Ditch your phone for analog social media, a stunning Iceland bike trip, and a cookbook that'll crack you up and wow your taste buds.
Howdy folks!
Rolling along toward SPRING...kinda. My tough-as-nails wife just enjoyed errr survived three days ski touring through the Cascades in howling winds and deep snow. Meanwhile, I cooked a 5-course meal for a friend's birthday on Saturday. #rolereversal
This week's fun and games:
Ditching social media to go analog, a visual stunner of a film in Iceland, and a cookbook that keeps delivering the goods.
I've ignored social media since November. No Instagram on my phone and I'm not uploading workouts to Strava. Instead, I have blissful, disconnected silence. It. Is. Awesome.
In that realm, Cal Newport discusses "analog social media." Many items he recommends are efforts Chelsea and I made when we moved to Bend and we're feeling more connected and supported by a fantastic community than ever before. Yes, it takes time and effort, and it's also ~1,980 times more satisfying for me than scrolling through Instagram.
As Cal writes in the article:
"Analog social media describes organizations, activities and traditions that require you to interact with interesting people and encounter interesting things in the real world.
Here are some examples:
Join a local political group that meets regularly to organize on issues relevant to your local community, or serve as a volunteer on the election campaign of a local politician you know and like.
Join a social fitness group, like a running club, or local CrossFit box.
Go to at least one author talk per month at a local bookstore.
Create a book club, poker group, or gaming club.
Establish a weekly brunch or happy hour with your close friends.
These types of activities tend to provide significantly more value in your life than their digital counterparts. Indeed, tools like online social media are probably best understood as weak online simulacrums of the analog encounters that we know deep down we need to thrive as humans."
I can't recommend these kinds of activities and organizing enough. Funny because they're simply what people have done for hundreds of years, but easy to forget how much richness they add to our lives in the era of social media.
Deep in the Iceland Elements
While trip scheming, I found a gorgeous video about three friends riding through Iceland's central highlands. In the trek we did there in 2016, I saw cyclists and thought, "wow, that looks amazing." Then the rain and wind didn't stop for 4 hours (a typical day in July there!) and my stoke diminished slightly.
This crew clearly had the Viking weather gods on their sides since most scenes feature perfect fluffy clouds and amazing scenery. (Or they edited out all the bad weather?) Even if you don't make a sacrifice to Freyr, God of Rain, watch the video here!
Our Go-To Cookbook for Every Holiday
Look no further for a kickass new cookbook! Isa Chandra Moskowitz is a) an amazing chef and b) hilarious. We frequently make recipes from her cookbook Isa Does It, but this recommendation is for the Superfun Times Vegan Holiday Cookbook. (A recent win with it: a multi-course Valentine's Day meal two friends and I cooked for our ladies.)
Holidays are special and carry time-honored traditions of Grandma's Apple Pie or Mom's Tubular Roast. The genius of Superfun Times is creating vegan versions of classic holiday favorites that everyone will love.
