Ladies and gentlemen, this is Friendmendations No. 5

What up, my good bitches? I’m still experimenting with ways to open these posts but I think I’m pretty close to nailing it. That felt good, right?

This story has twists!!

This piece is called “A Catfishing with a Happy Ending,” and I recommend not reading the caption under the photo at the top because it spoils the twist. But it’s a strange, amusing, captivating story either way! Life is weird!

Tech rec!

It’s my first app recommendation! Pocket is so good that I feel dumb for suffering without it for years. It’s free and it allows you to save links to read later, like a simpler, less visual Pinterest, and there’s a browser version if you (like me) prefer to read on a computer instead of your phone. I have the app and Chrome extension and they’ve greatly simplified my life, as someone with a miles-long “Reading List” on my phone.

Being a grown-up who meal plans and preps and WHATEVER

I HATE shopping for groceries and trying to come up with a meal plan for the week. I always have food that ends up going bad, or I don’t make enough and then I need to eat out later in the week or something. This $15 meal planner has been so helpful for me in visualizing my entire week at a glance, and the shopping list portion on the side is serrated so you can rip it off and take it with you to the store. They sell these at Anthropologie and Paper Source and probably a bunch of other places that stock Rifle Paper Co. products.

*Spongebob voice* salád

There’s a place near my mom’s house in Raleigh that makes the best salad I’ve ever had. It’s simple but so delicious I could eat it every day. I don’t live in Raleigh and also I checked their website recently and they don’t even serve it anymore, so those were two good reasons to learn how to make it myself. The secret magic here is a champagne vinaigrette. That sounded wildly fancy to me, but it turns out there’s a type of vinegar called champagne vinegar, so you don’t need to buy a whole bottle of champagne for a salad dressing. You don’t even need to buy champagne vinegar! You can sub a white wine vinegar if you like more of a bite or a rice vinegar if you like more sweetness. With this knowledge, I decided to trust Ina (who wouldn’t?) and used her recipe for a champagne vinaigrette. I used rice vinegar, I subbed mayo for the mustard because we were out of mustard, and I added the juice of one lemon. It’s hella. I want to pour this dressing on everything.

The delightful thing about this salad is that it’s super adaptable. That restaurant changes it every season with different fruits and nuts. My heart! I’m a bitch who loves a seasonal change. To make this salad, toss mixed greens with the dressing and then add toasted nuts of your choice (I used almonds but also love it with walnuts), the soft cheese of your choice (I used goat and always do, but feta or blue cheese are also options), and whatever seasonal fruit you want (this time I added apricots, but I’ve had it with blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, figs, apples, and peaches! The variety!) Top it with grilled salmon or chicken. It. Is. So. Good.

Song time

Here, have some vibes.