#32: The art of blooming 🌷

This week, we're thinking like flowers. Also, an ode to the morning stretch, a lovely spring pasta recipe, and a playlist I have on repeat.

This winter has felt like one persistent stretch of survival mode. Between seasonal depression, intermittent sunlight, and that particular wintry brand of melancholy, survival was the most I could expect of myself these past months.

But this week, the air around me shifted. Maybe is was the onslaught of sticky yellow pollen, but I like to think it was hope. A reminder that, as the cherry blossoms that line my street started to bloom, I had survived another winter.

So I rolled down the windows in my car and blasted 70s music and sang along even though I didn’t know the words. I ate strawberries for breakfast and sat on the porch after work. The world has begun to flower and I feel as though I’m flowering with it.

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“Required” reading:

Working my way through this massive list of creative writing prompts (The Good Trade)

A hot take on three-day weekends (Bustle)

A great piece on why blogs are making a comeback (Carly)

Here’s why your morning stretch feels so good (Well+Good)

The Hailey-Selena drama has me thinking: why do we hate our partners’ exes so much? (The Everygirl)

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This week’s aesthetic: flowers for spring

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Tote bag:

🍊 How precious are these fruit-inspired art prints

🧵 A must-have book* on repairing old clothes in the name of sustainability

🎀 This new American Girl doll collection has me feeling old and decrepit

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Recipe box:

This one-pot lemon ricotta pasta from The New York Times is the perfect spring lunch recipe. It took me less than 20 minutes to make and was so delicious.

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Background music:

This playlist encapsulates the experience of being a woman in spring: light, feminine, and airy like Chantilly lace or the subtle floral notes in perfume.

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#8: Set yourself free 🕊