spring mood board 🌞

Despite the fact that we had another snowstorm in New York yesterday, I'm still overly optimistic about Spring and the ~ vibe ~ that comes with the warmer temperatures and longer days.

As you can see, I've got a bit of a tan/mustard/earthy red palette going on. So without further ado, a few things on my mind for spring: 

• Call Me By Your Name: the polos, the light denim, the Italian countryside, the heartbreak. Give me it all.

• Peach-tinted glasses from Frankie Shop

• This linen Amber dress from Urban Outfitters

• Linen and cotton and muted earthy colors and somehow finding a west coast mentality in NYC.

• This entire editorial from Need Supply

• Haim Something To Tell You

• This lewk from double3xposure

• Perfectly light washed Levis

So even if it's still a bit chillier than I would like, I am saying goodbye to any lingering winter mentality and looking forward to Spring & Summer. 🌞🌞🌞

the diary: a jaunt in miami

day one

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the salty donut & the mondrian hotel

I got into Miami on an early Friday afternoon, and spent an absolutely lovely (and packed!) weekend with some of my best friends. Right after I landed, we headed to an incredible donut shop in Wynwood called The Salty Donut for some sugary energy, before spending the rest of the afternoon relaxing at the Mondrian Hotel pool.

day two

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strawberry picking

We began Saturday bright and early by picking strawberries on Knaus farm. Afterwards we picked up some of their famous cinnamon buns (which I'm not sure how I didn't get a picture of those) before heading out to our next stop: The Perez Art Museum.

The perez art museum

miami beach

The Perez Art Museum happened to have free admission on that Saturday, so we swung by for a quick visit before heading to the beach for the rest of the afternoon. (Spoiler alert: I did get a small sun burn).

Bodega

It wouldn't be a trip in Miami without one memorable night out, and we spent Saturday night (or I suppose you could say Sunday morning) at Bodega. Needless to say, our start on Sunday was a bit slower than usual. 

day three

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brickell city center

We started Sunday with some well-deserved brunch at Tacology in the Brickell City Center, followed by a peruse of some of the stores. (Yes, we both succumbed to going into Zara but neither of us bought anything!). It was a relaxing way to start off a slower morning, and just what we needed to refuel.

the wharf

After Brickell, we headed to a place called The Wharf and I was surprised by how incredibly busy it was. One of the differences I noticed between Miami and NYC: people in Miami try hard and want to be acknowledged for that; New Yorkers tend to dial back the effort — or, more accurately, the perception of effort.

bayside

As it became evening, we spent some time at Bayside snacking on spiralized mango and taking in the beautiful views. I honestly couldn't have asked for a better last night. We did head to Ocean Drive after, and an old favorite for breakfast in the morning but both of those meals were each times where the conversation kept me too distracted from taking any pictures.

It is a little bit odd to return to the place you've grown up, long after you've left it. And yet there's also something comforting in returning to a place with so many roots and seeing that even amidst a lot of change, some things — like wonderful old friends — aren't all that different. 

one month into my bullet journal

I'm shamelessly obsessed with stationery. I have been for years, and I doubt I'll ever tire of the delight of buying a new notebook. But as much as I'd love to have a separate notebook for every occasion, I've found it's just not practical. So now, I only actively keep two notebooks: my journal journal (where I try to write a few times a week), and my bullet journal. It is the latter that I'm figuring out how to use for work, blogging, writing, and life in general. 2018 is the first year I'm really jumping on the bullet journal train, and so far, I really have been enjoying it. It's nice to be in charge of exactly how I want to take my notes and where I want to put my daily to-dos. 

I know some people go crazy an do some insane designs but I chose to go simple for my journal. For one, simple is quite a bit quicker and life has been super busy lately; and I've also found that with a simple layout, I'm more inclined to do little doodles or add in stickers here or there and make it very personal. 

The beginning of my notebook has the usual key, index, and yearly overview. I also snuck in a page of my resolutions though, they have since changed so perhaps I jumped the gun on that one a bit. Other than that, I just have a page for each month to plan some blog posts, and jot down any other writing deadlines I set for myself. I find this really helpful because if I know, for example, that in May I want to write about one year post-graduation, I can already schedule for that. 

At the beginning of each month, I do a monthly overview page where I can note important dates, list out to-dos and goals, and track some habits on the right-hand side. I also left that big block on the right page as a super quick diary of sorts, for any notes or things I want to remember (like, if I tried a new restaurant or finished a book). 

And finally, my weekly overview! As I said, pretty simple and straightforward with lots of room for notes. I do like to do all my weeks in one go, but I've been holding off on doing more in case I want to make changes. After I finished up January, for example, I made a few design changes based on my habits during that month. Aside from my diary portion, I've earmarked the final empty pages for anything and everything that crosses my mind, from blog post ideas to quotes I like to overheard snippets on the subway. 

Annnnd that is it! I hope you enjoyed this overview and you're having a productive 2018!

the diary: the first week

1.01 - 1.07

Real talk? I've already fallen off a few of my goals (ha ha). For the first time in a long time of goal setting, I'm ok with it. It used to be that when I set a goal, like a new diet or workout plan, I would give up if I even messed up once. I wanted to accomplish my goal perfectly. But not having room for any mistakes was stifling and, in the end, ineffectual. So rather than abandon my wishes altogether, I plan on readjusting and resetting at the end of January. But regardless of the goals I set, it has been a nice, rather cold (thanks bomb cyclone), start to the new year. 

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life

It's been a rather relaxed week, likely due to the below freezing temperatures, which have me cuddled up on the sofa watching all the Harry Potters. (They just released them on HBO and needless to say, I'm thrilled). So, not much else to report other than I've started practicing French again and mon français est un peu rouillé (annnd that is likely incorrect).

some reading

• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas — A book that is as devastating as it is important

• Conversations With Friends by Sally Rooney — This novel isn't for everyone; it's quite introspective with more emphasis on prose than plot but I really enjoyed it. If you like Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler, I'd give this a try.

• Speaking of New Year's goals: Why You Should Make an Anti-Resolution List

• The 50 Funniest Tweets From Women in 2017

• Time's Top 100 Photos of 2017 (Sadly, decidedly not funny)

• 2017 Word of the Year

• And finally, this is from a bit ago, but I want to share this incredible reactive piece to "Cat Person" by my fave writer at Man Repeller, Haley.

top fourteen books of 2017

If I haven't yet made it clear, I am a near-constant reader. This year I've set the rather ambitious goal of reading 50 books (which is roughly one a week). In 2017, I read 34 so it will be a bit of a jump but one I think I can do. As I pick and choose what I want to read this year, I decided to take a look back at my favorite books from last year. Fun fact: this was only supposed to be top ten but then I couldn't cut this list down. They're in no particular order!

1. Swimming Studies by Leanne Shapton

2. Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong

3. Play it as it Lays by Joan Didion

4. The Vegetarian by Han Kang

5. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

6. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck by Mark Manson

7. Turtles All The Way Down by John Green

8. The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

9. The Idiot by Elif Batuman

10. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

11. Commonwealth by Ann Patchet

12. How To Find Love In A Bookshop by Veronica Henry

13. Sour Heart by Jenny Zhang

14. All The Lives I Want by Alanna Massey

Throughout this year, I plan on popping reviews up every now and then on some of my favorite books so if I do another round-up like this, I can link back to them. I used to have a habit of writing down quotes from books I loved, but I stopped out of pure laziness; as I read through more books, I plan on reforming this habit. Here's to a year of good (and even great) reading!

the diary: week of 12/4

I've always enjoyed rereading old journals (cringe-worthy moments of past me aside). With this in mind, I've decided on new series of posts, as a diary of sorts, to share interesting articles I've read, pictures I've taken, and memories that I want to make note of. 

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watch / listen / read.

The Crown. Season Two hit Netflix on the 8th and *cough* I might be almost finished. I'm blaming that on a snowy Saturday where all I wanted to do was cozy up indoors. 

Fireworks by First Aid Kit

I'm currently in the midst of Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. I also recommend the following: 

• A beautiful Parisian apartment

• Ginger cookies a colleague made that I'm itching to recreate myself

• The new Pantone color of the year

• And, a piece to make you cry: Time's 2017 people of the year

• Jenna Lyon's Soho Loft

life. 

• breakfast with a friend @ Cafe Cluny

• digging "all on red" on my nails (Revlon)

• playing tourist with a friend in midtown, followed by dinner @ Hagi Sake bar

• catching up with an old friend @ Gemma

• the first snow of the year!