Two dad questionnaires
Also in here: the sweatshirt I'm wearing on July 4th and an essay I hated
Hi hi hi! It’s Wednesday and the last regular Handpicked for the summer.
First things first, I got seven rolls of film back from our trip to Arizona and I am bursting to share it all. No time to do a whole blog post (past Lazy B trips here and here), so for now, two favorites:
father’s day q+a
Do you have any Father’s Day traditions? Nate wants to make French toast with boysenberry syrup and take an afternoon nap. (He’s the best.)
Every year, our kids fill out our traditional Father’s Day questionnaire, which is always hilariously inaccurate. “My dad is 18 years old and 19 feet tall. His favorite food is Nutella. At work, he helps commercials.”
Feel free to borrow some of our quiz questions:
My dad is [ ] years old and [ ] feet tall.
My dad always says “[ ].”
If my dad could do anything for one day, he would [ ].
His favorite food is [ ].
At work, he does [ ].
My dad and I like to [ ] together.
My dad taught me [ ].
The best thing about my dad is [ ].
A couple years ago, my siblings and I couldn’t get together to celebrate on Father’s Day, so we all secretly filled out this questionnaire and then surprised Dad with our answers, which he read out loud on a family zoom. We all laughed and some of us cried, and it was so sweet to see my dad light up about each child’s answers. Plus, it kind of created a little piece of family history. Something tells me, someday, many years from now when we miss him, we’ll go back and re-read those answers and laugh and cry a little more.
The Handpicked Gift Guide for Husbands Who Say They Don't Need Anything
today’s bouquet
First on my kids’ summer chore list: soaking their backpacks in this.
10 special items people framed. Makes my heart pound!
Yearning for this lavender masterpiece (via Lizzy)
TBH, I think I’d love so much quiet I could hear myself blink.
My secret weapon for salads.
Wow, white chocolate raspberry cookies — adding frozen raspberries to the grocery list. Cute for the 4th!
Speaking of the 4th: someone wear this! I’m wearing this because it’s always freezing here during the fireworks.
I haven’t stopped thinking about this beachy button up since I passed it in the mall the other day.
My spare counter space and I are grateful for this two-tier fruit basket that arrived just in time for nectarine season.
1,000+ free coloring books.
Enjoyed this profile on an extremely cool Rococo-ish painter who’s making big bucks, and she’s only 34.
You may have heard the aphorism, “A vote is a chess move, not a valentine,” coined by the brilliant author Rebecca Solnit. May I recommend listening to this terrific conversation with her on Re:Thinking.
Hated the feeling I got when I read this essay. I completely respect the author’s unique motherhood journey, but I wish she hadn’t chosen a writing style that glorified her opinion as though it had been through clinical trials. This POV: “Motherhood is good and important work. But it is still just work. It’s not any more mystical or magical or holy than anything else in this scrubby world” — is the exact opposite of how I feel about motherhood. And I think that’s okay. In the words of Amy Poehler: “Good for her! Not for me.” (Is it time for my dissertation on the antifeminism of tradwife bashing…?)
grateful to my sister sarah for capturing this moment a few days before unexpectedly having to stop bottle feeding my baby. i’m going to frame it. kodak portra 160 // mb, ca // 2024
“Even though you share countless similarities with others, you are unique. No one has your mind or your feelings. They do not notice what you notice, and do not have precisely the same sensitivities or fears. No one has the same idea of God as you. No one longs to embrace life or ponders death and beyond as you do. No one is human in the same exact way as you are. Once you understand this, your task is to get in touch with yourself. Find out what moves you, what you believe in, what you truly understand about life, who you are, and what this great experience of being alive means to you. Then put it in your paintings.”
—Richard Schmidt (via Reflections in Paint)
This questionnaire is such a sweet idea! Especially as it changes over the years…
These photos are divine! I'm scrambling to do all the things for Father's Day since it is also my husband's birthday. This questionnaire is perfect.