Last week, I had a mentorship call with an creative writing student who, among other things, asked me the trick to writing a newsletter and sticking to it. I laughed. It was not exactly what I expected him to be curious about, though as a writer, I understand the pressure to maintain some consistent correspondence and nurture a readership.
My advice was two fold. One, is that if you have any paying subscribers at all, the guilt of not delivering on a paid service is enough pressure for most, but two, that truly establishing a format that feels true and exciting to you is the best way to not get stuck in the what-am-I-writing-this-month spiral.
The truth is, this letter has taken on new formats and cadences as the years (3 now!) have passed, and I’ve been finding myself muddled by the lack of structure in each dispatch. I’m no longer sure whether you, Dear Reader, are here for the essays or the book recommendations or the small business highlights or the fashion arm of things. Maybe all of the above, maybe none. Regardless, it would be really helpful to know as I take my own advice and ideate a new template I’m reinvigorated by.
In the meantime, I’m plucking a trend I never tire of online, and sharing this week’s R.E.P.O.R.T along with a new feature I’m calling ONE BOOK, ONE LOOK (more on this below).
Reading El Principito—I read the French version back in school so I figured it would be a good foray into reading more in Spanish. It is!
Eating red lentil hummus. Nothing wrong with a classic chickpea hummus but I had a Costco-size bag of red lentils I wanted to go through in other ways than dahl and turns out a lentil hummus is so good. Just boil the lentils, briefly roast garlic (if you want), and then plop both in a blender with the juice of one lemon, 1/2 a cup of tahini, a splash of water (more or less depending on the texture you want to achieve), some salt, and BAM. I have been eating mine on sourdough every morning with a little cumin sprinkled on top.
Playing with paracord to make my own version of the Miu Miu bag charms. Once I got over my anxiety of not being able to start them (hello old schoolyard panic) the process has been quite therapeutic. More colourways to come.
Obsessing over my new (old) Danier bag I got off Poshmark. I’d been looking for a new tote for a while, and found this one for $40. I wanted something that was one part The Row, one part fun (cue the paracord charms I want to affix to the handles) that could zip and fit my laptop. 4/4.
Recommending cured egg yolks. Now I’m not saying they’re a new staple, but they are so easy to make (you just bury the yolks in salt, wait 4 days, make like an archeologist to uncover them, rinse them off, and then bake for one hour) and incredibly fun to experiment with. So far I have topped off salads and mushroom toast with microplaned egg yolks and it’s kind of like cheese but more novel?!
Treating myself to Mondays being an admin day as opposed to a “brain” work day. Meal prepping, emailing, tax prep, etc. No proverbial hammercurling of pink matter today, just checking things off lists while a podcast plays in the background.
ONE BOOK, ONE LOOK
While some questions mark remain as to the format of this newsletter, I’m really excited to introduce this new segment where I ask someone in my community to recommend a book and a look that’s been on their mind lately. From backlists to archival looks to freshly ideated outfit recipes, I want an excuse to ask cool people what their brain has been mulling over in those two areas.
For now, I’ll share mine!
ONE BOOK
Entitlement by Rumaan Alam—gobbled up in 2.5 days. The dust jacket kind of says it all so I’d skip over summaries and go in blind just knowing it’s about money, power, and their interplay.
ONE LOOK
image via Konfekt Magazine
I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been watching My Brilliant Friend these days and forging connections between Italian school uniforms and Miuccia Prada, or perhaps the cold makes wool and leather feel indispensable, but I can’t stop thinking about academia-inspired garb. Currently on the hunt for a long wool kilt to live in this winter. With red tights underneath?! Are you kidding?!
Those bag charms ignited something in me
That Danier bag is perfection.