She has been a traveling gal! šāØ I went to Florida, and then to NY to host an artist retreat with
, and then Arizona on Spring Break. āļø Some faves in my travels: BacĆ”n, Orlando | Made X Hudson, NY | Andyās Frozen Custard, PhoenixI have needed more rest than expected as I get back into my everyday schedule, which has sent me into the right on time (ha) spiral of productivity, balance, and why I think everything can happen all at once. Whenever I feel like a snail (and that there is something wrong with feeling like a snail), I remind myself of exactly who I am because I sometimes forget. Human on earth, citizen, woman, artist, writer, performer, creative director, content creator, marketer, business owner, business partner, auntie, sister, daughter, granddaughter, caregiver, dog mother, spouse, friend, neighbor.
The landscape of life is hard and absurd, and I should cut myself and those around me a big break and surrender to what I know. I am always going to be late. Or at least, feel late. Late to the meeting, the season, the idea, the trend, the chapter, the task, the coffee date, or calling someone back. I perpetually feel exactly 15 mins to 2 weeks behind at all times. And while this can, has, and will make the responsibilities to myself and others REAL tricky, I think if this is how I lived the rest of my lifeā¦behind, but happy, late, but present, rescheduled, but restedā¦ I would maybe be just fine?
Because hereās the thing, itās never the fact that I am behind. Itās the fact that I have feelings about being behind, or like I should have feelings about being behind, or doing the thing not the way I thought I would do the thing because I am behind, or having to tell someone I am behind, etc, etc.
I have an insane amount of privilege, choice, and my life isnāt that hard. So, I am once again reminding myself to stop playing the perfection game as if I want to win that prize? I donāt. Instead, I will keep trying. Trying is the prize.
As Twyla Tharp, the gal I turn to when I start boring myself says:
Chase the sublime and the absurd. Make each day one where you emerge, unlock, excite, and discover. Find new, reconsider old, become limber, stretch, lean, moveā .ā .ā .ā I say this with love: shut up and dance. That was the advice I gave myself for my sixty-fifth birthday. You might want to start now.
Right now, shut up and dance looks like: quality over quantity, working differently, putting in a 15 - 30 min buffer, sending the email even if itās been two weeks, closing my eyes for 10 mins, going for a walk around the block instead of 10k steps (is this real?), doing the thing late, messy, scared, or unprepared, and yeah, maybe disappointing people, because that is life and sometimes done is better than good. This is a marathon, not a sprint, one day at a time, consistency over perfection, and all that stuff.
wares // 5 min tablescape
Over the weekend my friend brought the takeout, and I had 5 mins to make a quick, cozy nbd Spring table using WHAT I GOT! šøšŖ»š·
Iām glad I went with no tablecloth, I try to pick a color to build from (green vase), and a few random bits + bobs for who knows what reason never hurt anyone. Love my little Donna Wilson pinch dish that is sometimes for salt, sometimes for soy sauce, and sometimes for a tea light. š
wares // window treatments
On the topic of using the time you have with what youāve got, letās chat rental friendly window treatments! Curtains can be something that we donāt invest in because who cares, who has time (that word again), there is another ep. of White Lotus, etc. Which, I get. But, they can also really change the feeling of a space!
When we moved into our most recent place, I knew that these eye sore blinds were not going to do. The tall ceilings and windows are great, but I needed something to 1. add color/pattern 2. add shape 3. feel a bit more homey and less lofty. I knew most options would need to be shortened for length, or custom made to fit the width of the recessed window, and I just didnāt want to care that much (because there is another ep. of White Lotus and I donāt want to learn how to shorten curtains). Let us have balance, let us not think we can do everything all the time! Choice!
The trick was a bit of measuring, and the magic of tie up curtains (I found ours on Facebook Marketplace for $10/panel šŖ) and a heavy duty tension rod. While maybe a bit of a strange choice for a living room, the cafe curtains were the perfect middle ground of fitting the weird measurements of the windows, while also adding shape (almost like a valence or roman shade, but not). They hide the blinds, while still allowing plenty of light, and fall at the perfect spot in the window. The rod was an easy way to avoid drilling into anything. An under $70 project. A slay!
Thatās it for this week. Tune in next for a new series on reimagining your closet with the one and only
of ā¤ļø.Thank you being here, there, and everywhere with me!
Jacque
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