Open the Document
Good morning you layering-warm-clothing wonderfuls.
Whenever I draft a Deadline Schedule for a new book I’m writing, the first goal is to just Open the Document. All I have to do to meet that goal, is open Word, put a title on it, my name and Chapter One. I then minimize that document on my computer, check off the goal and go about my day as far away from the now Opened Document as possible.
I started doing this because each time I was going to begin writing a new book, the mounting anxiety had me doubting myself before I even started. Because starting meant opening the document and opening the document meant opening my expectations. And those expectations had a lot of opinions on what I could do better this time around. It yelled about a higher daily word count, brutal writing schedules along with fearful tirades about whether the book would be any good, or if I’d be able to even finish.
So, in desperation I tried something new. Something that would keep me in the here and now and not stuck in a blurry future where the only thing that was clear, was that I’d already somehow failed.
Simply, I needed a win more than I needed word count.
When we start things, it’s not about The Thing… it’s about us. Building that trust. Gaining confidence. Building self-esteem. Feeling a sense of accomplishment. Being proud of ourselves. It’s about meeting you where you are right now with no judgment about where that is. Because in doing so, it transforms the goal from something external, performative and for other people into something internal, meaningful and just for you.
It’s loving. It’s gentle. It’s slow and steady. It’s sustainable. It wants you to keep showing up. It wants you to feel good about yourself.
In short, it wants you to succeed.
Each month, I’ll gather:
🤩stuff to watch, read and listen to
🤝great follows on social media
🌈 music to soothe
🥑 good food and great places to eat and drink
🕯calming things
*****
🤩
I am obsessed with The Brothers Sun. I started it and was like okay, let’s watch an episode a night just to… cut to: me binging it, furtively searching the internet for the music they used in each episode and looking up every food location. IT’S SO GOOD.
I LOVED the Nova episode on Saving Notre Dame. It was endlessly fascinating, especially if you’re an architecture nerd like I am.
I really loved Sheng Wang’s Sweet and Juicy and Mike Birbiglia’s The Old Man and The Pool.
I’m always looking for music that I can listen to in the morning. It has to be quiet, without being depressing. Light and airy, without being tinkly. And discovering Ballaké Sissoko’s music has been SO LOVELY.
The other thing I’m always looking for is a super low-lift game I can play to relax or calm down. I heard about SUIKA, downloaded it onto my Switch and it’s perfect. It’s the game for you if you’re like me and think Tetris is too stressful, but your teeny brain likes the idea of stacking things.
You know how I love some YouTube train content. I found Grounded for Life and on top of their travel videos, they do these FAQ videos for people new to the whole train thing - or like me, you just like a train. (look I don’t know when this happened, but we’re here now). They did one on the trains of Italy and it was SO FASCINATING. I learned so much, should I actually ever take that big European train trip I’ve been planning in my head for years.
🤝
Follow Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes, because she’s going on a big ole tour and she’s showing snippets of new music and ahhhhh.
Follow GBBO’s Lottie Bedlow for great baking and cooking and also, because she shows the flops as much as the triumphs and it’s nice to see we’re not alone. (not me, mind you. I would have to, you know, actually TRY to bake/cook to flop or triumph, but here we are.)
Follow Marianela Nuñez, the Principal Ballerina at the Royal Ballet, for a lovely timeline cleanse.
🌈
🥑
Dear Lord, Baroo is extraordinary. If you’re ever in the LA area, GOOOOO.
It’s FRICKIN’ Cutie Season, baby
If you’re ever in the Central California area, The Hearst Ranch Winery is seriously my favorite everything. The view, the nosh, the wine… and there’s even plenty of parking, seating and good bathrooms. ← the real important stuff.
🕯
THIS is my #1 moisturizer and I will never stray.
Worked with TidyLA again this year, to do some wonderful organizing and purging. I bought THESE for my sock drawer. They’re really good, but they’re both bigger and smaller than you expect. I can’t explain what that means. Also, Brightroom is a GREAT brand from Target. I’ve gotten a lot of their stuff, and it’s all been great.
For Christmas, I got my brother in law THESE pants after doing a lot of research and these seemed to top most people’s lists.
I got both my nieces THIS for Christmas and they’re HILARIOUS. I ordered both the stamp and the stickers and they were great.
Every January, I choose a word for the new year and usually got a bracelet with that word on it. But, this year a friend suggested getting THIS instead of the bracelet. AND I LOVE IT.
I’ve finally admitted that I can’t wear baseball caps because of my GD glasses - how do people do it? Please share your secrets, okay maybe I haven’t admitted it. So, I started looking into bucket hats and their soft brim that would get along better with glasses. First, I ordered THIS ONE and it’s GREAT. But, then my mom got me THIS ONE for Christmas and I’ve been wearing it over the other one. I think because the fabric is more forgiving, so I feel better shoving it in my purse, etc…