The Berkshires, CT and NYC
One line a day, one day at time: A trip through The Berkshires, Connecticut and New York.
Monday - After an emotional goodbye at Vassar, we drove 2 hours north and east, deep into the heart of the Berkshires. We’re staying with friends in their gorgeous mountain cabin. By the time we arrived, it was late and pitch black, so we lay outside on the deck and watched the stars until we got cold.
Tuesday - Today we drove into town to get sandwiches for lunch and I had to stop the car in the middle of nowhere so that chickens could cross the road. True story! Yes I asked my friend Why are the chickens crossing the road? and Yes, he said To get to the other side! Absolutely trues tory. Later, while we were eating our sandwiches on the deck and listening to the silence, we heard a tree fall in the woods.
Wednesday - I drove over the mountains and through the woods to get to Albany and pick up sophia who came up from the city. We stopped on the way home and got groceries, and when we got home, we prepared an asian feast for dinner: Fried rice with terriyake tofu, roasted veggies and peanuts. Also potstickers, egg rolls and kimchi. And some wine. And chocolates. We ate dinner in the screened in porch and we laughed and talked and told stories and it was brilliant. Exactly what we came for and exactly what life is about i think. :) Then we played three games of fooseball and it was outrageiously stressful and hilarious! We had all worked up a sweat, so we went back outside, laid down on the deck and watched the stars until we felt small and calm.
Thursday - Today I was almost eaten by an ACTUAL BEAR. We were walking along the trail, minding our own business, chattering away and as we rounded the bend in the trail, we saw a baby bear cub, sitting on the benSch in front of a lake. She saw us, made eye contact with me (!), then lumbered off the bench to come say hi. We immediately backed up and got the hell out of there. We hightailed it to the nearest farm house and walked home by the main road. Jesus God Almighty, that is the last time I take a walk in the woods.
Friday - Drove to Connecticut last night to hang out with K before heading to New York. Their house is so all-American beautiful that they often get requests from film companies who want to shoot scenes there. We took walks, ate pizza and dunkin donuts and laughed our faces off watching hilarious movies. I did not see a bear, so it was a good stay.
Saturday - Another travel day: Connecticut —> Poughkeepsie (to return the car —> train to NYC. Checked into The Moxy Lower East Village, then went out for the night! Dinner at Behemian Spirit (of course, and I’m sorry, but it was disappointing) and then went to 59E59 to see Gene and Gilda which was spectacular.
Sunday - Very cool brunch at The Roxy hotel lounge, followed by a long stroll through Soho. Then I went to Queens to watch Sophia work/interview some performers at a theater festival. Then had THE BEST DINNER I’ve had in a very long time at Planta Queen.
6 Books for Creative Inspiration
These books sit on my desk at all time. Collectively they serve as my personal Board of Directors for all my creative projects.
These books sit on my desk at all time. Collectively they serve as my personal Board of Directors for all my creative projects.
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear — Elizabeth Gilbert - creativity doesn't require suffering, and you don't need permission or approval to make things.
The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity — Julia Cameron - Morning pages and artist dates—Cameron's 12-week program for unblocking your creative self. It's equal parts permission slip and kick in the pants.
The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life — Twyla Tharp - Tharp, a legendary choreographer, makes the case that creativity is about discipline, not divine inspiration. Show up, do the work, build the habit—the rest follows.
The Creative Act: A Way of Being — Rick Rubin - Less about making art, more about becoming the kind of person who can receive it.
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life — Anne Lamott - A no-bullshit guide to writing and life: take it one small step at a time, embrace the shitty first draft, and trust the process.
Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity - David Lynch - "Ideas are like fish. If you want to catch little fish, you can stay in the shallow water. But if you want to catch the big fish, you've got to go deeper."
A Week of Hibernation
I went to the lake house and here is what I did.
Artist: James MacKeow
I went to the lake house and here is what I did.
In the morning,
I drank coffee and watched
the lake turn from charcoal to turquoise.
I scribbled in my notebook
until my anxieties felt seen
and my mind got quiet.
I took Míša for a walk
by the lake
every morning
and every evening.
And in between,
I read book after book
after book.
That’s it, that’s everything.
That’s all I did.
Two of those days I felt like
a boring, waste of space
who will never amount to anything.
Three of those days I felt like
I was living my best life.
- LAURIE MUCHA
My Favourite Poets and Poetry Books
Poetry for people who think they don’t like poetry.
Kate Baer - What Kind of Woman, and the upcoming How About Now - Kate Baer writes about motherhood, marriage, and selfhood with a clarity that feels like someone finally saying the quiet part out loud. Her poems are short, sharp, and devastatingly honest—the kind you'll screenshot and send to friends.
Maggie Smith - Good Bones - This collection is anchored by its title poem, which went viral for good reason—it captures the bittersweet work of trying to make the world bearable for the people we love. I also loved Maggie’s memoir You Could Make This Place Beautiful.
Joy Sullivan - Instructions for Travelling West - Sullivan's debut is a meditation on landscape and what it means to keep moving forward. Her poems feel like they were written in transit.
Mary Oliver - Devotions - If you've never read Mary Oliver, start here. This retrospective spans fifty years of her work, offering her luminous observations on nature, attention, and living deliberately.
Ada Limon - The Carrying - Limón writes about bodies, desire, loss, and longing with a generosity that feels rare. The Carrying grapples with what it means to want something—a child, a life, a future—and what happens when that wanting goes unfulfilled.
The Poetry Pharmacy Collection - Think of this as your literary medicine cabinet. Compiled by poet William Sieghart, it prescribes poems for every emotional ailment—heartbreak, anxiety, boredom, joy. There are three in the series and I love them all!
Notes from Vassar College
A college drop off!
The Library at Vassar College
I could live in this room.
Vassar Atheneum at The Heartwood
International Students Welcome Day!
It’s all happening!
The oldest tree on campus.
A rainy day at The Heartwood
My morning routine.
Woodlands and wetlands surrounding Vassar Farm.
Curious deer roaming campus.
Evening in the dorm.
Vassar Chapel
Inside Vassar Chapel
xo
xoxo
By Wallace Stevens
One-Line-a-Day
Monday, August 18 -
London. I’m drowning in boxes, post-it notes and spreadsheets. I eat, sleep and dream this move. In fact, the only difference between being awake and being asleep is that when I’m asleep I’m not holding a clipboard.
Tuesday, August 19 -
Travel day! Somehow managed to pull myself out of the moving spiral to pack for this trip. We’re taking our baby girl to college! LHR —> JFK —> Poughkeepsie.
Wednesday, August 20 -
Poughkeepsie, New York - Vassar College! Today was an international admin day. We set-up Sasha with a US bank account and telephone number. Sounds simple, took all day. It rained all day, which didn’t dampen our excitement for move-in day. I’ve had three rootbeers and I’ve only been here for 36 hours.
Thursday, August 21 -
International student move-in day! Daniel wore so much Vassar gear that it looked like he was the coach of the baseball team. We hauled three giant suitcases and a dozen amazon boxes up three flights of stairs because the elevator was broken. Great dorm room with a nice view!
Friday, August 22 -
Explored campus (stunning) and stumbled into a gem of an art gallery - The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center.
Saturday, August 23 -
Took a 2+ hour hike through the woods and wetlands at Vassar Farm. Lunch from a taco truck, which was decent - but honestly, this region is set up for vegetarians to survive, not thrive. Came home and found an acorn in my bra.
Sunday, August 24 -
Walkway across the Hudson River! More walks around campus! More pizza! More rootbeer!
How long is your past, how far is your future
Thinking about what comes next.
Laura Battle, Collection of the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College
Hi friends! I’m at Vassar College this week, dropping off my youngest daughter and helping her get settled. There’s so much I could tell you about her journey to this specific place and time. Alas, she is a private person, so I’m authorised only to say this: I’m so proud of her!
Everyone keeps asking if I’m okay.
Reader, I am very okay. No shade to my mother friends who are sad and a little freaked out - but I feel happy and free as a bird. After all, we raised two kind, intelligent daughters who are reasonably healthy and well-adjusted. I’m so relieved! And frankly excited about what’s next…
Second half of 2025
We’re moving out of our family home in London and into a smaller, two bedroom loft-style apartment. We still need a London footprint for work purposes - but we’re happy to have something smaller and easier to manage. Our lake house in France will become the new “family” home.
Travel! Our travel schedule is no longer dictated by school breaks! In the next four months, I have trips planned to New York, Prague, France, Indiana and India. Yes, INDIA! I’m so excited.
Writing more books! I’ve got two book ideas in my head that are banging around and trying to get out. I think if I set my mind to it, I can finish one of them by Christmas.
First half of 2026
French! I’m looking into various French intensive courses. I’m embarrassed about how bad my French has become and I need to course correct.
The Haute Route! We’ve long daydreamed about this trip and it’s time to make it happen. The Haute Route is a multi-day, hut-to-hut trek through the mountains from Chamonix, France to Zermatt, Switzerland. We’ll do this in the summer, when the terrain isn’t so punishing, but even so this hike is no joke. I need to start training asap.
All of this has me asking myself - what is this blog about, now that my life is shifting? I’ve been struggling to keep up with weekly posts. I think mostly because I don’t like to write about my family/friends - and this summer has been all about family/friends.
So then what should I post about? Especially, when so much of my life moving forward will be about travel and creative projects…. Here’s what I’m thinking:
A Sunday photo dump. And if I have the time/energy for it - one line a day from my journal. Like instagram, but just for me.
Once a month: an update on my works in progress. What I’m working on, how it’s going. (Like this post!)
The overachiever in me would also like to post one poem a week, but that’s probably pushing it if I’m also trying to write a book before Christmas. So I will resist the temptation for now. Maybe do this in 2026?
Look at me! Making progress on my goals.
Xo, L
3 Novels to Read Before Travelling to Southern India
I’m going to Southern India later this year for a wedding! Here’s my reading list.
I’m going to southern India in a few months! Here’s my reading list. Why are two these books over 700 pages long? That’s just crazy.
The Covenant of Water by Rohinton Mistry - By all accounts, this book is supposed to be amazing, but seriousl?! It’s over 700 pages long ( 36 hours on audible). I’ll need to get both formats so I can get through it more quickly.
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy - This was my mother-in-law’s favourite book - now feels like a good time to pick it up. If I like it, I’ll also read Mother Mary Comes to Me by the same author.
*A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry - This one is not set in Southern India, but it’s considered to be the great Indian novel for the 20th century so it feels like it should go on the list.
Venice is a human city
There are no cars. The canals are arteries, the streets are veins, and the people are the blood, the life force.
How I Learned Bliss
On road trips and bliss.
I spied everything. The North Dakota license,
the “Baby on Board” signs, dead raccoons, and deer carcasses.
The Garfields clinging to car windows—the musky traces of old coffee.
I was single-minded in the buzz saw tour I took through
the flatlands of the country to get home. I just wanted to get there.
Never mind the antecedent. I had lost stations miles ago
and was living on cassettes and caffeine. Ahead, brushstrokes
of smoke from annual fires. Only ahead to the last days of summer
and to the dying theme of youth. How pitch-perfect
the tire-on-shoulder sound was to mask the hiss of the tape deck ribbons.
Everything. Perfect. As Wyoming collapses over the car
like a wave. And then another mile marker. Another.
How can I say this more clearly? It was like opening a heavy book,
letting the pages feather themselves and finding a dried flower.
- OLIVER DE LA PAZ
Notes (and photos) from Prague, CZ
One line a day + a camera roll
One-Line-a-Day Journal
Monday, July 7 -
Flew to Prague to visit Sasha and see her new place. Sasha has a place! Where she lives. Alone. wtf? Wild. Sophia flying in for the week also - we’re staying at The Hotel Paris which is now my favourite hotel in Prague.
Tuesday, July 8 -
Walked around town and visited some of our favourite places… Frank, of course! Plus Old Town Square, The Globe, etc. Bought three books. Dinner on the water, overlooking the castle.
Wednesday, July 9 -
Explored Holisovice which is becoming a super cool area with an art gallery, hipster cafes and boutique shops. Went into DOX and fell in love with two exhibitions: The Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk and Up in Flames, the David Lynch Exhibition. Walked home by way of Mala Strana and bought three more books.
Thursday, July 10 -
Took a tour of the Jewish quarter because we hadn’t done that in almost a decade. Later, we met up with A and Frank for dinner and some live music at The Jazz Dock. Even later - Sophia and I went to open mic night at a comedy club!
Friday, July 11 -
Quick tour of the new Mucha Museum, before heading to the airport to fly back to Geneva. Had dinner with B at Le Pecheur to talk about the week. xo
Wild Geese
My favourite poem by Mary Oliver. xo
Artist: Lucy Grossmith
Our first set of guests have come and gone. Among them, my sister-in-law who, among other sparkling qualities, is an amazing cook. This woman can turn an ordinary vegetable into a dazzling culinary experience. I don’t know how she does it, but I’m going to convince her to let me help her publish a cookbook. (She doesn’t know this yet.) As per usual, I took NO PHOTOS because I was too distracted by the food and the conversation. I really must do better. I really do want to capture this summer in all its beauty.
Instead of photos, I will leave you with this - my favourite poem.
Wild Geese
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -
over and over announcing yoru place
in the family of things.
- MARY OLIVER
Champagne Problems
You’ll have to get your serious news elsewhere.
Just another sunset on Lake Annecy, France.
It’s been so hot here on Lake Annecy. We don’t need to talk about it, do we? Chances are it’s hot where you live too. And yes. I realise the world is on fire both literally and figuratively, but you’ll have to get your serious news elsewhere. I tend to write about ridiculous problems, so buckle up.
Pool Emergency
My first day at the lake house. It’s 86° and the water in my swimming pool is so thick and slimy that you can’t see the bottom. I can’t get anyone out here to look at it for at least two days because… apparently every single swimming pool in the region is affected by algae??? The reason I keep getting is: well, it’s been very hot…. But isn’t that the whole POINT of a swimming pool? To provide refuge from the heat?
Outside temp: 86°
Pool colour: pond-scum green
Pool Emergency, Day 3
The pool guy came over! Like many of the local pool guys he was a delicious 20-something who cleans pools in the summer and teaches skiing in the winter. My friends like to be here when the pool needs to be serviced and that’s all I’m going to say about that. Anyway, he repaired something in the pool room, gave the system a “shock treatment” and said the water would be clean and clear in 24-48 hours. Thank God!
Outside temp: 88°
Pool colour: pond-scum green with patches of cloudy yellow
Pool Emergency, Day 4
The pool is a little better, but definitely not swimmable. I’m worried because I have a girls weekend planned in just a few days. I called the pool guys again, but they said to wait the full 48 hours and then call back if it’s still bad. I can’t look at it, so I left the house and spent the day shopping for summer essentials: cases of sparkling water and rosé, some extra water shoes and beach chairs.
Outside temp: 90°
Pool colour: infected-wound yellow
Pool Emergency, Day 5
I can see the bottom of my pool now, but it’s murky and slimy, instead of blue and sparkly. Apparently “it’s fine - it’s just dead algae.” But, seriously, NO. I’m not swimming in dead algae. I begged the guy to come over again and he just said, “I’ll put you on the list.”
It was bad time for the pool to be beige because we had a previously scheduled commercial photoshoot here today. But in the end, the pool colour was no big deal - the producers decided they could fix it in post production.
Outside temp: 92°
Pool colour: dirty-dishwater
Pool Emergency, Day 6
A new pool guy came. He was more like a pool man and he seemed to know what he was talking about - the problem is I didn’t know what we were talking about. He used words I don’t understand in English, much less in French. Plus I only know the grammatical basics of past, present and future. I don’t know how to say: The last guy did this, because the time before that he did this other thing. But if he would’ve replaced that part from the beginning, we wouldn’t be in this situation now.
I’m super frustrated because it’s clear that the previous guy was just distracting me with his shirtlessness and clearly he had no idea what he was doing. There’s literally a giant piece of plumbing missing in the pool room. But I couldn’t show my frustration, because I don’t want to be a whiny rich woman complaining about her swimming pool when these guys are working, like, 14 hours a day. Actually, we’re in France, so they’re probably only working 6 hours a day, but still. They are knowledgeable and this guy was trying to be helpful so I tried to be friendly and grateful.
But just as we were nearing the crux of the issue (with the aid of google translate) a small swarm of bees (maybe 5?) flew up my kaftan and started stinging me on the butt. I started shrieking and spinning around in circles and spanking my own ass. But you know what? It’s really hard to kill bees when they are angry and swarming under your clothes. The only option was to lift up my dress and try to swat them off me. The pool man smirked and took this opportunity to try to leave- but I didn’t want him to go. Wait! I said. We’re not finished! Don’t leave! I took a deep breath and tried to regain my compusure, speak calmly with him in French about plumbing parts and filtration systems while simoultaneously, nonchalantly picking stingers out of my butt.
He said he would come back tomorrow with a new pump and a new robot to clean the pool. I made him promise, which was super awkward and I regretted it as soon as it left my mouth.
I have three red welts on my right butt cheek and I can’t sit down properly.
Temp: 94°
Pool colour: dirty-dishwater with dead floating bees on top
Pool Emergency, Day 7
He came back! He replaced the pump and brought an aquatic electric vacuume cleaner that properly cleans the pool and doesn’t just kill whatever’s in it. The only catch is that in order for him (his name is SuperAquaBob) to be efficient, I need to scrub the pool floor just in front of wherever he goes, so that the dead algae floats and he can suck it up. Picture underwater curling. My arms are super sore but thankfully my butt welts no longer hurt, they are just super itchy.
And just like that…
My pool is pristine blue again! My girlfriends are here from London and we've had the most perfect few days - swimming in both the pool and the lake, long walks, boat rides, incredible food, and best of all, 48 hours of non-stop laughter and conversation. They are worth every bee sting. ;)
Creative Projects ~
I’m supposed to be writing short essays and poetry for my collaboration with Sophia. But so far, I’ve just been daydreaming while scrubbing the pool.
Books ~
I’m currently reading Orbital by Samantha Harvey and listening to The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton. Will let you know my thoughts next week!
xo, L
Summer hours, reinstated
Yesterday I woke up in London, loaded the car with six boxes of books and drove to our lake house in France.
View from my bedroom. Sunset over Lake Annecy, France.
Travel ~
Yesterday I woke up in London, loaded the car with six boxes of books and drove to our lake house in France. It took 13 hours - during which time I drank way too much coffee and listened to every single podcast ever recorded until all the words and ideas turned into noise and I had to switch it all off.
But I made it here safely, and the dog didn’t puke, so life is good.
The house is quiet. I like to arrive a week before everyone else - to stock up on essentials and see what needs fixing. June has been super hot, and the garden needs some love. The path down to the lake needs clearing. And where did the deck chairs go? They’ve disappeared. Later this week I’ll dig through the plastic storage bins and look for the life vests and bicycle helmets and flip flops and beach blankets. The pool needs to be serviced and the propane tanks need to be filled. And then, finally, a big trip to the supermarket for essentials: bags of ice and cases of rosé and sparkling water, plus more toilet paper than seems necessary - but it will never be enough.
But today was a day of rest. :) I banned myself from listening to podcasts and instead listened to this playlist. I also went to the market and came home with a beautiful bounty:
One cavaillon melon
Three heavy peaches
Two handfuls of sweet cherries
A single perfect tomato (the kind you can’t find in a supermarket)
A handful of fresh green beans
Some new potatoes
A handful of fresh spinach
Salted butter from Normandy
Local goat’s cheese
Some local yogurt for breakfast
A fresh baguette, still warm
All of it went into this super cute basket that I bought in Provence ten years ago which was handmade exactly for this purpose. It was such a main character morning! I even wore a sundress. But I didn’t take a photo because I never think to take photos and now the moment’s gone so you’ll just have to believe me. The scene was cinematic, the soundtrack was awesome and my hair looked f.
Books ~
A writer friend told me once that the hardest part of writing dual-timeline books is that readers are invariably drawn to one storyline over the other. I thought of that recently when I read Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid. It was a fine book - but I found myself speeding through the love-story timeline so I could get back to the outer space one. I love TJR! Maybe I was just in the mood for something different, something more adventurous? So then I read a Dean Koontz novel, which was exactly what I thought a Dean Koontz novel would be like. And then Heartwood by Amity Gaige, which is a mystery set on the Appalachian Trail, which was fun, if forgettable.
Creative projects ~
Sophia and I are working on a collaborative poetry/photography book! I can’t say more because that will suck the joy out of it. But it’s so fun to be working with her!
Other important goals for the week: floating, swimming, reading and daydreaming.
xo, L
Not exactly Jessica Fletcher
On first drafts, the Women’s Prize Summer Party, and planning a road trip
Jessica Fletcher, Murder She Wrote
This week’s project ~
You know the opening credits of Murder She Wrote, when Jessica is sitting at her desk typing away while the cheerful theme song bops along in the background? I love those opening credits. I never skip that part! By the end of the song, she’s written the final page of the book and has closed the manuscript cover.
My writing process is… not that. It’s more like having food poisoning. You know it’s in there and it needs to come out - but you have no control over when it happens. All you can do is be in the right place at the right time and hope for the best. That’s my writing process. It ain’t pretty. I wear noise-cancelling headphones and every now and then, when I realise I’ve turned into Quasimodo with a tech neck, I lurch my shoulders back into place and groan.
I’m trying to write six chapters per week - but do NOT be impressed by that number, because my chapters are only a few pages long. Also, it’s a pretty shitty first draft. So when I’m done with this stage of the process, I will have a lot of work to do. But I’m writing again! Hooray for me!
Books!
I just finished Anthony Bourdain’s book Kitchen Confidential - WOW, it was so good! He narrates the audio version and I highly recommend it - his voice is commanding and so entertaining. I also finished The Salt Path by Raynor Winn. It was slow-going but cinematic - the movie is on my list to (eventually) watch.
Earlier this week, I went to the Women’s Prize Summer Party which was a fabulous and friendly event - but mostly I stood around looking awkward and tried not to stare at the literary LEGENDS who were in attendance. Seriously, every year this event gets more and more star-studded. I felt like a Huge Nobody - just a 53-year old girl from Indiana who conned her way into a ticket. I took a glass of champagne, put my head down and tried to blend in. Rachel Clark, author of The Story of a Heart, won the prize for Non-Fiction. Yael van der Wouden, author of The SafeKeep, won the prize for Fiction.
Travel / Where I’m at, where I’m going ~
I’m still in London and I’m still looking for a new place to live - it’s not going well. We might end up putting everything in storage and living the nomad lifestyle for a while. Honestly, I’d prefer that option! But it would be hard on other members of the family, so the search continues.
I’m also prepping for my summer relocation to France. My office is the staging area: boxes of books, a few yoga mats, extra dog food, etc. This time, I’ve decided to make the drive to Lake Annecy in one day. It’s a long slog, but totally do-able. The key: entertainment and nourishment. The only thing worse than airplane food is rest stop food, so I’ll pack a food bag for the road: whole grain/seeded crackers, good cheese, hummus and veggies, fruit and nuts, a stack of PB &Js, air-popped popcorn, some dark chocolate, a thermos of iced water and a thermos of hot water for tea. I’m even bringing a package of Rummo spaghetti and a jar of Belazu Aubergine and Parmesan Pesto for when I arrive late that night and need a hot meal.
Today’s fun project: queue up a bunch of podcasts and buy three extra credits on Audible. The next time you hear from me, I’ll be in France!
xo, L
Print by Liana Finck 2022, Gifted to me by my daughter. :)
A summer begins
A new book project, a long Devon walk and my summer reading list
Fidan Nazimqızı
This week’s project ~
I started to work on my next book! The working title is Notes From a Summer on Lake Annecy and it’s something I’ve been noodling on for a while now. It will be another memoir-in-essays and the themes are my usual obsession - identity and transformation with a strong sense of place.
In terms of process - I’m doing something radically different this time around: I’m planning to write from an outline! This is new territory for me as I usually write 70K words and then spend a year/lifetime trying to make sense of what I wrote. This time, I’m going into the writing process with a general sense of a beginning middle and end. I’ve got a list of 45 essays to write, in a very loose order, which will undoubtedly change. But it’s a road map! Also, I love a good list. Here are my notes to self:
1) Protect your writing time.
2) Look at the outline. Pick up where you left off. Keep going.
3) Do NOT edit as you go. Edit in September.
I’ve given myself a short time frame for this draft because I tend to get bored quickly and I want to keep my energy and vibes high. This is either a brilliant idea or completely unrealistic.
A quick trip to Devon ~
Stonehenge after the rain. ©Laurel Kallenbach
Haldon Belvedere: a triangular castle overlooking the Devon countryside.
This weekend, we took a made a quick overnight trip to Devon to visit some friends. We unexpectedly drove past Stonehenge to get there! The view from the highway was underwhelming. I’d love to go back for a proper look around - maybe on summer solstice? How much pegan fun would that be? Later, when the rain cleared, we went for a proper English walk and stumbled upon the Haldon Belvedere is a triangular castle overlooking the Devon countryside.
My Summer Reading List ~
My Summer Reading List!
Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton
Isola by Allegra Goodman
The Salt Path by Raynor Winn
Heartwood by Amity Gaige
The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina by Zoraida Cordova
I Seek a Kind Person Julian Borger
If You Love It, Let it Kill You by Hannah Pittard
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Until next week!
xo, L
Instead of depression
Try calling it Hibernation.
Artist Philip Geiger
Instead of Depression
try calling it hibernation.
Imagine the darkness is a cave
in which you will be nurtured
by doing absolutely nothing.
Hibernating animals don’t even dream.
It’s okay if you can’t imagine
Spring. Sleep through the alarm
of the world. Name your hopelessness
a quiet hollow, a place you go
to heal, a den you dug,
Sweetheart, instead
of a grave.
- ANDREA GIBSON
Letting go and moving on
Graduation celebrations, food writing obsessions, and the joy of purging
Photograph by Bettman-Corbis
This week’s project -
My youngest daughter graduated from high school! Our days were filled with ceremonies, celebrations, dinner parties, cocktails. We were celebrating her, for sure. But you know what? I’m also proud of me. I birthed two babies, kept them alive and got them through high school. Congratulations to me!
Apart from journaling, there was very little time this week to work on my creative projects. But I did start brainstorming my next book… The working title is The Lake House Project. The idea is still forming in my mind and I can’t yet put it into words. But I think it will have a strong visual component as well as written words. Sophia’s agreed to be my photographer and art director! Should be fun.
Artist: Luc Lavenseau
Travel: Where I’m at, where I’m going -
We’re moving! The owner of our London home wants to sell and we don’t want to buy - so we have until September 30 to move out. I’ve looked out dozens of houses and apartments here in London, but I just can’t get excited about any of them. Both kids will be in the US for university, so we could literally live almost anywhere.
What I really want to do is travel around the world and be a nomad for a while… But what about work? Is that realistic? We are brainstorming options…
In the meantime, I’m going through the house room-by-room and deciding what to keep, what to donate and what to throw away. And Oh My God I Love This Process So Much! B asked me if I needed help going through the things in the attic and I was like YES MAN, TALK DIRTY TO ME! LET’S GO! We spent all day up there and then donated two carloads of stuff to our local charity shop. And then I took a carload of junk to the Refuse and Recycling Center. Is there anything more therapeutic? I FREAKING LOVE IT. Nothing is safe from my purging! I’m a woman on a mission.
HENRY’S book cover is fuzzy like a peach and I can’t stop petting it.
Books: What I’m reading -
I’m still making my way through Tiananmen Square by Lai Wen. I haven’t made up my mind about this book. I’m told the ending is phenomenal, so I’m sticking with it.
I’ve got two other reading obsessions at the moment. The first is I’m searching for great stories by exquisite food writers. A few months ago, I read The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl (which I loved) and I just finished Butter by Asako Yuzuki (which I liked). Next up is How to Eat a Peach by Diana Henry and then Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain.
I’ve also fallen down a rabbit hole researching visual memoirs. I might have made up that genre, but here’s what it means to me: Books where the images carry as much narrative weight as the words. Books like the perennial favourite Film for Her by Orion Carloto or It by Alexa Chung. Or even Sara Berman’s Closet by Maira Kalman or Elena: A Hand Made Life by Miriam Gold.
I know these two categories of books seem wildly different, but they are both feeding my next project!
Where I walk my dog. :) The River Thames, Chiswick to Hammersmith. Artist: Arabella Harcourt-Cooze
Look what I made!
My recipe collection, two book recs and some link love
Look what I made! It’s a cookbook inspired by my travels and organised by cuisine.
This week’s project -
I finally - finally! - finished the edits on my recipe collection and sent it to the printers! Turns out, collecting all the recipes and photos was the easy part. Formatting them into a professional looking book was supremely tedious. In case you're curious (and a process nerd like me): I used Google Drive to organize the content, Canva to create and format the book, and Bookvault to print.
The cover photo was taken by my daughter when she was in first grade and I was still young and beautiful. Apart from that one photo, I don’t own many of the photos in this book, so I can’t sell it or even distribute it as a promotional gift. But that’s okay! That was never my goal. My goal was to learn how to professionally print a photo-heavy book. Now that I know how to do that, I think the next project will be something I can share publicly.
Books: What I’m reading -
I started and finished James by Percival Everett in three days flat, because it’s that good. It’s a re-telling of Huck Finn, but told from the perspective of James - but it’s so much more than that. It’s a literary page-turner: a book you can’t put down, but that is also so compelling that it should also be taught in schools. I loved it.
On the lighter side - I’m almost finished with The Agathas by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson which is super fun and should be made into a TV series asap. Think: between Veronica Mars meets Agatha Christie.
My local bookstore, as illustrated by Matthew Wright
Some link love -
You’re most repeated thought becomes your reality. I don’t normally listen to Jay Shetty’s podcast, but this episode has some gems.
Paris recommendations to consider by Shelby Chambers. (My own Paris List is much shorter!)
Women’s Prize Events are coming up! This is always a great way to kick off summer.
xo, L
3 Ways to Experience Literary London
Reader's Guide to Literary London: Three ways to dive deep into the city's literary culture.
The London Library
1 - Book Talks
You could spend every evening of the week at a literary talk somewhere in the city—if only you knew where to look. Luckily, Literary Listings London does the work for you. This weekly newsletter curates upcoming author events, readings, and conversations across London’s bookish haunts.
2 - Book Walks
London Literary Tours is exactly what it sounds like— walking tours for people who care about books and the ghosts of writers past. The two hosts - Cindy and Mike - are incredibly knowledgeable and entertaining. You will be whisked away to a different time and place. I loved the Bloomsbury tour so much, that I’m tempted to take another one later this year. Current options include walks inspired by Virginia Woolf and Oscar Wilde.
3 - Book Paradise
There’s no place like The London Library. Founded in 1841 and still privately run, it’s where Virginia Woolf, Charles Dickens and countless other writers borrowed books and wrote prose. The red-carpeted staircases and labyrinthine stacks feel like a portal to another century. You can’t just walk in—you have to join—but if you love books, it’s the best investment in inspiration you’ll ever make.