Friday Lunch Special | Dune 2 Again, Babygirl, Decadence and 1000 Little Words
A little bit of everything!
Welcome to Friday Lunch Special. This format of the newsletter has been something I’ve been noodling around with in my brain for a while. Once upon a time I was a girl who wrote long, winding, heartfelt captions on Instagram. Now I’m a girl who has Instagram blocked on my phone for most of the day, and I use it primarily for IRL connection and sharing this newsletter. As you may know, I try to write every day. Most of the time, what I’m writing isn’t in any state to see your inbox, but most of the time there are tidbits that I like. Those bits and bobs will live here, along with some recommendations and links. Friday Lunch Special is a little bit of everything. I hope you enjoy.
Dune 2 Again
Well, I did it. I saw Dune 2 again. In 4DX. And I know, I know, it’s extreme. But here’s the thing: Last week when I was thinking about it I realized I may never get to see Dune 2 in 4DX again. The thought of this was very emotionally affecting and on the same day some friends were also talking about going to see it and I thought, WHY NOT. Why rob myself of even one ounce of joy? And then I did what any sane millennial would do– I planned a dinner beforehand complete with Water of Life themed cocktails (which were just margaritas with blue curacao instead of triple sec, you’re welcome). The viewing experience drunk on power, the smell of spice and tequila in the 4DX seat? Immaculate.
Babygirl
P.S. you can follow me on Letterboxd if you want.
Decadence
While in Toronto my brilliant friend Jamie treated me to a body scrub. Initially I had some trepidation about it, because I knew that a body scrub meant another person would be cleansing and scrubbing my mostly nude body. While I’m no prude, and I love to be as close to naked as possible most of the time, I was nervous about my body being on display in the shining lights of a spa. I talked myself down though, repeating the words a gynecologist once relayed to me at my first annual exam: “Every body is just as weird as it is normal.”
I decided to embrace it, and act as if I was a person who was comfortable being fully topless in front of strangers. Thankfully, it worked. I embodied fake it until you make it, and when the time for my scrub came I was only a little bit awkward. The scrub was wonderful and decadent. We were exhausted by how relaxed we were from our time in the spa.
Without realizing it, this endcapped a month of decadence: time stretching out in front of me, going to visit friends and spend a full week reading, getting to go get coffee and bagels weekly because I wanted to, seeing movies as often as I want to thanks to the brilliance of a movie theater subscription.
Here are a few things that added to the luxury:
White Chocolate & Pistachio Crema Filled - Dolgam i Siciliani
Other Significant Others by Rhaina Cohen
Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Bleachers by Bleachers
1000 Little Words
When I am writing my thousand little words everyday there comes a point in every document when I’m not sure how to continue. At first I get really excited about what I’m writing and for about 10 minutes all the words flow out with impressive ease. I get my ideas down, I feel I have direction, and I get it all out. It feels so good. And then I check my word count, knowing that I am not even halfway there, and without fail I’ve accomplished about 450 words.
Obviously the word count is not everything, and there's no proof that writing 450 words each day wouldn’t be tremendously impactful too, but my decision to show up for 1000 is my commitment to myself and I try to honor it most days.
This bump in the road at 450 words is really interesting. Some days, when I’m not in a great headspace, it feels like a taunt. It’s the reverberating voice in my head that reminds me that this is hard and maybe it’s even futile to want to do it. It’s a challenge, and some days I’m not excited about meeting a challenge.
On other days, days like today, it feels like a fun problem to solve. It’s a chance to put something into practice that might help on the days when I don't have a lot of energy to problem solve. It’s a chance to improve my skills, and add something to my toolbox for another time.
Today it felt like an invitation to explore what’s stopping me, and what’s stopping anyone, from continuing forward.
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