Four Fun Things | Cup of Jo (2024)

Imagine my delight at my luck when I walked into the local library yesterday and Inheritance was sitting on the shelf!! I hadn’t even bothered to get on the holds list because I just knew the wait would be forever lol. Started this morning and just finished at 9 pm. To say it was hard to put down is a bit of an understatement. All day long I kept giving out updates to my husband, until the point he was practically shouting “well, what has she found out now? I’m dying over here!” I’m afraid I just couldn’t help reading so fast, but I was astonished and moved over and over again by the beauty and grief and depth of soul in her words. Highly worth my whole Saturday!

My friends from Syria make spaghetti with yoghurt, garlic, and just a little lemon juice, olive oil and salt. DELICIOUS and super easy. I’m going to try this version asap.

I love this documentary so much! I recommend it to everyone!

Another game to add to the list.. waiting at the restaurant for food to arrive and keeping the boys screen free and sane is sometimes a difficult and we usually play the ABC game, 20 questions and have now added Heads Up to the list.. Will try Leg next time we’re out.

The “legs” game sounds great..Can you purchase it? Have a great weekend!

Last night my teenage daughter was feeling down and disappointed by some plans that had fallen through, and I suggested playing a fast game of (new to us) ‘Legs’, instead of her lying face down on my bed whimpering.
And it worked! In two minutes she couldn’t stop giggling. Thanks, COJ!

Caroline–I bought the book yesterday and am half way done. It’s gripping! Thanks for the recommendation!

I was walking to work today thinking about dinner later and I remembered there being an onion yogurt pasta dish I’d seen somewhere and wanted to make. Opened COJ and there it was!

Saw Dani Shapiro at a book reading last night in Brookline, MA. If you have a chance to see her in your city – please do it! She is as articulate as you’d imagine and I can’t wait to read Inheritance!

My nine year still chooses Sorry every time…

He’s a keeper, Caroline! (And I added this book to my list IMMEDIATELY. Right up my alley.) And I’ve been wanting to make that darn pasta since Jenny posted the process on her Insta stories. Looks insanely good. (Also right up my alley. Might even make it for lunch today…)

It’s a tough call, but I think “Four Fun Things” is my favorite part of COJ. Keep it coming!

Cup of Jo should have a tag or page dedicated to book recommendations. I almost exclusively choose books based on your recommendations (and of course the awesome commenters) but I do not have a convenient way to locate those.

The pasta dish sounds amazing, but a question about Jenny’s note – the recipe calls for 6 cups of onions. Does Jenny really use 12 cups!?

To the person responsible for posting the sweet image of the midcentury family playing a game together- thank you. Refreshing to see a nostalgic pic used in an unironic way! And as a bonus, every stick of furniture is swoon-worthy, right down to the HAY look-alike pillows.

My dad and I always played a version of Legs when I was a kid. It is the best car game!

Caroline, swoon!! After reading your many insightful posts on CoJ about reading and writing, it sounds like you’ve got yourself a rare edition ;)

I’m planning to listen to Inheritance on audio! I’ve heard such great things about Dani Shapiro in general and this book in particular!

I volunteered in a friend’s gifted classroom for ten years, and she played a version of that game with the kids to help encourage them to be more creative and to think beyond the obvious. They would get so frustrated when they had to cross off most of their lists, but you definitely see them trying to be more creative the next time they played it.

That pasta is a blast from the past! Thanks for digging this winner out of the recipe archives in my head and into vogue again :)

I just searched for “Legs” on Amazon Prime before re-reading this …

Thanks for the book recommendation! I have the hardest time finding new books to read, so I always like posts with recs. Definitely planning to check it out!

I feel like I may have mentioned this before, but hear me out: Inheritance reminds me a LOT of one of my favourite documentaries, by Sarah Polley, called Stories We Tell, that is about Sarah discovering the father she knew is not actually her biological father and that she was the offspring of an affair her mother had had. Much like Inheritance, it’s about how we craft a narrative about ourselves, what we know to be true, and what, at the end of the day, actually matters.

Commenting from Germany, where apparently the windbreaker is no longer available on the Nike website! I tried to reverse search the image to no avail – Google’s best guess is ‘board shorts’ (lol). What’s the product name?? Thanks!

Back in the 80s, my parents bought matching black and red Nike windbreakers that looked exactly like the one featured. They would wear them on walks around the neighborhood, and it was just as adorably nerdy as you might expect. I’m still sad that there was never a picture capturing the moment. They still like to coordinate outfits, 45 years of marriage later, but much to my dismay, they donated the windbreakers (which I discovered when I went home to steal one!)

I’ve been making that yogurt and carmelized onion pasta dish since it appeared on CoJ a few years back. ;) It’s such an easy yet complex dish to have in the dinner rotation!

Caroline. Marry him. Or you know, just keep him around a really long time.

Fun mid week pick me up!!

One of our go-to recipes is the pasta with yogurt and carmalized onions. I like to add in chunks of roasted butternut squash for extra sweetness and texture :)

Just here to say Caroline’s bf sounds like a keeper.