I’ve always been skeptical about the staycation. The embossing is too cute for what feels like a consolation prize: while others explore the Blue Lagoon in their camper van, you get there Stay in your own home and go to your usual supermarket for Cheerios!
Thanks to my colleague Catherine Pearson, I was curious to find out I was completely wrong. Obviously, my tendency to stumble into downtime without a plan is unlikely to have a restorative effect. Instead, give the downtime the urgency of a week-long trip. Jaime Kurtz, a psychology professor at James Madison University and author of “The Happy Traveler: Unpacking the Secrets of Better Vacations,” advises asking yourself, “If I were to move away soon, what would I most want to do and who would do it? “Who would I most like to spend time with?”
I like that twist on “live every day as if it were your last.” Any reminder that time is fleeting, no matter how cliche, is good if it inspires you to live better and more consciously. And now, in mid-July (already!), it really is time to try it. This weekend, for example, you could choose some vegan ice cream that doesn’t taste terrible. (The new flavors are made with creamier plant-based milk that tastes more like the original.) Give it a try Running in a pool, which is easy on the joints but just as effective as running on land. You could take a walk or drive while listening to Slow Radio very comforting BBC podcast with sounds of nature. (This episode shows the song of a nightingale and the first bleating of a newborn lamb.)
Whether or not you have a proper vacation planned for the coming weeks, you can think of each upcoming weekend as its own two-day getaway and plan it like a trip to a new place, with an itinerary more exciting than just ” sleep”. “As much as possible” and “Mowing the lawn”. What do you want to do most this weekend and who do you want to spend time with? Sometimes, when we’re busy getting things done and navigating the next crisis, it can be, if not enlightening, at least a small relief to ask ourselves what we’d like to do and then do it.
CULTURAL CALENDAR
🎬 “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” (Friday): Barbenheimer. Boppenheimer. Call it what you will, but between the release of the new movie Mission: Impossible this week and next week’s double feature featuring Greta Gerwig’s poppy look at one of the most famous dolls of all time and Christopher Nolan’s sober look at one of the most famous theoretical physicists Of all things, going to the cinema is back! (At least for this month.)
📚 “Crook Manifesto: (Tuesday): What do you do after winning your second Pulitzer Prize? If you are novelist Colson Whitehead, you are writing a crime story set in 1960’s Harlem. And what to do if the book is well received? You write another one! Whitehead’s equally entertaining sequel returns to Harlem a decade later and in his reviewTop crime writer Walter Mosley called it “a glorious and intricate anatomy of robbery, cheating and slow play.”
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
shashlik
One excellent thing about Naz Deravian’s recipe for spicy dishes shish kebabs The advantage is that you can either cook them outside on your grill or inside under the grill, making them very versatile depending on the weather and mood. If you have time to marinate these in the fridge overnight, they become extra intense and infused with a heady blend of cumin, paprika, dried oregano, and garlic. But even a few hours make a big difference. Serve with flatbread on the side and lots of herbs to add a fresh and flaky contrast to all those deliciously charred bits of meat.
Hamptons House: It looks like one The James Bond villain’s hideout.
Tiny Hut: Just style 600 square meters.
What you get for $1.1 million: An 1888 Queen Anne revival in Versailles, Kentucky; a Craftsman bungalow in Denton, Texas; or a House on two levels in New Hope, Pa.
The hunt: A single mom in Oakland, California was looking for a home that would accommodate a family of three. Which one did she choose? Play our game.
LIFE
ADVICE FROM WIRECUTTER
For the kids
An inflatable water slide is a delightfully kitschy antidote to muggy and muggy summer days. My brother gifted my family an eye-catching inflatable device that includes a climbing wall that leads to a slide that leads to a shallow pool of water adorned with inflated water pistols and a basketball hoop. The whole thing calls for excess. Of course, that means my kids love it. And that’s what matters. So, if I may: think about it an inflatable water slide for your garden. Yes, it’s a cheesy monstrosity. But your children will scream with joy. — Ben Frumin
GAME OF THE WEEKEND
Novak Djokovic vs. Carlos Alcaraz, Wimbledon Men’s Final: The future of tennis has begun with Alcaraz, the 20-year-old Spaniard who wears down his opponents with his speed and tireless shots. Unfortunately for Alcaraz, the old guard are not gone yet. Djokovic, 36, has won the last four Wimbledon titles as well as this year’s Australian Open and French Open. As his peers retire, Djokovic appears to be playing his best tennis. “It’s really very good to be Novak Djokovic now” Matthew Futterman of the Times writes. Tomorrow at 9 a.m. EST on ESPN.
For more
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Alcaraz was a great youth player but he was also lucky: a candy magnate saw him play and sponsored him to compete with the best in the sport.
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In the Women’s final this morningOns Jabeur and Marketa Vondrousova are each fighting for their first Grand Slam title.
