Fluff Stuff Saturday #78: Super Bowl Weekend
🏈 A seasonal living recap, a soup, frittata love, and one of my favorite comedy movies EVER
Welcome to the Seasonalist, a happy place to land, where you’ll find all things seasonal and seasonal-adjacent (books, movies, food, and fun) from Austin, Texas. If you’d like to subscribe, click below.
“Ever since I was born, I was dope.”—Connor 4Real
Happy Friday Saturday’all!
Coming in hot this Saturday with all the Fluff Stuff. No excuses—just a busy !@#$ week. And sometimes living in real life is better than living it online, which I’m always preaching here at the Seasonalist. My favorite quote from “Our Town” by Thornton Wilder, which I always return to, is "does anyone ever realize life while they live it...every, every minute?" These are simple rules really—real life first, online life second.
Each Friday Saturday, I recap how I lived seasonally this week, and I encourage you to do the same. Why? Your life can be so much better if you follow the formula. It’s about putting something on the calendar, experiencing joyful anticipation, and then some happy feelings emerge. Try it!
How I lived seasonally last week (pictured above)
Girl Scout Cookies. No notes.
I watched “Groundhog Day”1
A free vegetable gardening class at the Natural Gardener2
A pre-Oscars party!
On tap this weekend: the Broadway Tour of Les Miserables (my number one favorite musical), and of course, the Super Bowl.
On to the Fluff Stuff.
📚 Book Stuff
Fellow writers, I’m halfway through a delightful read by Marissa Meyer, The Happy Writer: Get More Ideas, Write More Words, and Find More Joy.I’m recommending this to everyone seeking MORE JOY. It’s not just a writing guide, but a guide to what matters, which is what we’re all about here at the Seasonalist.
📝 PSA Stuff
This Monday, Starbucks is offering FREE COFFEE (a free tall hot or iced basic coffee).
One of my favorite authors, Sophie Cousens, has a movie! On February 10th, Roku is releasing the movie adaptation of This Time Next Year. We have a Roku on our upstairs TV—is that all I need?
🍲 Food Stuff
I made Grossy Pelosi’s Creamy Tortellini Soup, and I do have notes. Use less cream than advised—it’s a bit rich. And more broth. Other than—a wonderful cozy soup for winter.
I visited my eldest in San Antonio last weekend, and dined at Full Goods Diner at the Pearl (the Pearl in San Antonio is one of my favorite places to visit—ever). I ordered the frittata because I saw two of my menu trigger excitement items (arugula and radishes). I love radishes. It was one of the best meals I’ve had in years. I need to be making frittatas. BUT THE EGGS ISSUE RIGHT NOW.
My Super Bowl Menu: A veggie tray with French Onion Dip, Half-Baked Harvest’s Crockpot Philly Cheesesteaks, and Brownies.
🎥 Movie Stuff
Last Friday, as part of our Fredagsmys tradition (fancy word for eating tacos in front of the TV), we watched Conclave. What a movie! A conspiracy swirls around the election of a new Pope. Why doesn’t Ralph Fiennes have 10 Oscars? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
On Tuesday, we went to an Alamo Drafthouse Special Presentation of one of my favorite movies, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. I laughed the entire time (and this was the 4th time I’ve seen it). For two hours, I escaped into much-needed levity. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (that’s 10 stars out of 5—impressive feat)
🌎 Sustainable Stuff
Tiffanie Darke doesn’t know it, but she’s my mentor for my Low-Buy Year (the Rule of 5—only buy 5 new fashion items a year, and 4 used). She examines the economic repercussions of the Low Buy or No Buy philosophy in “Should We Buy Nothing?”
Listen, I try to keep things light here at the Seasonalist, away from my existential thoughts about our dying planet and our dying democracy. I’m trying to grasp what’s good, but also to do my part. So tiny sustainable tweaks that we can all do together? We can seize just a little bit of control back into our lives.
💗 Touching Your Soul stuff
A lovely tribute to the figure skating community lost in the American Airlines crash. Those kids had a dream.
💙 Wrap-Up
*Reminder: for 2025 most Tuesday posts will be for paid subscribers. Friday is always free to all. I’m keeping the price for an annual subscription at $35 for 2025.
Let’s live life seasonally and offline this weekend.
May your weekend be fluffy.
What’s on your Super Bowl menu? And do you have a menu trigger excitement item like radishes? 🤣
From the Seasonalist’s archives:
From Vanity Fair—Bill Murray: Everyone Who Has Publicly Accused Him of Misconduct
My fave Caro Chambers has a Super Bowl Dip for your eating pleasure.
From Brittany’s Notebook—Things to Do for Your Valentine
A lovely anti-hustle read from Milk & Cookies—Low-Energy Habits that Improved my Mental Health. I’ve never related to writing more.
the thing about low-energy habits is that they aren’t about changing yourself. they’re about meeting yourself where you are—in your tiredness, your messiness, your in-between moments—and making them just a little softer. because maybe, self-care isn’t about fixing anything. maybe it’s just about making life feel a little more like yours.
What are Incredible Thoughts?
Focusing on Andi McDowell here because Bill Murray is problematic?
I have 6 raised beds and my garden is always a disaster. I apparently need to pay attention to things like sun, water, and fertilizer. I’’ll deep dive on what I’ve learned next month here at the Seasonalist.
My menu trigger item: gochujang aioli and/or pan-fried shallots. I’m instantly in.
I want a sweater shaver too! I think it's the only way to extend the life span of the "cheap" sweaters. I'm debating whether they really work (reading all 10,000 reviews carefully).
I just ordered work pants but I'm not reporting back if this one of my purchases until I try them on. I am desperate for the perfect work pant. Obviously the corduroys are good but we're already transitioning to spring/summer here.
Snow boots are a must and it sounds like a thoughtful purchase.
I think the Books are Magic is a worthwhile purchase. I love a graphic T that "means something" and that's on my exception bit--I leave myself open to buying two souvenir-type shirts this year.