Daily Drip

my first full week's meal prep! a fall fit! a fragrance! home decor! a book I'm reading! yeah!

Quote of the Week: “Does such a thing as 'the fatal flaw,' that showy dark crack running down the middle of a life, exist outside literature? I used to think it didn't. Now I think it does. And I think that mine is this: a morbid longing for the picturesque at all costs.”― Donna Tartt, The Secret History

Currently Reading: See above. I could pull 100 quotes from this masterpiece. Donna Tartt is a genius. Now, I maintain that the perfect book length is somewhere around 250-300 pages. You can zip through it quickly without significant lapses, no forgetting plotlines or characters. So the fact that I have chosen to read two 600+ page books in a row is atypical of me. I am clearly deep in the Bennington College rabbit hole. Do not attempt to pull me out or I WILL start growling and biting.

Song on Repeat: “BAND4BAND” by Central Cee ft Lil Baby. I doubt this will get the playtime I gave “Sprinter,” but Central Cee is back in rotation.

Drinking: Black coffee. Good morning. :)

Eating: Blueberry baked oats. This past Sunday was a doozy in the kitchen. I am not a regular  meal prepper, but I do aspire to make our lives easier, especially now that my work commute went from five minutes to 30. Here’s everything I made:

• Beef chili in the crockpot

• Blueberry baked oats

• Quiche with kale, bacon, and gouda

• Curry carrot soup

• Homemade granola bars

Let’s discuss the word “guesswork.” Something has always irked me about the phrase “it takes the guesswork out of ___!” Be it getting dressed, eating, whatever, I’ve found the “guesswork” smear campaign deeply unromantic—another example of optimization culture draining everyday decisions of their inherent whimsy. So meal prepping has always felt… corporate. Now that I’m on the other side of my first meaningful prep, though—one that also supported my partner—I can say that when you’re making food that feels nourishing and inspired, there is joy (even whimsy!) in the process. (And it felt damn good to not go hungry at the office for once.)

Andrew was effusive toward this spread. Praise kink: activated! And at the end of the week, I can safely say not a bite was wasted. Can she keep it up, folks? Watch this space.

Final note: I plan to share the granola bar recipe with paid subs next week for “A poem, a recipe, and a rec,” so stay tuned! And sorry for the radio silence to those generous supporters. July and August were nuts with moving, house stuff, etc., but I think September will be a perfect bounce back. I mean, of course I’m going to say that. I’m the offender. Please love me.

Loving: Cammyreviews on TikTok. As a highly sensitive person, learning about fragrance and identifying notes that I like has brought me much comfort and delight these last few years. Cammy’s videos are so soothing and educational. I also like that she broaches the darker side of fragrance collecting, e.g., overconsumption, the Fragrantica owners being shitbags (very breaking news to me), etc., and always urges people to sample versus blind buying.

Fragrance of the Day: Speaking of… listen, I get that we’re like, three hours away from autumn and everyone’s pulling out their woodiest, most peppery, leathery potions. But I sampled You or Someone Like You by Etat Libre d’Orange and bought the full bottle within an hour. This stuff is GREEN. A mojito in a rose garden on a hot day. An LA baddie at an overpriced workout class, fresh and ready to sweat. If you’re in the market for a realistic mint note, this is the one.

via Etat Libre d’Orange

Thinking: This summer, I started assessing my days by how many new bug bites I’d acquired, i.e., the more bites, the better the day because outside longer. It’s funny how something so intimately irritating that can wake you from a dead slumber can signify goodness. Sure, we flaunt those storied bumps and bruises we collect on adventures. But bug bites are less up to us. They mean nothing more than “went outside today.” And I think it’s that very simplicity, that total lack of demand, the permission to have done nothing beyond sitting in the grass, and knowing that kind of nothing is considerably better for your soul than just about any other kind of nothing… is really beautiful. Get mauled by mosquitos. Scratch your skin open. Step barefoot onto a spiky twig. Get a little sunburn. Hurt for this shit.

Something That Made Me Smile: My friend Joe sent me this site where some guy reviews apples. I’m still losing it over his review of the Newtown Pippin.

justice for the Newtown Pippin

Just Watched: Hard Knocks with the Chicago Bears. Brilliant. Between the Planet Earth narration and absolute aura of each player, it softens the edges of American football through training camp intensity. I think getting so into basketball last year really silenced the lame voices in my head that told me sports were off limits. Now I just enjoy whatever I want without fear of whether I “belong” in certain spaces.

Currently Watching: Industry. Like everyone else on earth, apparently. I mean, I’m a sucker for some white collar labor porn. But as the show so aptly depicts, the feeling I get watching Industry is the same feeling I had tying up bar bathrooms to do c*ke with my friends: hot, fun, powerful, and very, very corny. I loved season one. In fact, I wouldn’t shut up about how everyone should watch this oh my god it’s so fire. Season two, I ate my words. Here’s to hoping for a redeeming third season.

What I wore: Your girl loves a transitional outfit. This is what I wore to work yesterday. The dress is over 10 years old. I got it from TJ Maxx for my college graduation and have faithfully worn it almost weekly since. Sweater is from Brandy, shoes are from Zara, both purchased in 2022. Bag is thrifted.

Excited for: Designing our home! I wanted to share my embarrassing little vision board with you guys as things slowly come together. We’ve finally landed on the living room paint color with Whispering Woods by Benjamin Moore and plan to paint tonight. That kind of soft, neutral brown is really hitting for me lately. Like, I want to bury my face in something super plush in this color, preferably the fur of a kind animal.

we actually did get that rug and that couch!

The one downside to marrying a designer is that, though he says otherwise, I really cannot take full creative control. Man’s got professional opinions while I’m all vibes. Luckily, we’ve met in the middle with a sort of earthy, eclectic-yet-cohesive, mid-century feel (probably the safest RX for every married pair of millennial creatives tbh).

That’s all for this week. Have a silly weekend.