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The Link Up: The Cookbook Emily Tried (And LOVED) 9 Recipes From In One Week, Caitlin’s Affordable Dry Skin Cures, And A Great Sweater
Happy Sunday everyone. For us, this was a really exciting week because we got to reveal Em’s wonderful pantry. The team was equally taken by it and are SO excited that in less than a month we all get to fly up to Portland to see the whole house in person! Until then we, like you, will just happily enjoy all of the exciting updates happening as they come. Ok, link time:)
This week’s home tour is a STUNNING example of how to bring mid-century modern into 2023. The colors at rich, the patterns are classic, and the vintage is to die for. This 1961 beauty got incredibly lucky to get homeowners that were able to restore it with such care. Go look at it now on The Design Files!
From Emily: OH BOY am I excited to tell you about this cookbook. Yes, it’s all plant-based (and I was recently told I’m very intolerant to dairy) but I find her recipes incredibly satisfying. I’ve made 9 of them so far (which is a lot in one week) and they are so fresh, delicious, and it’s not a lot of tofu or faux proteins (which are fine, but I really just mostly enjoy vegetables, not trying to replicate meat). There are a lot of ingredients (herbs, spices, variety) in each recipe, which to you might sound annoying to make, but it yields a far more delicious meal. Specifically the kale chips, the charred broccoli “gnocchi,” and the glow salad. Laura Wright has clearly spent a lot of time developing these recipes and her hard work is very appreciated by me.
From Mallory: Here is the deal of the season: I went to Madewell last week and they were doing an additional 40% off their sale section and I found a SCORE. It’s this sweater, guys. I’m so impressed by the quality (and was originally $110) but is now OVER HALF OFF at $50!! I bought it in green but they also have it in black, white, camel and pink. Highly considering buying another color it’s that good.
From Caitlin: Hello from your lizard-skinned internet friend! If you also suffer from eczema (or you’re just feeling more dry and scaly than you’d prefer), I have two game-changers for you: this $15 hypoallergenic soothing body wash (it literally used to be called “eczema calming body wash,” but it’s been rebranded to appeal to the masses) and this $27 targeted eczema body balm. I was diagnosed with eczema as a kid and living in LA has definitely calmed it down, but I still tend to get VERY patchy during the winter. That said, these two products take me from “rough and uncomfortable” to “soft and well-moisturized” in a REALLY impressive amount of time (like, there’s a noticeable difference after the first shower). In all honesty, I’m not crazy about either of the scents – they’re not bad or medical or spicy, just…weird? Like a product that’s trying to be unscented, but still has a smell, if that makes sense? But they both work SO that I find myself turning back to them year after year after year (seriously – have been buying and using them since 2017!). Hoping this recommendation can help someone else, too!!
From Ryann: This is my favorite notebook and I have probably purchased 200 notebooks in my lifetime. I started doing morning pages a few months ago (i.e. I write three pages every morning to start my day) and this is the perfect size notebook for that purpose. I love that it doesn’t have a super hardcover so it can lay flat while I am writing. The line spacing is perfect and this may sound looney tunes but it just feels good to write in.
From Jess: Tell me why it took me until 2023 to get a salad spinner?? I think everyone should have one. I’m embarrassed about how wasteful I was in attempting to dry my leafy greens and herbs with…paper towels. I KNOW THAT’S TERRIBLE! But I am a new woman after using my friend’s salad spinner last week. We decided to prep a bunch of our week’s food together and I am giving it a 10/10! I hate prepping food. It’s boring and takes me forever. So to get to hang with a friend and batch chop and roast things made it so much better and I actually cooked every one of my meals this week. I’m as surprised as you are. She had this one which is great and a little more affordable for the size, but it has a hole in the top that you need to be careful of so you don’t get your finger caught. It happening to my friend. I don’t trust I that won’t have the same fate so I opted for this smaller one! No holes for accidental finger catching and easier for me to handle. So if I have a big batch of lettuce I might need to do a few rounds but that’s worth it to me so I don’t have yet another large, annoying thing to wash. Plus the smaller one is great for herbs too! If you have a big family, don’t mind washing a larger sizer, or simply have a dishwasher (dreams!) then this is the larger version of the one I bought. Now that I have a salad spinner, I might be unstoppable.
SALES TO CHECK OUT!
J.Crew: Today! 25% off full-price styles & extra 60% off last-chance sale styles. Use code: EPIC
Ulta: It’s the Love Your Skin Event! They are offering 50% off a new selection of skincare products every day through January 21st.
That’s it! Have a great rest of your day and see y’all tomorrow. xx
Opening Image Credits: Design by Emily Henderson and ARCIFORM | Photo by Kaitlin Green
I bought two Madewell tops for my college student daughter for Christmas. Sometimes Madewell is “too old” for her, but she seemed to really like both (and wore them a couple times on vacation/break). and Both were on sale at the time, around $70 for the two.
We dry our greens with a clean cloth kitchen towel.
Clean kitchen towel(s) here too – I use my “stack” of kitchen towels (30+) for many things :-)
I have a salad spinner, and use it often. We try to eat leafy greens most days.
A tip I remember from an old cookbook comes to mind though….they recommended filling sink with cool water, dunking the greens in, and letting the grit settle, then putting the greens into an old pillowcase, stepping outside, and whirling it around. Goofy, but satisfying! I remember it working very well. You could just keep an old pillowcase in with the kitchen towels. Would be a space saver!
Team kitchen cloth here! I place the greens in the center, bundle up all the corners, step outside and swing it around. Water flies out of the towel pretty instantly. It obviously won’t work for everyone (like those who don’t have a kitchen door going outside), but it works well enough for me to not have a salad spinner.
I have had my salad spinner for 15 years. ill never dry lettuce with a cloth again! the salad spinner is much faster, in my experience.
I am an oncology nurse and I frequently recommend that body wash to my patients. It’s great for anyone with sensitive and or dry skin.
I have eczema and very sensitive, dry skin. I thought I would also throw in my have-to-haves in case it helps someone else. I found that it helps tremendously to have my skin dampened with water for a minute before I apply (I pat dry first).
Ordinary 100% Squalane Oil
Avene XeraCalm Balm (all their products are really great)
Ceredemx Body Lotion
Thanks for the cookbook rec, Em! I have quite a few whole-food plant-based cookbooks already but I will probably buy this one as well! Yes- plant-based has lots of ingredients but that’s what makes it healthy! (Will Bulsciewicz- Fiber Fueled and The Fiber Fueled Cookbook- my hero).
I also have extremely dry and scaly skin, Caitlin. I’ve been trying to use natural ingredients on my skin where possible- like since your skin is drinking in the ingredients, it’s really like food! It’s hard to find a body lotion that comes in sufficient quantities without breaking the bank I have hope that going plant-based will improve the situation, and I think it has, but not enough yet. For face, I like Purity Woods, Anne Marie and Aveda.
Sorry for the second comment, but I decided this is the year to work on updating our sad 1985 bathrooms. Or at least start thinking about it, so I started a similarly sad blog to begin documenting it:
Hi Kj! Nice that you are starting up a blog and documenting your “sad 985 bathrooms” updates! I’m looking forward to following along your journey, and I like your raison de vivre! :)
“1985” missed the “1” ha!
Thanks, Deborah!
I just finished remodeling our very sad 1984 post modern bathroom! Ugly beige on beige on beige and none of it in a good way. Good luck!! You’ll be loving it when it’s done.
Congrats, Dena. Bet it’s great to be done. How was the process? Any big delays? Post some pics, if you get a chance.
I will try to figure it out!! We decided to go with the layout we already had which was a time and money saver. It’s a very good size for the 80’s minus having a tub but our other bathroom has a tub so we felt that was fine! Our one hiccup was that the double vanity area is a hair over 1 inch too short to buy premade. We really did not want to spend the money on custom when there are so many nice vanities out there so I kept searching and found that on room and board if you buy the vanity without the top it is exactly an inchish shorter than the standard and their vanities are beautiful! Once that was solved and the agony I personally go through to pick out things like tile, it was easy breezy since we loved our construction team. They are a husband and wife team! We went with a beautiful teal blue tile done in the herringbone pattern and it came out gorgeous! We used Tile bar and were so happy with them and their customer service. Honestly, anything other than what we had would be fine considering we… Read more »
It actually doesn’t look that bad at all KJ! I’m even loving the counter tips. But I do understand you’d like to upgrade it. Good luck!
Thanks, Siel! We are still very much in the “hmmmm, is it even worth the hasslei??” stage so who knows where we will end up.
I’m here to second using a salad spinner. And I discovered that the final spinning water makes truly excellent orchid-watering water. Good for all plants, but the orchids LOVE it.
I’ve been using the large OXO salad spinner for almost 20 years – worth the investment. Greens can be so dirty and I find soaking them in the bowl and colander first helps release all the grit, then I water my plants with the water before spinning. Bonus? Store the greens in the bowl and colander in the fridge (after tossing the remaining water) and it keeps them fresh and crisp for a decent length of time (it comes with a storage lid). Win win!
Yes! The First Mess makes delicious recipes. I have this cookbook and can attest to it. Quite a few of these recipes are in our monthly rotation!
Caitlin – try first aid beauty ultra repair cream. The only thing I’ve ever had that got rid of my eczema without being prescribed by a doc.