three small bites: 🍑🖼️✨

peach season, kitchen and bathroom art + what author Anna E. Collins is loving right now

Aug 23, 2024

Still Life with Peaches by Auguste Renoire (ca. 1881) — The Met

Hi, and welcome to the second to last issue of summer (I mean, not technically, but my fall starts September 1 😆)! The temperatures are officially in the seventies, and it nearly feels like fall. I can’t wait. I have been looking forward to the changing of the seasons since…*checks date*…the end of June. A big reason for this is that I am not a heat person. And the South gets HOT. I did not grow up in hot places, my skin does not do well in hot/humid places. Basically, I like the weather to be cold, so I can be toasty under bulky sweaters.

That said, there’s still a little bit of summer I’m hoping to squeeze out of these last two weeks: peaches (more on that below), visiting the coast, eating outside, and squeezing in one more summery book.

And because I love knowing what others are loving right now, I am excited to introduce a new feature in three small bites featuring artists of all kinds who share what they’re currently eating, watching, and reading. Let’s get to the bites…

1. 🍑 peach season

Somehow, I’ve gone all summer without eating a peach. Lucky for me, we’re still in peach season. There are a few recipes I have my eye on: this peach, cucumber and mozzarella salad with gochujang vinaigrette (NYT 🎁 link), peach cobbler with ice cream, and peach agua fresca (in case I buy too many). Also, one that I made years ago: peach galette with bourbon whipped cream (inspired by the movie A League of Their Own). I need to get on this because come September 1, I am fully in fall mode.

2. 🖼️ kitchen and bathroom art

Do you have art in your kitchen and bathroom(s)? I worry about oil splatter in the kitchen and humidity in the bathroom, but as someone who loves visually-appealing spaces, I love this idea as a concept. And, now that I think about it, we do have a piece my husband painted next to our tub. I wonder if art in these locations is impractical, but then I see photos of homes that have them, and I’m like, why do I not have paintings of fruit next to my stove?? They make the space so much more cozy and colorful. And what a fun way to infuse personality into a room not often thought of for art—whatever that might look like: sculptures, paintings, illustrations, painted plates, pressed flowers, vases.

I want to make my spaces comfy and cozy for fall. Adding or changing up the art in unexpected spots could be a light lift in making this happen.

3. ✨ three small bites from author Anna E. Collins

Anna’s book Worst in Show came out this month. If you love dogs, dog shows, and You’ve Got Mail, be sure to check this one out. I was thrilled to read early and blurb. Here’s what I said: “Every romance lover and dog lover’s dream! I was charmed and hooked from the very first bark. This flirty romance is a treat.” 🐶

Today, Anna gives us her three small bites:

1. 📖 Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan: Love her writing, automatic buy.
2. 🍬 Swedish candy: Superior to any other candy. 😉
3. 📺 Deadpool & Wolverine: Honestly, I haven’t turned on a TV all summer, having instead really taken the time to enjoy the world and people around me, but I’m looking forward to seeing the new Deadpool/Wolverine movie.

Thanks, Anna!

📚 Extra bites: Book updates

laurenkjessen

A post shared by @laurenkjessen

💕 On Bookstore Romance Day, I got to hang out with the coolest people at Parnassus Books for a Slumber Party (sans actually staying the night). We ate candy, drank lemonade, made friendship bracelets, played sleepover games, did blackout poetry and mad libs, got love line readings, shopped for books, and got real with Dear Diary. I also love any chance I get to awkward toast with Jenna Levine and Melissa R. Collings. Hanging out in bookstores after dark will always be SO COOL (especially in Totoro pajamas!)

laurenkjessen

A post shared by @laurenkjessen

🗓️ Kentucky, let's hang out in September! Can't wait for the Back to Back Books Festival where I'll be signing books for a couple of hours from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. on Saturday, September 21.