Spring Cleaning
Re-organizing my mind, style, inside of my bag, energy, closet, DMs, fridge, and whatever tf else before the snow thaws.
Okay… is it ambitious of me to write about Spring in the early days of March? Maybe. But I’ve always been both ambitious and optimistic, and I feel like writing about warmer weather will somehow manifest its arrival (makes sense, right?)
Ins: persian rugs, baseball caps, stationery, brown eyeliner, hobbies, attending sports games for the vibes, rainboots, grapefruit, simple outfits, magazines as home decor, reading in public, layering with lace, museums trips, flowers as accessories (florals, for Spring? groundbreaking).
Outs: sleeping in, all-black going out fits, glitter, fur coats, espresso martinis, being a bitch, thrifting, iPads/digital note taking, waiting for summer to have fun, casual instagram, doing things just for the sake of saying you did them.
Trendspotting?
I feel like I’ve been seeing this lace + cami concept cropping up in tops and dresses everywhere these days for Spring, specifically, the Reformation store in Williamsburg I happened to stumble into last Sunday.
Whether it comes built into the dress or you add the detail yourself, I love how it adds something to an outfit without compromising its simplicity, and how it easily it enhances the femininity of staple items. Also – great excuse for my nice undergarments to get some use beyond their target audience. Hope to see it around more this season – what do you think?
Habits
Forget New Year’s Resolutions – for me, Spring has always been the true season of making, and actually sticking to, habits. It’s a season of renewal: focusing on who you want to be, what’s important to you, and shedding the unnecessary. Let’s get into it…
Personally:
Ballet. After a month of obsessive hot yoga, it is with great pleasure that I return to my childhood hobby of dance.
Reading every morning, no exceptions.
Baking, my ultimate stress outlet, takes on new joy in the springtime when I get to play around with candied lemons and add raspberries into cookie recipes.
Donating and returning items I do not need (also to get rid of the amazon box pile-up in my entryway of purchases I haven’t quite been able to commit to).
Giving up unnecessary spending. After I willingly paid $9.50 for a matcha just because it was sunny out, I deemed Spring the time for a more than necessary critical analysis of my financial allocation to goods and services. I thus decided to cut back on all superfluous spending in order to invest more on items I truly place value on (good wine, hardcover books, overpriced denim).
Kindness. Admittedly, those in my life would laugh at this one. While I am known for my yelling and eye-rolls, this spring I have found it unexpectedly luxurious to behave extra-sweet to people for no reason, even when I get honked at for jaywalking or for being on my phone in front of TSA. Blow them a kiss and move on.
Recommendations:
Running, if that’s your thing. Get your cardio up to prepare for summer flings.
Donating, join me in the precursor to the infamous (though necessary) spring cleaning session by giving away sweaters and other such winter-y wardrobe essentials that you haven’t reached for once since the weather dipped below zero.
Learn something new. This is pretty broad so I’ll even be so generous as to give you some fun examples.
Go to a local museum, note the name of an artist you found inspiring, and read up about them when you get home. The ‘Great Art Explained’ channel on YouTube has lots to offer.
Flip through one of your dusty cookbooks, pick a challenging recipe, and make it to the best of your ability (get those around you to eat it for validation).
Ask a friend with a fun skill to teach you what they’re good at! This is how I ended up being laughed at in an intro to Jiu Jitsu class… it’s good to push your boundaries sometimes.
Buy a plant. Idk, I feel like it gives Spring vibes. Manifest lush green energy in your apartment (even if the trees outside are bare and depressing).
To end the advice portion of this week’s letter – a direct quote from my last read so true I couldn’t help but flag it. While the above tips for self-improvement definitely fall under the ‘frivolous’ umbrella, Spring is also a season for mental growth and a refreshment of habits which are long overdue to be let go. We often stick to things that aren’t necessarily good for us simply because of the resistance we find towards change…
Recents!
Shopping: white Reformation slouchy jeans, notebook from Goods for the Study, Hourglass brown gel eyeliner, Abercrombie sweater, Diptyque mini Baies candle.
Seeing: my dad, my bestfriend & her lovely boyfriend who came to visit, a friend from university for her birthday.
Reading: Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors.
Doing: packing for an upcoming trip to Rio, booking restaurant reservations 3 weeks in advance for when I’m back, re-organizing my closet, finishing off the last of the vanilla-lemon cake I made last week, abusing my roommate’s Equinox guest passes.
What else is new? Well, I’m slowly but surely pouring in more time to my tiktok and insta pages with nyc content (in addition to my @nycbxtch twitter ofc). I’ve also gotten tons more requests on my curious cat to give advice on love, relationships, and anything in between, which is my absolute favourite thing to act like I know anything about. Feel free to drop me a line there if you have anything on your mind you want me to discuss and I’ll get to it either vlog-style or in a newsletter.
Until next time, Bisous & Beijos!
I love this post 🤍 also really want to try brown eyeliner any Recs ?