This is a little wave hello since I won’t be posting much until the new year — I could, but the blogging world is dead. I have no interest in screaming into a void. I’d rather schedule posts for busier times, and I am doing that.
Other things I did this week:
I like to pretend my outfits are worthy of jazz standard lyrics. Let me have this one.
I also like to think if I saw this post on my feed, I wouldn’t bother to read anything written alongside it and would instead just look at the photos. I’m proud of them; there’s room for improvement, but I had a great deal of fun shooting with my best friend, and I think I look quite lovely considering… various things I shall not draw attention to. This is a cheap dress, and it has pockets (!), and the only makeup I’m wearing is drugstore lipstick. I carried my heels in a bag and they barely show up in any pictures.
In short(er): red is a lovely color, and Barcelona is an interesting place.
At the end of last month, I’d come up with a relatively straightforward plan to launch three things in November, as well as do a significantly better job of keeping up with another two areas of my business. I’m happy to tell you my blogging and client work have gone unusually smoothly, but the projects… not so much.
Everyone always shares what they did to make things work, sometimes what didn’t work during those launches, and how much work happened behind the scenes that you may have assumed did not. They usually talk about things that happened, after they happened. The fact that they got pushed back or weren’t ready when they were supposed to is a line in the larger scheme of things — just like I’m hoping this post will be a small note once I get my projects going.
But for now, I’m going to tell you about how this month, I didn’t.
It didn’t rain when I was in London in September until the very last minute — it literally started as Annemari and I waited for the bus to Liverpool Street Station for the train to the airport. Meanwhile, two hours in Barcelona and we got a serious fucking storm falling on us.
Judging by the photos, you wouldn’t be able to tell how much it affected my head — I still got loads of them. The next day was much better for me. This one, however, has the sea going for it.
I didn’t grow up by the sea; I don’t have that kind of connection that so many pretentious assholes people claim to have to the ocean. I’ve never felt I couldn’t live far from the ocean because, hell, I’ve been doing exactly that for twenty-six years. Honestly, it’s just a lot of water, and humidity, and I can’t even swim.
And yet. As Annemari and I walked to the ocean, my mood went from ‘mildly stable’ to ‘giddy like a five-year-old;’ my energy grew and I started smiling and by the time we were overlooking the sea from a little ways away, I was ready to dance.
I’m not going to lie — when I say ‘capsule’ in the post title, I don’t really mean ‘clothes you can mix and match for maximum functionality’ this time (see previous capsules here and here). I’m thinking more about a receptacle in which you can live, like a cave where a bear hibernates, and the things you might want to have in it before holing up and not coming out until the sun does, like a bear when it hibernates.
These days I leave the house like, once or twice a week, usually the day after the wine runs out. I try to run all my errands at the same time, too; my town is pretty small so I might as well disrupt my routines as little as possible. I’m happy to tell you I’m no longer so unstable that going to the supermarket messes up my entire day, but I’m still lazy, and let’s be real, even if you go out every day, the best thing about winter is curling up on your bed or an armchair with a hot beverage, a book and your choice of cat furry pet, wrapped up in something warm and comfortable. Mmm, cozying up.
And so:
1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10
And just in case you forgot that a) I mentioned a book and b) I read, I come bearing book recs, too! Because I’ve looked forward to and tweeted about two fall releases far too much not to mention them here as well.
This fall, two of my favorite non-fiction writers released new material. First, it was the incomparable (shut up) Jenny Lawson, the Bloggess, who followed up Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, a book so hysterical I translated entire passages to my sister on the fly, with Furiously Happy. Furiously Happy is just as hilarious, but delves even deeper into Jenny’s experiences with depression and other disorders, including acute social anxiety, with passages as heartbreaking as they are, for me and many other people, massively relatable. Her flying fears are my flying fears! There are also (live) cats and (taxidermied) raccoons, and if you don’t think taxidermied animals can be fucking funny, you’re about to be converted.
The other new book I just started reading last night is Lafayette in the Somewhat United States by Sarah Vowell, who you may recognize from This American Life (a podcast I’ve only heard a tidbit of, though I mainlined its spin-off Serial) or appearances on The Daily Show (where I have in fact seen her; she was one of Jon Stewart’s last guests). I know very little about the period of American History in her book — or any other periods — though it’s getting a big fandom push lately with the Hamilton musical, which I swear I will listen to in time (Renee Elise Goldberry! My love, my light) — but I’ve inhaled about four of Vowell’s books, starting with probably my favorite, Assassination Vacation, and her writing style is just so goddamn engaging I know I will care. She probably shoulders 80% of the responsibility for my morbid interest in the Civil War era, so you know she’s got chops. Also, like, she’s Sarah Vowell. So give it a go if you don’t know her.
That should keep you cozy and entertained for a while! Now back to your cat.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. In fact most links are affiliate links. That means I may make a small commission if you purchase! And I mean small. But a commission all the same. Esprit unfortunately does not have an affiliate program that I’m aware of, but boy, am I in love with their collection… surprising absolutely no one.
How do I say this without making an overused Game of Thrones reference — it’s getting cold outside. Dammit, that’s a Christmas song. Fuck it. It’s fall, and with fall comes a drop in temperatures and a rise in layers you must wear to not freeze to death. The breezy whites of summer no longer draw you in as much, it gets dark much earlier, and windows are closed more often than they’re open.
If you are a normal human being who is affected by their surroundings when working, this is a time of adaptation. Blankets come out. Coats, sweaters, gloves. Thicker curtains, possibly. Warmer, darker colors to create an illusion of snuggliness.
For this week’s edition of Lix Wishes She Could Redecorate, I’m bringing you a little bit of inspiration to make your office, or the space where you work, actually appealing to be in in these colder months. A place that makes you want to pull up your feet on an armchair, keep a warm coffee cup nearby and actually work with your laptop on your knees, if you’re not feeling the desk thing. I hope you find a little bit of coziness you can incorporate into your workspace — or bedroom, or home — here to make the most of these colder months in the most pleasant way possible.
armchair nook (Morgan Trinker via A Beautiful Mess) · studio (INT2architecture via Homify) · mudroom · children’s room
Get the look with: Halston armchair · basket weave cushion · herringbone cushion · winter leaves & berries · knit throw · slippers
I realize there’s a children’s room and a mudroom in there, but they’re the perfect freaking nooks. No windows to freeze against, and still the vibe of a windowseat. Also, let’s be real, I want that slide.
And that armchair.
And I destroyed a pair of slippers like that a while back and have found nothing like them since.
I do have a Minted voucher, and I’ve been eying that pillow they have — it’s seasonal without being weird, and I like it a lot. I was going to use the voucher on planners, but I’m designing my own now (take the survey! Yeah, big news. Or it could be small news. I don’t know yet!). I’m so tempted to look for an armchair, but I can’t afford it and I’m not sure I even have room for it. I just love working like that. Like at Starbucks. For now, I’m getting myself a coffee machine. That’s plenty.
Disclosure: Post written in collaboration with Homify. Contains affiliate links.
Through all of my school years — elementary and high — I never had any doubt that I’d go to university. I performed well academically; I was a bookworm and all about learning and I saw no better future for myself than learning more for as long as I possibly could. My career goals changed and faded, with being a writer always staying put as the foundation, but my academic goals only did in terms of what I would study at university.
(Creative Writing either isn’t or wasn’t a college degree in Spain, and I was never that drawn to studying creative subjects, anyway. It seemed far too subjective a field to be graded on.)
Growing up, my family were a bit more financially stable than we are now; my father usually had a job and we had my grandfather living with us, helping out and funding the whims of his grandbaby, aka me. Even when times were tight, college was still in the horizon for a simple reason: scholarships.
In Spain, scholarships are given based on your level of income, and most non-medicine-related degrees have a passing grade fence, so you don’t have to try very hard to get in. Even after my mental health issues extended to physical symptoms and my average went from A to B, I wasn’t worried about getting into college. I didn’t have to write essays or pay to apply.
I like this system. I support this system. Everyone should have access to education, and scholarships are much better than loans, in my opinion. It’s great not owing tens of thousands of insert-currency-here to the government. You just had to meet certain criteria to get the money, and achieve certain low-pressure goals to keep it.
I dropped out of college three months in, bought a MacBook and a Canon camera, went back to sit two exams in September and didn’t have to give any money back. I couldn’t get another scholarship for my first year doing English in my hometown the year after that and my parents couldn’t afford one, so it’s one chance and you blow it, but that’s much better than many, many people get, and my laptop lasted me quite long and my camera — I still use it on the regular. I’m building a blog and a business with that camera.
But here’s the thing.
I’m back!
Home after my twelve-day trip, that is. I’m still on a break from blogging. London was cold and exhausting and wonderful and full of amazing food and my best friend, and Barcelona was humid and weird and exhausting and pretty nice and full of my best friend also and there was the sea, did I mention I saw the sea? I hadn’t seen the sea (other than from a plane window) since July 30, 2008. No joke. I forgot how giddy it makes me feel.
I took loads upon loads upon loads of photos because duh, and have so much content to get up now — four restaurant reviews (soooooo much food), two hotels, three proper outfits and an outfit diary for London, the zoo, #bloggersfestival, and I’m sure I’m forgetting things.
MEANWHILE, however, I participated in a little competition Ladbrokes put together, and came up with an outfit I’d wear, hypothetically, to London Fashion Week! There’s a microsite up now where you can vote for your favorite, and you can vote for me here. Do it. DO IT. I’ve never won a voting comp, it would be nice. Plus I’ll probably be giving away the LFWend tickets since I’m not sure I can quite justify another trip to London, so hey. Double winner.
Goooo.
Back to my hiatus now, and I will (hopefully) see you in October with a brand new design! In the meantime, do follow me on Twitter and Instagram if you aren’t already.
Drumroll please… my trip is (nearly) all booked. My best friend is coming with me, and helping me bring my stuff home, and then I’m taking her to Barcelona and we’re spending the weekend so she can catch her flight back to Tallinn on Monday.
It happened really fast and I can’t believe I’m getting on a plane NEXT WEEK. We’re doing five nights instead of a full week in London to make up for the Barcelona costs — they’re necessaryish because she doesn’t want to go there alone and there are no flights to Estonia from Madrid. I’ll have six days in London because I’m reviewing a hotel my first night there, and then Annemari will join me on Friday. I’m very excited.
I’ve got two-three blog posts, a media kit and two blog designs to finish before I leave, which I think is doable given where I am with each. I just need to make a schedule, or a to-do list or something. Also, start writing down addresses and figuring out what to pack. I probably won’t be around very much once the two-three posts I’ve planned go up, so you should follow me on Twitter or Instagram! I also haven’t decided how long or in what way I’m taking September off from blogging, but it may be ‘entirely so I can focus on my rebrand,’ so there’s a chance of that. We shall see.
And now this is where I ask for things to do or see in London and especially Barcelona, because for someone who’s obsessed with the former and has always wanted to visit the latter, I’m drawing a total blank.
