march faves

so into that #65

Hi! With so much travel lately, March has been a big beautiful blur. I’ve enjoyed the last few weeks at home, especially since I’ve officially moved into the *feeling pregnant* stage of pregnancy.

Today is the last Wednesday in March so Molly and I have rounded up some of our favorite things and highlights from the month. But first, I’d like to give a big shout out to my new beloved back and shoulder heating pad, which I’m wearing as I type and which has been bringing me back to life after busy days of working and mom-ing. I wish I’d had it for my other three pregnancies and highly recommend it whether you’re pregnant or not!

PS, I’ve recapped my March trips to Patagonia, Winston-Salem, and NYC here and here.

• Shows:

  • No shows to report — I’ve also reached the *pass-out-as-soon-as-possible* stage of pregnancy. Second trimester energy boost, I hardly knew you. I haven’t even watched White Lotus season 3!

  • Molly: I’m consumed by White Lotus! I couldn’t sleep Sunday night after watching the last episode — insane, disturbing, suspenseful as always. I can’t wait for Sunday — bad things surely await at Gary/Greg’s dinner party. I’ve been skipping the intro every week but a friend told me that the credits might hold clues as to the fate of each character, so that was fun to dissect this week. I’ve also enjoyed the official podcast, which recaps each episode and interviews the actors; this convo with the series’ costume designer; and seeing how fashion and home brands are playing into White Lotus mania like Banana Republic, Super Goop (that is actually a great deal if you wear Super Goop), CB2, and Hampden.

• Movies:

  • I did have a lot of plane time this month, highlights of which were re-watching Little Women (2019) for the millionth time and absolutely heave-sobbing somewhere over South America, and watching We Live In Time and absolutely heave-sobbing somewhere over North America. We Live In Time was so beautiful and tragic and gutting. Have you seen it? Did you enjoy it? It def has mixed reviews. Trigger warning: young mother with cancer.

• Books:

  • The latest by Elsie Silver, Wild Side, was fun but not my fave from the series — I missed the cowboys from the other books. I am almost finished with Deep End by Ali Hazelwood and always love how she brings together smut and nerdy STEM themes.

• Podcasts:

  • Molly: For those of us trying to curb our phone use this year… I was slipping back into my phone-appendage ways earlier this month but this pod episode has renewed my motivation to put the phone down!

Outfits:

• My most exciting March purchase was the Sezane suede jacket (pictured on left) that I’ve been coveting for… years? Ooh there’s a size medium for sale on Poshmark! This Quince suede shirt jacket is half the price of the Sezane version — it lacks the chic front pockets but otherwise is a nice lookalike.

• I’m continuing to lean into the Leset Carpenter pants (pictured in middle), La Ligne Colby pants, and J. Crew Satin Textured pants with oversized cotton sweaters and button downs (here’s a higher price point button down I’ve been wearing a ton, and a lower price point option I also love). It's getting hot here — dress season is almost upon us!

• Molly: I’m slowly but surely renting my way through all of Anthropologie’s Colette pants on Nuuly. I got and loved them in ivory corduroy (pictured on right) this month as a transition to spring. I also have this linen shirt and pant set (and the long-sleeve button down) in my cart at Athleta — they’re 40% off right now. Does anyone have one of these linen pieces?! They look comfy and practical for the seasons ahead.

Skincare + beauty:

• My skin is really wack this pregnancy. Red and splotchy, hormonal acne, dry… it’s just angry. My tried-and-true products that have never failed me are just… not working this time around. After talking to a lot of skincare enthusiast friends (one of whom is a dermatologist), I decided to take the plunge and try the entire Vintner’s Daughter line (cleanser, essence, and serum). I’m not using any other products for a few weeks to really give it a full shot. It’s a *very* pricy product, because it’s small batch and made from real plant botanicals over the course of many weeks versus a few hours like most skincare. I’m on day 3 and it might be placebo effect, but I’m noticing a difference in the acne and dryness. Will keep you updated…

• My hair, however, is in a great place thanks to a few things. 1) Roz shampoo and conditioner. My best friend Lily and I both independently started using this combo a few months ago, and both are having seriously good hair moments. 2) Using this Josh Rosebrook hair mask — it’s so silky and smooth and shiny! 3) Ending my showers with cold water. I’ve always known that I was supposed to do this for shiny / no breakage hair, but the lymphatic drainage masseuse I saw told me to also always end with freezing cold water for lymphatic drainage reasons, so now I’m actually doing it, even though I scream the entire time, because I’ll do anything to de-puff, ha!

• The Merit Baby lipstick + Dior gloss combo never fails me. Merit also just launched lip liners and I’ve had fun experimenting with those — I’m still pretty new to lip liner and it is so fun / makes my lips look so much more plump! Have had a lot of TV/content to film this month and I get asked about it every time I wear this combo!

Little wins:

• My 4-year-old is feeling big, big 4-year-old feelings lately, and it never ceases to amaze me how if I just take the time to get down on his level, give him some extra attention, and really hear him out, the issue at hand almost always dissipates immediately. He just want to be seen! Don't we all!!

• Molly: My husband and big boys were out of town last weekend so I was able to spring clean the heck out of my house! The Little Green Machine and Aunt Fannie’s floor cleaner were the MVPs of my cleaning spree — as was my local “from my home to yours” Facebook group, which allowed me to pass along a ton of baby gear and clothes that Cole has outgrown to a new mom nearby. From Caro: OMG, George took my big boys away this past weekend and I went to town on the couches and rugs with my Little Green Machine! They are all lookin’ brand new.

Special moments:

• Going on The Drew Barrymore Show was really fun and exciting, and I had to really try hard to get a spot on there, so I feel proud that I booked it! It aired yesterday :)

• Molly: Watching sports?! I’m not a sports person but have found myself in a family of sports people. I’ve always loved watching my kids play sports but lately I’ve made a point to actually watch games with them (rather than tuning out/scrolling my phone/doing anything else instead). It’s been fun — I feel like part of the gang! And I always appreciate it when Will or my kids show interest in things I’m into so I know it’s worthwhile. (I feel like March Madness has made this endeavor easier than usual though!)

Molly: I’ve been hooked on Caro’s peanut sauce this month. I’ve been making big batches of it and drizzling it on grain bowls (à la the crispy cauliflower & white bean grain bowls), using it as a dipping sauce for raw veggies and toasted pita, and of course for 15-minute veggie noods. Add a little extra peanut butter to thicken it up and you’ve got a great dip for veggies. I used crunchy peanut butter because it’s what I had in my pantry this month and loved the added crunch.

From Caro: With a peanut sauce recipe in your back pocket, you really are minutes away from a delicious meal. It doesn’t have to be a *peanut* sauce — you can use absolutely any nut or seed butter (sun butter, almond butter, tahini, cashew butter, peanut butter…) along with soy sauce or a soy sauce sub (like coconut aminos or tamari), any light-colored vinegar (I use rice vinegar or lime juice if I have it), something spicy if you want it (sriracha, gochujang, harissa, chili crisp), and a little honey (or maple syrup). Here’s my general formula:

Peanut sauce lasts for weeks stored in an airtight container in the fridge. It’ll thicken as it sits, so add a little bit of water and stir to make it drizzly again!

In addition to the recipes Molly linked above, you can use this sauce for beef basil bowls with coconut rice, charred cabbage and chicken peanut chop (add water to dilute it into more of a dressing than a sauce), summery pork and peach bowls, any DIY grain bowl, or to coat any roasted veggies!

We want to send someone my favorite Merit lipstick for spring! To enter to win¹, comment on this post. You can reply to one of the questions posed above or share a rec — something you ate, watched, read, wore, or did and loved this month. One winner will be chosen at random and alerted via Substack DM next Tuesday, 4/1!

What to Cook began in December 2020, which means there are more than 200 recipes in the archives. To help you cook through them, let’s revisit what we cooked this week over the last few years.

springy sheet-pan gnocchi, 2024

Delicious, seasonal, so incredibly easy — this one checks all the boxes. If you haven’t cooked a sheet-pan gnocchi recipe yet, I promise it will rock your world.

messy meatball sliders, 2023

Recently in the WTC chat, Sarah R. asked for meal recs that she can pack up and eat at the baseball field during weeknight practice. A fellow WTCer, Lisa, recommended these sliders and YES, that’s such a good idea. You can make these (or any of the sliders on page 136-137 in the book), wrap them with foil, and dig in picnic style before or after practice. I’d skip the side salad and bring fruit salad and/or veggie sticks with ranch instead.

sesame chicken schnitzel, 2022

… baked or fried — you choose! This is a dinner party-worthy meal that comes together in just about 45 minutes. Take it from HRT!

roasted asparagus farro-tto, 2021

An oldie but spring goodie. Now that you know how to make orzotto, you can swap orzo in here if that’s what you have in the pantry!

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