I’m starting to get that almost-summer feeling, which is one of my favorite feelings to get.

This year has been super weird weather-wise in St. Louis, with colder-than-usual temperatures and lots of rain and storms, but now we’re starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel. I always know summer is here when I go to Tower Grove Park and see the lotus blossoms (see above). They’re especially beautiful after the rain.

With summer comes lots of new activities and travel plans, as well as new recipes. I’m heading down to Southwestern Missouri later this week to catch trout for a story I’m working on for a magazine. In a couple weeks, I’m probably going to make my own birthday cake for the first time in a while. I have a yellow cake recipe with chocolate buttercream frosting and I’ve already been scouting out sprinkles to go on top.

Most of all, I’m looking forward to more relaxation this summer. I was at yoga the other night and my teacher was talking about how summer brings a lot of energy, which is true, but it’s important to balance that with some downtime. I’m envisioning many more afternoons with a good book and strawberry rose mint agua frescas (more on the those later).

Without further ado, here is Dimanche:

When I was at Tower Grove Farmers’ Market yesterday, I stumbled upon a pop-up stand from a New Orleans jewelry maker called Lux + Orleans. I saw the pair of earrings in the below picture, walked away without buying them, and ended up coming back and buying them because I couldn’t stop thinking about them as I ran errands. I can’t wait to wear them with everything this summer. 

This story about tupelo honey is from a couple weeks back but I’m still thinking about it. Hurricanes and encroaching developments threaten the livelihood of the small group of beekeepers who are still producing the honey, but they keep at it, year after year. Read more about tupelo honey and honey makers in this New York Times story.

Everyone needs to watch “Always Be My Maybe.” I watched the movie on Netflix last week and I loved it from start to finish. Ali Wong was great as an ambitious celebrity chef but in my opinion, Randall Park stole the show as a stoner musician living in his dad’s house with no plans to move out. Check out this review of the movie in Eater.

I’m loving this “Writers’ Fridges” column from The Paris Review. I laughed out loud more than a few times at this one about novelist Kristen Arnett’s fridge. Read the full article in The Paris Review.

I went to Nippon Tei for the first time last night and I was blown away. My boyfriend and I ordered bluefin sashimi and it was so good, I had tears in my eyes. I can’t wait to come back to the restaurant and order more sushi and sashimi soon. If you’re in St. Louis and you haven’t been yet, I’d highly recommend making the trip out to West County.

This editorial about food delivery services is spot on. I’m all for companies being able to deliver meals to residences, but I’m definitely against the growing phenomenon of meal delivery replacing real cooking. I agree with writer David Tamarkin when he says in the article that the companies are trying to convince us that cooking is more time-consuming and complicated than it actually is. Read the full op-ed in The New York Times.

Now that I’ve made a strawberry mint rose agua fresca once, I’m going to be making it all summer. I riffed off a recipe I saw online and it turned out really well. Stay tuned for my recipe later this week on the blog. 

This story about chocolate companies using child labor broke my heart. I already don’t buy from these companies very often, but after reading this story and seeing the photographs, I don’t think I ever will again. I’d encourage you to vote with your dollars and do the same. Read the story in The Washington Post.

I stopped by AO&Co. for the first time yesterday morning and I’m already scheduling my next visit. The market is new from Ben Poremba, the owner of restaurants in St. Louis including Elaia and Olio. Check it out for gourmet food items, specialty products, and a wonderful tea and coffee shop next door that sells the best iced tea of my life. It comes with almond and orange blossom syrup. 

Last but certainly not least, ice cream trucks are having a meltdown in New York. The city is cracking down on numerous ice cream trucks that never paid fines for violating traffic laws. Read more about the situation in this CNN article.

Enjoy your week! Here’s a song to get you started.