The July Edit
I'm leaving on my big hike! Plus photos and food from a month in France.
Hi Friends!!!! How the heck are you?!
As this goes out, I’m heading off on a seven day hike through the Swiss Alps.
I KNOW! What was I thinking? Until recently, I thought myself outdoorsy because I drank wine on the terrace. I don’t even like to use the grill! It just seems so unnecessarily extra. What is the point of extending the mess to another space that also needs to be cleaned?
And don’t get me started on camping. Didn’t we take on a mortgage so that we never had to sleep outside? And anyway - do you know how expensive camping is? If preparing for this hike is any indication, it’s VERY expensive.
And yet, in a few days I’ll be hiking through the Bernese Oberland - WHILE CARRYING MY OWN WATER ON MY BACK.
I’m a small person. Wish me luck.
Recently, on the blog….
It’s come to my attention that when I link out to my blog, the photo downloads are so slow that some of my most loyal readers want to throw their phone at the wall. So from now on, I’ll paste a few lighter images here in this newsletter. If you’re the type of person who wants the full-res version with titles and context, you can head over to my blog which I update every week or so.
If I were on instagram
top to bottom, left to right
1- Our local beach, Plage de la Brune, Veyrier-du-Lac
2- Sunset from Menthon-Saint-Bernard
3- Rode my bike into old Annecy for a day of book browsing.
4- Camille Claudel standing watch over a stack of books at La Procure - a bookstore that’s been in Annecy since 1731!
5- My pool, taken on a day when I spent more time in the pool than out
6- David Sedaris and writing postcards on the terrace
7- Moon over Le Palace de Menthon and boats on the bay
8- my favourite tree in front of my favourite house
9- sunset from my bedroom
How about some food shots?
A few pics from the last few weeks. My favourite meals in France are the most simple — corn on the cob with salted butter? MY GOD. Not shown: Cavaillon melons, which I could write a whole book about.
Speaking of which - if you know of a gorgeous food / lifestyle photographer who might want to partner with me on a cookbook set in France… please let me know! I’ll be working on the proposal when I return to London.
top to bottom, left to right:
1- best meal of summer and the perfect blend of Indiana Laurie and French Laurie. :)
2- salade de chèvre chaud and a zucchini tart
3- it was the summer of green beans. so many green beans! with salted butter, of course
4- le pecheur… salade, frites and rosé on ice
5- oh and also cherries. so many cherries.
6- tumeric potatoes, rotisserie chicken, beet salad, green beans and a nice Burgundy. sigh
A few recommendations:
🍽️ If like me, you’re cooking as little as possible this season: pick up a rotisserie chicken at the shop and make this chinese chicken salad. It’s so good I made it three times this month.
📺 You guys!!!! They made a new Little House on the Prairie series!!!! I binged it in one sitting. And then I downloaded all the episodes to my phone so I can watch it again during my next travel day.
📚 Five Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand. What can I say? This woman has mastered the art of the summer beach read and I’m here for it every single time. The story revolves around female friendships and how they change over time. Peacock/Sky just released the series starring Jennifer Garner, which just makes the reading even more vivid. It’s not my favourite Elin Hilderbrand book (that would be Summer of 69) - but if you generally like Hilderbrand, this one hits the spot. Stick with the book version though - I didn’t care for the Audible version.
📚 You Won’t Get Free of It by Rachel Aviv. This is a collection of highly-researched essays, most of which have been previously published in The New Yorker. The mysteries of mental illness play a recurring theme - as does childhood trauma. It’s not exactly light reading, but the essays are compelling. If you want you could read The New Yorker, but prefer the accomplishment that comes from finishing a good book - this is for you! :)
A Long Weekend in Seattle, WA
We moved from Seattle to London in 2015… and although I have been back a few times over the last decade, it’s been quite a while! So it was a real treat to go back, if only for a long weekend. The occasion was a friend’s 60th Birthday! I danced my fool head off - so much so that I woke up in the middle of the night with leg cramps - but it was so worth it! :)
top to bottom, left to right:
1- pike place market. for what it’s worth, if you haven’t had pacific salmon, you haven’t had salmon.
2- just a great blue heron. hanging out at seward park.
3- sweet Ivy
4- View from Lowell’s - so many great memories taking the ferry to nearby islands.
5- cafe flora in madison park - best cheesy grits i’ve ever had in my entire life.
6- more of puget sound
7 - lily pads on lake washington
8- a friend’s pier on lake sammamish
9- the best sauna view ever! overlooking lake washington. (thanks, friend. xo)
Assuming I survive in the wilderness, here’s where we can meet up in the coming months…
📲 Substack LIVE with Rebecca Blackwell - August 13, 11am EDT/4pm BST
On August 13, I’ll be chatting live with Rebecca Blackwell about all things substack, cookbooks and food writing. Rebecca is a cookbook author, food photographer, nomad (!) and the head of Mastermind for Food Writers. (She’s also the lady behind the Chinese Chicken Salad I mentioned earlier.)
How to watch: Visit my substack page for the link (it won’t be available until one week before).
📚 Chiswick Book Festival, London - September 9-13
If you have any plans to attend the Chiswick Book Festival, let me know! I’ll be volunteering at several of the events and would love to meet up. And if you’re a local writer - don’t miss the Local Author’s Showcase at George IV Pub on September 9. Each author gets two minutes on the mike to speak about their book!
Okay, better go stretch one more time before I lace up my boots.
Wish me luck!
xo,
L
p.s.
Looks fabulous Laurie, enjoy!