reframing spring as the real new year is so helpful. last spring i was diagnosed with and began treatment for narcolepsy and it shifted so much in my life. and this spring i’ve lost access to the meds that really help (very obnoxious side effect of moving to the UK is that the NHS hates disabled people) which has triggered yet another period of growth and change. learning how to give myself grace.
i appreciate the advice to write. i forget how lovely it is sometimes.
my current reads are “A People’s History of Scotland” by Chris Bambery and “Shuggie Bain” by Douglas Stuart. i’m favoring the latter though. i don’t think i’ve ever consciously maintained a scent but i hope i smell like my room spray which is currently a mix of lemongrass, lavender and tea tree (subject to change depending on season. winter is more of a juniper and black spruce moment). as for small purchases: earplugs. my roommate snores like a pug and i thing i would tear my hair out without them.
my signature spring scent is (of course) springtime in the park by replica/ maison margiela (which i have purchased with my student loan. which was not a good financial decision). my budget spring scent of years past has been Tommy Girl from tommy hilfigure! it is very fresh and light and bouncy but not particularly feminine.
currently reading
-aliens and anorexia by chris kraus
-the passion according to d.h. by clarice lispector
-and lots ands lots of research as always about the intersection of 20th century visual and material culture with political economy... big focus in the past few years has been post-monroe doctrine interactions between the united states and latin & central america.
rewatching gossip girl. it is giving me brain damage. but also... Ideas....
best recent purchases:
-ribbon!! i use it to tie up my hair and also as a belt and also to tie random things.
-dedicated Pyjamas. mine have snoopy on them. feels so nice and ritual to take a shower and then put on dedicated bedtime clothes (and not just a t shirt and boxers) before bed. feels so luxurious. i even bought another pair from the Target men's clearance section a few weeks ago.
-also a $20 anteater stuffed animal from the zoo... my boyfriend and i named him Pongo because we assumed it was a random german word but it turns out it is an english word that just means Ape. which pongo is not. but he does not seem to mind, being a stuffed animal and all.
also i have been eating a LOT of pico de gallo recently... i think it's literally a perfect food. yesterday i made a strawberry rhubarb pie at 8am so we had warm pie and vanilla ice cream for breakfast. in germany, Spargelzeit is approaching, which is the season where germans go NUTS for aspargus, so there has also been a lot of that in my life.
for small accessible purchase: $5 bouquet of spring flowers for your mom or other loved one. worth every penny (or bonus points if u pick them yourself) <3
signature scent: a bottle of Calvin Klein One "androgynous" cologne that was my mom's when she was my age. smells like glue if glue smelled intriguing.
It’s newly autumn where I am but the past few years (probably since leaving the education system) I’ve realised that something so harmless and wholesome that makes me feel so good is to get excited for EVERY new season. I used to HATE the days getting shorter and darker and cold and rain but I’ve found myself genuinely excited this year for all of it. Makes me feel good.
So my answers (from an autumnal viewpoint):
Reading my way through the QZap archive, unfortunately don’t have concentration for a book right now :(((
Signature scent - I’m pretty sure I smell like incense because I know my teddy bear and my cat do. I like “powdery” perfumes tho and my favourite is lipstick fever.
MY SMALL INSIGNIFICANT PURCHASE THAT UNEXPECTEDLY CHANGED MY LIFE IS A CHEAP SEA SALT SPRAY. I have a shag haircut and wavy hair and my colour is all over the place and unkept right now and I have never gotten as many compliments on my hair as since I started using a sea salt spray!
hello Rayne - entering autumn where i am (new zealand) but spring is my favourite season and you write about it so eloquently :,) am currently reading all about love: new visions by bell hooks and working my way through 'it' by stephen king because it's my best friend's favourite book and she lent me her copy. in summer I made a lil essential oil perfume thingy with rose and geranium so hopefully i am smelling like that. lots of love xx
i’m currently reading odd girl out by ann bannon and no it’s not high art but it’s melodramatic, toxic, and feeding my little sapphic heart.
i’m also chipping away at anna karenina which is a beast and i’m in so much pain but i have dedicated so much time to it so how can i not continue?
i read this months ago but motherhood by sheila heti would be a great spring read! there was a section that really annoyed me but ultimately the themes have really stuck with me and (as a childless 19 year old) it’s made me think about parenthood in a different light.
a small accessible purchase: a slice of cake. it exponentially improved my day.
Currently reading: Oil wealth and insurgency in Nigeria by Omolade Adunbi (for class but it still counts) which is not the most dainty and ethereal spring read but is incredibly compelling and accessible
Signature scent: Maison louis marie Bois de Balincourt, which smells like a sophisticated forest nymph if I had to put it into words. People always tell me I smell good when I hug them which is the best compliment to get
Accessible purchase: Mrs. meyer's lilac liquid hand soap because lilacs are scientifically the best-smelling flower and you can have them in your home year round for less than $5. I've also been buying student discount tickets to my school's movie theater ($7) and sneaking in a lemon pellegrino (like $3) and it's kind of turned into a new ritual for me
Currently reading Dog Symphony by Sam Munson, it’s so much fun and the perfect easy spring ready. Kind of a new style of magical realism- I picked it up because I just finished the Musical Brain by Cesar Aira, which was the perfect collection of mind bending short stories that pulled me out of the reading slump I’ve been in for the past few months. For nonfiction I’m reading Hegemony or Survival by Noam Chomsky, duh.
Signature spring scents are bubble bath by replica and glossier’s You
Also for changing your life on a budget, I just bought a clothes steamer and it makes me feel so put together. I never realized that my clothes were wrinkly all the time... until they weren’t
Reading : millennium trilogy by Steig Larsson (don’t waste time on the ghostwritten follow ups, it just ruins the originals) and The myth of Sisyphus by Camus for fun, Frankenstein by Shelley for school.
Smelling : like my aunts expensive and very expired hair products. Issey miyake leau dIssey edt is the signature scent of my dreams.
Purchasing : a headlamp. reading in bed at night have never been more enjoyable. reading with the red light setting is 🙏 everything.
as far as small purchases are concerned, i recently bought a second-hand ipod shuffle in mint green for 10 bucks. its limited space and singular use case has radically changed how i interact with music, finally being able to go on walks and runs without taking my phone (i need music 24/7 because i go crazy otherwise, im aware that that probably isnt healthy anyways).
reading communion by bell hooks, the stranger by camus, east of eden by steinbeck, and 1984 by george orwell bcs i have no self control and cannot stick with one book at a time
don’t have a “signature scent” per se bcs i genuinely do not have enough money or energy to wear the same perfume every day but i think i smell like batiste dry shampoo and glossier’s you. typically just stick with my natural musk tho bcs i didn’t shower for like a week and ppl told me i smelled good, so i don’t think it matters
my little life-changing purchases include dry shampoo (hence the scent), a garment steamer, a little swiss army knife with cherry blossoms on it that i take literally everywhere, and a lap desk
i’m currently reading norwegian wood by haruki murakami (it feels like more of a fall/winter read, but it’s for a bookclub so..) i’m going on a trip for spring break soon though, and i plan on getting through some didion and reading my first beach read in so long!! also i’m not sure what my signature scent is (it’s a question i’ve genuinely been dying to ask and get an answer for from people) but a friend of mine said i had a sort of baby-ish smell? i have no idea what it means and am not sure if i should be worried, but there it is.
this is my first time commenting on any of your essays/posts? and i finally got the courage to do it because this. essay/post?. right. here. from now i’m going to appreciate the beginning of every new season by thinking of it in the ways you so perfectly described above. so many of the things you said here are so precious, i can’t even begin to comprehend how you manage to write it all down so wonderfully. i really love everything you do here and it gives me comfort and it inspires me whenever i read it. never stop!! <3
loved all of this. i'm currently reading where the crawdads sing by delia owens. i've had a magnificent reading year so far in part because i've embraced that often popular books are actually good! as for signature scent, i wish i had one! after my next paycheque i will buy a dupe as you suggested.
We’re into autumn here is Australia but this has just given me the kick to finally wash my bedsheets that have been on my bed for the past two months so big THANK YOU
I’ve just finished Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder, a really fascinating story about modern motherhood and a very interesting take on the werewolf allegory. I’m now half way through The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargreave, about an isolated town in northern Norway in the 1600s whose men are all killed one day when a storm hits them out hunting a whale, leaving the women to step up and restructure their society without the men around to provide for them. It’s very gripping and maybe, fingers crossed, a little gay? Not sure yet but I’m picking up the vibes.
reframing spring as the real new year is so helpful. last spring i was diagnosed with and began treatment for narcolepsy and it shifted so much in my life. and this spring i’ve lost access to the meds that really help (very obnoxious side effect of moving to the UK is that the NHS hates disabled people) which has triggered yet another period of growth and change. learning how to give myself grace.
i appreciate the advice to write. i forget how lovely it is sometimes.
my current reads are “A People’s History of Scotland” by Chris Bambery and “Shuggie Bain” by Douglas Stuart. i’m favoring the latter though. i don’t think i’ve ever consciously maintained a scent but i hope i smell like my room spray which is currently a mix of lemongrass, lavender and tea tree (subject to change depending on season. winter is more of a juniper and black spruce moment). as for small purchases: earplugs. my roommate snores like a pug and i thing i would tear my hair out without them.
my signature spring scent is (of course) springtime in the park by replica/ maison margiela (which i have purchased with my student loan. which was not a good financial decision). my budget spring scent of years past has been Tommy Girl from tommy hilfigure! it is very fresh and light and bouncy but not particularly feminine.
currently reading
-aliens and anorexia by chris kraus
-the passion according to d.h. by clarice lispector
-and lots ands lots of research as always about the intersection of 20th century visual and material culture with political economy... big focus in the past few years has been post-monroe doctrine interactions between the united states and latin & central america.
rewatching gossip girl. it is giving me brain damage. but also... Ideas....
best recent purchases:
-ribbon!! i use it to tie up my hair and also as a belt and also to tie random things.
-dedicated Pyjamas. mine have snoopy on them. feels so nice and ritual to take a shower and then put on dedicated bedtime clothes (and not just a t shirt and boxers) before bed. feels so luxurious. i even bought another pair from the Target men's clearance section a few weeks ago.
-also a $20 anteater stuffed animal from the zoo... my boyfriend and i named him Pongo because we assumed it was a random german word but it turns out it is an english word that just means Ape. which pongo is not. but he does not seem to mind, being a stuffed animal and all.
also i have been eating a LOT of pico de gallo recently... i think it's literally a perfect food. yesterday i made a strawberry rhubarb pie at 8am so we had warm pie and vanilla ice cream for breakfast. in germany, Spargelzeit is approaching, which is the season where germans go NUTS for aspargus, so there has also been a lot of that in my life.
:)
for small accessible purchase: $5 bouquet of spring flowers for your mom or other loved one. worth every penny (or bonus points if u pick them yourself) <3
signature scent: a bottle of Calvin Klein One "androgynous" cologne that was my mom's when she was my age. smells like glue if glue smelled intriguing.
Accessible purchase: individually wrapped chocolates to have as a little treat after dinner
It’s newly autumn where I am but the past few years (probably since leaving the education system) I’ve realised that something so harmless and wholesome that makes me feel so good is to get excited for EVERY new season. I used to HATE the days getting shorter and darker and cold and rain but I’ve found myself genuinely excited this year for all of it. Makes me feel good.
So my answers (from an autumnal viewpoint):
Reading my way through the QZap archive, unfortunately don’t have concentration for a book right now :(((
Signature scent - I’m pretty sure I smell like incense because I know my teddy bear and my cat do. I like “powdery” perfumes tho and my favourite is lipstick fever.
MY SMALL INSIGNIFICANT PURCHASE THAT UNEXPECTEDLY CHANGED MY LIFE IS A CHEAP SEA SALT SPRAY. I have a shag haircut and wavy hair and my colour is all over the place and unkept right now and I have never gotten as many compliments on my hair as since I started using a sea salt spray!
hello Rayne - entering autumn where i am (new zealand) but spring is my favourite season and you write about it so eloquently :,) am currently reading all about love: new visions by bell hooks and working my way through 'it' by stephen king because it's my best friend's favourite book and she lent me her copy. in summer I made a lil essential oil perfume thingy with rose and geranium so hopefully i am smelling like that. lots of love xx
i’m currently reading odd girl out by ann bannon and no it’s not high art but it’s melodramatic, toxic, and feeding my little sapphic heart.
i’m also chipping away at anna karenina which is a beast and i’m in so much pain but i have dedicated so much time to it so how can i not continue?
i read this months ago but motherhood by sheila heti would be a great spring read! there was a section that really annoyed me but ultimately the themes have really stuck with me and (as a childless 19 year old) it’s made me think about parenthood in a different light.
a small accessible purchase: a slice of cake. it exponentially improved my day.
Currently reading: Oil wealth and insurgency in Nigeria by Omolade Adunbi (for class but it still counts) which is not the most dainty and ethereal spring read but is incredibly compelling and accessible
Signature scent: Maison louis marie Bois de Balincourt, which smells like a sophisticated forest nymph if I had to put it into words. People always tell me I smell good when I hug them which is the best compliment to get
Accessible purchase: Mrs. meyer's lilac liquid hand soap because lilacs are scientifically the best-smelling flower and you can have them in your home year round for less than $5. I've also been buying student discount tickets to my school's movie theater ($7) and sneaking in a lemon pellegrino (like $3) and it's kind of turned into a new ritual for me
Currently reading Dog Symphony by Sam Munson, it’s so much fun and the perfect easy spring ready. Kind of a new style of magical realism- I picked it up because I just finished the Musical Brain by Cesar Aira, which was the perfect collection of mind bending short stories that pulled me out of the reading slump I’ve been in for the past few months. For nonfiction I’m reading Hegemony or Survival by Noam Chomsky, duh.
Signature spring scents are bubble bath by replica and glossier’s You
Also for changing your life on a budget, I just bought a clothes steamer and it makes me feel so put together. I never realized that my clothes were wrinkly all the time... until they weren’t
Reading : millennium trilogy by Steig Larsson (don’t waste time on the ghostwritten follow ups, it just ruins the originals) and The myth of Sisyphus by Camus for fun, Frankenstein by Shelley for school.
Smelling : like my aunts expensive and very expired hair products. Issey miyake leau dIssey edt is the signature scent of my dreams.
Purchasing : a headlamp. reading in bed at night have never been more enjoyable. reading with the red light setting is 🙏 everything.
as far as small purchases are concerned, i recently bought a second-hand ipod shuffle in mint green for 10 bucks. its limited space and singular use case has radically changed how i interact with music, finally being able to go on walks and runs without taking my phone (i need music 24/7 because i go crazy otherwise, im aware that that probably isnt healthy anyways).
reading communion by bell hooks, the stranger by camus, east of eden by steinbeck, and 1984 by george orwell bcs i have no self control and cannot stick with one book at a time
don’t have a “signature scent” per se bcs i genuinely do not have enough money or energy to wear the same perfume every day but i think i smell like batiste dry shampoo and glossier’s you. typically just stick with my natural musk tho bcs i didn’t shower for like a week and ppl told me i smelled good, so i don’t think it matters
my little life-changing purchases include dry shampoo (hence the scent), a garment steamer, a little swiss army knife with cherry blossoms on it that i take literally everywhere, and a lap desk
i’m currently reading norwegian wood by haruki murakami (it feels like more of a fall/winter read, but it’s for a bookclub so..) i’m going on a trip for spring break soon though, and i plan on getting through some didion and reading my first beach read in so long!! also i’m not sure what my signature scent is (it’s a question i’ve genuinely been dying to ask and get an answer for from people) but a friend of mine said i had a sort of baby-ish smell? i have no idea what it means and am not sure if i should be worried, but there it is.
this is my first time commenting on any of your essays/posts? and i finally got the courage to do it because this. essay/post?. right. here. from now i’m going to appreciate the beginning of every new season by thinking of it in the ways you so perfectly described above. so many of the things you said here are so precious, i can’t even begin to comprehend how you manage to write it all down so wonderfully. i really love everything you do here and it gives me comfort and it inspires me whenever i read it. never stop!! <3
loved all of this. i'm currently reading where the crawdads sing by delia owens. i've had a magnificent reading year so far in part because i've embraced that often popular books are actually good! as for signature scent, i wish i had one! after my next paycheque i will buy a dupe as you suggested.
We’re into autumn here is Australia but this has just given me the kick to finally wash my bedsheets that have been on my bed for the past two months so big THANK YOU
I’ve just finished Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder, a really fascinating story about modern motherhood and a very interesting take on the werewolf allegory. I’m now half way through The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargreave, about an isolated town in northern Norway in the 1600s whose men are all killed one day when a storm hits them out hunting a whale, leaving the women to step up and restructure their society without the men around to provide for them. It’s very gripping and maybe, fingers crossed, a little gay? Not sure yet but I’m picking up the vibes.