Hi {{first_name | Friends}},
October snuck up on me the way it always does: one minute it's still summer, and the next I'm digging out sweaters and wondering where the last three weeks went. And honestly? I know exactly where they went. I spent them wrapped up in Getting Naked: The Podcast with Mackenzie, and it turned into a lot more than just a few conversations.
It got me thinking about friendship - the kind that sticks, the kind that shows up, the kind you don't realize you're leaning on until you need it. So this month's Roundup leans into that a little more than usual. There's a recipe, of course, and some things I'm loving, but there's also some real talk about the people who've been holding me up lately.
So here's the September Roundup.
👯 Friendship, Full Circle
Three weeks of recording Getting Naked: The Podcast with Mackenzie did something to me I wasn't expecting. It wasn't just good conversation for a good show, it was a reminder of how much friendship shapes everything else. The people who make you laugh until you can't breathe (or snort!), who call you out with love, who show up when things get hard. Somewhere in the middle of all that recording, I realized I wanted to write about it - about community, about the friends who've carried me through different seasons of my life, and about why I think we don't talk about it enough.
I truly believe that friends, real friends, are the family we choose. There is a comfort there, you know they have your back and you for sure have theirs. And friends like Mack and Faith who, even though I may not see them as often as I would like, when we do get together it’s like no time has passed and you feel as close as you ever did.
📚 What I'm Reading
I’m in the middle of reading Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I love her other books and am really enjoying this one so far. A couple more weeks to finish it before our Now We’re Reading book talk on 10/27. The beginning really takes off (no pun intended lol) and just as fear sets in about what’s in store for these characters, the book takes you back in time. So as the characters meet and get to know one another, the reader is getting to know everyone as well.
I also got an early copy of Daphne and Me by Jane Leeves, out October 20, and I cannot recommend it enough. I actually filmed my reaction the moment I finished it - you can watch it here.
Go pre-order it now: harpercollins.com/pages/daphne-and-me
🥂 What I’m Loving
THIS GIRL MIXERS
I have a new obsession and I'm not being subtle about it: This Girl Mixers & Snacks. Their mixers are organic, clean, and genuinely delicious - I've been using them nonstop including a recent Meals for One episode. I actually loved them enough that I wanted to sit down and talk to the co-founder, Jordan Catapano, on Getting Naked: The Podcast. We’ve had so much fun together recently that Jordan wants to offer all of you 30% off your order! Use the code VALERIE for 30% off during checkout at thisgirlmixerssnacks.com.
Use code VALERIE for 30% off
ASHA PATEL DESIGNS
I've been wearing pieces from Asha Patel Designs ever since my friend and Asha gifted me a beautiful necklace last year. The designs are “Jewelry with Energy. Created with Intention. Worn with Purpose.” Every piece has meaning behind it, and the stones carry different healing energy. They are simply beautiful. I love them so much we featured them on Drew's show! Follow them on Instagram and see their pieces here.
💭 Something I'm Working On
This one's been sitting with me all month. Recording with Mackenzie cracked something open about friendship - who shows up, who you can count on, and how much I've been leaning on my people lately without saying so out loud.
I keep coming back to something the author Elisabeth Foley wrote about friendship:
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🌸 Val's Perfume Corner
This month I'm loving Floraiku, a gorgeous line out of Paris. I did a whole review - watch it here - and you can find the full collection at us.floraiku.com. My sister-in-law Stacy and I went to the Dior show in Paris and Floraiku was just around the corner, so of course we stopped in. I have never had an experience like that in a perfume store! It was like a wine tasting but perfume smelling 😂!
😂 Funniest Thing I Saw This Month
I've become completely obsessed with Caitlyn Marie Prints on Instagram. She draws these little hand-drawn animal illustrations - an opossum, a hermit crab, a shrimp of all things - paired with captions that are so painfully, hilariously true it's almost rude. "The Horrors Persist But So Do I." "It's Too Peopley Outside." I sent them around my group chat and got ten replies that were basically just "STOP, this is me." Picked this particular one because of all the pushback I get whenever I share a recipe with tilapia. 😜
Give her a follow - you will not stop laughing: instagram.com/caitlynmarieprints
🍽️ Recipe of the Month: Heirloom Garlic Clove Chicken Thighs
This month's pick is a cozy-but-elegant one - easy enough for a weeknight, nice enough that people will think you fussed over it. From Valerie's Home Cooking, Season 9 ("All the Colors of the Rainbow").
INGREDIENTS
6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon canola oil
3/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, halved
2 sprigs fresh thyme
Garlic cloves and shallot, for nestling around the chicken in the pan
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Season the chicken thighs all over with about 1½ teaspoons salt and a few grinds of pepper.
Heat the butter and canola oil in a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the chicken skin-side down and cook, undisturbed, until deep golden brown, about 5 minutes.
Flip the chicken and turn off the heat.
Add the white wine, then nestle the kalamata olives, thyme sprigs, garlic, and shallot around the chicken.
Return the liquid to a simmer over medium-high heat, then transfer to the oven and roast until the chicken is cooked through, about 1 hour 15 minutes.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken, garlic, and olives to a serving dish.
Skim the fat from the pan liquid, then spoon the remaining pan juices over the chicken before serving.Enjoy - and let me know in the comments if you make it!
That's it for September! Thank you for reading, for cooking along, and for being part of this little corner of the internet with me.
Love, Valerie 💛
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