Power Nap #119
insanely comfortable boots / a recipe from my meal prep girl crush!!
Gigi Time 🫶🏻
Hey friends! Nate’s mom (whom we call Gigi) visited us this week, and it was really, really wonderful to have her around. Nate and I were brainstorming ways to spend time with her and also not have it be crazy overwhelming with four kids all fighting for her attention and came up with an idea: each child would get to stay home from school one day for special “Gigi time.” It was so fun! Millie and Allie chose going to get their nails done and then eating at Chick-Fil-A, Scout wanted to go shop on King Street downtown, and Johnny asked to go to the movies. All in all, this allowed each child to rest easy, knowing they would get their special one on one time, and dare I say it completely solved the issue of them crying wanting to miss school the entire time she was here.
With four kids, we are constantly learning how to do things in ways where each feel loved. Sometimes it’s not possible, but this felt like a really big win, and I am grateful.
Also, while she was here, I took my favorite bolognese out of the freezer and served it over Banza cavatappi and it was stellar. Gigi immediately asked me to send her the recipe. This has become my go to pasta sauce. I always double the recipe and then freeze in 4 and 6 cup portions. It’s a lot of chopping and stirring for a few hours, but then we get the creamiest, dreamiest bolognese for the next few months.
GIVEAWAY WINNERS!
We also got to send out the giveaway boxes from my last post to ten lucky winners this week (Jess carried those huge boxes to USPS while 38 weeks pregnant and almost went into labor — BLESS HER). It was so fun to contact and chat with ten lovely people who have been following along. Thank you all so much for the love and kindness in the comments, it was such a fun thing to get to do to celebrate ten years of Naptime Kitchen! All of the winners have been contacted and the boxes have been shipped, but I am including them below as well! Congratulations, and THANK YOU again to everyone who has continued to support over the years!
Winners: Leanna Ward, Amie Carmichael, Kyle Halperin, Caroline York, Emma Veach, Ali Jo Meier, Tiffany Williams, Danielle Trenaman, Rebecca Rowe and Stephanie Foster!
Insanely comfortable boots
I don’t think there has ever been a time in my life — besides perhaps Blundstones —that I have tried on a pair of boots and thought, I could walk all around New York City in these today. UNTIL NOW. Quince partnered with celebrity stylist Erin Walsh to share 30 of her favorite existing Quince items styled in new ways for a capsule winter wardrobe and I got to try the Italian leather stretch sock bootie and OH MY WORD. I am wearing them as I type this. I have worn them the last four hours walking King Street. They are amazing. Also as someone with a large foot I feel like they make my foot look cute? Size tens rarely get to feel cute. I am here for it. I also got to try the Italian leather ballet flat and Bella stretch wide-leg jeans and both are equally comfortable. Quince continues to climb the ranks of brands I love and want to repurchase from.
I also have 2 staple Quince sweaters and I think it’s the cut that really sells me. They are cropped but not too cropped — perfect to pair with wide leg jeans. I shared in the last Power Nap how this sweater is my latest obsession for layering and so many of you loved it too. This cropped cardigan has been a favorite two years in a row. The chocolate brown color is lovely and it comes in many colors. Note, I get my true size at Quince, a size small. I also wore this incredible puffer jacket in New York and it kept me so warm! For the shoes, if between I would size down in the woven flats. They have a lot of give. Wearing my true size (a 10) in both and feel great.
Lastly, Jess swears by this 100% cotton gauze maxi skirt that she has in black and white that has worked all 40 weeks of pregnancy. Daily uniform no matter the season. (Y’all Jess is going to have her baby any day now and every time she texts me I think maybe she’s in labor and it’s all very exciting. I cannot wait!!!)
The Power Nap is free each week, and sponsors like Quince help make that possible! Thanks for sponsoring this Power Nap, Quince!
In A Dinner Rut?
I have been thoroughly enjoying anything from Jenn Lueke of Jenn Eats Goood all year and if you don’t know her, it’s time you did! From popular website, Instagram account, and newsletter, Jenn is like a tiny wizard when it comes to hacking dinner.
In her debut cookbook, Don’t Think About Dinner, Jenn transforms grocery shopping, meal planning, and kitchen prep into life-changing habits that anyone can do. Powered by weekly meal plans and grocery lists and over 125 approachable recipes for every meal of the day, beat decision fatigue and make healthy living effortless, delicious, and even fun! She so kindly offered to share one of her recipes from DTAD and I’m so excited to get it to you.
MARRY ME TURKEY MEATBALLS
This is Jenn’s take on the creamy sun-dried tomato, basil-packed marriage of the viral Marry Me Madness— in meatball form. I LOVE a baked meatball and the simplicity of this meal. Served over creamy (dairy-free) rice makes it the ultimate comfort meal.
Don’t Think About Dinner came out to the world on Tuesday! I promise you are going to want this gorgeous cookbook to help you conquer dinner.
In Case You Missed It
The Home Reset is on sale but it’s ending soon.
Burned pot? This is the hack you need that works every single time.
This tiny change is keeping me from picking up my phone nonstop.
Solving micro problems like this in my home makes me SO. FLIPPING. HAPPY.
Nate’s Movie Reviews
Materialists (2025) — Watch with Kate. Rom-com where Dakota Johnson is a matchmaker in Manhattan and is torn between love (Chris Evans) and money (Pedro Pascal). Enjoyed the first half, but it just didn't really land for me.
F1 (2025) — Watch with Kate. Old Brad Pitt movie (and I mean he's looking old; it’s a new movie). Overall, I liked this. I would call it a less good Top Gun: Maverick. Same DNA: legacy, mentorship, redemption—but Top Gun tug more at my heart and had better music.
Train Dreams (2025) — Watch with Kate. I genuinely enjoyed this, but you need to know what you’re getting into. This is not a popcorn movie. It’s quiet and patient—more mood and memory than plot. It’s less about what happens than about what endures: work, loss, landscape, time. I may read the novella it's based on; I suspect it is awesome. Music was good.
Sneakers (1992) — Robert Redford secret agent type movie. Really good cast. I would say it was pretty good but not in the upper echelon of Redford movies. Thanks for the recommendation, Katie, in the Power Nap 106 comments!
The Sting (1973) — Rewatched this classic. Paul Newman and Robert Redford as con men. Difficult to beat.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (2024) — Watched with kids. Tells the story of the year a small town’s tidy Christmas pageant gets hijacked by the Herdman kids—the worst, loudest, most unchurchy kids in town. They snag the lead roles and end up telling the Nativity story more honestly than anyone expects. A genuinely good, old-fashioned Christmas movie. A reminder that loving people like Jesus did is great theology. Recommend.
Se7en (1995) -- Young Brad Pitt movie. David Fincher is one of the best directors: Fight Club, Panic Room, Zodiac, Benjamin Button, Social Network, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Gone Girl, Mindhunter (TV show). I actually think this one is lower down on his greatest hits, despite having Pitt and Morgan Freeman. The ending in this one just doesn't hit for me. It felt too "fast."
One of my favorite things about The Home Reset is the emphasis on making your home work for you. I have been auditing so many corners of our home and also decided to completely switch the function of two rooms. While trying to make every bit of our space work well for our family I stumbled upon these Walmart storage bins. It may seem silly, but I think I purchased over 10 of these. They fit perfectly side-by-side in a cube organizer (two to a cube!), they go great under the sink, on shelves, in your pantry, can store art supplies under a desk… the options are endless. They take up such a small footprint yet hold so much that it feels kind of like a magic trick. And the price is absolutely right! Much like the back of the door organizer, these are going in multiple rooms of our house.
I look forward to Nate's movie recs every newsletter! I really like how he combines new and old movies.
Absolutely love any recipe with sun-dried tomatoes!!