RPL at Home: April 2026

Welcome to the April 2026 edition of RPL at Home, where I share what I’m up to when I’m not in the kitchen or in front of the camera.

Every few months, I give you a glimpse into what I’m working on, habits I’m cultivating, things bringing me joy, books/TV shows/podcasts I’m enjoying, and more. Think of it as stream-of-consciousness blabbering meets a semi-curated list of recommendations meets life update.

🙏🏽 What I’m working on in life

Over the years, I have dabbled in different forms of practicing gratitude. For a while, I kept a gratitude journal where I wrote three things I was grateful for every morning. Then I did the Five Minute Journal. Then I tried journaling every morning and every evening.

One year, every Sunday, Max and I would write down on a notecard the best thing that happened during the week, put the notecard in a jar, and then read them all at the end of the year.

All of these have been fun experiments, but recently, I’ve been trying to find something that would (1) allow both of us to express gratitude together and (2) to do it on a daily basis.

So, lately, we’ve been verbally expressing gratitude together, either:

First thing in the morning while we’re still in bed, but sometimes Max is too sleepy to form coherent sentences. Admittedly, I am that annoying morning person who can have deep philosophical conversations or start dance party immediately upon waking; or
On our daily walk together. Living in San Diego, where the weather is usually perfect and the surroundings aren’t too shabby, it is quite easy to feel grateful; or
At night, on the couch, as we wind down and reflect on the day.

It’s a new practice, but so far I am loving it and look forward to it each day. The habit would probably be more likely to stick if we committed to doing it at a specific time every single day, but I want this to feel like a spontaneous and meaningful part of our day, not a rote obligation (I’ve often stopped a journaling practice because it felt too forced).

As for what we talk about, it’s a mix of small things—another beautiful day in the neighborhood—medium things—being grateful to not have a commute—and big things—feeling safe and not wanting for anything, particularly when there is so much war, violence, and poverty in the world.

One more thing to be grateful for: Max and I are celebrating 16 happy years together this week!

What I’m watching, listening to, and reading

📺 Watching

Last month, Max told me he wanted to watch the new prequel to Game of Thrones, and my initial reaction was “hard pass.” While I did watch GOT many years ago, I always had issues with it, primarily the gratuitous sexual violence (as well as the final season, what a disappointing character arc for █████!).

But I am happy to report that season 1 of this prequel, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, was delightful. There is violence, of course (knights be dueling) but not sexual violence, and there is a lot of humor. The interaction between the two main characters is funny and endearing, and the episodes are short and sweet.

As for movies, we recently watched A Nice Indian Boy. I’m not normally a romantic comedy buff (Max says my movie taste skews towards the depressing lol), but I really enjoyed this one. It was very sweet, funny, and had a beautiful message about family, love, and acceptance.

📚 Reading

I’ve read countless books since I last updated you, so I’ll do my best to pick my favorites!

James by Percival Everett. It’s pretty obvious why this book won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. I was so captivated by this retelling of Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn that I read it in one sitting on my flight back from Australia, taking a break just once to use the bathroom (as someone who drinks countless cups of tea on flights, this is a big deal!).

The Director by Daniel Kehlmann. A historical fiction novel inspired by the life of the famous 20th century film director, G.W. Pabst, who was recruited / forced by the Nazi government’s minister of propaganda to make films for the German Reich. There are so many scenes in the book that either had me on the edge of my seat or near tears, and the way it explores the complicated relationship between artistic ambition and political complicity is something I think a lot about in our current world.

Kin by Tayari Jones. I loved Jones’ last novel, American Marriage, but I think I like Kin even more. It explores the friendship between two young motherless Black girls as they grow up in the Deep South in the 1940s and 1950s and navigate early adulthood in two very different worlds. I brought it to a doctors’ office to occupy me in the waiting room and actually found myself annoyed when the receptionist called my name after a 1-hour wait because I was enjoying the book so much!

Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green. Another book that was a hit for good reason. It’s rare for a book to explain a medical phenomenon so clearly in laymen’s terms — rarer still for it to read like a compelling, page-turning narrative with characters you’re genuinely rooting for. Equal parts sad, inspiring, and eye-opening.

I’ve also been really into short stories lately! Here are some I loved.

🎧 Listening

The podcast I’ve been most enjoying lately is “Our Ancestors Were Messy,” created and hosted by Nichole Hill. Each week, she covers “the gossip, scandals, and pop culture that made headlines and then history in pre-Civil Rights Era America.”

It’s one of the most creative podcasts I’ve listened to, fusing history lessons with humor in the best way possible. I’ve learned way more about historical figures like Paul Robeson and Zora Neale Hurston than I ever did in high school (or college) and I’ve been laughing along the way. Win-win!

🦘 Fun Things

Back in February, we visited Australia for a glorious two-and-a-half weeks. If you’re new here, we try to visit Australia once every year or two, as Max has the most lovely grandparents and family there (and also Australia is wonderful to visit).

After some family time in the Adelaide Hills, we visited Kangaroo Island, a small island off the coast of South Australia that’s known for, well, kangaroos! It’s a small, remote island with very few people, so we got to explore a lot of nature and beautiful beaches with virtually no one else around.

In addition to spotting kangaroos everywhere, we got to watch seals and sea lions sunbathing (their specialty), spotted koalas in trees, and enjoyed seeing a family of wallabies camp outside our Airbnb each night.

About half of the island was burned in the devastating 2020 bushfires, but the island has had pretty miraculous recovery, so if you want an off-the-beaten path, nature-heavy adventure, add Kangaroo Island to your list!

After Kangaroo island, we spent a few days in my favorite food city, Melbourne, where the food once again did not disappoint. Click here for my vegan food guide to Melbourne!

On the morning of our flight home, as we were packing for the airport, we had the zany idea of extending our trip just a tad longer. So, three hours before our flight, instead of departing for the U.S., we flew to Sydney! The former-type-A-control-freak inside of me is having a mini panic attack thinking of that, but it was so nice having the flexibility to be able to do that.

While the (vegan) food is not nearly as good in Sydney, the city is stunning and the walk to Bondi Beach was magical. Also, the lovely Sadia of Pick Up Limes happened to be in Sydney at the same time, so we got to catch up 🫶🏽