November Wrapped
This month was an exhale...
November
This month has felt like an exhale. With the sharp winter air, things that needed to die in my life finally wrapped up with more finality than it has all year. It’s been an emotional month to say the least but I’m glad to have felt deeply, for it makes me more open and resilient for what’s to come. I couldn’t have asked for a more symbolic and meaningful month to end off the year and I’m hoping December is chill so that I can bathe in the aftermath and just process everything that transpired this year.
Along with work being the busiest it’s ever been, I’ve also been surrounded by love from friends, family, my pup, and most importantly—myself. I never talk about my dating life on social media but oddly enough Substack feels like a safe place so my update is that I’m finally feeling more open to explore new connections and restart my process of figuring out what I want in my next relationship. It’s a great feeling to be in the place finally (:
Loving
When my skin is in serious need of a refresh, I always reach for these masks. They take 2-3 hours to fully soak in but are so worth it and always leave my skin looking and feeling plump.
ZO Wrinkle + Texture 0.5% retinol
This was a recommendation from The Vanity Lab which I recently started going to again for facials. I was already using A313 as a retinol for a while so it wasn’t that hard to switch to this one. I use this 2 times a week and then A313 most other days.
I actually got a travel size of this nearly a year ago but only just started to wear it more consistently. Over the summer I was wearing Valaya and Another 13 (two CLASSIC skin scents) throughout the summer but this has replaced both as my winter skin scent.
MorrocanOil Curl Defining Cream
This was a recommendation from my hair stylist and I’ve been loving it. I apply it to my wet hair after washing before I scrunch and style it with my hair dryer + diffuser and it helps my perm stay more bouncy. If I ever feel like my curls need a refresh, I’ll re-wet my hair with a water spray and then just apply more curl cream to it. It also smells heavenly.
Consuming
Perfect Days
This film is going to live in my head rent free for a while. It was a beautiful representation of the peace we can choose if we don’t subscribe to what the world has chosen for us. How happy we could be if we realize how little we need. It was the perfect reminder that everything starts within. And even when the external world brings challenges, finding beauty in the mundane is the anchor that keeps us afloat and well.
Frankenstein
The way we all collectively fell for or identified with this classical monster (or what Summer and I call “frankenlordi”) needs to be studied. And it has, over and over, as the work itself isn’t new. I loved this article by Addie Tsai as she examined how we all monsters in our lives but also within ourselves. I’m still on the hunt for a soft cover copy of Frankenstein but until then I may even rewatch this film in December.
Repeating
I’ve seen it by Olivia Dean
Olivia Dean has single-handedly carried most of my healing this month. This month reminded me of how much love surrounds me which was exactly what I needed as the gloomy days started rolling in. I also needed to be reminded that one relationship shouldn’t define how I see all future relationships and that it’s okay (and encouraged) to start over with a fresh heart.
I wrote about all the things I felt like I lost in the last 4 years but am slowly regaining in this article on my journal Substack, Of Late. Each article there is tied to one specific song that I think embodies the feeling that I’m trying to relay. I’ve seen it explains how I’ve been feeling perfectly.
Making
Something I’m really looking forward to in December is more time to knit. I started the Weekend Hat by Petite Knit in the most beautiful cobalt blue color so expect more film reviews next month along with a finished beanie.
Kinship community
On the Kinship front, Terri and I recently launched our Kinship discord community—a place for overwhelmed creatives to come connect, learn, and grow. We wanted to make sure that while we are pausing on IRL events for the holiday season that we still have some place to go for support during this crazy season. If you resonate with any of that, we’d love to see you in the community <3
Snapping
Frankenlordi is all that’s pure, in him we trust