's The Kerr, JT's assistant. I'm filling in while JT's on her annual social media sabbatical for Lent. It's a time for her to rest and recharge, and focus on her writing (which we can't argue with, can we?). Trust me: she misses you guys terribly. 😩
But worry not! She'll be back on April 1, when I'll slither back into my dark den to watch TV and eat snickerdoodle ice cream. But until then, you're stuck with me. But I think we'll have fun.
My Smatterings is different from JT's, so please indulge me. We're going to talk about the fun things I've discovered lately.
Let's get started!
What I'm Eating:
Sweet Potato Chili. If you are a chili purist, avert your eyes. I know it's sacrilege to add anything other than beans, or nothing but meat if you're a Texan. But I'm not the biggest bean fan, and I love the way sweet plays with smoky here. Sue me.
From chop to chomp takes only one hour. I use ground beef instead of turkey, and add loads of avocado to mine. It's warm and filling, even more so on rainy winter nights.
What I'm Playing:
Off Camera with Sam Jones. Fact: I consume too much TV. I know TV isn't bad, per se, but I'm more productive when I limit my intake. So like a school kid, I don't watch TV on weeknights. Instead, as I make dinner or vacuum the floors (the most tedious chore), I pop in my headphones and listen to podcasts.
Off Camera features artists who talk about their craft and career journeys. It's a fascinating look inside Hollywood, and story after story is filled with tenacity.I love learning how a 21-year-old Jenna Fisher packed up her hatchback, lived in a sketchy apartment, and waited eight years for her big break as Pam on The Office. What!? This is my jam.
Thank you, Jenna Fisher, for sticking it out to give us Jim & Pam. Because no one else could've played Pam Beesley.
What I'm Reading:
I WAS ANASTASIA by Ariel Lawhon. Oh my heavens, can Ariel Lawhon tell a story.
I am obsessed with the Romanovs, so cue my glee when I got my hands on this book. I Was Anastasia tells the last days of the Romanov dynasty from fifteen-year-old Anastasia's perspective. And a twist: superimposed is the story of Anna Anderson, who claimed for decades she was the lost Grand Duchess who escaped the bunker where her family was killed. From the first page, Anna asks readers to render their own verdicts: Is she Anastasia Romanov?
It's compulsively readable, and I love the way Ariel writes--her cadence is hypnotic. Perfection!
What I'm Watching:
The Great British Baking Show. I needed a break from heavy shows (except you, This Is Us—I can't quit you). And The Great British Baking Show injected so much lightness into my day. English gardens, pastel KitchenAid mixers, delightful people whose greatest problems are over-baked cakes. Truth be told, I would watch for Mary Berry's blazers alone.
I. Love. It.