Spring To-Do List

I put together a spring to-do list of some fun things I’d love to do this season. I hope it inspires you to put together a list of your own to celebrate this time of year!

1.    See the play Come From Away on Broadway. Based on true events, the show celebrates the generosity of a small Canadian town that welcomed more than 6,500 stranded passengers from 38 planes diverted to Gander, Newfoundland, a town of about 10,000 people with an airport that served for years as a refueling stop in the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001.

2.  Try to get tickets to some of the new shows on Broadway including: Hello Dolly starring Bette Middler, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Miss Saigon, Amelie, Anastasia, and Bandstand.

3.    Read The Women of Easter by Liz Curtis Higgs for Lent. Check out these resources: A Lenten Reading Plan for The Women of Easter and 40 Days A Lenten Journey with Liz Curtis Higgs on Facebook.

4.    Get my new flight attendant uniforms tailored. Here’s a helpful guide for corporate alterations.

5.    Practice the BrainHQ cognitive exercises that help me focus my mind on the most critical information and disregard the rest. BrainHQ is an online brain-training system that you can do on a computer or mobile device. It features 29 exercises that work out attention, memory, brain speed, intelligence, navigation, and people skills.

Wondering what these exercises are like? Watch the video or take the free brain speed test with Double Decision to get a taste of an exercise and find out how quickly your brain processes visual information.Wondering what these exercises are like? Watch the video or take the free brain speed test with Double Decision to get a taste of an exercise and find out how quickly your brain processes visual information.

6.     Watch The Handmaiden’s Tale on Hulu based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood.

7.     Cook recipes from The First Mess Cookbook. Try the gluten-free and oil-free recipe for fudge chocolate brownies.

8.    Watch In Search of Israeli Cusine starring Chef Michael Solomonov, a James Beard Award-winning chef and co-owner of acclaimed Zahav in Philadelphia. Mike was born in Israel and grew up in Pittsburgh. He’s lived in Israel and travels there often. The filmmakers follow Mike into hot restaurants and home kitchens, wineries and cheese makers, he eats street food and visits markets. All over the country, he discusses traditions, ingredients, the origins, and the future of Israeli Cuisine. It may be surprising to learn that a major culinary revolution is taking place in Israel. In just thirty years, Israel has gone from having no fine food to call its own to a cuisine that is world-renowned.

9.    Watch the return of a new limited series of Twin Peaks on HBO. Twin Peaks follows the residents of a quaint northwestern town who were stunned when homecoming queen Laura Palmer was murdered. Twenty-five years later, the story continues. Expect many familiar faces, including Kyle MacLachlan, reprising his role as FBI Agent Dale Cooper. Check out the Twin Peaks Playlist on Spotify.

10.  Read Dave Asprey’s new book, Head Strong: The Bulletproof Plan to Activate Untapped Brain Energy to Work Smarter and Think Faster.

A few more new books being released on my reading list:

Women Who Work: Rewriting the Rules for Success

The Little Things: Why You Should Really Sweat the Small Stuff

Into the Water by the author of The Girl on the Train

11.  Watch America’s First Foodie: The Incredible Life of James Beard airing May 19, 2017 on PBS. The documentary tells the story of Beard and his path to becoming the first foodie in America. A cookbook author, journalist, television celebrity and teacher, James Beard helped to pioneer and expand the food media industry into the billion-dollar business we see today.

12.  See the film: Facing Darkness. As the Ebola pandemic was sweeping across West Africa in the spring of 2014, one organization was willing to step up and fully commit its people and resources to provide comfort, compassion, and care to the hurting people of Africa. But when the deadly virus infected its own medical personnel, including Dr. Kent Brantly, the epic crisis truly hit home for Samaritan’s Purse and its leader Franklin Graham.

13.  Schedule a hair appointment with Stephen Garrison.

14.  See the movie: A Quiet Passion, the story of American poet Emily Dickinson from her early days as a young schoolgirl to her later years as a reclusive, unrecognized artist.

15.  Check out some of the new food halls if I have a layover in one of these cities:

The Pizitz: Downtown Birmingham

Morgan Street Food Hall & Market: Raleigh

DeKalb Market Hall: Brooklyn

16.  Visit Tracy Anderson’s new cafe, 3 Green Hearts in NYC at 241 E. 59th St. in Manhattan. It’s walking distance from my crew hotel and convenient to pick up healthy takeaway food.

17.  Try the gluten-free recipes in Tartine All Day: Modern Recipes for the Home Cook. Liz Prueitt is the owner and baker at world-famous Tartine Bakery in San Fransico. Liz is gluten-sensitive making her  uniquely skilled in creating sweets that are gluten-free. I’m excited to bake her chocolate buckwheat madeleines and birthday cake with fluffy milk chocolate frosting. Click here for more recipes from the book.

19.  Try to get a layover in New York City on April 19 to attend the Cherry Bombe Jubilee Marketplace at the High Line Hotel. It’s a great event for food lovers.

20.  I would love to attend the Food Book Fair at the Ace Hotel in New York City May 11th – May 14th.

What’s on your spring to-do list? Tell me in the comments!

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