FROM: STELLA

TO: LAURA

1. My almost-one-year-old (wow!) son is obsessed with this light-up turtle, and so are our cats. It’s cute to see the three of them chase the lights as they dance on the walls.

2. I’ve been using the Instant Pot a lot lately and have a few new favorite recipes to add to my list of go-to’s, like this Dreamy Chicken & Rice and this Honey Garlic Pork. I’ve got my eye on the Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid to add even more to my list of things I can make in it.

3. It’s been years since I’ve been able to be on the east coast for the fall season and I am falling in love all over again. It’s been a fairly quick changing of the leaves but I am obsessed with watching the world change around me. We’ve been getting a ton of use out of our baby hiking backpack carrier.

4. I am so excited for the Pete Souza documentary, The Way I See It, to premiere tonight! I’ve been following him on Instagram for years and love his approach and beautiful photos (and commentary) as White House Photographer.

FROM: LAURA

TO: STELLA

1. I watched The Lovebirds on Netflix this week and was laughing my head off. I hadn’t heard of it before, but it was a suggested movie for me based on viewing history, and the algorithm for sure got it right with this one.

2. Enjoyed some cleaning tasks this week thanks to this Scam Goddess episode with Nicole Byer. I love Nicole Byer, she always makes me laugh. That being said, I’m not a diehard fan of Nailed It, but I do enjoy an episode every now and then to use to think about/focus on nothing. I always think “this can’t be that hard” about the challenges, but the time pressure would definitely get to me too… I don’t want to know how my masterpieces would come out. and nailed it

3. We are considering getting back to the east coast for the holidays this year and I really appreciated this article from Emily Oster talking about risk mitigation and how to make the best plan for these kinds of travels. I’m pretty nervous about the travel involved, getting a toddler and dog across the country, and then figuring out quarantining and all that entails. Tune in next week to see if we’re actually going through with it…

4. It’s been a struggle to get into the autumn mindset in Southern California so far this year… I think we’ve only had one day that really felt like fall so far! I have a bunch of recipes bookmarked to try out once we finally get some cooler temperatures (or maybe before then to force my brain into acknowledging that the year is almost over!). Really looking forward to trying out this pumpkin oatmeal, this spiced applesauce bundt cake, this pumpkin loaf, and everything from this roundup.