A Very Outside Summer
Solstice, Knicks Parade, and a day in the Rockaways
Hi friends,
It’s been a very exciting week, including the Knicks Parade, lots of family time, the first beach day of the season and a trip to a local flea market where I rounded out my gallery wall nicely. Yesterday was the solstice, the longest day of the year, and I can’t believe we’re here. The year is almost half over and life feels so full right now. The days are longer and they’re packed with joy. I’m so lucky and excited for all that’s to come.
If you’d like to enjoy the summer together, join This Needs Hot Sauce for an evening in Coney Island watching the Brooklyn Cyclones. Grab your ticket to sit with our crew and please bring friends—you’ll get free hats and have a great time. It’s one of my favorite traditions.
I shared a day in the life with paid subscribers, which is always fun (I love nosy content like this).
If you haven’t early voted, don’t forget to go on Tuesday. You can find your polling place HERE.
Now, let’s dive in.
Something to cook:
I came home on Monday and Jared told me he was making mussels, which was a delightful surprise. We paired them with a riff on the Via Carota salad with some CSA lettuce and crusty bread. The mussels were a classic white wine, garlic, parsley situation and I cannot tell you anything else because I sat on the couch with Este in my lap while Jared made them.
I found some soba noodles in the cabinet and decided to make them. I threw some snap peas and bok choy to boil in the last 2 minutes and rinsed it all in cold water. I also baked some tofu with cornstarch and everything but the bagel seasoning. For a sauce, I made one with peanut butter, miso, Heydoh soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, sriracha, and a little maple syrup. It was a quick and easy dinner with great leftovers.
Julianne shared her gardening bounty and Jared made a salad with fresh lettuces, beets from the CSA, pepitas, parmesan and a lemon vinaigrette.
Leah and Erika also made a lovely CSA salad with radishes, carrots, mustard greens, and lettuce. We had it with Williamsburg Pizza, followed by boxed brownies and ice cream.
For dinner on Sunday, I made pasta with chickpeas, broccoli, and parmesan cheese. The secret ingredient: pesto my mom made with basil from her garden.
Something to order:
We had a team happy hour at Spritzenhaus which is lovely for outdoor seating. Get the pretzel with all the mustard for dipping
Julia, Julianne, Hillary, and I found a day we were all free for dinner and had pasta outside at Da Andrea in Greenwich Village. There was a special spinach pappardelle with burrata and a spicy eggplant pasta we all enjoyed. They also brought us cake and said happy birthday and we don’t know whose birthday it was for. That is very much the energy in the city right now.
After attempting to watch the parade (more on that here), Jessica, Leah and I walked to Thai Diner for breakfast. I got the George’s egg sandwich which comes with bok choy and avocado inside roti. It’s so good.
Since we were in Soho on a weekday, we decided to get froyo at Mimi’s and only waited about 10 minutes. Culture’s tastes more like yogurt but the Mimi’s tart is very good and they have self serve toppings unlike Culture. I got the cookie dough which is soft and scoopable, along with strawberries, chocolate chips, mochi, and sprinkles. So fun.
On Thursday night, Jared asked me to go for a walk and took me to Peek Inn, the new bar from the owners of Cozy Royale. It’s so lovely and they have veggie versions of most of their hot dogs. I got the El Jocho, which came with avocado crema, pickled jalapeños and pico de gallo. We also got the Italian salad which has artichokes and olives and cheese and peppers, all the things. They also make a great spritz and are showing all the world cup games. I need to back to try the caesar salad.
Friday was our first beach day of the season. We took the ferry and headed to Tacoaway Beach for watermelon juice, guacamole, and tacos (fish for Jared & black bean and plantain for me). We met Julia and James at the beach, swam in the cold ocean, and had Rippers soft serve. A perfect day.
Isa and I met up and saw Stop That Train (very funny and stupid, this interview with Adam Shankman is great) in Union Square. Afterwards, we got dinner at Soothr (very good tofu khao soi) and a glass of wine at Stars, the tiny 12 seat wine bar. We waited an hour for Stars and got dinner in the meantime. Stars was cute but it’s so small that I wouldn’t plan a whole night around it in case there’s a long wait. They give everyone delicious marcona almonds with thyme and the glassware is beautiful.
Amy and Bradlee hosted a wonderful engagement party at Birds of a Feather. They served all the hits included peanut noodles, pea shoots, cucumbers and lots of meat stuff. It was great to celebrate and I loved the lunch format instead of an evening party.
We did a big father’s day brunch in the backyard at Baba on Withers, which is very cute and has good shade. We split the whipped ricotta and fries and most people got the Baba breakfast with eggs, salad, avocado, and toast. They also have fun drinks like watermelon juice and Arnold Palmers.
Something to read:
More American Girl Doll books are coming, about Samantha all grown up! Huge news from Alicia Kort
Preservation for Whom? The Power, Politics, and Future of Historic Preservation by Brittany Simmons
Phoebe Fry’s list of favorite daytime eats is top tier. My schedule does not lend itself to going out to breakfast but I need to do it more!
Emilia Petrarca breaks down the humor of a Father’s Day Gift Guide. We got our dad a Heydoh set since he loves to cook! ABIGAIL gets you 10% off.
Love this from Nisha Chittal: in the summer, focus on presence over efficiency. To-do lists are endless anyway.
15 things we learned from the NBA playoffs
For beach, I wore my new JCrew suit with jean shorts and a linen button down and my sunhat with UPF protection. Gotta be careful! I didn’t get burned but I need to make sure I apply sunscreen on my legs for the ferry ride, the sun is strong out there.
East Fork very kindly sent me some pieces in their new green color, Longleaf. We used the mugs for the first time yesterday and I swear the coffee tasted better.
It’s getting to be smoothie season and these all sounds so good!
Have a great week!
xo, Abigail
Thank you for sharing & happy summer!!
love that your live in bf asks you to go for a walk, thats the height of romance to me