Lifestyle
Have been feeling slightly under the weather for the past few days so I’m really looking forward to the end of the work day, picking up some chicken noodle soups and saltines, taking a hot bath with Dr. Teal’s lavender chamomile bath salts, maybe indulge in a little online shopping and calling it an early night.
For when you want to spend an hour or two in a bubble bath.
Booking an extended weekend getaway at this breathtaking Southern sanctuary.
On the hunt for a red dress for fall.
Day in the Life of College Girl (2006 Freshman Edition)
Weekday
6 AM: After about three snoozes, I’d get up, wash and moisturize face because the Indiana humidity was not kind to my skin, brush teeth at the sink station in our dorm, take ten minutes to decide on what I was going to wear for classes, lay it out on the bed and take a leisurely fifteen minute stroll outside.
6:40 AM: Head over to the dining hall for breakfast. This was honestly one of my favorite times of the day. Not many students would sit and eat at the dining hall because most college students don’t have time. As a morning and breakfast person, prioritizing my mornings was really important to me. I never wanted to feel rushed or feel like I was going to faint after half a day of classes and not eating.
8 -11 AM: First two/three classes of the day.
11:45 AM: Head back to the dining hall for lunch with friends/classmates.
12:30 AM: Change out course material/books, pick up my dorm space and head out for last class of the day.
1:45: Final class of the day which just happened to be a Yogalates.
3 PM: Start work shift at the front desk of my dorm.
7 PM: Each dorm had a study carol across the hallway, so I’d either head to the study space or walk over the library to study/work on assignments.
9:30 PM: Head back to dorm, quickly shower and read humanities course books until I fell asleep.
Thursday
2:45 PM: After last class, I’d take the trolley over to Notre Dame and play volleyball/frisbee. (Yes, for a hot minute, I played on a few intermural teams but I quickly got axed as I realized I was just too short for volleyball and wasn’t all that great at frisbee.)
Friday:
After work shift…
7 PM: Start getting ready/pregame with girls in the next dorm over. Head to other dorms on campus to chorale the other girls, get a little tipsy and start making our way over to Notre Dame.
10 PM: Hot girl walk to the edge of campus and wait for Notre Dame Grad School Campus trolley to take us over to the main campus. Be as obnoxious as possible taking a hundreds of pictures while grad students stare at us like “Thank God we’re not that age anymore”.
10:35 PM: Start at south quad dorm parties and make our way to north squad parties.
2 AM: Either brave the walk back down the graciously named “Rape Road” (the road that connects Saint Mary’s and Notre Dame) or wait for Blinkie (a large shuttle buss that drove Saint Mary’s students back to SMC campus) near the grotto and head back to campus and pass out.
An exciting weekend includes going down the rabbit of hole beaded bags - from Staud, American & Beyond and TJMaxx. I blame my sister for this obsession. When you have two bags of Oreos, crush them into some vanilla ice cream and enjoy a lazy dessert, it’s been my go to all summer. I took a two year break from reading the chapter books of my childhood but now I’m getting back into my Point Horror books. What have you been up to lately?
I am so enjoying staying in on Friday nights right now. Getting a good night’s sleep is my main priority at the moment. The state of the country for the last hundred days has been overwhelming and exhausting to say the least, I’m also worrying if I’m going to have a job for much longer. So Friday Nights as of late has been early to bed and re-watching tv favorites like New Girl, Younger and The Mindy Project for the thousandth time and indulging myself in a little online shopping.
Friday Night Internet Searches include:
Wanting to book a weekend stay at this dreamy L.A. hotel.
Perusing Etsy and eBay for Old Gourmet Magazine Issues.
This brass, wall mounted vase for the kitchen.
I’m always hunting for a good pair of tortoise shell sunnies.
And ordering One Golden Summer, Wild Dark Shore, and How to Sleep at Night.
Small things that are making me happy right now, in no particular order.
1. Reading and talking about books. Literally looking for anyway to escape reality right now. In an effort to stay off of social media and not engage in discussing politics or letting a certain five letter word come out of my mouth, I’m working through my 2025 reading goals and of course talking about my love for Kate Alice Marshall books, specifically, her newest adult thriller, A Killing Cold and also this new collection of poems by my favorite Tiktok creator, Victoria Hutchins, aka, the Daily Victorian.
2. This hilarious tee.
3. Literally like clockwork, my cat, Athena will drag her toys out (and by toys I mean a shoe string she found in my closet) as soon as she hears the water draining from my bathtub, knowing playtime is minutes away. Not only does she bring them to the door of my bathroom but will meow at the top of her lungs, letting me know its play time. It is one of my favorite parts of my day, and it just makes my heart so full.
4..The Guest Room, which I’ve named The Summer Room is almost ready for her photo debut. If you’ve been following me over the last fifteen years, you know I kind of have a thing for New England, and that I left my heart in Maine in the summer of 2000. Don’t get me wrong I love my California upbringing but I’m very nostalgic for my Maine summers. Decorated with books, coastline, sailing and hydrangea art, a canopy bed, a thrifted chair, it might just be my favorite room in our house.
5. My mother-in-law got me this little anxiety library , and I love it.
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It’s giving me Ms. Honey’s (from Matilda) cottage meets New England Bungalow and I’m ready to move in. What are you up this weekend? You’ll find me in bed by 8 PM tonight, trying out a new brunch spot, checking out a new wine and cheese shop and cooking a pasta dinner while watching Matilda, Hook and/or Jumanji because I’m in a 90s kids movie night mood.
Friday Night Things:
Reading Lorrie Moore short stories and collecting hard to find children picture books.
Treating myself to a (cute and) hilarious new around the house shirt.
Upping my skincare game and opting in for cleaner skincare/makeup brands.
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Small things that are making me happy right now, in no particular order.
1.Winter morning desert drives. There are certain areas in the Coachella Valley where I stop the car, get out and give myself a few minutes to take in the beauty of the desert landscape. As the sun slowly rises over the mountains near the Indio Grade, look to the east and you’ll notice blue and pink tones hovering behind the San Jacinto Mountains, right now the tip of the mountain is lightly dusted with snow and it is so pretty. Promise me you’ll pull off to the side of the road when passing over the wash on Cook St (in Palm Desert) and Adams (in La Quinta). The backdrop is a purplish blue and hazy pink sky and seeing the moon just resting above San Jacinto, it is a truly breathtaking scene. Now inhale and exhale deeply, and have a great day.
2. This Vera Bradley backpack and Stanley mug.
3.Satrudays are for nostalgic podcasts. During Covid when I was commuting to work (even though we were closed to public), I started listening to The Blume Saloon Judy Blume podcast. Saturdays were my favorite, my whole department was off and the upstairs area of the library was closed to the public, so I would work on my tween and teen activity grab bags and listen to Jody and Allison talk about Judy Blume Books, my favorite book they cover is Forever! As worried as I was about losing my job during Covid Times, crafting and nostalgia really helped my anxiety at the time. And because I was in a Nostalgic mood, Saturday night during 2020-2022 became Pizza Hut and 80s/90s kid/teen movie night.
4. The Department of Speculation by Jenny Offill. Just go and read it. (I know I’m about a decade late in reading this book)
5. Reading through my personal library. Over the last fifteen years I have amassed a library of 850 books (and that doesn’t include my cookbooks or what I like to call “My Old Children’s Books,” collection). Working in libraries, reading the new stuff was always important for Reader’s Advisory and making sure I was keeping up-to-date with children’s lit (series and non-fiction) so my personal library has unfortunately been neglected for awhile. Last January, I made a decision, I wanted to start reading through my personal library. I’ve reread a few favorites and excitedly picked up books I remember buying when I moved back to California over a decade ago. I treat my personal collection as if I’m visiting a public library, sometimes I’ll spend thirty minutes reading the backs of each book on one shelf, and get excited when I’ve found the book I want to read, like I’ve never seen it before. I’ll be writing a post dedicated to me reading through m library over the last year and a half!
Small things that are making me happy right now, in no particular order.
1.Early to Mid-2000s television shows. As a 00s teen and mid 00s young adult, I’m currently watching a handful of shows I started but never finished from the mid 2000s. Shows like Desperate Housewives, Royal Pains, Revenge, Alias, Samantha Who and a few rewatchables, like Gilmore Girls (obviously) and Grey’s Anatomy (but only seasons 1-3). Let me tell you, it’s been an excellent Fall TV line-up this year. After dinner and post shower/skincare routine, getting tucked into bed with a few magazines and playing with my cats, it’s my favorite part of the day.
2.Out of the office lunch time. I once read that you should leave your work space when you take your lunch. At a previous job, I’d eat in the park behind the library. Looking back I really cherished that hour being outside and away from work. Sometimes I’d go for a walk, or just sit, eat and listen to an audiobook/podcast. My current job, leaving the office isn’t really encouraged but I do anyway. Most of the time I’m sitting and eating in my car while listening to something - a podcast or audiobook. Sometimes I’m in the mood to go for a little drive, I always make myself take the more scenic roads and blast my music, lately I’ve been listening too Moody Judy and The Go-Gos.
3.Preservation classes. Earlier this year, I was enrolled in a collection preservation class through a UCLA Grad Program and I loved it so much, the TA reached out and asked if I was interested in taking the next course in the certification program and I excitedly accepted. Most of my archiving career has been focused on the preservation and cataloging of digital records, so taking more hands on workshop style courses and working with a physical collection will be great.
4.Embracing the quiet moments. I’ve always been a quiet person. I prefer being alone or being with my husband. I have very chatty coworkers so by the time the work day is over, my energy is depleted and I’m ready to go home. This year, I’ve been craving silence. I don’t know if my ears have become sensitive or if I’m just exhausted from the political climate and social media. But also, I read this book, Silence years ago and I think about it often..
5. Heatless curlers. For Victoria Secret big curly hair, these heatless curlers are seriously the best! Best purchase of the year! It’s a little pricey but I promise it will be so worth it! Minimal effort, beautiful results.
6. My 2024 Reading List. 2024 has been the year of excellent books. I read Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips, One in a Millennial (Kate Kennedy), The Lady from The Black Lagoon (Mallory O’Meara), Where I Am Now (Mara Wilson), Life of the Party (Olivia Gatwood), Briefly Perfectly Human (Alua Arthur) and wow, what a reading streak. Next year I’m focusing on classics that I never read in high school or books I started but never finished.
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