In a digital world where the tap of our fingers, across a keyboard or across a screen, defines the majority of our days, there is something really wonderful about the simplicity of stitching pieces of fabric together. Keep Reading
Starting on Sunday, I stash my favorite sections in my bag and carry them with me. The Business section delves into IPO drama, company trends, executive leadership news, and what’s happening in finance. Sunday Review features more nuanced, human-interest stories, and lots of opinions – like the recent article discussing the likability trap for politicians. And finally, the Style section, for all of the obvious reasons and the fact that it’s a quick snap shot into what’s hot right now from the perspective of the Times.
These are the sections that travel with me, I read the front page at home, and all together ditch Sports, Arts, and Book Review. Sometimes Travel gets a little time.
Newspapers are like a curated Twitter. That sounds funny, given that newspapers were the original form of news media. But social media has become such a smash of interesting and annoying takes. I value social media, and certainly I value my own platform, but it’s difficult to determine what content is valuable and what is not. I think perhaps one of the worst things social media has done for the world is make everyone an authority. Not everyone should be an authority, and we’ve certainly seen what happens when audiences believe what people in the network publish and repost online. The consequences can be pretty serious. Newspapers, on the other hand, carefully conceive of ideas for articles, investigate them thoroughly, and then present us with a factual account of what is happening. It is not speculation, and when opinions are published they come from people who are legitimately deemed to have some expertise in their field to support what they are talking about.
While the New York Times is a constant around here, I also read the Globe and Mail and the Wall Street Journal – there isn’t time for much more. I want to know what the experts think, they provide a perspective I likely haven’t considered. Concise and condensed and easy to toss in your bag – with no screen time necessary. This is why I love newspapers.
Politics can be such utter garbage. To evoke support, political marketers seek to further deepen the divide that determines political affiliations, but do it in such a way that elicits hatred for the other side. They virtue signal and point fingers, claiming that this game of political warfare is zero-sum. It is not, in my opinion. When one side wins and one loses, both sides ultimately lose – same as with personal relationships.
In the United States, both sides are boldly guilty of this. The rhetoric used to get points across is so hyperbolized, it’s as if every issue (portrayed by the mainstream media), is a call for another civil war. Frankly, I find politics insulting to the citizens who have to put up with it all. Keep Reading
I don’t read the newspaper everyday, there just isn’t time. You don’t pick up a paper with the intention of reading one article, as you would over on Twitter or Medium (speaking of which, I recently wrote a post explaining what the blockchain-powered tokenization of assets means). A newspaper is meant to give you an up-to-date look at what’s going on in the world, or country, or city, with observations on the markets, business stories, notes on social and civic activity, and opinions. Hopefully you walk away feeling educated and inspired.
This is how I always feel after I read The New York Times on Sunday, which is why I love the paper so much. Keep Reading
Your spiritual practice is not the same as your religious practice, regardless of what you identify as. But perhaps the baseline for this post is a shared understanding that as humans we have a spirit. If you don’t believe that, this post likely isn’t for you. Keep Reading
The only thing missing is the newspaper. A Sunday paper takes a couple hours to get through, so instead, I am blogging. There are never enough hours in the day and when there’s a lot that I want to accomplish, I feel like every hour has to be purposefully and intentionally used. That can include chill time, like this morning when I sat with my pup and coffee for an hour and a half and just really enjoyed the stillness. That was time well spent. Here’s a little look at my home, and what I like to accomplish on my days off.
I purchased these shelves from Amazon, but everything else was picked up from somewhere special. The pink tea light holders are from The Cross in Vancouver (similar here), the Missoni candle from Fred Segal in LA, the hair products from Population Salon in San Francisco (but available here, and here), the Chanel compact was from Barney’s in San Francisco, and the Feu de Bois Diptyque candle from their shop near The Carlyle Hotel in New York City just after we had drinks there and met a slew of interesting characters. My Mum gave me the Chanel No. 5 fragrance for my birthday last month, the heart-shaped dish is Dior from their Dior Maison store on Avenue Montaigne in Paris, and the jewelry is a collection of Aurelie Bidermann pearl earrings from Fivestory, vintage (Nana’s watch that I wear everyday), bracelets from Chinatown in San Francisco, and a David Yurman bangle.
The skateboarder in Venice beach pillow is from Madura Paris in New York City, the velvet leopard pillow is from Etsy, the pink velvet chairs are from The Cross (also available here, and similar here), the coffee table is from CB2, and the couch is from Article. My mug is from Reiko Kaneko.
My gratitude wall. Photostrips of my Instagram adventures by Social Print.
The morning was spent blogging and cuddling, and reading on Twitter. It’s so nice to just sit and enjoy coffee in the morning light. Every morning I do a pot of french press in my gold Bodum coffee maker, and grind fresh beans which gives the nicest fresh coffee scent. Here’s the rest of what needs to happen today: publish the 2 blog posts I worked on, take Duchess out for a play, get my nails done, grocery shop for Monday and Tuesday (I leave for New York on Wednesday), some work work so that Monday at the office is next level productive (I always feel stressed about being out of the office so I try to prep ahead of time), get a 6k run in, and do some work pushing a personal project forward. That is a lot for one day…. Did you ever hear the expression that people underestimate what they can accomplish in a year, but overestimate what they can accomplish in a day? Lol, that might be me.
— 5:40pm update: I’ve finished my two blog posts (this one is going live now), done the grocery shop, taken Duchess out and gotten my nails done. As I was about to go to the gym one of my favorite pals texted and asked if I wanted to go for Mexican. And I always say yes to friend time. 🙂
The rest of the evening will be spent working and at the gym. I’ve got 4.5 hours left, better make ’em count!
I’ve got California on the brain as I start to think about visiting Venice beach. Maybe a weekend jaunt? I NEED SUN. This song will get you in the mood, too. I’ve always felt like a California girl at heart, even though I’ve tended to prioritize time in New York. When I was 16 I made such an effort to learn to skateboard, but as hard as I tried, I just couldn’t. I kept falling off and cutting up my knees… I think I might give it another go this summer. Also obsessed with a chic skateboard on the wall, like this Chanel one. If you’re into that too, here is a cute mounting system for your deck.
So, here are the things I have already added (Diptique candle, CB2 indigo pillow, and Surf Shack book), and want to continue updating my home with.
My shopping lists aren’t usually themed, and neither is this one. These are just pretty, cool, decently priced things I’ve been thinking about and wouldn’t mind adding to my home and wardrobe for spring. Keep Reading
My book collection has been steadily growing, and in recent years has focused much more on non-fiction. In the past couple of years I’ve added historical, political, and business biographies, stories about Wall Street, and books about emerging tech, like Blockchain Revolution, below.
Do you ever just have one of those amazing all-day flights where you’re above the clouds and you feel like you could achieve anything? Ha, yeah, I don’t usually either. Flights are generally a grind. But Saturday (September 9th), was a lucky flight, and thank goodness because it led up to a significant pitch I had to deliver to a huge Manhattan fintech audience on Monday morning. Keep Reading
