MID MONTH MEANDERS I ISSUE 4
Creative spaces, the new Cape Fear, and belly out outfits.
I’m a creative space snob.
Whenever and wherever I create, whether it’s for work or Work, always has to feel curated in a way that makes me feel like the energy is jusssst right. The vibes are checked. The space is conducive to the task at hand. I am resourced in a way that I need to be.
Over the years I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to do this, to have my own type of space, whether it was in my 100 year old apartment in Weehawken or our Craftsmen built home down in Houston, these space I’ve been able to call my own have always been deeply personal, curated with personal touches, and set with an intention; for the space to feel like my own.
This weekend we made my office into a shared space.
There is a bed living where my writing chair used to be. My altar table is now a night stand, and the room itself feels a little more full, a little less of spacious.
While I put the finishing touches into this space, Hermanos Guetirrez playing through the speakers, palo santo lit in its holder, I found myself setting up an altar in a new space, a spot that it’s never been before.
As the pieces came together, a goblet of fresh water, dried sage from my garden, Rose Quartz and Citrine, pictures of Mother Mary holding a child and a lamb, letters from the husbands grandma and pictures of my own, even one of myself at Plaza Banca, NM, I realized I was unintentionally setting up a new type of altar; one for the mothers.
I don’t think this was a mistake, that under the New Moon in Gemini and weeks away (maybe sooner) from becoming a mother for the second time, this is the living, breathing altar in this new space.
Very soon, I will be sharing my space more than ever, just like I’ve shared my body for the past 9 months. My heart expanding even greater than it already has, my sheer existence morphing in something way bigger as our family grows.
“I hope I can be enough for everyone” I spoke out loud to my husband before bed last night.
For my babies, my family, myself.
It’s all I can really hope to be in this new version of myself.
My new shared space has a new feeling to it. I can’t quite put my finger on what it is yet, but it feels like a cross between sacred and cozy. A place for morning rituals and afternoon naps, a home for an altar and a space to dream, literally and figuratively.
Now onto the good stuff…
ON THE ‘I’M INTO THIS’ RADAR
😰 Watched the first two episodes of Cape Fear and ngl I didn’t expect it to be creepy, colorful, and kind of..campy? A Southern lawyer’s (Amy Adams) life is upturned when an old client (Javiar Bardem), possibly wrongly convicted, definitely part psychopath, gets released from jail. I didn’t see the original (which is on my PP watch list) so i’m not sure if it’s going to be a cat and mouse thriller for just straight up F-ed, but I’m looking forward to watching the rest of the season.
📺 We stumbled into season 2 of BEEF a few weeks back and I was a bigger fan than I thought I would be, I actually may have enjoyed it more than the first season. IDK if it was Oscar Issac’s douchey haircut of Charles Melton’s amazing performance as a happy idiot, it kept me intrigued. Flawed people in flawed relationship just trying to get by, it was a pleasant surprise watch.
👄God forbid I walk into Sephora to get my holy grail night mask and don’t leave with a lip gloss.
🪞This piece about Liminalism and how it’s weirdly…comforting?
🚬 MOTHERTONGUE issue 10 especially Careless Whispers by Stephanie Wittles Wachs and Morbid Curiosity by Jerrine Tan.
💕 Call me morbid but as someone who has dipped their toes into becoming an animal Death Doula and has lost 2 soul pups of her own, I am always drawn to articles about pet loss and the way grief shapes up. I think this article did a beautiful job of talking about the measures we can take before we fully say goodbye and the impact pets have on our souls during their time on Earth with us.
👻 Because why wouldn’t I sign up for a Summer Writing Salon that starts the day I’m supposed to give birth?
Not seen on the screen: afternoon ‘laps’ in the pool at 9 months pregnant, all the animals living in our yard including a fox, a mama deer and doe, a groundhog named brownie, and a countless amount of chipmunks, and our window bird feeder.
LATEST PIECES
My brain has been a bit mushy so I haven’t written much except for this note , this short poem about This Body, and last months’ issue of MID MONTH MEANDERS.
LITTLE JOYS
BOOKS ON MY SHELF
GUNK by Saba Sams - I love reading books written by English authors. IDK if it’s because in my heard I read every word with a charming accent or the use of extra ‘u’s, these books just feel more romantic even when they’re not. **A nightclub in a coastal town in England, an unlikely friendship between two women of a different generation, and ex-husband that strangely brought them together, a whirlwind pregnancy and the details of an intimate, loving, relationship in between. I couldn’t put this book down and loved reading. 4/5
The Witch’s Orchard by Archer Sullivan - A ‘who dunnit murder’ brain reset involving a stubborn female detective who is obsessed with her car, a everyone knows everyone Appalachian town, and a kidnapped little girls. A simple, quick, well written beach read that I enjoyed enough. 3/5
Our Last Resort by Clemence Michallon - I was a big, big fan of Clemence Michallon’s first book, The Quiet Tenant, so I had high hopes for this one. Siblings who were once involved in a cult (sold) are at a high end, super exclusive resort when a murder takes place. When the brother gets accused of the murder and the sister spirals into making sure he isn’t charged, reality starts to bend a bit. Paced pretty well and written in Michallon’s flowing voice, I didn’t like it as much as The Quietn Tenant, but I still enjoyed it. 3/5
LOOKS THAT MADE ME FEEL COOL
Belly out, surfs up, heat wave in Jersey activated.
LOOK 1: Sure, my daughter might have asked if I was wearing a helmet when I walked upstairs with this headscarf on, but none the less I’m happy with the result. Scarf from Amazon (I know, yuck), white top rented (which I totally bought) from Nuuly by Pierto Brunelli , and shorts by Araminta James.
LOOK 2: Same white linen top as above, good ol’ Hanes triangle bralette that I bought for my maternity shoot but have been livinggggg in, Preppy Poplin Pull on pants from Free People that I bought last pregnancy, my summer Crocs (which I don’t even know if they make anymore), and bucket hat from my awesome clients, K+K Reset. Messy, unpacked suitcase by yours truly.
LOOK 3: Pilar Crochet Short Sleeve by OBEY matched with a pair of my favorite boxer-ish shorts that I snagged a few years back at Shaded Vision down the good ol’ Jersey Shore.
That’s that friends! This is probably my last MID MONTH MEANDERS issue for a bit (depending on wtf post partum life looks like), but I promise some midnight feeding musings.
Thanks for being here, it means more than ya know.
Good luck and god bless,
-V
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