PicoBlog

A few days before we left Los Angeles for Turin, I picked up 120 photos I had printed at Costco and tucked them into my purse. I'd been thinking a lot about how the boys were feeling, their sadness about selling our house and leaving their friends behind, and their anxiety about moving to a foreign country and starting a new school. All of our emotions were running high, and I wanted to do something upon arrival that would bring some comfort and remind them they were still connected to what was, even in this new world so far away.

Subscribe The NIL era is here to stay. Ever since the NCAA ruled that student-athletes would be allowed to monetize off their Name, Image, and Likeness, millions (and perhaps billions) of dollars have been poured into kids who, up until three years ago, would be drawing similar dollar amounts for their schools while making… nil. In these early years of NIL investments, a big chunk has been designated to women’s basketball college players, such as the likes of Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, Paige Bueckers and Cameron Brink, high profile names who have signed with major brands and, in the case of Reese and Clark, banked way over $1 million in endorsement deals.

Hey there, If you’ve found your way here but are not yet subscribed for the weekly newsletter, you can do that here. You will never miss a story or recipe (including the one shared below), and I’ll be eternally grateful for your support.Are you a night owl or a morning person? Are you someone who thrives on staying up all night to watch the sunrise, or someone who prefers being gently woken up by the morning sun streaming through your window?

Since it opened in 2012, Macchialina has been one of Miami Beach’s favorite places. It’s no surprise given chef/owner Michael Pirolo’s exquisite rustic Italian dishes paired with Jacqueline Pirolo’s curated wine selections. Many people on mainland Miami have waited with bated breath for this brother and sister team to open a restaurant on the other side of Biscayne Bay. That moment has come with the announcement of the soon-to-come Bar Bucce.

Hello! This pistachio cotton sponge is perhaps my ideal spring cake: simple and light with added richness and color from buttery pistachios. It’s a variation on my beloved tang mian cotton cake but with ground pistachios subbed for part of the flour. I also added some pistachio cream/crema di pistacchio — a thick, nutella-esque spread made from pistachios, milk powder, sugar, and oil — to amplify the nutty flavor and aroma.

Thanks for your loyalty, Weird Drinkers! Your favorite newsletter is back. Weird Drinkers love their unusual sips (and there are plenty out there, like this naturally intoxicating Black Drink or a booze produced from coconut flower nectar). Today’s potent beverage comes from a Caribbean tradition. The demise of Puerto Rico’s commercial sugar production has resulted in changes—and could eventually spell disaster—for a beloved tradition on the island: moonshine. It’s this time of year, around the holidays, when those changes are felt most acutely.

My family went to see Up on my grandpa’s 70th birthday back in 2009. When the movie was over, I remember everyone being ecstatic - and undeniably moved. At age 9, I think it was probably the first time I’d seen my parents shed tears in a movie. My dad immediately dubbed the first 15 minutes of the film “The Robot Test” - because “if you don’t cry in the first 15 minutes, you’re a robot.

Hi Pizza friends! Can you believe the “greatest pizza in America” can be found in Philadelphia? According to Bon Appétite magazine anyways. A few years ago they visited Pizzeria Beddia in Fishtown and walked away permanently changed. At the time of them crowning Beddia with the accolade, the pizza operation was run out of a nondescript brick cube. Customers lined up outside the shop, often 90 minutes in advance, for a chance to get one of forty pies they made that day.

Eagle Poem is another one of my favorites, and I loved yours too! They both share the sentiment of the Wagoner poem that attention is required on our part of the gifts of nature to fully emerge. "You let motion show itself... And the gift will come." Expand full comment ncG1vNJzZminoJq7b7%2FUm6qtmZOge6S7zGinrppfrry2rdGen56qlWS9cLzLmpqeZaCksq55y6iqrWWSrnqlrdWim2avkZy8r7HReKytpY%2BovLa%2Bwp50qaejqXOku8ymnKeso3LBs8HEX6ytpY%2BisqW11KZ0sJ2S