dcscover 017 | Sleep
2022 didn’t start quite the way I imagined. After a cross-country red-eye flight on New Year’s Eve, I started having trouble falling asleep at night. I’ve had this problem once in a while in the past, but this was the first time it happened for consecutive days. I reasoned it was maybe a bit of jet lag, combined with New Year Scaries, and — I’m saying this reluctantly — another sign of aging1.
It was hard not to be psyched out. At first, I took some melatonin and drank some bedtime tea, but I think any effects they were supposed to have were overridden by a giant mental barrier. When I lay there awake, I found myself dwelling on questions like: Did I completely forget how to sleep? What if whatever nerves in my brain that work to make sleep happen aren’t connecting correctly anymore?
I was humbled. The anguish, exasperation, and helplessness of not being able to fall asleep is a special kind of pain. Eventually I found a temporary fix in a change of scenery (i.e. sleeping on the couch) — and reading the (conveniently wonky) Trader Joe’s memoir2 on my Kindle when I wasn’t feeling tired at all.
Fortunately, I’ve been getting better sleep these days. I try really hard not to go to bed expecting the worst and feel extremely grateful and proud of my body when I have a good night of rest. The ability to 3, 2, 1, fall asleep and wake up after what felt like only a minute but was actually at least six hours…seems like nothing short of magic.
Projects, projects
New mini section! I wanted to create a dedicated space to talk about new projects I’m working on. So here I go: Last July, I introduced Ode, a private Instagram account about shopping with intention (aka me sharing honest thoughts about shopping quests as well as candid product recommendations — some highlights: finding a “clothes chair” alternative, an ongoing dining set saga, petite-friendly joggers). Some of you have joined me there, which has been fun! I also realized there are observations and learnings on slow consumption that I want to document in a more organized / less fleeting manner, so I’m starting a separate Ode newsletter. As with the IG account, I’ll be focusing on the clothing/home/wellness categories. The first post will go out this month. Consider signing up if it sounds interesting :)
This month’s finds
This beautiful textile painting by New Jersey based artist Jessie Bloom.
Two other delightful IG accounts I followed: one that’s just all buttons and another on dreamy places to read.
Home tour of a jewelry designer’s 1920s Tudor in SoCal — textural indulgence!
The House by the Sea, a journal by May Sarton — I’ve been slowly savoring this book since over the holidays. There’s no traditional plot or conflict (it’s mainly the author’s perceptive and vivid accounts of living/working/gardening in a house in coastal Maine), so reading it feels like meditating. I’ve been reading a few pages before going to sleep. Sharing a few favorite quotes so far in the footnotes3.
A very slick site for planning outdoorsy trips in California (itineraries come with packing lists, gear recs, and meal ideas).
One more thing
Something I’ve made a habit of doing in the last couple of years is recycling fancy product packaging (that I can’t bring myself to throw out) into bookmarks. This time around, it’s the box for Crown Affair’s hair oil. I really love that shade of pale green and the squiggly pattern. (The practice started with Diptyque).
Opening scene: Fallen leaves in a frozen puddle at a local park we discovered recently.
This article on sleep and aging showed up on my IG feed this weekend and obviously I clicked. “Ultimately, you likely won't experience the same extended rest as you did in your 20s” — welp.
The book did get pretty in the weeds about the grocery retailing business, but it was still a fascinating read into Trader Joe’s start. Spoiler: It took several pivots to get to the Trader Joe’s we know today. Actually, another spoiler: The Trader Joe’s discussion basically ends in 1988, when founder Joe Coulombe retired… so today’s TJ’s is decades after that by now, but the strategies and principles established in the early days are still relevant.
“When the morning sun streams in, they glow in their transparencies.” (p. 18) “They” here refers to some cyclamen and begonia plants.
“Why is blue the color? Does any other excite in the same way?” (p. 74) Do I agree with this? I have to think about it, but love to see such strong declarations about color!
“[Charlotte Zolotov] says, ‘A lot of poetry of living, especially alone, takes place in the kitchen.’ … The poetry, perhaps, is in making something quietly without the anguish and tension of real creation. Often I am very tired when I have to cook my dinner, especially on these days of fierce work in the garden. But always, once I get started, I feel peace flow in, and am happy.” (p. 160)