Have a Cozy Weekend. | Cup of Jo

What are you up to this weekend? The boys and I are driving to Guilford, Connecticut, to hang out with our friends Rob and Sharon of Catastrophe jean skirts fame. Also, we made it through January, guys!!!! Congrats to us all. Hope you have a good one, and here are a few links from around the web…

Today’s Big Salad issue features my long-time friend Abbey Nova’s garden makeover (it’s magical), plus her favorite sexy books, her therapist’s best advice, and a marriage-saving bathroom product. Read it here, if you’d like.

Crispy potatoes with mushrooms, yum.

Omg this bumper sticker.

The TV series Mr. and Mrs. Smith — starring Donald Glover and Maya Erskine — comes out today.

Also, the Aussie comedy Offspring looks good. (“LOVED OFFSPRING,” wrote Laura, a Big Salad reader. “Named my daughter Zara, wormed into my brain while watching that show.”)

Channeling the French girls I saw in Paris.

What it’s like to be a therapist for the ultra-rich. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been, ‘Whoa. You did what? With what? And you crashed what kind of Ferrari?’ If I’m ever shocked, I don’t have a very good poker face. In some ways, I’m a reality check for my clients, and I think they like that.” (NYMag)

This subscription makes my life so much easier. (Plus, a discount!)

My friend Lina made brownie shortbread for my birthday and it was INCREDIBLE. (NYTimes gift link)

What’s your favorite airport amenity? I like the rocking chairs in Portland, Maine, but wow this indoor forest!

Should we bring back the 1970s conversation pit?

What a beautiful book cover.

Be like a choir. xo

Plus three reader comments…

Says Olivia on my #1 parenting goal: “I have two teenagers and one preteen. What I’ve found has a big impact on them is being positive about teens in general. I’ve realized that adolescents are surrounded by negative comments about themselves: ‘Teenagers,’ adults will say, ‘what a nightmare.’ ‘Teenagers are awful.’ ‘You have teenagers in the house? Poor you!’ I’m convinced it makes them start to believe that they are unloveable. So, I make sure to say to them, and around them, whenever I can: ‘I love teenagers, you are all so fascinating and funny, your brains are expanding in all these different directions, you introduce me to new things, you keep my finger on the pulse, you show me all these new shows/songs/vocab, you’ve taught me how to do great eyeliner, I LOVE TEENAGERS.’”

Says Mary on my #1 parenting goal: “As a mom of two tweens, I am trying really hard not take anything personally. It helps to vent to my wife and say, ‘Our kid is being a turd right now. A perfectly normal, developmentally appropriate turd.’”

Says Lauren O. on 12 Valentine’s Day gifts: “If you really want to say, ‘My feelings for you will outlast almost everything else on the planet,’ might I suggest naming a cockroach at the Bronx Zoo after your special someone? They used to offer this with a roach-shaped fancy chocolate to accompany the certificate, but these days it’s either a plush roach or roach-print socks. I have done this for my husband and he…reacted like most people would, but I still think it’s a good idea.”

(Photo by Sofia Aldinio/Stocksy.)

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