#BreakThings: Looking Up

10.06.20

This morning, I my Mom called while she was baby-sitting my nephew. He’s just about to turn two so everything is new and wonderful.

Today, he said ‘pistachio’ for the first time, and asked to call ‘Auntie Abs’ on FaceTime so he could ‘see Auntie’s doggie.’ And in a week that is already off the rails on Tuesday, watching him laugh and clap when my Miniature Schnauzer, Avery, came on the screen was everything I needed.

Stress. It’s real, and it can be very damaging to your mental and physical health. These five-minute resets will actual help you self-soothe when it gets to be too much. Which is pretty much all the time now.

Last week, I bought this paper-clip chain necklace from J.Crew. I’ve had my eye on it for almost two years and decided that now was the perfect time. Why? Because I needed a little bit of joy in my life.

J.Crew has the most gorgeous jewelry right now, especially if you like pearls. Every piece feels guaranteed to spice up your Zoom attire.

Normally, I wouldn’t sully this newsletter with anything that wasn’t guaranteed to lighten the mood, but unfortunately, it’s necessary. The story of what is happening in Armenia/Azerbaijan is not getting through the constant coverage of the White House Super-spreader event. And since the conflict could blow up into a full-scale war/genocide funded by Turkey, I felt compelled to share.

If this isn’t something you can absorb right now, keep scrolling.

Being separated from my D.C. friends and my AZ friends and my Cali-based friends is really hard. These people bring so much joy to my life, and without it, things feel a little empty. But Camille Styles has some concrete ideas for how to keep friendships going long distance whether that condition is temporary or permanent.

Hitha and this article almost have me convinced that I need to start reading romance novels. Because Lord knows we could all use an optimistic diversion right now.

Everyone knows you shouldn’t ruin white wine by pouring Kombucha in it. That’s a job for fruit juice.

Take care of yourself today. It’s not selfish; it’s pragmatism. You’re the only thing that you will always have.