Coffee Break #028: Poolside rosé, backyard reading nooks, and a novelty butter dish.
Your weekly roundup of inspiration, links, curiosities, and book recommendations.
Dear Friend,
Oops, it’s been a while! Turns out traveling while also trying to buy a house in one state and sell a house in another is kind of all-consuming.
This past week, I tagged along on my husband’s work trip to New Hampshire, had a lovely time reading by the pool, and then we closed on our new house in Michigan! We’ll be making the move in a few weeks, and I can’t wait to share more photos and behind the scenes.
In the meantime, I’ll be packing up my entire house, visiting friends in Traverse City, moving, and um… trying to sleep I guess? Life has a way of happening all at once, it seems.
Love always,
In Brief
📚 Reading
God of the Woods by Liz Moore – I avoided this book for a long time because it got swept up in the hype cycle, but after two of my friends read it and insisted it was incredible, I bumped it to the top of my list. I’m about a third of the way through it so far and completely engrossed.
📺 Watching
Much like the rest of the English speaking world, I saw The Odyssey during opening week and honestly really enjoyed it. I went into it with very few expectations, so I was pleasantly surprised. I read it at some point in either middle school or high school, and also was very obsessed with mythology as a teen, so I knew most of the plot points. But I was really riveted; I know a lot of people have issues with various plot points or interpretations, but overall it was an entertaining and interesting film that didn’t feel like it was three hours long, so I call that a win.
🎶 Listening
I’ve been loving the guided visualizations in the Humane Space app – especially the ones for focus. I just listened to an immersive one about Monet’s Water Lilies that I really enjoyed. I’m obsessed with this app as an antidote to constant doomscrolling. It has fascinating interactive stories from all different categories (art, science, humanities, etc.), daily creative prompts and practices, and guided visualizations. It’s beautiful to scroll and actually makes me feel like I’ve learned something instead of just increased my cortisol. You can get 20% off an annual subscription with my code LIZZIE20 (but there’s free stuff too!).
As a THS Partner, I may receive commission if you decide to upgrade. But as you know, I only recommend things I truly love and use.
📚 Release Radar
This week’s book releases that are on my radar (and my TBR).
The Amateur by Chris Bohjalian | When a young woman, a golf prodigy, accidentally kills a caddy with a stray ball at the country club, the investigation of this freak accident reveals a dark and shocking tale of secret affairs, predatory men, and a teenager on trial.
Meet Me in the Garden by Nina LaCour | A sweeping family saga that wrestles with themes of self-discovery and love in all forms, inspired by the author’s own Creole family.
How to Find Love in the Cereal Aisle by Alissa DeRogatis | A fresh, charming romcom about the chaos of dating in your twenties, the ache of a brutal breakup, and the hilarious lengths one romance writer will go to get her spark back—including staging her own meet-cutes.
Kitten by Stacey Yu | An adrift young woman whose growing fascination with her boyfriend’s cat ushers her into the possibilities of her own life—but not without first threatening to unravel it.
Time Travel for Beginners by Jaclyn Moriarty | Three strangers’ lives converge in the waiting room of Sydney’s Time Travel Agency – a nondescript shopfront that promises impossible things.
Etna by Paul Yoon | The unforgettable story of a working dog, Etna, who, after a devastating war, embarks on an odyssey in the hopes of returning home.
Sunlight Finds You by Laura Moriarty | A forbidden love during the Cold War blows open the world of a teenage girl, altering the trajectory of her life.
💌 Reading List
Essays & articles worth reading this week.
Little Monsters | Virginia Quarterly Review
I adored this essay about nerdiness, passion, Dungeons and Dragons, and connecting with your feral children while re-discovering a lost piece of your own childhood.
“The thing I adored most about being a gamer girl,” says one dear friend, “is the same thing that all the Puma-wearing kids constantly hated on: We loved things deeply.” This was the ethos of our lunch table back then. Profound and passionate debate about the things we studied because we had to and the things we studied because we wanted to. “It didn’t matter whether they were real things: goblin hordes, molecular science, robot psychology,” she said. “To this day I am deeply grateful to have been surrounded by so many nerds who unabashedly loved things, rather than being too cool for them.”
It’s OK to Hate Summer | NYT (gift link)
Look, I’m a certified summer hater. I hate being hot, I hate humidity, I don’t particularly enjoy going to the beach, I despise shorts, and overall I would be much happier in sub-60-degree weather. People REALLY dislike it when I say this. I’m sorry! I bear you no ill will on your beach day, just don’t ask me to come.
In my opinion, summer is more to be endured than enjoyed. “You can always put on more clothes — there is only so much you can politely take off,” I tell my husband as I curse the heat. My stress level rises with a lack of routine, which is intensified by having three children out of school.
How To Be A Critical Thinker In Our Noisy Digital World | The Good Trade
A great piece on slowing down and actually having thoughts about the media you consume amidst the constant, ceaseless internet noise, hot takes, and cherry-picked quotes maximized for virality.
In a single, endless swipe we can learn about one event from a dozen people — an investigative journalist, a politician, an influencer, a meme site, a cultural critic, our second cousin, and the boy who threw up on stage in our elementary school talent show. The facts of the event itself are already altered, tinted with however the speaker is feeling about them and how they are positioning their presentation. We aren’t consuming clear reporting, but a heavily editorialized version that has already influenced what we think about it — whether we realize this or not.
🧥 In My Cart
Things I’m eyeing and buying this week.
Bookends, $30 | Cardigan, $85 | Butter Dish, $26 | Mug, $24 | Barrel Bag, $14 | Candle, $30 | Earrings, $10 | Plaid Cardigan, $55 | Birkenstock Clogs, $165
✨ Joy Scrolling
Fun links & recs for your reading pleasure.
I’m obsessed with these dreamy backyard reading nooks.
If you’re craving the old school feel of cutting out images from magazines in a convenient digital format, clip art studio is for you.
How to use social media to increase your joy, not your anxiety, by Camille Styles
According to Time, a splash of color might be the best way to boost happiness. I wholeheartedly concur.
This piece in McSweeney’s really made me giggle: A Packing List for the Woman I Will Become on My Vacation to Cape Cod. Kinda how I felt last week tbh. Especially that first bullet point. 🫣
⏰ ICYMI
What I’ve posted recently.
Parenthetical is for the women who dog-ear pages, rewatch the same rom-coms every season, and want their ordinary Tuesdays to feel a little more magical. Paid subscribers get the full Well-Designed Life curriculum, plus Debut Diaries — the unfiltered behind-the-scenes peek at writing (and querying) my first novel.
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thanks for sharing my post Lizzie!
I saved that Good Trade article to come back to -- thank you for sharing! Also, I saw The Odyssey yesterday and also went in with few expectations and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It's been fun to see all the chatter around its release!