Issue #193: A Day in the Life and 17 Springtime Obsessions

Plus a picnic-ready recipe.

📺 “Your Friends & Neighbors” on Apple TV+: I’m late to the game on this new series, but after hearing all the buzz, I finally gave it a try and was surprised by how much I instantly loved it. It’s almost ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ meets “White Lotus.” In it, Cooper (Jon Hamm) is recently divorced from his wife (Amanda Peet) and has just been fired as a hedge fund manager. Desperate for cash, he begins breaking into his neighbors’ homes to supplement his income by selling off their Patek Philippes, and other luxuries. I especially love its commentary on capitalism, and the voyeuristic look into the lives of the ultra-wealthy.

📚 Open, Heaven by Sean Hewitt: Every line of this novel, about a growing obsession between a young, gay teenage boy and the newcomer who’s moved to their small English town, reads like a poem, “the sweetness of the flowers, the boy I loved, and who might even love me, waiting for me between the trees.” Descriptions of nature, especially flowers, bloom over the course of a single autumn, in a story reminiscent of a Douglas Stuart novel.

🎥 ‘Bonjour Tristesse’ in theaters: My favorite genre of movie might be “coming of age during a summer holiday on the Mediterranean.” Think ‘Call Me By Your Name,’ ‘Aftersun,’ and this beautiful, slow-moving film starring Lily McInerny and Chloë Sevigny. In it, Cécile is on the cusp between girlhood and womanhood when a friend of her late mother’s comes to stay with them, on the French Riviera, and leads to a shift in Cécile, and a dramatic climax to the summer.

P.S. Portland readers, there are still a few spots for our outdoors Pilates class later this month, available to all paid readers! Link below! x

A few days ago, I sat on my back patio eating a baked Japanese yam for lunch, loaded with ghee, greens, and homemade pesto. I’d brought out coconut water, topped with seltzer and a squeeze of lime, and a book I was in the middle of. The temperature was perfect, a light breeze cutting the strength of the sun and I could smell the apple blossoms across the yard. Once I ate and cracked open my book, I realized, This is probably going to be the best part of my day. At first the thought felt depressing—I still had so many hours to go!—but as I thought about it longer, I was able to soften into the moment and enjoy it much more wholly, indulging in an extra chapter and a few more minutes in the sunshine.

Issue #97: A 10-Minute Morning Routine and a Summer Playlist

Since that moment, I’ve had the same thought nearly every day, sometimes multiple times a day. This is the bet part of my day. It’s come while watching waves crash against painted cliffs at the Oregon coast, on an evening walk with Toast, while listening to a podcast and weeding, in a dark theater as the credits rolled on a movie I loved, sitting with my boyfriend on the couch, even while putting away groceries and prepping dinner.

The practice has been more effective than any gratitude list I’ve ever done (though I still love my “glimmer poems”), helping me to slow down and engage in a particular moment as it’s happening and ask myself, What is it I’m enjoying so much right now? How can I extend this feeling? Below, I’ve shared a video from a recent day in the life that was filled with these moments, as well as 17 springtime obsessions, and a California-coast recipe that’s perfect for Mother’s Day: