If Oprah can publish her own favorites list, so can I!
Back to the Barre podcast Okay, it's a guilty pleasure, but I just can't stop listening to this Dance Moms podcast. Back when Dance Moms was airing, I would watch it with my own mom after I'd gotten home from dance class on a weeknight. We'd sit in front of the TV, and I'd have a late dinner, and this drama soaked show was a surprisingly calm way to unwind from a busy day. I now find a similar pleasure in this podcast in which two Dance Moms stars Christi and Kelly go back through the show and let us listeners in on the real tea. Which, spoiler alert, is a lot of mom guilt for putting their kids through all that. Sometimes the podcast is just as petty as the TV show was (ahhh nostalgia); sometimes it is surprisingly reflective.
Zack's Mighty Tortilla Chips
I never thought I'd have a favorite grocery store tortilla chip until I tasted these for the first time. The actual flavor of the chip is so much better than you'd expect from a standard tortilla chip.
Letterboxd
I have taken to logging every movie I watch on this platform, and reading the reviews always has me laughing out loud. So if you want to keep up with how often I'm watching Disney Channel Original Movies, follow me at @ambervandegrift.
Being Frenshe Body Wash in Cashmere Vanilla
Great fragrance, great quality. Sometimes it's the little things.
Tasty Bite Madras Lentils
I've been known to say that if you catch me eating a TV dinner, please check on my mental wellbeing. But this comes in a pouch that I then pour into a real bowl, NOT a plastic tray, so I'm fine, I promise! But for real, this is the tastiest, most substantial easy dinner I've found (other than frozen pizza, of course). Pop one of these bad boys in the microwave for one minute, pour it over some rice, and you've got yourself a cozy dinner.
Eilish Eau de Parfum
I've never had a signature scent until this perfume. It's a very soft, warm scent that I don't find too overwhelming or sharp at all. It's a daily wear for me.
Rare Beauty Eye Brightener
I'm not a heavy makeup wearer, and this product is perfect for a light face of makeup. I tend to have dark circles under my eyes, and when I would use concealer under my eyes without a full face of makeup on, I found that it looked very unnatural. This product has the perfect amount of translucency to easily blend while still brightening the darkness under my eyes. Another daily wear for me.
Public library audiobooks
If you're not using your library card to get audiobooks to your phone, what are you doing? Listening to audiobooks has become a cherished part of my daily routine as I commute to and from work. And for free through the library! Some of my favorite listens this year have been Tom Lake, narrated by Meryl Streep, Paris: The Memoir, narrated by Paris Hilton, and One Italian Summer, narrated by Lauren Graham.
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Ah yes, three weeks into 2022, and just now getting to my end-of-year 2021 post. Sounds about right. It can’t just be me; this has been a particularly chaotic feeling January, right? What with the state of the world these last couple years, I’ve been spending a lot less time traveling and generally going out, and more time doing solitary activities, such as reading. So, I thought I’d share my top 8 favorite books I read in 2021.
I tend to read whatever strikes my fancy at any given moment (which is how I often end up in the middle of 4+ books simultaneously), so this list is not necessarily made up of books that were released in the year 2021–just ones I read and liked over the course of the year. As you compile your “to be read” lists for 2022, maybe some of these will strike your fancy too. #8. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett Even though this book was published only about a year before I read it, I felt like I was late to the boat on this one. A Reese’s Bookclub pick and 2020 Goodreads Choice Award Winner, this novel did not disappoint. I found it a bit slow-paced at the beginning, but the journeys that the characters took were well worth the slow start. #7. You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism by Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar Before reading this book, I knew Amber Ruffin from her late night show on Peacock. She’s hilarious and insightful on her show, so I was confident her book would be no different. Going into it knowing nothing about her sister Lacey, I was a fan by the end of the book. What I love about this one is its “slice of life” reality. It’s just two sisters sharing the real, sad, sometimes devastating, but also sometimes funny anecdotes of the racism they’ve faced in their lives. For white folks like me, it’s a good wake up call to the unfair reality that unfortunately far too many people experience, even on the most typical days. #6. Writers & Lovers by Lily King This book shares the day to day life of a fictional writer who makes her living serving tables. As I was reading this book, I realized we don’t often get to hear stories of writers. Maybe it’s because the people writing them don’t find their own lives as writers interesting enough to write about. Or perhaps because the inherently autobiographical nature of writing about someone whose days are spent like your own might feel vulnerable. Either way, I’m so glad King was inspired to tell this story. #5. Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay This book was my introduction to Roxane Gay, and wow. She tells her story beautifully and honestly, even as it pertains to issues that are too often seen as taboo. #4. Untamed by Glennon Doyle This book shook me up, and I believe that was Doyle’s goal. I was introduced to the book when Doyle appeared as a guest on Brene Brown’s podcast “Unlocking Us,” where she shared her book’s introduction about a cheetah who was bred in captivity but knew by instinct she was born for something more. Just hearing that introduction on a podcast made me think in a new way, let alone what the rest of the book had to say. #3. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue Another novel, this book has one fantastical element that directs the life of main character, Addie LaRue: she’s made a deal with a dark force and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone who meets her. In return, she is immortal. The premise in and of itself is enough to tell an interesting story, but unexpected turns throughout the story made the book hard to put down. #2. Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body by Rebekah Taussig This memoir-in-essays opened my eyes to so much that shouldn’t have taken me 26 years to learn. But the fact that it did is a testament to the abilism so deeply rooted in our society that many people don’t even notice it’s there. I’m so grateful for Taussig and her graciousness to share her life experiences through her beautiful writing so that many of us can be educated. I also loved spotting the Kansas City references sprinkled throughout the book. #1. Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla F. Saad Every white person should read this book. Saad explores deeply ingrained and complex issues in our society in a way that is easy to follow. She includes journal prompts for readers to take what they’re learning and make meaningful changes in their own lives. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. These were my top eight books I read throughout 2021, but if you’re interested in the rest of the books I read in 2021 or keeping up with what I’m currently reading, give me a follow on Goodreads. Visiting Nashville last year met all the expectations I had of a lively city filled with an insane amount of musical talent. What I was not expecting was all the amazing food. I can’t even pick a favorite place, because nearly everywhere we ate blew me away. That’s why I wanted to dedicate a whole post to the food of Nashville. If you’re ever in Nashville, here’s what I recommend:
Acme Feed and Seed. We went to Acme Feed and Seed twice. The first time was for Sunday brunch, and it was such an amazing place to go during that time. They had a live band playing that was sort of a hipster bluegrass band, which I am all about. I ordered the chicken and waffles, and they might have been the best chicken and waffles I’ve ever had. The second time we went was just to stop by for drinks, because we’d heard about their frosés (frozen rosé), and that is right up my alley. Of course they were amazing, but this place just had a really great vibe to it, which is why we went twice. It’s a great place for food or a great place to just hang out and have a drink if you need a break during your day or if you’re killing time before a show.
Emmy Squared. My mind was blown by this place. I know I said before I couldn’t pick a favorite restaurant in Nashville, but this one is at least tied for first. We’d heard good things about it before we went, but we clearly didn’t do enough research, because we almost didn’t get a table. It’s a really small place, and since it was raining, they were limited to their indoor seating. Even though it has a pretty casual vibe in aesthetic, it’s definitely the kind of place where you should make a reservation. We did not. Luckily, we told them we could eat quickly, and they gave us a table. And I’m so glad, because their pizza was beyond words. My friend who I was traveling with ordered a hot chicken sandwich, and it was also really good, but a slightly different vibe than Hattie B’s. Although we didn’t know that at the time, because Emmy Squared was actually the first place where we had Nashville Hot Chicken.
Basically, Nashville is full of amazing food. And if anyone who read this post goes to Nashville without at least trying one of these restaurants, an angel loses its wings. So. Do with that what you will.
Even though this whole social distancing / isolation / self quarantine thing can be a super bummer, it’s our responsibility to stay home to do our part to help stop the spread of Coronavirus. As an introvert, I never thought having to stay home would be such a struggle, but I’m finding out that staying in bed all day really might not be all that great for my mental health… Who knew? So, I’ve compiled this list of a few activities most anyone can do in their own homes. At the very least, I hope this blog post keeps you entertained for a few short minutes.
Do yoga. Yoga with Adriene has some great videos online that you can follow along to. Clean out your pantry/cupboards. Let’s be real… it’s probably been a while. Cook something new. Now that you have a solid inventory of what’s in your pantry, see what you can create out of what you have. Bonus: this also helps you avoid going to the store, which is a terrifying excursion at the moment. Play your instrument. Guitar, piano, whatever you may have in your home. If you don’t have an instrument, sing a song. Write a song. Who knows, maybe you’re the next Ed Sheeran, and you never would have found out if you hadn’t read this inspiring blog post while you were in self-isolation. Read a book. I can’t be the only one who owns multiple books I haven’t yet read, right? Learn a dance. Upload it to TikTok. Shop online. I consider it my duty as a citizen to support the economy during this tough time. At least that’s what I tell myself as I fork over my credit card information for new pretties. Take out your trash. Any excuse to set foot outdoors, right? Clean out your closet. If it doesn’t spark joy, you don’t need it in your life. Take photos. You may not be able to go to “Instaworthy” locations, but you can always take some AeStHeTiC shots in your home. I recommend checking out @jnaydaily for inspiration. File your taxes. Sure the deadline was extended, but it’s still got to happen sometime. Binge on Disney Channel Original Movies. Cheetah-licious. Journal. If the world really does come to an end because of all this, at least the aliens will have your journals as record. Is it crazy to say that Pompeii might have been even higher on my bucket list than Rome was? Back in 2014 or 2015 I saw an art exhibit called Presence and Absence by an artist named Tom Price. It was a set of sculptures of people who were there, but also not. They looked so realistic it was almost alarming, but there were pieces of them missing. I was really struck by it. I found out the artist’s inspiration for this work were the people of Pompeii who died nearly 2000 years ago when Mt. Vesuvius erupted, but whose bodies were still preserved all those years later. I didn’t know a ton about Pompeii at the time, but I knew I had to make it there someday. And lucky for me, “someday” was only a few years later.
But really, that’s not even the best part of the ruins. I think that’s such a unique part of it that people sometimes overlook that the eruption preserved this whole city in a way nothing else could have, and nothing else did in any other part of the world. Even I overlooked it myself before my tour guide basically said “colosseum schmolosseum, this place is way more impressive.” I’m paraphrasing a bit, but I’m not paraphrasing when I tell you that this Italian man said “okie dokie artichokie” like it was going out of style.
We went in November, and our tour guide repeatedly said how great it was that we were visiting that time of year, because during the “busy season,” it’s incredibly crowded. One of the most popular sites in the town is the brothel, and he said during the busy season, the line just to get into this tiny building wraps through the streets. But we walked right in. Archeologists knew this building (and others like it) was a brothel not only by the penis arrows on the streets directing you to the building, but also by the pornographic “menu” painted on the walls. Very discreet.
I wanted to visit Pompeii to see the casts, but I didn’t realize until I got just how amazing this ancient city is. It far exceeded my expectations, and I’m so glad I took a day out of my Rome trip to see it. Mt. Vesuvius. What a name, right? It’s a mountain most people would recognize as the volcano that erupted and killed thousands of citizens of the ancient city of Pompeii. It was a horrible tragedy that is also the sole reason we have one of the best preserved cities from all of the ancient world available to see today. But I’m getting ahead of myself. My Italy trip was by no means a cross-country trip. We booked the trip to Rome with no plans of seeing any other cities… except Pompeii. We booked a day trip to Pompeii through a company called Viator, which I’d never heard of at the time, but based on my experience, I’d recommend it. It included a bus trip from Rome to Pompeii and back with our fellow tourists, a stop in Naples for pizza, a climb up Mt. Vesuvius and a tour through the ancient ruins of Pompeii. We managed to schedule our day trip for the last day they allow people to hike up Mt. Vesuvius for the season. After that the weather is too cold and unpredictable, especially at the top of a mountain. By the time we made it up a significant portion of the mountain on the bus (terrifying, by the way), we were told by the park rangers that it was too windy for us to hike it. I didn’t really understand how wind would make hiking unsafe, but they said we could drive to the beginning of the trail, get out, walk around, then drive back down. When we got off the bus, it was freezing. I mean really cold. We were all just in hoodies, and the wind was blowing so hard it felt like my ears were going to fall off. What a rip off! We came all this way risking our lives (or at least that’s how it felt) as our bus navigated tiny, winding roads on cliff sides of an active volcano that could erupt at any moment, so that we could climb up that stinking mountain! And now we couldn’t just because of a little (okay, maybe a lottle) wind?! We were all standing around shivering, looking at the parking lot while our guide talked to some of the rangers. Pretty soon he was telling us that they were allowing us up the mountain after all! The catch was we only had a half hour.
When we finally made it to the top, it was amazing. The view was spectacular, but we knew it would be, because it just kept getting better and better the higher up we hiked. What was just as incredible was looking into the volcano. You can see from a distance that the mountain is kind of missing it’s top. That’s because it literally blew it off in 79 A.D. when it erupted and buried the city of Pompeii.
When I visited St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City on my first full day in Italy, I was convinced I would never set foot in a building more beautiful in my entire life. And my feet were bleeding.
But after a day on my feet seeing some of the most beautiful art in the world, I found out the hard way that you need to be more picky about your footwear than I was. This is my advice to you: wear shoes that have already proven their loyalty to you. Wear the shoes that you’ve worn through hard work-days and active trips to theme parks. Wear the shoes that will never betray you, because they’ve formed to your feet over months of wear. Don’t wear the cute pink ones. On a cultural note, I was told that Europeans hardly ever wear tennis shoes, and that I’d probably see mostly boots and dress shoes on the streets of Rome in November. Well, I don’t know the last time that person had been to Rome, but they were straight up wrong, and I’m glad I didn’t listen to them. Some of the people I saw were even wearing some of the same shoes I had packed with me. Sneakers galore. I even saw a pair of high-top Stan Smiths that I’m still trying to find out where I can buy (if you know, please leave me comment). I did notice, though, that Rome is a pretty fashion-minded city when it comes to what its people are wearing. If you’re headed to Rome, pack stylish yet trusted sneakers.
Now, there’s no way for me to adequately describe to you the beauty of the Sistine Chapel (or St. Peter’s Basilica, which we saw next), but it really was just breathtaking. No photos were allowed, and that was strictly enforced by guards, and silence was expected. It was just a room packed with people staring up at the ceiling. What was overwhelming to me was that I was staring at masterpieces. Original masterpieces that I’d seen in text books and on the internet. And Michelangelo's “The Creation of Adam” was in the middle of it all. People frequently say that upon seeing the Mona Lisa, they expected it to be bigger. That’s how I felt about “The Creation of Adam.” This iconic piece of art was among its peers on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
Like I said before, I assessed the Basilica as the most beautiful building I had ever set foot inside. And even as I sit here writing, having seen several more stunning churches in Rome, that still might be the case. I don’t know that any building will ever top it, but I’ll try my best to find out.
Our first meal in Rome was the evening we landed. We needed to go to the Vatican to pick up our Rome Turbopass (more on that in another post), and we were soon looking for something to eat. We were still in our plane clothes, so we didn’t want anything too fancy, but we were pretty much running blind on what was culturally normal, and what we should even be looking for, because we had spent all of four hours in Rome so far. When we finally settled on a place, we learned some valuable lessons for the rest of our time in Rome. When you’re leaving or entering the Vatican, it is typical to walk down a particular street, that enters the very front of the city, and has a perfect view of St. Peter’s Basilica. There are a few restaurants and shops along this street, and since our only other destination that evening was Castel Sant’Angelo, it made sense, geographically, to stop along here for food. Mistake #1: Don’t eat this close to a tourist attraction. I know it’s odd to think of an entire city-state and center of a religion as a tourist attraction, but if we’re being real, Vatican City is always full of tourists. So it only makes sense that you’d find tourist traps there. I don’t think it necessarily means that all restaurants close to a major tourist attraction are inauthentic (although this one seemed to be), but it definitely will cost more. This was our most expensive meal of the trip, and it wasn’t the best. Not even close. And since it was our first meal in Italy, I didn’t know what was normal or what should have raised our eyebrows. For example, the menu didn’t have prices listed on it. At the time, I didn’t think too much of it, but every place we ate for the rest of the trip had prices clearly marked on the menus. Mistake #2: Don’t eat at a place with a “town crier.” Again, for all we knew, it was totally normal in Italy for a waiter or host to bombard you on the street and tell you all about their great “spaghetti and meatballs.” This guy even pulled a chair out for us in the outdoor seating area when we stopped to look at the menu. I was starving, so his tactics worked on me, and we sat down to eat. Later on our trip, I noticed that these “town criers” are only found around restaurants near a major tourist attraction. Anywhere else where we would stop to look at their posted menu, no one bombarded us. If there was a hostess nearby, she might say “hello,” but she definitely didn’t try to persuade us to choose her restaurant. And our server’s pushy persona didn’t stop once we sat down. When we finished the meal and paid, he said “tip cash,” which would have been obvious, since he had already told us they don’t accept card, except that gratuity had already been figured into our bill. So he was essentially just saying it to make sure we tipped him even more. And then he stood there at our table until we did. If it hadn’t been the first meal of the trip, I might have said something, but I just felt too intimidated by not knowing anything about the city or the culture. None of the other places where we ate following that night had gratuity already figured into the bill, and none of our other servers said anything to us about tipping. It was similar to the culture here in the U.S. in that regard -- it’s just implied that a tip is expected for adequate service. Mistake #3: Restaurants serving spaghetti and meatballs are not authentic. It’s not even an Italian dish. We even found out that putting meatballs in spaghetti is borderline offensive to Italian chefs. The dish was invented in Brooklyn in the twentieth century, and isn’t served at any authentic Italian restaurant. Meatballs are a thing in Italy, and Spaghetti is a thing, but not together. Mistake #4: The good places don’t even open until at least 7 p.m. We knew going into this trip that it’s not the culture in Italy, and a lot of places in Europe, to eat as early as Americans sometimes do. It’s not normal for me to eat at 5:30, even here in the States, but when it starts to get dark around that time (we were visiting in November), it feels like it’s time to wind the night down and head back to the hotel. And since our hotel was nowhere near city center and about a 10-15 minute walk to the nearest Metro stop, it felt like when we were in for the night, that should be the end of the night. Even after we had learned from our mistakes at this tourist restaurant outside the Vatican, we still found ourselves searching for food earlier than we should have on other nights. Just take my word for it and wait for the places that don’t open until late. They’re so much better. From the mistakes I made that first night in Rome, I learned that eating should be a destination of its own. Of course I knew going into this trip that I wanted to eat at the restaurants and experience the authentic cuisine, but I didn’t put the advance thought into it that I did with the sights we saw during the day. The best meal I had was at a restaurant that came recommended by someone we met in Rome. So, don’t do what I did and try to find a place for dinner at the end of the day when you’re tired and hungry. Make a plan in advance, and try to get some recommendations from people who know the city well. Here are a few places I recommend:
Today is the 100th Anniversary of Grand Canyon National Park, so I thought I’d write a special post about my time in the park. It can pretty much be summed up in a few words: the Grand Canyon is a hoax. But I’ll expand a bit more… When I entered Grand Canyon National Park, I couldn’t immediately see much of a view. There were more trees than I thought there would be. Don’t worry; trees are not the hoax. I’m pro trees. I love trees. Trees are not the problem. When driving down the main road in the park, there are several places to park, get out of your car, and take in the “view.” And, as I mentioned, the trees blocked the view until you did get out of your car, so I didn’t see it coming. Then… there it is. The Grand Canyon. A beautiful masterpiece of nature, stretching as far as the eye can see. Or is it…? Isn’t it funny that that beautiful view is just out of reach? Well, I mean… not just out of reach. They’d like you to think it’s miles and miles of colorfully carved canyon, but you can’t reach out and feel it, now can you? That’s right! Because it’s all a facade. Literally. No way can a bunch of rock and dirt be that beautiful. But you know what can? A giant image. I don’t know how they made it, maybe they painted it, maybe the aliens carved it out of their alien Beryllium, maybe it’s Maybelline, but there’s no way nature can make that. Which seems more plausible to you: that the earth naturally created a immensely deep canyon that stretches as far as the eye can see, or that THE MAN placed some kind of an optical illusion just out of reach to trick us all into thinking that our land is marvelously beautiful? See for yourself and decide: When I first saw the Lizzie McGuire Movie at the impressionable age of eight years old, I witnessed a near perfect work of cinema. Travel, adventure, finding your famous doppelgänger… and all with your best friend at your side. I wanted to experience something like that someday. Now, overlooking a few major flaws in that film (e.g. a 14-year-old girl taking off with a 40-looking 17-year-old in a foreign country was not a great move), I finally did it! I went to Rome. And of course I couldn’t help but notice when I saw all the landmarks that appeared in the movie. This is where Lizzie did a cartwheel! That’s where Lizzie met Paulo! Over there is where Lizzie’s feet started bleeding from blisters! Okay, maybe that last one was just me…
Anyway, I decided to look it up. As it turns out, when you toss a coin in the Trevi Fountain, the wish is already predetermined. The first coin means you’ll return to Rome; the second coin means you’ll have a love affair; the third coin means you’ll get married. A love affair sounds a bit dramatic for my taste, so I tossed one coin. I also visited what Paulo refers to as one of the most expensive shopping districts in the world. Did I set foot in a single store? No. Did I climb to the top of the Spanish Steps and do a bit of voguing where Lizzie did her famous (in my mind) cartwheel after her makeover scene? Of course. I also want to talk for a second about Lizzie’s hotel experience. She went to Rome on a class trip for her eighth grade graduation. So, suspending my disbelief enough to overlook the fact that her family and her school building itself didn’t seem to be in the type of socio-economic class to send their 14-year-olds off to Italy, what’s with the luxury hotel they stayed in? Seriously, the thing was beautiful. Two queen size beds in a room to sleep only two girls, the room was huge, and it was covered on stunning decor. And with all of that, the manager of the hotel (who seemed to be the only person ever working the front desk) didn’t speak English? That was nothing like my experience. I didn’t pay for a fancy hotel, so my expectations weren’t too high, and the overall experience at the place we stayed, Hotel Osimar, was sufficient. Twin beds, a tiny room, a perfectly clean bathroom, and an entire staff that spoke at least some English. And usually they were fluent. In fact, that’s something we noticed all across Rome. Obviously, when you work in hospitality, knowing such a prominent language as English seems likely, but pretty much the entire city of Rome is full of tourists all the time, so it seemed like most people spoke English. We only went to one place our entire stay where no one did, and that’s out of the hotel, tourist attractions, stores and restaurants. The scene where Gordo walks up to two random strangers because he sees Lizzie on the cover of an Italian magazine and he asks if they speak English and they do, fluently, seems way more realistic than the manager of a fancy hotel speaking barely any English at all.
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About the blog.I started this blog in 2017 with the goal of seeing all the U.S. National Parks and writing about them. But as I kept writing and posting, I realized there's so much more I want to document in my life. So, the blog grew into something much broader and even more special to my heart. Archives.
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