Have a Lovely Weekend.

What are you up to this weekend? For a Father’s Day getaway, we’re heading to a beach house. The boys can’t wait to swim in the ocean, and even though I’m a wuss about waves, I will try my best! Hope you have a good one, and here are a few links from around the web…

Wow, this Top Gun 2 review was eye-opening.

Made me laugh.

What it’s like to be a restaurant critic by Adam Platt. “Negative reviews are more difficult than positive reviews, especially as you grow older and kinder.” Also, restaurateurs, like Mario Batali, might yell at you: “I believe ‘Platt’s a miserable fuck’ was the direct quote.” (NYMag)

The perfect travel shoes. (Get 20% off any first order with code COJNEW.)

Summer ricotta with vegetables.

“Does anyone know or care if middle-aged women are getting any sexual satisfaction?” asks Emma Thompson. “Before making Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, I had no idea how much I would learn about my attitude to my own body, to pleasure and to shame – how much I would laugh about the genuine silliness of so many of our responses to sexual pleasure, and how much I would cry about what is lost in life when it is repressed, ignored and punished.” (Vogue)

Weirdly beautiful rocks.

“How we paid off $200,000 in debt in five years.” (NYMag)

8 joy-filled books to read this Juneteenth.

How I learned to love my father, the critic. (NYTimes)

Our favorite kids’ brand is having a very rare sale. How sweet are these prints?

Plus, three reader comments:

Says Mar on four fun things: “This girl just bought her first vibrator (after the past few years of deconstructing the religious purity culture I grew up in, hooray)! Thanks to Cup of Jo for helping make this moment possible. Hot Girl Summer, let’s gooooo.”

Says Elizabeth on what audiobooks do you like: “I absolutely loved The Dutch House audiobook, read by Tom Hanks! GAH! Cannot recommend this one enough.” Adds Talia: “Yes! Yes! Yes! 100% agree!” Says Jenny:” Yes! The best reading of an audiobook.”

Says Connie on how much physical affection do you show your parents: “When I was in high school, my affection went from that intimate touch that children show their parents (cuddles, climbing on laps) to that cool, lightweight affection (mild embraces, the occasional peck). It lasted for a decade. Then one day, in young adulthood, I got a call from a friend whose mom had died unexpectedly. I rushed to my parents’ house. When I told my mom the news, she pulled me into the tightest hold I can ever remember. I was paralyzed by the magnitude of what my friend had lost, what I still had. After that day, my physical affection for my parents returned: kisses and snuggles and little arm touches. Things can be so easily lost, and I wouldn’t forgive myself if my parents were RIGHT THERE and I didn’t make the most of that pure, astonishingly lucky fact.” — Connie, Cup of Jo reader

(Photo from Cup of Jo’s Instagram.)