Thursday, May 18, 2017

Stuff I Like: Road Trip + Reading/Watching/Listening

This is going to be short because I am once again going out of town and have a million things to do! That said, I didn't manage to write this entry last week and I got stuff to talk about.



Liking: Road Trip! Tomorrow I am off to Knoxville to help Marianne celebrate her birthday. The drive is 6-7 hours and I really kind of love a solo road trip (as long as my car's a/c doesn't go out on me halfway through during the hottest July on record. Oh, yeah. That happened.) My key elements for a successful road trip are:

1. Good snacks. I usually do a combo of crunchy/salty and sweet/chewy. Now, a question for you guys: If I'm buying snacks at Trader Joe's, which I don't frequent because it's in an inconvenient part of town, what should I get?

2. AUDIO BOOKS. YAY. I am a big fan of audio books for road trips and I've downloaded the following from the library:

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (thanks for the rec!)
The James Thurber Audio Collection (love him, but it's been years)
Bossypants by Tina Fey (previously read but want to hear it in her voice)
Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman (because he's delightful)

Obviously I won't make it through all this but I like having options. Mostly I prefer an engrossing page-turner (Stephen King, Ruth Rendell) but I think I've got enough variety that I'll stay alert.



Reading: The Handmaid's Tale. I'm really into the Hulu series so I thought I should re-read the book. It's stunning and horrifying and means a lot more to me at age 45 than it did when I first read it in college. I also find it interesting how many women are refusing to watch the series or read the book because it's too disturbing. I personally feel like this is the kind of thing we need to watch (or at least read) so we can stay vigilant.


Watching: Victorian Slum House. Ah, only the British would sign up for a reality show in which they live in a Victorian slum and instead of whining about it they cry because it makes them realize how much their ancestors sacrificed so they could have a better life. Also, I would've killed for the chance to do something like this as a kid because I was completely obsessed with A Little Princess and Black Beauty and anything which dealt with the darker side of Victorian England. I'm only a few episodes (so their might yet be whining) in but I'm enjoying it immensely.



Listening: Audio Books! (See Above.) I'm also open to suggestions. I think successful audio books are all about the narrator which is why David Sedaris is 800 times funnier when heard rather than read. The last one I listened to was Jon Cryer's memoir which I found pretty amusing.

That's it for this week! Let me know about those snack, pls.

14 comments:

  1. I love the Trader Joe's Savory Thin Mini Rice Crackers! Soy sauce is my fav flavor- extra salty.

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    1. Those are good... My church gives those out as the gluten free communion wafer option. So weird.

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  2. I never got all of the hype about the Nightingale. It was just a depressing slog for me, but I'll be interested to read your thoughts. Safe travels! (ps. I hope you guys go to a TJ Maxx and find some great stuff and then post about it, obvs!!)

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    1. I'll definitely report back re. The Nightingale and I ALSO hope we go to TJ Maxx. :)

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  3. I loved the Nightingale (much more than I thought I would). I hope you enjoy the audiobook.
    For a savory TJ's snack, I recommend the plaintain chips. They come in a bag with a cute lil monkey on the front - bc I love snacks with cute packaging. Their marcona almonds are also to die for.
    Also - you totally convinced me to get an Apple watch. I've had it for about a week and I'm loving it!! The reminders to stand and to mindfully breathe are way cool. And I feel like it's encouraging me to be more active bc I love to see the numbers tally up in the Activity Tracker. I wonder though - have you had trouble with the mileage in Strava? I've done the same bike ride twice and had a 3 miles disparity between them.

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    1. I'm glad you like your watch! The only issue I've had running Strava through it is that it froze up once. But, Strava isn't always super accurate - I've done group rides where our mileage has differed even though we all rode the same exact trails.

      And thanks for the snack recs!

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  4. I just finished All the Light We Cannot See audiobook. I don't think I could have read it after I listened to it. Since there is so much back and forth with not only the characters but the timeline. My most favorite book ever is Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. I read the hard back twice, now have it in paperback and bought it on Audible recently. I am procrastinating reading his much anticipated sequel which came out a couple years ago. Enjoy your trip!!

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  5. Ohhhh TJs makes these ridiculous chocolate chip sandwich cookies, with chocolate fudge between two tiny crisp homemade-style cookies. I could eat a whole bag in one sitting (there's maybe 20? 25? in a bag).

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  6. Trader Joe's peanut butter stuffed pretzels. You might hate me for telling you about them.

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  7. I just discovered TJ's sea salt brownie bites, in the bread/baked goods section. Suuuuper addictive, buy at your own risk.

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  8. What you should get at Trader Joe's:

    1. Gorgonzola crackers. So good. So much cheesier and yummier than cheez-its.

    2. Seconding the peanut butter stuffed pretzels. Dangerous.

    3. Dark chocolate covered almonds. Though, maybe they don't satisfy your sweet/chewy requirement?

    4. Crispy crunchy rice nuggets. (http://www.traderjoes.com/digin/post/crispy-crunchy-mochi-rice-nuggets)

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  9. Ermergherd as a Canadian without Trader Joe's, these snacks sound delish!

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  10. You need these: Trader Joe’s Sea Salt & Turbinado Sugar Dark Chocolate Almonds

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