the weekly r.e.p.o.r.t.
unhinged meditations on dopamine hits of the last 7-ish days
If you’re reading this, congrats you’re still alive! And part of living is finding things that give you a serotonin boost to placate you until your next payday (if you’re my employer and you’re reading this- it’s a joke!) So behold, the weekly r.e.p.o.r.t., a highly curated and totally myopic list of my last week of
-reading
-eating
-playing
-obsessing
-recommending
-treating
Enjoy peeps!
R-Reading
“Die Hot with a Vengeance: Essays on Vanity” by Sable Young. I swear I’m not that obsessed with pretty privilege; my library copy just happened to have me at the top of its waitlist right around the time I was watching films like The Last Showgirl. This book, written by an Allure Mag alum, waxes philosophical about the various ways that beauty can empower us and overpower us. The author’s essays take us through every realm of her life in which beauty played a part, from adolescence to adulthood where the pursuit of beauty takes on an entirely different form once it becomes a person’s livelihood. The tone of the book was light overall, poking fun at the ridiculous things we do to our bodies that we all subconsciously assume is part of the cost of being a woman **coughs ‘waxing’**. As a beauty editor, Sable Young has a bird’s eye view into the multi billion dollar industry of beauty and takes us through various existential conversations via beauty rituals. This is definitely a light read (think: vacation book) and I quite enjoy that. Every conversation need not be so heavy.
E-Eating
Girl dinners. Because I. Can’t. Take it anymore. I’ve been saying for years that if someone found a way to create a single capsule that contained the day’s nutrients, I would be the first in line to open my wallet. Cooking for years used to be a meditative practice for me but somewhere along the way, the preparation and lead-up to the actual event, plus the act of cooking in itself, just became so daunting. It’s so much energy for what amounts to maybe 30 minutes of contentment when actually eating the food you prepared. I’ve just lost the cooking spark, plain and simple. Girl dinners (my type of dinners anyway) cover all my nutrition goals and drastically cut down on my time in the kitchen. Fortunately for me, there’s not a man in the vicinity to ask me “where’s the protein?"
P-Playing
“I Can’t Tell You Why”- The Eagles. Nothing I can say about this song that hasn’t already been said but it’s such a chill, laid back tune. Lately I’ve been playing it late at night when I’m not quite ready to go to bed but I want something in the background to add to the atmosphere. It’s honestly just a perfect song: simple yet poignant lyrics, catchy melody and gets the feet tapping.
O-Obsessing
Over the Hello Kitty ceramic I found at Marshall’s! While it’s not quiet Valentine’s Day inspired, I set an unrealistic goal of expecting to find a Hello Kitty ceramic at Marshall’s on a Saturday evening and I was stunned when I saw one just sitting on a shelf, minding its business. Naturally, I had to buy it and it tickles me every time I look at it in my living room.
R-Recommending
Boycotting companies owned by tech oligarchs. I mentioned on the latest podcast episode that I am heavily debating deleting Instagram- I tried to delete my Facebook over a decade ago but they quite literally refused to let me do that. So I just have a dormant account that hasn’t been updated since 2013; that’s the kind of psychos we’re dealing with. And the truth is, Meta platforms haven’t been fun in a really long time. If/when TikTok goes, I think YouTube and Substack will be the only places I show up online. I’m ready to touch grass again.
T-Treating
Myself to consistent mini breaks from creating for the internet. I find doing something tactile is very helpful; coloring has been an enjoyable outlet lately. Algorithms want newness, which leads to a general belief amongst people who make things for online consumption that they’re not doing enough. I have to remind myself that people used to commission works that took years and years to complete and things weren’t always done this way. When other people in this space crank out content almost daily, it’s easy to feel behind. Unplugging intermittently helps to refocus and step back from the grind to see it for what it is.
As someone who appreciates independent creators, I would love to support their content while still maintaining my expenses but understand that a monthly fee isn’t always feasible. If you're in a similar position, please consider making a one-time donation (via PayPal) to help sustain my writing journey.
Enjoying the Thoughtful Threads newsletter? Please consider the following:
Giving this post a 💜 and sharing it with any other aesthetic over-thinkers you know!
Joining the party over on TikTok and Instagram (a work in progress but we’ll get there!)
Joining this community as a paid subscriber which helps support my work for less than a large coffee
Sharing any interesting info/topics of interest/pictures of your furbabies to hithoughtfulthreads@gmail.com
Disclaimer
Some of the links in this newsletter may be affiliate links. This means that if you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products or services that I personally believe will add value to my subscribers. Your support helps keep this newsletter running and allows me to continue providing valuable content. Thank you for your support!
-xoxo Jenn