From the Interwebz

Some links I've either stumbled upon recently or have enjoyed for a while:

Women Listening to Men in Western Art History. This made me LOL.

Looking for Dirty Dancing: The Teenager's Guide to Lake Lure. I too was once obsessed with Dirty Dancing. I was introduced by some teenage babysitters when I was probably too young for the movie, in the 90s. I own the DVD today and will always stop and watch if its on tv. This essay brought back memories of my own childhood love of Baby & Johnny.  

29 Short Stories You Need to Read in Your Twenties. I usually prefer novels, but I have started making my way through these, beginning with the ones available online.

What People Talk About When They Talk About Life in New York. I haven't read Thought Catalog in a while, but this article from almost three years ago is perfect. It's so relatable. The pride in slowly becoming a true New Yorker, the realization that NYC will chew you up and spit you out, the unsettling feeling that maybe this isn't where you belong after all but the reluctance to let go - I've experienced all of these in my almost decade here.  

Living Alone is Hard. I loved this article before I discovered The Office, before I read "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?", before I even knew who Mindy Kaling is. (I now adore her - how can you not??). I lived alone - truly, totally, alone - pre baby, no pets, no roommate, no boyfriend - for a year in New Jersey. There were some lonely moments but I was busy enough that they were rare. I loved it. I'll never live truly alone again, I'll always have Audrey, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Blueberry Lavender Honey Jam. I've read Annie's Eats for a long time. It was one of the first food blogs I discovered, and read every day - even back when I was waitressing and wasn't in front of a computer nearly as much as I am now. The blog has heavily influenced my cooking and baking, and Annie herself is inspirational - she beat cancer, is a doctor, has a family and still finds time to make basically everything from scratch - no store bought cupcakes for this chick. Hell, she even makes her own bread and tortilla wraps. And I think I'm busy. Anyway, I'm visiting my parents this weekend and my mom and I plan to try canning some stuff. Originally we were just going to do tomatoes, but this recipe inspired me to plan to try jam also, although I think I'll go with a different fruit combo. Stay tuned.