Note Pad, #5
A mid-year check-in, the one fitness item I swore I'd never get, dressing for joy, and two Vancouver foodie spots
It’s been an entire season since we last chatted, friend to friend. How are you? I keep reminding myself that we’re at the midway point of the year, which feels like a good time to check in and ask myself if I’m living by my Word of 2025: flourish.
Despite my trepidation and my lifelong self-teaching: I don’t want to be small anymore.
I don’t deserve the cage I’ve put myself in. None of us do. I want to be silly. I want to be expressive. I want to be melodic and elaborative and irreverent and full of run-on sentences that are the mainlining of my brain’s vulnerabilities and emotions straight onto the page because that is what’s real and honest and true and sincere and enthusiastic.
And so, a Note Pad for you! One chock full of recent things from my life. True to its name, I keep a running note on my phone with all the things I want to scribble down into these posts. As the bullet points add up, I hem and haw over just exactly when to hit publish. How much life do I have to live before I deem it adequate enough to form a post? Surely it’s a bit presumptuous to assume people care about this degree of minutiae in my daily life? Is it okay that I take up personal space in this space? It’s the self-doubt fog that creeps in and paralyzes. But then I think about how the greatest gift of the internet is its ability to connect us to one another. I think (besides a loving degree of nosy curiosity) that the reason why content that captures the “boring” hum of life is because it makes us feel less alone — and maybe even less lonely. To be reminded that we’re all just humans doing our best every day. Perhaps like when we put on an album we know backwards and forwards, or rewatch a show we could quote in our sleep, there’s something comforting about what’s known. There’s a coziness to tracing over the familiar grooves of someone’s life. There’s an intimacy to looking into the window of someone else’s life and feeling like you’re part of it.
Even if we’re just talking about nipple covers and the dilemma of getting bangs in the summer.
And with that …
🔗 Affiliate Links: Throughout this newsletter I use affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase, I may get a small commission — at no cost to you! Thank you for supporting Liner Notes.
💟 Engagement Matters: If you’re not currently in a position to become a paid subscriber, please consider becoming a free subscriber + hitting the ‘🤍’ heart button + commenting on this post. Any/all engagement helps creators tremendously!
Free The Nipple … Cover: Tis the damn season to go braless. One upside to not having much going on in the *gestures toward bust* department is the opportunity to go sans brazier in the warmer months when having 100% less cups, wires, bosom holders, straps, etc digging into your body is my preference. What a gift! I like these ones the best for their overall stickiness and color matching.
Like You Were A Trophy Or A Fitness Tracking Ring: Well, I finally caved. For years I refused to join the world of wearables. Until a few years ago when I put my baby toe into those waters by purchasing a Fitbit (I had the Inspire 3, for what it’s worth). I did so mostly for the sake of tracking my daily steps and my heart rate during cardio workouts. After ruining an infinite number of intentionally styled outfits since then, I recently made the upgrade I’d been putting off for a very long time: an Oura ring. I scoured Facebook Marketplace until one in my area popped up at a bit of a steal of a price. In case you’re also in the market, Oura is doing a sale on their own website (likely to counter sales that may be surging elsewhere on a certain marketplace this week). I’ve only had it a few weeks so I don’t have a full review (yet - let me know if that’s of interest). But so far I can say with absolute certainty that it’s a much nicer looking option to my silicone strapped Fitbit. Which leads me to …
You Just (Watch)ed It: Now that I’ve retired my Fitbit and find myself bare-wristed, I’m excited at the prospect of filling the void with a beautiful watch. Something that actually meaningfully and beautifully contributes to the outfits I spend a concerted amount of time putting together. While this is obviously the stuff of dreams (worthy of a princess … or a duchess even!) I’m thinking I should start small to see what style I like. And strangely, I find myself eyeing a two-tone piece. I think it’ll bring some dimension to my otherwise yellow gold stack. I especially love the added detail of a contrast face. This one is also nice and at a very reasonable price point.
Musical Comfort Food: I find I have two musical modes during any given day. The music that “gym me” listens to and, well, Taylor Swift. The other day, my regular workout playlist shuffled onto an oldie but a (very!) goodie. “Primadonna” by MARINA (in strange timing, too, because Spotify tells me she just dropped a new album last month!). I then proceeded to listen to all of Electra Heart, reliving the version of my teenage self who first loved this album. I often think of music as a sonic time capsule - a sense memory of its own. It has the ability to transport you to a time and place when those songs first shaped the meaning of your life. Or perhaps made you feel like you weren’t alone in what you were going through. This then took me down a rabbit hole of other albums that my past selves once loved and sang to. … Baby One More Time by Britney Spears (the first CD I ever owned). PCD by The Pussycat Dolls (a middle school dance wallflower soundtrack). Everything In Transit by Jack’s Mannequin (the source of many One Tree Hill marathons). Come On Over by Shania Twain (on cassette in my parents’ minivan, natch). Isn’t it wild how it could be literal decades and certain song lyrics are still stashed somewhere in your long term memory bank just waiting for the right opportunity to whip out “With all this stress, I must confess / This could be worse than PMS.” A lyric that I obviously had no context for in 1997.
You Put Me On And Said I Was Your Favorite: There’s something to buying and wearing items that bring you joy every time you put them on. And right now that item is this cardigan. This shade of green, Pear according to Reformation, is in that borderline ugly-pretty hue for me. Is it a lovely peridot / chartreuse? Or is it … vomit-adjacent. Hah! You’re not quite sure what it is, but you know it’s enough to keep you entranced just long enough to love it. I’ve worn it so many times already buttoned up on its own as a top, worn open over white tees, or slung around the hips (as is the current trend these days) for a color pop against an outfit of neutrals. A great lesson for me in 2025 (and beyond): Dress for joy - whatever that looks like for you.
Hair Me Out: I watched The Materialists a few weeks ago (and had a great time watching it - a controversial opinion, I’m aware). A natural result of watching Dakota Johnson for multiple hours is one starts to question if one should get bangs. I’ve only just gotten to a place where I can tuck my bangs behind my ears. So close to getting them into a ponytail! But the bangs are calling to me again … what do I do?!
Your Friends We Shared Dinners + Long Weekends With: If you happen to be visiting Vancouver, I have a few new restaurants to add to my city guide. A few weeks ago I had a lovely meal at Osteria Elio Volpe (above) in Fairview. My recs? The arancini appetizer and zucchini ricotta pizza were both delightful. Next time, I’m dying to go for their prix fix menu to be hands off for the meal and let the staff take over. Speaking of, if you’d like a stress-free evening where you hand all ordering decisions over to a very attentive and thoughtful staff I highly recommend Dachi on the east side in Hastings-Sunrise. Their seasonal, five course menu constantly rotates. It doesn’t matter what gets placed before you - I’m willing to bet it’s impeccable. The wine list is long and the vibes are relaxed and cozy. I spent a memorable evening here a few weeks ago that went until closing time. The best sign of a night well spent? I have zero proof it happened because the conversation and cocktails were so engrossing I couldn’t be bothered to snap a single photo. Delish. I’m also eyeing up a spot called Gigi’s, which is a sister restaurant to one of my favorites in the city. Will keep you posted!
Hail Project Hail Mary: This is one of those books that has really stuck with me. I’ve thought about it at least weekly since I read it multiple years ago. It’s that good! When I saw that the trailer for the film version came out last week I squealed and promptly sent the link to everyone in my life who are also Project Hail Mary truthers. I haven’t attended a midnight showing to a film that wasn’t previously based on a YA series in … ever. But if there’s an option here, you can bet I’ll be seated.
Your turn! Would you please answer these for me?
What is currently bringing you joy?
Favorite nostalgic album?
Hair mishaps you’d like to forget?
Any movies you’re looking forward to?
I'd love a review of the Oura ring, as I'm wanting something other than a watch. Same reason as you; I want to wear pretty wrist candy and not something black and bulky :)
Love this!