Three June things
On hosting afternoon tea, finding joy in writing, and gardening.
June brought with it an inferno of a heat wave, heartache with the news cycle, busy days at work with big projects launching, some personal family health things, and a few insomnia-filled nights. There have also been good things this month that have brought me joy and given me hope. Those are the things I want to hold onto and take with me into the rest of the summer months.
1. Hosting afternoon tea (as an alternative to a dinner party)
I’ve been trying to get my hosting groove back for a while. The lunch and dinner parties I once delighted in throwing feel a lot more overwhelming as a toddler mom. Cooking for others is my love language, but I get a little too excited when I host and want to do all the things. I’ve realized that it’s just not feasible at this stage in my life and I’m determined not to take the fun out of it for myself.
This summer, I decided that inviting a few of my girlfriends over for afternoon tea felt like a slightly easier way to host without overcommitting. It would mean a more manageable menu and saying yes to anyone who offered to bring something. Not a Bridgerton-style tea, but a simple version of afternoon tea. I wanted to focus on a couple of hero items and not get too precious about the rest.
For me, tea means cake so I made Mary Berry’s lemon drizzle traybake cake. Zesting and squeezing the juice from the lemon was the most labour intensive part of the recipe, which was otherwise pretty easy to make. No layers, icing or other frills, and delicious and delightfully lemony—a win in my book!
The second main dish was a riff on an appetizer I came across on Pinterest. The “cherries” on buttery crostini using cherry tomatoes with chives as stems. This was a big hit! It looked cute and tasted great. Would definitely make this again.
I also have a few low-lift crowd-pleasers that I love to serve, especially in the summer. One of those things is putting together a bowl of fresh strawberries accompanied by a rosewater cream dip topped with pistachio.
Even though I had a few panicky moments where I wasn’t sure I had enough food to serve, I decided to trust my instinct. It ended up being a great afternoon. Most importantly, I was able to share food with the people I love and actually be fully present without the overwhelm that can sometimes come with hosting.
2. Writing for myself again and others
It’s been ages since I’ve done any freelance writing. Juggling a demanding full-time job and having a three-year-old has meant there’s very little time for other things. When the lovely beauty director at ELLE Canada asked if I’d be interested in taking on an assignment about travel beauty, I couldn’t refuse given how much I love the topic. (A few years ago, I had a website called 100 ML that was all about examining beauty from a travel perspective and I still think about bringing it back!).
After I took on the assignment, I started to question whether I still had it in me because I hadn’t written a feature in ages. Would it be like learning to ride a bike again or would my brain scream, WHAT ARE WORDS?! Turns out, I didn’t forget. I loved writing the piece (not to mention researching and interviewing), and was grateful that my editor was happy with it too.
When I was a freelance writer and editor, I found it harder to enjoy the actual act of writing because I was constantly writing, racing through deadlines and trying to perfect copy. Writing became a chore, another thing on my to-do list. Now that writing isn’t the main part of my job anymore, I enjoy it a lot more. I crave putting words to paper. It feels therapeutic to write. It’s probably also why I’ve become more consistent with my Substack. It’s been an amazing way to express myself, share with others and get to know myself better through writing.
3. Cultivating a garden
Three years ago, we bought a peony plant with just one bloom. The following year, we got two. Three years later, we were surprised and delighted with an explosion of petally blooms. This is what I wanted and hoped for and it was so worth the wait.
On the other side of the house, the roses we planted a few years ago are continuing to flourish. When I look out into the garden, it’s hard for me not to get sentimental because it’s everything I envisioned for our home when we first moved in—a riot of roses blooming, and the garden bursting with colour and greenery. I’ve loved getting to see their growth through all the seasons, just like my own.
It’s tomato candle summer! Comparing nine tomato-scented candles.
All for the bookish tote bags.
Netflix just released the trailer for the film adaptation of one of my favourite books, My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan.
I love book recommendations from authors. Jasmine Guillory shared her favourite fake dating romance novels with NYT.
The hot sauces chefs swear by.
A look back at the most popular movie from the year you were born.
The rosewater-pistachio dip sounds so yummy! And congrats on the feature in Elle! 👏🏼
Yesssss please bring 100ml back 🩷