the sunday short stack, vol. 3
Happy Sunday, dear friends! Despite the turbulent times we’re living in, this week was one with lots of little pockets of joy.
Let’s dig in:
THIS WEEK, I’M GRATEFUL FOR:
THE LONG WEEKEND. Holy shit, y’all, have I been in need of a break. It feels a little ridiculous to say when the holidays were so recent, but I haven’t had an actual vacation or many day offs where there hasn’t been for some sort of event/travel obligation in a few years now, so I’m grateful for any truly free day I get to relax a little and get my life in order. I feel lucky to work remotely for a company I like and with a team of people I like even more, but having to power through my usual set of tasks and calls while it feels like the world’s crumbling around us takes quite a bit of mental energy, to say the least. If you’ve been feeling the same way, I’m proud of you for holding it together, and I hope you get a chance to rest your brain sometime soon too 🖤
THIS WEEK, I’M PROUD OF MYSELF FOR:
Taking the leap and cutting bangs again! At the start of the year, I’d put “fuck it, bring back the bangs” on my 30 Before 30 list (which I’ll share sometime in the next couple weeks) and honestly wasn’t sure if I’d go through with it—I had bangs on and off for a couple years in my early 20s and for the most part loved them, but a couple of nay-sayers got in my head and I eventually grew them out. I’ve been debating getting a slightly-less-heavy version of them for months now and finally bit the bullet when I was getting my color touched up the other day, and I’m SO happy I did it. I definitely need to get used to them a little bit again, but I feel like this is gonna be a great motivator as far as putting more effort into my appearance goes. I’m not sure why, but I just feel like they help me present myself to the world as the person I feel like on the inside.
Finishing knitting my first scarf. Grandma’s got her groove back! I managed to finish a whole light blue scarf without dropping any stitches—it’s not perfect by any means, but I made it myself, and as someone who’s not usually super crafty in this way, I’m celebrating the win. Probably will give this one to my mom, and now I’m working on a dark green one for R before moving on to more advanced stitches!
THIS WEEK, I DISCOVERED:
A few good songs, including this adorable V Day release from Selena Gomez & Benny Blanco and (total thematic 180) “It’s Okay To Punch Nazis” by Cheap Perfume from back in 2019. I feel like this pairing is an accurate depiction of where I’ve been at for a lot of this year so far: wanting to stay in a sweet little newlywed love bubble while also needing to rage against the threat of fascism.
THIS WEEK, I ENJOYED:
Getting tattoos with R for Valentine’s Day :) This was not my first rodeo—in fact, I think it was my 12th—but it was R’s, so I’m proud of him for fearlessly taking the leap! We went to a place called Iron Palm Tattoos in Atlanta, and we’ll definitely be going back there in the future. Really fair prices, really cool employees (R’s artist especially made him feel totally at ease and excited to get more down the line). R got “sláinte”, the Irish word for cheers, and I got the first phrase I learned in his native language, which translates to “have fun” or “enjoy”.
It’s been a good week for connecting with aesthetic service-based businesses in general—while I was getting my hair done (shoutout to Haint Blu Salon in Sandy Springs), I got talking with several of the hairdressers about world travel, ghosts, and Dungeons & Dragons respectively (three of my favorite subjects to talk about), so between that and how happy I am with my hair, it’s safe to say they’ve earned a loyal customer for as long as I’m living in Georgia.
NEXT WEEK, I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO:
My parents coming to visit! I’m very close with my family, and I don’t get to see them as often as I’d like to these days, so I’m grateful for any chance I get to spend time with them here or back home. We’re also planning to go to a couple of our favorite restaurants while they’re here, so it’s shaping up to be a fun week!
A QUOTE TO TAKE YOU INTO THE NEW WEEK:
"Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all." —Dale Carnegie
Enjoy your pancakes, be good to each other, and I’ll see you here next week!
Would love to see your 30 Before 30 list!