Coffee Break #013: Vintage tees, 90 Day Fiance, and polka dots.
Your weekly roundup of inspiration and ideas to build your dream life.
Dear Friend,
On Sunday, I turned 32. It feels roughly the same as 31, I’ll be honest. But I spent it my favorite way – doing absolutely nothing, ordering takeout, getting a bottle of wine, and watching copious amounts of reality television with my dog. Perfection.
Love always,
In Brief
📚 Reading
My pick for Book of the Month this month was One & Only by Maureen Goo, and it looks absolutely precious. The single sentence description was “When a psychic matchmaker unexpectedly falls in love, she’ll have to decide what to trust: her magic, or her heart.” Hello??? Adorable. Can’t wait to dive in.
🍔 Eating
Delicious pastries from Del Sur, a Filipino bakery that opened in our neighborhood last year and has been absolutely SLAMMED ever since. The first time we went, we stood in line outside for like 45 minutes before we got inside. This weekend, I think due to the crappy weather, there wasn’t a line around the block, so I took the opportunity to treat myself to some treats for my birthday. My favorite is definitely the Ube Oatmeal Cream Pie.
📺 Watching
My husband is gone on a work trip all week, which means I’m binge-watching 90 Day Fiance. It stresses him out so I never end up watching it when he’s home, but it is my number one guilty pleasure show. 🫣
🧣 Wearing
I recently started going to pilates classes, and A) I’m loving it, as someone who has been exercise-phobic for pretty much my entire life, and B) I’ve had to increase my athletic wardrobe post-haste. I personally love Aerie’s line of activewear – and the fact that you can get “short” length leggings, for short girlies like me.
🎨 Creativity & Curiosity
Weekly Task
Read something outside your usual genre – if you love fiction, try nonfiction; if you love contemporary, try classics.
Roundup
This piece from LitHub on what we lose when independent bookstores close made me emotional. The bookstore at the center of the article was one of my favorites here in Chicago, the first one I discovered when I moved here. Volumes always had the perfect curated selection and literary-themed drinks at their coffee shop (fun fact, I discovered my all-time favorite combo here – lavender and mocha, sounds bizarre, but they had a drink named after Remus Lupin and my Marauders-loving ass had to try it. Turns out it was delish! Now I order it everywhere). It’s especially galling that Volumes was forced to close directly because a Barnes and Noble opened up right down the street. The CEO of B&N, James Daunt (yes, of your beloved Daunt Books) gave a snarky response, saying that Barnes and Noble never opens near an indepenent bookstore, that Volumes was simply a coffee shop that happened to have a slight amount of books available. Fuck you dude!!!!!!
We officially have our January Andrews for the Beach Read movie! The more I’ve thought about it, the more I think Beach Read is my favorite EmHen novel, so I’m very excited for this one. I know nothing about this actress, but by looks alone, she seems like a perfect fit.
This is a curated database of places all over the world that people have dubbed perfect spots for reading. I’m obsessed. Each location even includes “recommended reading” by the person who submitted it. Such a fun combination of digital and analog trends!
This illustrated A-Z guide to romance tropes from the New York Times is pretty adorable. And I definitely learned some things I didn’t know before, which is sort of shocking because I’ve been on Tumblr and AO3 since I was a preteen. 😳
Loved this post by Wit & Delight on 8 prompts that always help her get out of a creative rut.
🧥 Personal Style
Weekly Task
Try shopping your own closet – combine things you’ve never worn together and see how it expands your wardrobe exponentially.
Roundup
I know I’m quite a bit premature, but all the spring styles coming out have got me in a sunny mood. These twisty flat sandals look super cute for spring and summer.
Along those lines, this raffia slouchy purse from J.Crew seems like the perfect spring/summer accessory.
These Adidas sneakers are all on sale at Asos for only $66. They have so many cute color combos, but I’ve got my eye on the pink & red ones.
I loved reading this piece about a Gen Z-er that made friends and connections by donning her parents’ vintage tees. (I’ve just realized that the “kid” that wrote this is 22 lmao. Born in 2004. I feel OLD).
Loved this article on the history of accessorizing with silk scarves.
🏡 Home & Environment
Weekly Task
Deep clean one room thoroughly (baseboards, windows, under furniture).
Roundup
According to Real Simple, the Retro ’50s Pink Bathroom Is Back. I, for one, am very here for this. I desperately
I fully agree with Daniela Araya that polka dots represent joy. They’re just so dang fun. I loved watching this recap of her video on design trends with Domino Magazine and Ali LaBelle – some of my favorite design minds.
I’m in love with these bobbin frames from Anthropologie.
This gorgeous, cozy full gut rehab in California is so pretty. It’s one of those homes where, it’s not my personal style exactly, but it’s so well designed and lovely that I really appreciate the style.
Obsessed with these sunny yellow striped cafe curtains.
I’ve fallen completely in love with this bright green acrylic horse-shaped lamp base from Pooky, paired with a scalloped pink shade. Someone tell me I don’t need another table lamp, please.
💸 Career & Business
Weekly Task
Create a "no-buy month" for business tools and courses you don't need. Take a step back and realize how the marketing language is exactly targeting your current pain points and then really think through if what they’re selling is going to fix the problem (maybe it will!)
Roundup
This article on How to answer “What do you do for work?” when work is no longer your identity by Lia Zneimer had a lot of great tips for reframing that question and workshopping your answer. Because work shouldn’t be your whole life or personality!!!
I loved this piece on how to build a personal brand when you have a ton of interests and don’t want to sacrifice any. As a bona fide multi-passionate creative, I’ve struggled with this a lot.
I’ve also been enjoying Rebecca Brown’s new Substack, Grow Small. Rebecca is a fellow brand designer and she’s been sharing a lot of great tips for small, women-owned businesses and creators.
This piece in Bloomberg about how “burnout feminism” has emerged as a pendulum swing from the 2010s #girlboss Lean In style feminism was very interesting. I feel like there needs to be a state between total unsustainable burnout and not caring at all what you do for a job or taking any pride in it, like this article suggests.
💌 Connection
Weekly Task
Create a birthday list with reminder system so you never miss important dates.
Roundup
How cute is this? It’s a website where you can send a friend a song with a note, plus see the notes and songs other people have shared. I just think it’s so sweet.
Good news for my fellow creatures of habit – going to the same places over and over again is actually good for you!
I loved this list of 99 conversation topics for deeper connections from The Good Trade.
✨ Joy & Whimsy
Weekly Task
Try a new form of movement that sounds fun (dance class, hiking, cycling).
Roundup
I love this adorable hand-printed risograph zine by a crossing guard in a small town in Vermont.
I adore Daniel Radcliffe so much. He’s such a sweet, genuine soul with a good head on his shoulders (unlike SOME people in the Potter-verse 😒). He’s also very funny, imo, so I loved watching his Hot Ones interview. And his new show with Tracy Jordan sounds absolutely incredible.
This post on how to Make Laundry More Whimsical by Joy Of by Lauren Carlson has tons of great tips for making a very boring task a bit more fun, for all ages.
How fun are these water bottles??? They look like Skittles or something. I’m obsessed.
Happy birthday! This is so fun, it feels like a small glimmer into your fun world. ❤️🔥
Happy birthday!