The List
Good morning, lovies.
I wanted to build off of last month’s essay about how given the state of things, sometimes getting out of bed in the morning is just about the promise of a good cuppa.
But, these days it’s going to take more than that.
In the past, I’ve talked about this running list I keep next to my desk of all the things that make me happy, bring me joy, ease my anxiety, calm me down and basically help me when I’m dipping below the waterline. Nothing that gets added to the list is too small or trite or whatever bullshit judgment we sometimes put on things that make us happy.
But then the other day I caught myself during my morning shower starting to rush. And then it was this flash of, but this is helping? You like it in here and it’s making you feel good. So, why are you hurrying to be done? Why not linger a little?
It might just make the day 1% better…
Some things on my list are:
a hot shower or bath
playing Animal Crossing
cup of tea
doing a crossword
driving around with my mom and looking at houses
ice cream cone
big glass of water
washing my face
going on a walk
watching Howl’s Moving Castle
take a deep breath
sitting outside
fresh raspberries
Morning Pages
closing my eyes and using every sense to revisit a memory where I felt good (almost to remind myself that I can and will feel good again)
talking to my sister
lying down and reading
visiting a garden
visiting a museum
dancing
making a playlist
I want to challenge each and every one of you to make a list. OF EVERYTHING that brings you peace, happiness and just a moment away from the ugliness of it all.
And then comes the hard part… because then? I want you to actually let yourself DO THEM.
It just might make the day 1% better.
Each month, I’ll gather:
🤩stuff to watch, read and listen to
🌈 music to soothe
🥑 good food and great places to eat and drink
🕯calming things
*****
🤩
I was lucky enough to attend the London premiere for Andrew Ahn’s wonderful adaptation of The Wedding Banquet. I absolutely loved it. Go see it!
I loved Ludwig - just incredible. A mystery series starring David Mitchell where he’s a famous puzzle maker? Come on. Highly recommended.
I love Lucy Worsley and her series Lucy Worsley Investigates is back for a Season 2 where she covers Jack the Ripper, Guy Fawkes and William the Conquerer.
My niece did a whole post on KPOP and F1 and I’m obsessed. If you’re curious about either, this is a perfect primer for you.
I read the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde while I traveled and dear lord it was so good. 100 pages of sheer gripping story. I loved it.
I also re-read Carolyn Huynh’s The Family Recipe and fell in love with it all over again.
Sidebar: I’m in conversation with Carolyn at Skylight Books here in LA on April 3rd at 7PM if you want to pop by!
🌈
🥑
Here are some places I went to in London that I would highly recommend and one that I need you to steer clear of:
I went here on my first night in London and it was the kind of meal I was MAD AT because I couldn’t finish every delectable bite. Truly delicious.
This has been on my Bucket List for YEARS and it was everything I ever dreamed of and more. It was magical and I’m still floating from my time there.
A friend of ours suggested this hotel and it was SO GREAT. The price is so reasonable and the rooms were lovely, but it’s the staff. The people at the front desk saved me from making MULTIPLE terrible (and expensive) transportation mistakes, the restaurant was lovely (get the hotel breakfast!) and the location couldn’t have been better - bus stops right outside and the Windrush Line just a couple blocks away. It was the IDEAL home base for the trip.
This was another item on my Bucket List and it soared past all my expectations. It was glorious. I spent the whole day here just wandering around in awe. The adorable thing were the little packs of school kids playing everywhere and just.. it was wonderful.
L’Orangerie
The guy at the gate suggested I eat at L’Orangerie inside Kew and he was right. I got my little breakfast toastie and some tea and just sat out on the back patio staring at the grandeur. Dear lord.
This was also one of the main transportation mistakes I almost made. I thought my ticket was for 10AM so in a rush I debated taking a cab. But, Kew is FAR - and the woman at the front desk got me on the District line and saved me so much money. (also, 10AM is when the garden OPENS, so… there was no rush anyway… long weary sigh)
We took a little day trip to Oxford and visited the Covered Market there - highly recommended. Ben’s Cookies was our first stop and it was perfect. I got the basic Chocolate Chunk. but my friend got the Milk Chocolate Orange and yes, I was jealous.
On our final day in London, we went to lunch here and DEAR LORD. It was so good. I had this haddock dish that… dear lord. But, then we ordered FRESH madeleines?!?!?!??! COME ON.
UGH, THE WORST:
This was the ONE clunker of my trip. I’d so loved the Afternoon Tea I’d had at The Portrait Gallery back in 2019 that I thought I’d try the one the National Gallery had to offer. IT WAS SO BAD.
It was expensive: 55 Pounds! And it was like 3 finger sandwiches and 4 other offerings? It was incomprehensibly shitty.
The vibe of the place was just OFF. Cold, touristy and sterile and just... you felt like herded cattle.
The TEENY TINY TABLE - this is afternoon tea, there are lots of bits and bobs… and when I say the table was FUCKING TINY I kept having to Tetris everything and ended up just holding my tea cup in my lap like I was on a train or something.
The next day I went to Mariage Frere and it was HALF the cost and just absolutely out-classed whatever this was by a mile.
SKIP THIS PLACE AT ALL COSTS.
🕯
My Niece put together The Ultimate Smallie Haul (smallies in our family are those items that are bigger than stocking stuffers, but smaller than a main gift you’d give someone. i.e. a candle is a perfect smallie) and it’s SO FRICKING GOOD. She has such good taste and curates these hauls… I… I’m obsessed.
Here are some of the things I brought to London that I really liked:
This Baggu Medium Crescent Bag
My niece came down this past summer and used this bag. It’s the perfect blend of comfortable, durable, stylish and can actually hold a TON of shit. Highly recommended.
I knew I wanted to take a water bottle with me, but didn’t want to lug one around, so I bought this. YES, it feels like you’re drinking out of an IV bag, but goddamn if it wasn’t the best feeling to just roll it up and shove it into my bag between fills.
Hilariously, it was SO well rollable that I lost it. So… there’s that. (that’s more of a ME thing, tho)
These are my tried and true masks and I bought a couple more for the flight.
I’m just as shocked as you are, but I wore these EVERYWHERE and they were comfortable and worked WAY better than I thought they would.
I’ve been wanting a nice pair of pants for a while, and these were perfect. I absolutely love them because they’re made for women’s curves. There’s elastic in the back at the waist, so it cinches in, solving that age-old problem of a loose poochy waist and tight fit around your hips and ass. They’re wonderful, size inclusive and worth the money because they’re so well made and I’ll have these forever.
This jumpsuit was the single best thing I packed. I threw it on and it looked cute and it was so easy. YES, there was a very steep, public learning curve to get out of it (just don’t panic and keep breathing) but I got the hang of it after a couple of wears.
Same as above, the elastic at the waist solved for curves and these are also size inclusive and exceptionally made.
I wore this BY ITSELF sitting on the top of one of those hop on/hop off buses in Oxford in late March and it kept me warm. I am an LA native with thin, wimpy blood. So… this was a feat of magic because it also wasn’t stifling. This shirt was SO clutch for this trip.
We had a fancy event to go to while we were in London, so I brought these tights to wear with a dress. Again, these tights are the friggin best. They don’t droop and sag down to your knees, they don’t snag, they stay put and they’re warm… seriously, they’re great.
This brand is also wonderfully size inclusive.
Hi Liza, I often write a love list for my novel when I'm writing one, to remind myself of what I love about it when it gets hard. It always helps me keep going. I believe I got the idea from Stephanie Perkins. So when I saw your suggestion to keep a love list for ourselves, I was like, wow, yes, that makes so much sense!! I'm going to start doing that. Thank you for your wonderful note every month, I absolutely love it. Now a big fan of Little Seed Farm because of you. Take care and one day at a time!