The Deebs Digest #2: Rashida Jones is officially in charge of my birthday party
and there's a strict dress code.
Welcome back to The Deebs Digest - your weekly dose of food, creativity, books, podcasts, and more. So let’s get into it!
Trader Joe’s recently announced a new recipe contest - the challenge is to create something that features their hoisin sauce, and can also include up to 6 additional Trader Joe’s items. I’ve been trying to brainstorm some out-of-the-box recipe ideas, and I think what I’ve landed on might be truly unhinged… it will either turn out amazing or absolutely horrible. Stay tuned to find out which! (I’ve committed myself now, so I have to do it).
I made one of my go-to Half Baked Harvest recipes this week: Almost Instant Red Curry Beef and Garlic Noodles. I love a ton of her recipes (especially anything with red curry in it!) so they are heavy in our dinner rotation. One thing to note though is that I often find it takes me much longer to do the prep work for her recipes then she says it should. I don’t know if I’m a slow chopper or what, but I just can’t get all the ingredients out and chop broccoli, bell pepper, shallot, green onions, garlic, and basil all in 10 minutes! But it’s still a fairly quick dinner overall and definitely one to add to your list!
Reading
This week I devoured Codebreaker by Jay Martel (the pen name of the husband and wife co-authors). This was their debut novel, which publishes July 22, 2025, and it was compared to a young adult version of the Da Vinci Code or National Treasure. Though it was classified as a YA novel, I think it absolutely appeals to an older audience as well - I was actually surprised at how intense some of the action was. In addition, there was an interactive code solving element that was pretty unique, and a cute (though a little bit cheesy at times) romance. The pace and plotting were really well done though and I couldn’t put it down.
Watching
The Studio (Apple TV+) - this new series from Seth Rogen and long-time collaborator, Evan Goldberg, follows Rogen’s character, film-lover Matt Remick, as he learns how to navigate his new role as head of fictional movie studio, Continental. As he balances the pressure of trying to make great films, while appeasing the studio with blockbuster cash-grabs, comedy and drama ensue. The second episode left me feeling similar to how I do watching the “Scott’s Tots” episode of The Office - it was SO funny, and also incredibly painful! I loved it, and I also might never need to watch it again (but to be clear, you should absolutely watch it)! It features a great cast, fun cameos, and beautiful sets. I enjoyed this article about the midcentury landmark filming locations used, as well as how they created a faux Frank Lloyd Wright-style office building.
Side note: I already liked Seth Rogen a lot - and then I saw this clip, which really solidified the deal for me.
Listening
I’m digging Jessica Simpson’s new EP, Nashville Canyon, Pt. 1. It’s a total deviation from the music I grew up hearing from her - this is Americana, not pop - and I think it suits her really well. It’s been 16 years since she last released original music and I’m glad to see the resurgence of another early aughts icon (ala the Lohanaissance). Speaking of Jessica Simpson, her memoir, Open Book, is one of my top celebrity memoirs. If you haven’t checked that out, it’s definitely worth the read!
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This week I want to talk about how I’m doing The Artist’s Way.
But first, what is The Artist’s Way? Written by author Julia Cameron, it’s a 12 week course designed to help creative people gain self-confidence and embrace their creativity. Artists who credit this book for significantly impacting their creativity include Alicia Keys, Martin Scorsese (the author’s ex-husband, btw), and Elizabeth Gilbert, who said “Eat, Pray, Love” wouldn’t exist without it. I figured if it could help me be even a fraction as creative as one of them, it was probably worth a shot.
Like I mentioned last week though, there are quite a few components to the process. Each week there is a chapter to read, along with a series of tasks to complete. She also asks you to take yourself on a two hour Artists Date every week, as well as write three handwritten pages every morning. I found the time commitment and amount of work incredibly daunting when I first heard about it.
But then I learned about ’s “Bare Minimum Artist’s Way” method via (also a great follow for anyone else who loves reading). and ’ technique for navigating the process felt so much more approachable, and allowed me to think about what I could gain from doing the course on a smaller scale, instead of feeling like I’ve failed if I miss one of the tasks in week 2 and then quitting.
Each week, they host a podcast episode where they dig into the theme of the week’s lesson, share their experiences and takeaways, and then go through one or two of the tasks together. The Bare Minimum Artist’s Way feels very choose your own adventure (which were obviously the best kind of books if you were a 80’s/90’s kid). Some people choose to just listen to the podcast episode for the week and they will still get something out of it. Others choose to read along in the chapter or participate in some of the tasks, Morning Pages, or Artist’s Dates. I started out planning to only listen to the podcast, but as I got into the first week’s episode I was like ok I’ve got to order this book right now - I want to highlight passages and write notes in the margins.
So, here’s my current method for completing this course:
On the weekend: I complete a check-in of the previous week (usually just a quick recap of what went well, what tasks I completed, etc) and read the next chapter of the book. I also look over that week’s tasks and highlight any that appeal to me (usually 2-5 out of maybe 10-20 tasks).
On Monday: I listen to the corresponding Internet people podcast episode - usually while I walk during my lunch break.
During the week: I’ll work on my tasks as I have time; most take 5-15 minutes. Here are a couple tasks I’ve completed over the last couple of weeks:
If you could live 5 different lives, what would you choose to do for a career? I said painter, chef/restaurant owner, private investigator, interior designer, and author.
Describe your childhood room. What did you like about it? I had completely forgotten about my childhood room until this activity and it really made me laugh thinking back on it. My room was a bright sunny yellow, I had a blue bedspread with a water print on it that looked like reflections in a pool, and I hung a bunch of grass skirts under my mattress as a bed skirt.
You guys, it’s like I was living in a tiki bar. I was very influenced by Roxy and 2000’s surf culture ok, and also, don’t act like you weren’t wearing a puka shell necklace then too, because I know you were!
Not part of my surfer vibe, but just as important to my aesthetic - Got Milk? ads. Do you remember these?! I had so many pages from magazines pasted onto my walls, but for some reason, these took up the most real estate.
Morning Pages: like I mentioned last week, I didn’t think I was going to be into these, but I very much am. In the first two weeks, I only missed them one day, and I could absolutely see myself continuing this practice after I’m done with the course. The purpose of the Morning Pages is to get the things blocking your creativity out of your brain and onto the page. It can feel like a lot of pressure looking at a blank page and having no idea what to write, but she said you can just write that! It’s a stream of consciousness and if all you are thinking is that you don’t know what to write, then you keep writing that until you think of something else or you fill your pages.
Some mornings my pages are filled with doubts and worries about pursuing my creativity - “what if no one reads my newsletter? why did I even tell anyone about my newsletter; now people I know are going to read it!” Other mornings I just complain about how tired I am and why do I have to get up right now and I just want to go back to sleep and I need coffee but I’m too tired to make coffee, ugh!
The nice thing about Morning Pages is that there is no wrong way to do them, even when you feel like you might be doing them wrong.
Artist’s Date: this is the area of the course I find the most challenging to commit to. While I love the idea of taking myself on a two hour solo creative date to explore new places and things, that also feels like something that is not super realistic to make time for every single week when you work and have a family you would like to spend time with.
I decided that I will probably try to do a couple full-length solo dates throughout the 12 weeks, but more often then not, I will go somewhere with my daughter or my husband, or I will do a 15 minute or half hour artist date instead. And some weeks I likely won’t do them at all. I came up with a big list of potential ideas though, many of which I think are very doable to fit into shorter amounts of time, and I think these will still be valuable and give me opportunities to be inspired creatively. I’ll share more on those next week!
By the way, this can still be a lot of stuff to do every week, but the good news is that on any week where I don’t have the capacity for some of it, I can skip items guilt-free, knowing I’m still getting a lot out of the process. And you can do as much or as little as you like too if you decide to try it.
Two artists can take the exact same content and create something completely separate and unique. Take for example, Dolly Parton’s original “I Will Always Love You.” It’s raw and emotional, but also more unassuming. Then there’s the version by vocal powerhouse, Whitney Houston. Both are great, and they are also two very different songs.
This week’s creative prompt is to take a piece of work that you admire and recreate it with your own twist. Maybe that’s taking a favorite recipe and infusing it with a new flavor, or choosing a famous work of art and drawing it in your own style.
If you create something with this prompt, let me know in the comments!
I listened to Rashida Jones on Amy Poehler’s new podcast, Good Hang, talking about how her birthday parties have a strict pajama dress code and the entire event is just a dance party where she serves cereal, pizza, and candy - proving she is just as cool as I figured she would be.
As for the podcast, the jury is still out for me. I’ll probably continue to listen for a while as I love Amy Poehler and the guests she’s chosen so far, but I don’t think she’s hit her stride just yet. It feels like she is trying to be very respectful of her famous friends’ time by keeping things short, but it comes across to me as a bit disjointed and I think she could benefit from more time with the guests.
According to Punch, Midori is having a comeback. As someone whose go-to cocktail in my twenties was the Midori Sour, I am both delighted and horrified by this resurgence.
If you use the Libby app for digital and audio library books (and you certainly should if it’s available through your library!), here is a great tip for expanding the libraries you can borrow from with your existing library card. Once I did this, I went from being able to check out books through one library/network to 12 in my state!! It makes it much more likely that a book I want will be available.
so happy you're doing the bare minimum artist's way with us!!!