Friends! How are you? So much has happened since I last posted — Baby Buckler made his arrival and we’ve survived these first few months as a family of three. I’m looking forward to sharing more of my thoughts on motherhood in future editions of Benediction, but today I have a special announcement!
I’m so happy to share that Benediction is coming back from its hiatus… with an additional contributor! My longtime friend Alex is joining me, and we’ll each post once a month. You can expect Benediction in your inboxes on Sunday mornings every other week.
Alex and I are kindred spirits and she is a fantastic writer, so I expect you’ll love getting to know her if you don’t already. I’ll let her fully introduce herself in first post here in a couple weeks, but I will share a little bit about how we met.
We first remotely crossed paths in the Tumblr-sphere during college. When she moved back to Columbia several years ago, she reached out during her interview process, then we met up for lunch (at Main Squeeze!) once she moved to town. The rest is history. We’ve only grown closer since then, bonding over our love of books, food, God, and everything in between. I cherish her friendship and am so excited to share this space with her.
We’ll mostly keep the same format around here — a few words or sometimes an essay to kick things off, followed by our usual eating/reading/loving sections. I’ve missed this space these last few months, but couldn’t quite find the right rhythm on my own. Thanks to Alex for helping pull make back into it!
eating
Caesar Salad (via Brooke Brennan Wellness) with Homemade Croutons — I cannot take credit for this Caesar dressing recipe, but it has been on HEAVY rotation since I first made it in November. The original recipe is for a Kale Caesar, but we’ve only had this with romaine. A couple other notes: I use the juice of two lemons and the zest of one, I omit the red pepper flakes, and I shake it all together in a blender bottle (sans the little blender thingy).
Homemade Croutons: I buy this French baguette at Walmart and cook it according to the directions on the package. (This works great if you have leftover bread from another meal but is just fine with fresh bread, too!) Add a tablespoon-ish of butter and a few sprays of olive oil in a pan. While it’s heating up, cut up a chunk of the baguette into crouton-sized pieces. Once the butter is melted and the pan is nice and hot, add your bread and stir it around to get it nice and covered with the butter and EVOO. Halfway through, add a sprinkle of salt and a sprinkle of garlic powder. Once they’re just starting to brown, turn off your burner. The key with these is to be patient, and to cook them with enough time to let them rest and cool down a bit so they’ll crisp up even more.
reading
We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman — I mostly read on my Kindle and borrow ebooks from the Columbia Public Library. (I’m going to be SO sad when my library card expires… Sikeston friends, please tell me the ebook selection is decent at our library!) For the first time maybe ever, I want to buy a copy of a book I already read on kindle. It needs a permanent spot on my bookshelf. I just loved this short, heartbreaking story, with interesting characters, great dialogue, and a life-long friendship. Our main character doesn’t always make the *best* choices, but I loved her all the same.
loving
Using Todoist for my personal to-do list — For the last few months Todoist has been an easy place for me to brain dump any and all personal to-dos, big and small, short-term and long-term. You can also have “projects” with multiple lists. For example, I have a “House” project with a separate list for multiple rooms that includes things I want to do/buy for that room. I suppose the Notes app could serve a similar purpose, but I’ve found Todoist to be really helpful and easy to use.
Cremo Palo Santo Body Wash — When I brought this home, Zach tried to put it away in his bathroom and I was like, “um excuse me sir, that’s mine.” I eventually bought him his own bottle as well. This is a great winter body wash — such a rich, masculine scent.
That’s it from me this week. Alex will share her first post in two weeks, so stay tuned!
Wishing you well,
Mollie
Wooo!! I am so excited. I also can't wait to read We All Want Impossible Things.