Weekly Good Things 2025 Week 12

and some *Spring Intentions*.

Hello! Hello! Welcome to another weekly episode of Good Things – your guide to living intentionally and more fully one good thing at a time! I give you a peek into my everyday life during the week, and roundup my good links, ideas, books, and more.

A few weeks ago I had a brief escape from the cold – heading down to 🌴Miami🌴 for a little work-accountability-group gathering.

I’m a big believer in community motivation and accountability, and when you run a business it’s nice to have fellow founders as part of your support system – even if they are in totally different industries. (Frankly, better if they are in totally different industries!)

Please enjoy some of my pictures of greenery which will keep me going as we experience the many phases of false spring in New England over the next few weeks! (Winter, fools spring, second winter, spring of deception, third winter, the pollening, actual spring…)

Making the time to connect with family

In Sahil Bloom’s new book, 5 Types of Wealth there’s a sobering graph about the amount of time you have left to spend with your parents that basically jumps off a cliff after your college years.

After my dad died in 2021, the reality of this hit home with one parent left, so I try to be more proactive about spending time with family.

My brother was already down in Florida to watch Red Sox spring training games, so we peer pressured my mom to fly down before my work event and spend the day with us on Monday before my work event. (She was off for NH school break, so a good excuse to kidnap her for family adventures!)

It had been about 20 years since my last trip to Miami with family. We used to drive to Miami with my dad, head to the cigar factories to pick up hand rolled cigars (editors note: don’t smoke, kids!) – I still love those Romeo e Julieta cigar bands which I used to wear on my fingers – drive around to see Art Deco buildings, walk around Bal Harbour shops, and most importantly, eat!

After picking us up at the airport, we headed directly to Cuban food at Versailles (where we saw local Boston legend Mike Lowell celebrating his birthday!) We puttered around the mall (why not visit TJMaxx in different states?), headed to Publix for supermarket tourism (regrettably no Pub Sub for me), the Frost Science Museum (free with MOS reciprocal membership, which is such a great deal!), and headed to Zaytinya for dinner. I love any excuse to head to a José Andres restaurant! (Although my favorite will always be Jaleo! Preferably the one in Disney Springs.)

After dinner, they left me to head back to Palm Beach, and I tucked into my hotel bed to get some sleep before my workshop!

👋 If you are new here, welcome! I try to fill these newsletters with a little something for everyone. (If you are just here for the food, it’s at the end! Feel free to scroll, I won’t judge!)

The Oculus at the Frost Museum

Spring Intentions

Each month I sit down and write out a list of intentions for the month ahead. It’s not exactly a to-do list, more like an “options” list. Place-holders also help me make space for more exciting adventures! Many of my intentions remain the same month to month, but I try to pick out a few new things regularly!

How do I want to feel this month? After a very long winter, I’m feeling some Spring enthusiasm! My focus this month is ramping up my time outside, doubling down on good daily habits, and playing around with some creative pursuits.

Sometimes a little short list of the same old Good Things on a post it or piece of paper next to workspace helps remind me of my habits: mine usually looks something like [Walk! Water! Mindfulness! Protein! Rest! Sleep! Family! Friends! Draw! Stretch! Hills! Vinegar! Fermented Foods!]

Out and About

A movie in the theater • Monthly Boston dinner with my friend Kathy (Mimi’s Chuka Diner) • Monthly family dinner out with my mom and brother • A walk on the cold ocean, and assorted beach finds (rocks, shells) • An art class • A cooking class • A visit to a Trustees property • “Favorite Things” meetup with my friends where we bring our favorite things to trade (I brought a Squatty Potty and received Lego Flowers) • a guided tour of something! • Very long walks with friends (Courtney and I did 10 miles on a Saturday) and the beginning of my “Commute Home Project” walks where I take the commuter rail out progressively far and then walk back. Sort of like Jed.

Straight from the airport to Ropa Vieja at Versailles (and Ceviche, and my first Cuban Coffee of the trip)

Good Eats

Noma Tastebuds Club • Bean Club • update your 2024 kitchen resolutions for 2025 (usually I do this the first few weeks of the year!) • NOVELTY! • more chewy noodles • All things Korean right now • another trip to HMart for a hot sweet potato

Some Meal Ideas:

• Recipes of Note: several friends have enjoyed big batches from the Stealth Health cookbooks, so I’ll be picking one to try!

• Seafood: marinated squid from Sophia’s Greek Pantry.

• Rice bowls with: fish from Sakanaya.

• America: Hoping not to miss the Shad Roe window. Schaller and Weber hot dogs.

• Noodle things: Cold sesame noodles. Vietnamese Bun. Cold Korean noodles (Naengmyeon). Udon. Trying to find fresh rice noodles in the Boston area.

• Vegetables I want to eat: asparagus, artichokes, endives with citrus/vinaigrette/goat cheese ala Jaleo, Greek greens (chicory; spinach and rice), more Kale Sauce. Things with ramps. Something interesting from

  emily nunn
  ’s archives.

• Fruits: still enjoying Citrus season and the Dekopon (seedless mandarins, under the branding Sumo), getting excited about rhubarb (even if it’s some spring forced rhubarb/mackerel/sherry vinegar). Frozen berries with cream.

• Sauces: tahini-lemon, odd sauce, kale sauce. Anchovy vinaigrette.

• Treats: yogurt runs to Sophia’s. On that note, frozen yogurt from Berryline, and grab some extra for the freezer. Noma hazelnut berry praline spooned on things.

• Drinks: Barley Tea. Hojicha. Green Devotion.

• Out: Kaffestugan at the Scandinavian Living Center. Formaggio Kitchen Barbecue Season (weekends 11-2!)

What are you looking forward to eating this month? I’d love to add to the list!

Self Care

Self-Care Short List • Massage as a health benefit not a luxury • Manicure • Acupuncture • Eye Masks in the fridge in the morning • Sauna time at the Y down the street (I’ve been popping in a meditation)

Move

Lift (Weekly Lifting 3x/week - focusing on Benching/Hip Thrusts right now) • Work back up to 12k daily steps • a few epically long walks • mobility work • updating a morning stretching routine

Update Lists

Inputs List (Podcasts, Reading, Watching) • Recipes to Cook / Let’s Eat Spreadsheet • Cooking Projects 2025 • Bean of the Week • Hobonichi Monthly Review 2025 (been inconsistent) • Placeholders for “Once in a Lifetime monthly activities”

Create

Daily Hobonichi Cousin (Food, Gratitude, Mood) • 2025 Calendar • Sketch in Sketchbook • Watercolor • Shortlist of new art projects to try: botanical drawing? oil pastels? • a class at New Art Center or Shepherd Maudsleigh • 100 Videos! • more opportunity to collaborate with friends on creative projects (made a little logo for

Journalist Brain by Lisa Thalhamer

, and updated my own for Good Things!)

Home

List 5 things to giveaway on Buy Nothing • wash dog beds • tidy up downstairs entrance • go through clothing drawers for a clear out • Short list for my “Life Binder” • replace the air filter • get my car interior cleaned • get my REAL ID

Inputs

Podcast to listen list: see Podcasts Now (new post)

TBR List: finishing Wind and Truth, moving on to catch up with Sanderson’s Secret Projects, Laurie Woolever ‘Care and Feeding”, Emily Henry ‘Great Big Beautiful Life’, John Green ‘Everything is Tuberculosis’, Robert Caro ‘The Power Broker’, Gretchen Rubin ‘The Secrets of Adulthood’

TV up next/watching: Reacher, Daredevil Born Again, White Lotus, Slow Horses, The Pitt, the new season of Andor, The Great, Deli Boys, Ludwig

Movies up next: Mickey 17, Black Bag, In the Grey, Love Me, Flow, The Monkey, Paddington in Peru, Soundtrack to a Coup d'État, My Dead Friend Zoe

Unhinged bug exhibit at Frost Miami

Connect more Deeply with my Humans:

friend calls on my walks • initiate texts and love to friends (this is hard for me!) • Dog Walks with Friends • Porch Sitting even in the cold • Plan spring travel • Plan spring “learn with friends”

Slow Drip Gardening:

It was the last week of Fivefork Farms tulip share, and these were stunners. I’m looking so forward to my spring share starting in the next week or two! This week I picked up three bunches of Daffodils at Trader Joes to brighten the house. Preparing for Spring: at some point, I’ll need to get a new elevated planter bed (BJs had this for less but is out of stock), and will likely need to replaces some pots.

Good Acquisitions:

• Books: Sun and Ssukgat, Tiny Experiments

• Cocofloss (it’s the best floss.)

The Week Meal Plan:

Why do I do this? I’ll note, my meal plans tend to be more of a directional support for me than what I actually end up eating in my week. (I think a lot of people who do meal planning feel obligated to actually eat the things they come with rather than just using as a placeholder/inspiration. I do not feel so constricted.)

🍒 Good Eats from the Past Few Weeks:

• Miami Eats: Cuban food! Ropa Vieja and Platanos and rice and cuban coffee at Versailles // a breakfast burrito from Raccoon Coffee // a sip of a very good Caipirinha from Jaguar // Zaytinya: Hommus Ma Lahm, Soujouk Pide, smoked beet salad, cauliflower tiganites, garides, kebab platter. Always the best dessert: greek yogurt with apricots; and a kadayif. Turkish coffee. A very good beverage: Lemonatha (lemon, black cardamom, club soda, fenugreek)

• Mimi’s Chuka Diner at Aeronaut with Kathy: Japanese style Mabo Dofu (slightly sweeter), Ebi Chili, Greens and Gravy, Chili Wontons, Butter Mochi

• Goodies from Sophia’s: honey greek yogurt! I think I’m going to make this more of a regular routine!

• An Angel Bakeries Pita with tzaziki and taramosalata

• Turko-Greekish Spinach, Meat, and Rice

• A Tatte Bakery toast with scrambled eggs and prosciutto and a house latte

• From Trader Joe’s: the chocolate coffee flavored granola is a little bit like oreo cookie crumbles? // mini lemon sheetcake is here, don’t skip it!

This week’s meal plan:

• Sunday: Bulgogi chicken and rice bowl, leftover broccoli, pickled mustard greens

• Monday: Rack of lamb, green peas, potato

• Tuesday: Extra Green Pasta

• Wednesday: Hockey game!

• Thursday: Kay Chun’s Stir Fried Cabbage and Pork in fish sauce (gift link)

• Friday: Hetty Lui McKinnon’s Crispy Gnocchi with Spinach and Feta (gift link)

Lunch Options: Roasted Japanese sweet potato. Pizza Bao. Tinned sardines and marinated artichokes. Lamb vindaloo.

Snacks: Yogurt and blueberries. Cheese sticks. Hardboiled Eggs (prepped). Turkey Chomps. Steel Cut Oatmeal. Cream of Wheat. Aggressive amounts of fridge-cheese. Cottage Cheese. Sophia’s Honey Yogurt.

Treat options (mostly in the freezer): Trader Joe’s Coffee Panna Cotta. Trader Joe’s Brownie Coffee Ice Cream Sandwiches. Apple Tartines. Key Lime Pie. Trader Joe’s Chocolate Cheesecake Bites.

What are you eating this week?

Here’s to a very good week!

xo, Sam