Dreaming of picnics and wholesome distractions from *everything*
A vegan Snickers recipe, some practical picnic advice, and a case for wholesome TV shows.
For both obvious and yet to be determined reasons, I had a pretty flat week. It was one of those weeks where even the most tried and tested methods of cheering myself up didn’t work, so I needed to pull out the big guns, which just so happen to include activities that keep my hands busy (read: away from my phone) and daydreams about everything I’ll do when I can see my friends, both close and far away, again.
Here are a handful of things that brought me joy this week. May they bring you the same!
A Healthy-ish Recipe For Vegan Snickers Bars, If You Feel Like Doing Some No-Bake Baking
Let’s start off with a little treat, shall we? I made these six-ingredient Snickers bars on Saturday, after having them recommended by a friend. Not to sound like someone in the NYT Cooking comments section but… I used regular dark chocolate instead of vegan chocolate, skipped the maca powder (it was $17 dollars at my local grocery store?), and made a slice instead of singular bars. I highly recommend.
A Very Wholesome TV Show To Watch (If You Haven’t Already)
A couple of years ago, in a defiant act of self-care, I decided to stop watching scary movies. Save for the very rare exception, this meant eliminating all horror, thriller, and action TV shows and movies my life—and replacing them with extremely wholesome entertainment. (It should come as no surprise that I’ve already watched Paddington 2 twice this lockdown. In 2021, we should all strive to be more like Paddington.)
My latest wholesome indulgence has been Ted Lasso, which is currently airing its second season and, ICYMI, has been nominated for 20 Emmys. When texting a friend last week I referred to the series as “a wholesome show for wholesome boys”—a claim backed up by last week’s episode of The Culture, in which Osman Faruqi and Tony Armstrong unpack the show’s approach to masculinity.
As Doreen St. Félix wrote in The New Yorker earlier this month: “You don’t discuss what the show is about but, rather, how it feels to watch it, which is comforting, or, as one headline put it, like ‘a warm hug of nice’.” So, if you haven’t yet succumb to the cult of Ted Lasso, I won’t tell you why you should watch it—I’ll just tell you that it feels so nice, which I personally appreciate more than ever right now.
Two Cute Picnic Tips To Commit To Memory
As the weather warms up in Sydney, and I allow myself an allocated 15 minutes per day to imagine what life will be like when I can safely and legally see friends again, I’ve been thinking about picnics a lot.
Some of my favourite memories from last summer in New York involved picnics. And this week’s NYT ‘Summer In The City’ column “In Defense of the Lazy Picnic” reminded me that some of the best 2020 picnics simply involved a nice patch of grass, a friend, and a bodega sandwich—no fancy napkins or wicker baskets or expensive cheese in sight.
While the column reminded me that sometimes cheap takeaway is the best picnic staple, this Lifehacker ode to mojitos gave me a very good beverage idea:
“For those of you who do not suffer the affliction of maladaptive daydreaming, I still urge you to consider the Mojito. Because it’s delicious. But also, it’s more robust than the average cocktail—perfect for packing into a thermos and taking into the park with a blanket and a book.”
If you’re looking for me this summer, I hope you find me in a park with an icy DIY mojito and takeaway bánh mì.
If you’re reading this edition of She’ll Be Right but haven’t yet subscribed, perhaps today’s the day?
Gyan x