Happy Friday! The air is crisp and I noticed the maple leaves are starting to turn brilliant orange and red while walking the dog this morning. I absolutely love this time of year. Here are my finds for this week. 

I’m reading The Opposite of Spoiled for myself and reading The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds to my kids. Our almost 4 year old is very curious about money and loves counting so we’re informing our strategy for allowance with Ron Lieber’s thoughtful book about raising kids who are “grounded, generous and smart about money.” I’ll write a book summary and post it when I finish. The Dot is a picture book about a girl named Vashti who doubts herself but then discovers her artistic talent. It’s lovely and makes me tear up at the end every time. Courage to the creativity explorers. 

I’m looking in a new way at my old habit of keeping a Done List after reading Oliver Burkeman’s post on productivity debt, What if you’re already on top of things?  The existential question he poses is one I have long wrestled with: “what if there’s nothing you ever have to do to earn your spot on the planet? What if everything you actually get around to doing, on any given day, is in some important sense surplus to minimum requirements?” Even, and maybe especially, while I am on sabbatical I’ve struggled with feeling like I have to “make the most of each and every moment,” which has ironically made it harder for me to rest and really re-create myself during this precious down time. 

I made: Spinach + Cheese Quiches from the Little Bento cookbook by Michele Olivier. We had them for dinner Tuesday night as a trial and they were a huge hit with both kids and papa.  We will definitely be putting these into regular rotation for daycare lunches. I also finally made the Ligurian focaccia featured in Samin Nosrat’s wonderful Netflix series Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. It is just as amazing as I had dreamed – we’ve already devoured half the pan. 

Alissa 

Simple Sustainable Financial Free