Happy Friday! I'm having the best time in Denver for Pure Barre training--it's been really fun (but also kind of exhausting) so far. I'm missing my pup and my husband a lot, but I'm trying to make the most of some alone time every afternoon! I'm such an introvert that after training ends every evening I've just been going to my hotel room and hanging out on my own--last night I took a shower, ordered some dinner, did a little reading, and watched a whole lot of Food Network before calling it a night well before 10:00 PM...okay fine, it was 9:00.

Before I sign off for the rest of the weekend (and actually try to meet some people at this training #introvertproblems), I thought I'd share some links I've been hanging on to for a while:

To Read:

• What You Should Read About the "Girls" Season Finale. I was disappointed, anyone else? If they had just left it with the penultimate episode and released the "finale" in a few months as an epilogue I would feel much differently. 
• Why it matters that Mike Pence won't have dinner with a woman who isn't his wife. I was nodding my head "yes" through this entire piece.
  • Related: this hilarious article from The Onion.
• This 75-Year Harvard Study Found the 1 Secret to Leading a Fulfilling Life. Spoiler alert: it's not money or things.

To Watch:

• When you have an anxious puppy. So cute.
• Gordon Ramsay with kids vs. adults. I laughed so hard. If you're in public you might want to watch this with headphones, there are quite a few f-bombs.

Wish List:

• Loving these shoes--I feel like you could wear them with anything, and these are kind of a more wearable alternative.
• I don't wear a ton of color but I'd make a big exception for this cute dress.
• I can't resist a good tee shirt dress, and this one is no different.
• How cute are these sandals?

That's all for now! I hope you have a great weekend! Any fun plans?

This post contains affiliate links.

This year I wanted to simplify but somehow I've managed to take on way more than I have in a long time. I've always been so irritated by people who are constantly sighing, responding with that word--busy--any time you ask them how they are.

And yet, as I've started branching out a bit more in my life and work, suddenly I'll notice that months have gone by since I called some of my friends and even family members; I sometimes go days between blog posts; and there are some mornings where I need to catch my breath so badly that work takes a backseat to cleaning the kitchen or just savoring a few hours of sleeping in next to Rob and Ender.

The last time I wrote a cookbook, the exhaustion hit me right away and I knew exactly where it was coming from. This time, with the second book, it kind of creeps up on me and I wonder why I'm feeling so creatively zapped and sort of unsuccessful in general. "You wrote another book!" Rob always sweetly reminds me, and that always helps me put it in perspective a bit.

Is everyone else out there so afraid of not being enough? I know it can't just be me. Sometimes I can't tell if I'm actually busy or just overwhelmed.

I'm writing this blog post from a big empty king-sized bed in Denver, with takeout Pad Thai and a big bottle of water next to me. I have a borderline irrational fear of altitude sickness so I'm loading up on carbs and fluids before the morning, when I start Pure Barre training to become an instructor! I mentioned in a blog post a few months ago that I had been thinking about making the leap from Pure Barre client to teacher, and I'm finally doing it, even though it makes me so nervous to think about being on a microphone while I figure out the learning curve. Going to barre regularly has been the main thing that really gives me a routine and sense of belonging in the Bay Area, so I think it's going to be really great to make it into even more of a home base.

So yeah, maybe my New Year's Resolution was to take on less. But I think I'm going to do this instead.

I always kind of thought that I was on Team Hot Soup Only (that's a thing, you know), but earlier this week I surprised myself by bringing some beets home with the sole purpose of turning them into a chilled soup. Every now and again I love creating a recipe that's totally different from anything else I've ever cooked--even if it means bothering my brother 50 times to ask him for his opinion on whether cream would be better before or after chilling the soup (experimenting in the kitchen is really more his thing--I tend to stick to what I know).

Rob and I got home from Charlotte late on Sunday night, and I planned my Monday to specifically have nothing to do except unpack, clean, and cook this very recipe; which is something I always love after a few days away. The laundry might still need to be folded but now I have a big batch of bright pink, perfectly sweet and just-tart-enough soup in the fridge to get me through the week.

It's rainy and chilly in the Bay Area this week, but still warm enough that it feels (and smells!) like spring. Basically it's perfect chilled soup weather. Eat it out of a mug if you want, just don't forget the fresh dill. It's even better with a chilled glass of La Crema's Sonoma Coast Chardonnay, a wine that my family has been drinking for years. I still remember spring gatherings at my parents' house on Smith Mountain Lake, with fresh salads and pasta and grilled meat and a bucket of ice overflowing with these very same bottles that I now always have on my wine rack.

It's so funny how your family traditions will find you, whether you're across the country making something new or back home sticking to what you know.

This post is sponsored by La Crema Winery. Visit their blog today for my roasted beet and yogurt soup recipe.