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“Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.”

-Henri J.M. Nouwen

Hello my sweet, beautiful friends – happy November! As a Scorpio rising I’m not sure how entitled I am to identifying with #scorpioszn, but I do feel a certain weight in the air right now, so I’ll take whatever mystical connections I can get. 

(For real though, happy early birthday to my very real Scorpio brother Stephen who turns 26th on November 9th!!!)  

The big news in my world is that I’m moving back to New York City in a month (!!!!!!!). Many of you heard me very confidently proclaim that I was “done with New York!” earlier this year, and when I moved home this summer I was 100% sure that was true. 1000%, even. I would have put money on it.

In retrospect, I think it had more to do with June’s big life changes than anything. You ever experience that -- one big thing changes in your life, and you kind of feel like you need EVERYTHING to change? Anyway, when I was in town last month for my Brightsiding workshop I couldn’t ignore the voice in my heart whispering “maybe we’re not done here yet”. 

And as if that was all the universe needed to hear - literally the day I got home from that stint in the city, a sublet opportunity fell into my lap that I couldn’t pass up. Lesson: never say never? 

In all honestly though -- even though I’m so excited to go back (and truly, I am pinching myself excited about this apartment situation) -- the reason I included the “choose joy” quote today is because this golden opportunity isn’t completely without overwhelm. I wasn’t expecting to move back to NYC (or anywhere, really) this quickly. There have been some panicky moments - am I ready for this?! - is this right?! - am I sure?! – and I’ve been trying to balance myself with the perspective that sometimes, the universe really does just present you with opportunities that push you along to where you’re supposed to be. And instead of dwelling on all the things that intimidate me about this new chapter, I’m focusing on all of the joy that this is going to bring. I am sure there will be lots of twists and turns ahead - but I’m here for the lessons and can't even begin to imagine where they'll take me.

So with that: welcome to today’s Brightside. <3 We’re talking morning routines and the new Wes! Enjoy!

photos clockwise from top left:
me peacing out from one last stay at The Ludlow this Tuesday, journaling in absolutely delicious morning light, aforementioned Scorpio brother, British vogue and a martini (life is good) 

My 45 minute morning routine 

One of the habits I’m the most committed to maintaining when I get back to the city is the morning routine I’ve established over the past few months. I set out earlier this year with the intention of getting really solid habits in place, and honestly it’s been wayyyy harder than I imagined, but I do feel like I have a pretty strong grasp on my mornings now.

Here’s what I do: 

  • (5 minute) Dream Journal - non-negotiable, first thing I do when I wake up. I’m trying to get better at dream interpretation – this book has been really helpful on that front 
  • (10ish minutes) Real Journal (aka “morning pages”) – just a stream-of-consciousness brain dump and a good way to check in with myself first thing in the morning 
  • (10 minutes) Meditate - I use the Waking Up app 
  • (10 minutes) Read a few pages of a book that helps me find meaning – lately I’ve been reaching for One Simple Thing or Heal Your Life 
  • (10 minutes) Yoga flow to get my body moving. No apps, no music, just moving my body.  

And then I’m off to the races. I don’t fit every single thing on this list in every day - but the days I do are noticeably better than the days I don’t. 

I’d love to know: what’s your morning routine looking like these days? 

Holly* and I saw French Dispatch this week (my first time back to the movies!!!) and I’m here with some thoughts.

Critically, reviews were … good? It’s rated 74% on rotten tomatoes, and the general sentiment is that it was fun to see Wes do maximalist to the max - but there was a lot crammed into 1hr 43 minutes. Some snippets from people who know a lot more about “cinema” than me: 

NYT - A.O. Scott 

Anderson isn’t really a polarizing figure; there isn’t much to argue about. He’s a taste you either enjoy or don’t, like cilantro or Campari. “The French Dispatch” is an herbarium of his preoccupations and enthusiasms, an anthology film laid out like a magazine, with a short front-of-the-book piece and three meaty features, all decked out with editorial bric-a-brac and a somber epilogue that may be the best part.

Roger-Ebert.com - Sheila O’Malley 

 "The French Dispatch" holds the audience at a remove, and is a stronger film for it. Watching Anderson follow his obsession to the outer limits (it's hard to imagine how much further he could go) is fascinating. The movie may be hard to explain, but it's very fun to watch. It's a fast-paced delirious movie about a very slow unchanging world.

The New Yorker - Anthony Lane 

Even by Anderson’s standards, the crowd of performers is comically dense … Here, we realize, is a director who is more at ease with a flurry of pen-and-ink sketches than with the heft of a finished portrait. He has faith in the superior expressive powers of the sketch, plus the knack of arriving, after hard creative labor, at an illusion of the artless and the weightless.

What the people are saying (Google review)

My opinion? 

Visually, it was everything and more. The aesthetics are a huge reason I’m drawn to Wes in the first place, and they delivered. The cast was STACKED (I almost lost my mind when Alex Lawther** made a cameo) - but it was kind of like we got a little from a lot of people, and there were so many characters that left me wanting more. Elisabeth Moss! Saoirse!  

The storyline wasn’t my favorite of the Wes Canon, but I'm still really happy I saw it. I love a packed storyline, don't get me wrong, but this felt like it could have been split into four standalone movies. I’d love to see it again to absorb the things I missed the first time, but I don’t see myself reaching for this on a moody day the way I reach for the Darjeeling Limited or Tenenbaums. 

I think articulates how I felt about it quite nicely: 

Have you seen it? What’d you think? 

*(remember our witch in residence / moodboard queen?)
** from one of my favorite flew-under-the-radar shows on Netflix 
 

I'm exercising self control, but I mean ... these moon boots

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