It’s not Friday, but this is still a list of five things.
1. For the first two weeks since moving into my new apartment, I felt displaced: not for lack of furniture (most of which won’t be shipped until the new year), but because I still had the floorplan of my little condo etched into my veins. I’d wake up in the middle of the night uncertain of my bearings, convinced I was in my old bed, confused by this foreign orientation. Clarity came only when the fogginess left my eyes.
I’m not in Jersey anymore.
It’s still hard to believe I’m 3,000 miles away from my old life, but now that I’m officially a registered Californian voter, this new place of mine—devoid of a few key furnishings—is finally beginning to feel like mine. After all, a house isn’t a home until you know every wall, bump, and bend in the dark.
2. Boy Smells Slow Burn flickers in my living room, AromaTech Santal is diffused in my bedroom (a reminder of my stay at Le Pigalle). I’m still finding the perfect fragrances to scent my home, but this morning ritual is just indulgent enough to set the mood for the weekend.
3. Another favorite indulgence: Erewhon Strawberry Rose Almond Milk. I chose it for no particular reason except that it seemed like something I’d never pick out of juice line-up—but any regret harbored disappeared at first sip. It’s been years since I’ve had strawberry-flavored Yakult and this tasted like childhood happiness. A rare treat then and one forgotten (since going plant-based) now. I walked all the way home in a state of bliss.
4. Birds of paradise bloom everywhere here, another source of happiness. They remind me of trips to Longwood Garden with my family as a kid where we’d grab the same plant-hunting treasure map every time, run to each station to ink and stamp our guides, study each flower in awe. I wonder if I still have one of those maps at home.
5. I spent nearly $200 on houseplants and pots from The Sill today, and though that amounted to just three potted plants in total, those three were just enough to add life to my space. Happiness is a Saturday spent shopping for new greenery, stopping for two scoops of vegan gelato (one pistachio, one yum cha), (finally) finding a large size of Aesop Resurrection No-Rinse Hand Wash in stock, and coming home to a delivery of books.
. . .
xx
Your turn. Thoughts?