So this one’s going to be written specifically for a few of you whom I love and adore and who are going through some very brave and hard transitions right now. You’ve been on my mind, and I keep coming across things that I want to tell you about. Here are some of them.
We’ve been watching all these cicadas appear at Chris’ house and transform out of their crusty shells right in front of us. I’m pretty fascinated by them. And then in this podcast I listened to yesterday Glennon Doyle said “So crabs. They have seasons where they start to hide. They go into very dark places of the bay and they hide. And then they’re hiding because they’re losing their shell and they have to hide because they’re very vulnerable when they lose their shell. They’re soft shell crabs that are caught in between losing their old shell and growing a new shell.. Because you are a soft shell crab. I do believe that there is something about going through a deeply sad melancholy time that is about growth. That we can’t understand, what the hell is happening and we think it’s all bad. But what I do think is in this season… there is a time where it’s like a molting, that this depression thing for me is sort of terrible, and I don’t think I would choose it, but it also is a reset that happens every once in a while in my life, that is about getting bigger.”
I also listened to this podcast episode about SLEEP and it was very interesting. I know we’ve all heard the same stuff about how to sleep better but this dude has really done some serious research and condensed it down into nice little bites which is everything I want from this kind of podcast. Did you know it’s really good to get sunlight/ bright light into your eyes as soon as you wake up? (It apparently is important even on cloudy days so that’s no excuse UK people!) I did not, but have been doing it and it feels good. I feel more awake during the day and am going to sleep earlier. You’re also supposed to wait 90 min after waking for coffee which is.. harder but makes me SO EXCITED by the time I have it. We’ll see how that goes. He’s also pro-nap and so am I.
Go take a little nap!And this podcast Will Be Wild about the U.S. insurrection is CRAZY and very well done, I’m a few episodes in and really digging it.
I’ve started the book “How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing” by KC Davis after my longtime online friend Anabela Piersol started it and it’s really lovely so far, I think you might like it too. She repeatedly emphasizes, “You don’t exist to serve your space; your space exists to serve you.” and “When we understand what really matters to us in terms of safety, comfort, and happiness, we can begin to let go of others’ judgments of how our spaces must look. One person may be perfectly comfortable and happy in a space that is significantly messier and less organized than another person.” This just hits home I think for so many of us who have a nagging feeling that we’re not “adulting” right, or that our homes should be different to be “right”. I like her breakdown that it really just comes down to keeping our bodies/ spaces safe and healthy, followed by increasing our comfort, followed by just things that make you happy. It makes me feel good about my home/s filled with things that make me happy but perhaps don’t work for everyone else. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ And I love your home filled with things that make you happy too. It’s perfect.
Speaking of making yourself happy- this is specifically to two people but.. maybe more of you that I don’t know about? - consider that maybe you could just run off and get married on your own and forget about all the mess and pressure and your um, challenging families and just do it your way?
If you want to keep it fancy my friend Tracy has this incredible place in Atlanta and she does these elopements and takes care of everything for you, even officiating, tell her I sent you and she will give you a free bag of Doritos too (maybe?) and give you VIP access to pet her sweet pit bulls and.. I’M JUST SAYING ..I know you think you don’t need this if you’re say, moving to New York on your own for the first time and don’t know anyone, because you have a tiny computer in your pocket that tells you everything you could ever want to know but HEAR ME OUT- the tiny computer ain’t it. You’ll get lost in the weeds of too much information, service won’t work, it’ll get stolen/ dropped etc. What you need is a little black book with all the maps, and advice and good spots to eat in it. I arrived in NYC in 2003 armed with one of these, and it served me so well. Keep your phone tucked away, use this for your map, eyes up, stride with purpose, feel the love all around you. They have guides for tons of other cities too! And this is the only NFT you will ever see me endorse OK
Speaking of NYC, one of the many many things I missed was getting my favorite ice cream at the Van Leeuwen truck. Last week I found out (did you all know this already?) they’re SELLING IT IN STORES. I got the Earl Grey and just completely lost my mind. I found it at Lidl for like $4 which made me think I should buy and consume a pint every day. I do not recommend this but, no regrets. They are all absolutely delicious, the vegan ones too. Ok I don’t know about the Kraft Mac and cheese one, I haven’t tried it. But I would.
School started for the kids this week and like many of you, I still get excited about school supplies/ stationary even though I don’t get to get in on it anymore. (Also their school supply lists are so rigid and boring now??) So I just go to this site and dream about someday going in there and spending six hours staring at/ breathlessly touching/buying everything in their shop. Please tell me all your favorite stationary/ art supply shops so I can do this even more? It’s so calming.
I’ve been using this campfire-y incense from Juniper Ridge for, I don’t know, forever, now. It’s all I use. All the scents are great, and just leave this nice forest smell, not the skanky smoke smell of an actual campfire. Anyhow you can get these and pretend it’s really fall and prepare for all the autumn things!
I’m back in a phase where all I do is listen to Kikagaku Moyo every day BUT if you don’t listen to The Morning Show with John Richards on KEXP (10am EST) every day you’re missing out AND Chris just introduced me to this band Kickball that I somehow missed out on back in the day and they’re so good and fun!