Nutella Mousse + Self Care As a Creative

Hey you. Today, I greet you with Nutella mousse, and a side of feelings. I took a break from work for 2/3 days of my weekend, and it was very, very necessary. Writing a book, albeit an amazing experience, is one that makes you confront and feel a lot of feelings about yourself- at least, for me, it has. You know it’s time for a break when you involuntarily cry re-watching Whitney Port & her husband RE-WATCHING Whitney Port’s fashion show— WHAT EVEN IS THAT SENTENCE?!? A cry for help, clearly!

In short, I did not do a whole lot this weekend aside from 1 day of shooting. Friday, I even took a nap, which ask anyone, is SO not my thing, but I succumbed to tiredness and slight overwhelm, and honestly, I’m cool with it, and had I not, I don’t think I’d be the bright-eyed, bushy-tailed DELIGHT that I am today (JK).

All of this is to say: Here’s the summation of my weekend: cramps, nap, groceries, 109 degrees (not a boy band), Amy’s frozens (#NONSPON), A LOT of Whitney Port re-watching The City (Which, come at me, I have no shame), Swiffer-ing my floors, Ben building me a new shelf for above my desk (Obv did nothing there, but an event for me, nonetheless), watching The Sopranos, cancelling watching the Sopranos because wow, v upsetting, cat/kitten antics, and really early bedtimes...

So uneventful. So unaesthetically-pleasing. SO. NECESSARY. I capped it off with this mousse because I wanted a treat, but was feeling v low maintenance kitchen vibes. Segue city, here we go, it’s mousse time!

She’s light. She’s airy. She’s comprised solely of nutella + creme fraiche & whipped cream. It’s nook cook, egg-free, and best of all, this whole situation comes together in 10 minutes, then it’s just 20 minutes of refrigeration time.

This mousse is so decadent for how light it is. I love it topped with blueberries, strawberries, toasted nuts, or crumbled cookies. It would honestly, also make a delicious pie filling- just saying. I might need to seriously experiment with this. This bad boy is absolutely a repeat from my book- and so good for hot days. Speaking of which— did you know my book comes out in a week? I am silently freaking out. Just a bundle of excitement, nerves, hope and fear over here, haha! If you’re unfamiliar, I wrote a little book that’s comprised of 95 recipes- about 75% vegetarian/25% pescatarian. There are lots of Mediterranean and California vibes, because that’s my jam, but also there is some nostalgia- a la this mousse, which is basically me just turning a childhood breakfast staple of mine into dessert. If you haven’t pre-ordered your copy yet, there’s still time, and to those that have, can I make you cookies?

I’m capping off this Monday with a v easy dinner of kale Caesars and frico-edged grilled cheeses because we have a loaf of really good bread from Easy Tiger & I’ve been really wanting to throw a frico edge on that sitch. However, before I watch some Real Housewives about all of that, a few thoughts on taking care as creatives/humans.

Sometimes, especially in busy seasons, there is such value in re-callibration- something that Ben is really good about, and I’m trying to be better at. Last week felt noisy- I was taking in a lot of content, creating a lot of content, talking a lot, hearing a lot of feedback, and while good things, even for an extrovert it can drain you, and make it difficult to listen to your own voice/carve your path forward. It’s an impediment to doing the work you know you love, want and need to do. I’ve learned that personally, noise is one of the enemies of confidence (and my own personal productivity) because it crowds out truth and makes room for doubt. We can begin to confuse outside noise with our inner voice, and that is where things get dicey, and personally, in the past I’ve found myself getting a little “stuck” here. I consider myself I am a former self-doubt Olympian. Screw gold, we are talking pla-ti-num, bay-bee! This is why I say all of this, and frankly, I don’t know who needs to hear it. Whether you are a creative, or simply feeling a tug to engage in a little “re-callibration” of your own during this season, my advice to myself and to you is to let it happen.

Feeling “stuck” in any capacity, be it a mood, a pattern of self-doubt, whatever it may be- is a painful/uncomfortable human experience. The good ideas won’t flow/you can’t do the good work if you remain stuck. In order to un-stick, some sort of change is required. And you know what? Sometimes a rest is as good as a change. SOMEONE GIVE ME A MIC TO DROP.

Feeling slightly stuck? It is part of life, part of being human, part of the creative process. Take a nap, get in nature, get actual dirt on your hands and plant something, volunteer, read something that is not on a screen, do a crossword, make a list, think about all you are grateful for, encourage someone else, cook something you’ve never made, mayyyybe even this mousse! Whatever it is, let it be something that you don’t pressure yourself about, and don’t place value judgments on- just let yourself be and re-callibrate.

That’s all she wrote...Because she had to make dinner.