The Letter: November state of mind

Where I've been, What I've been doing, watching, eating, listening to and whats on my wishlist

November November! I still cannot believe we are in the penultimate month of the year. It’s Christmas in 41 days people! Where did the year go!

I am so ready to put up my tree but I feel like I need to wait for Thanksgiving to pass, which is so strange. I don’t think I’ll be able to do that. As soon as I see a tree I like, I’m buying it! My Advent calendar also arrived recently and I can’t wait to show you which one I got- we’re going to have fun going through this one.

Where I’ve been!

I have been happily perched in NYC focusing on work. I work in finance and I’m in the office 5 days a week, so by Friday I am exhausted. The past few weekends have mostly been relaxing and walking around NY getting content for you all :) Balancing work and content creating has been really challenging at times, but the less I overthink the stress of it, the more I appreciate the change of flow that content creating brings to my life. The journey has been really fun and interacting with you all makes my heart full, so thank you for all your support. Every message really makes a difference <3

What I’m trying to commit to!

In September, I was trying to commit to running LOL. I went on a few runs to be fair, but as the temperature started to drop, my commitment followed. So, I’ve found other methods! I joined Christina O’kenla’s Winter Challenge and I’m loving it so far. It started last week so its not too late to join! Christina’s app is called BodiedbyXO and she hosts 3-4 live workout sessions a week (if you, can’t make the live, you can catch up via the app too). The challenge requires all of us:

1. 3 workouts a week

2. 7k or more steps a day

3. 2 litres of water as day

4. Something wellness related: last week was a hair mask and this week its ‘buy yourself flowers’ :)

If you’re trying to stay motivated and active, its worth a try and all the girls comment in the feed with workout or food updates, so you feel like you have a community holding you accountable in a supportive way :)

Where I have been eating!

Last week, I had a dinner at the newly opened Manuela in Soho! The restaurant is named after Manuela Wirth, who co-founded Artfarm with her husband Iwan Wirth. They are also the founders of Hauser & Wirth Art Gallery.

My experience was great! I loved the food (sorry I was so hungry, I forgot to get pics!). The interiors are fun and playful and there are so many great pieces of art (makes sense)! You literally spend your time looking around the room discovering new pieces of art throughout the course of the dinner.

For food, I would recommend:

• Steak tartare with Calabrian chili vinaigrette and garlic toast

• Dayboat scallops with chanterelle mushrooms and preserved lemon

• Grilled monkfish with sumac and guindilla peppers       

• Roasted cauliflower with date vinegar and almond

Wishlist!

Interiors

I’ve had my eye on the Nanushka x Zara Home Collaboration! I really love this salad bowl! I think the colour and design are lovely. They also have the equivalent design in a black and pink if you prefer that aesthetic.

Collaborations are so exciting but since they happen so often I like to buy pieces that work on their own, because I can’t buy everything. I like to go for for serving bowls, candle holders, jugs, glasses (sets of 4 or 6). This way, you can participate in quite a few collaborations that come up without building a large mish-match of collections in your house. One day I would love to have a bunch of collections, but I don’t have the money or the space for that dream yet.

I also have my eye on the SMEG hand mixer! I really want to start baking a few things again so I ‘need’ an electric mixer. The stand mixer would be lovely, but I don’t think I’m baking enough right now to justify it. Black Friday is around the corner, so hopefully I decide whether to purchase or not by then. Crate and Barrel always offers a healthy discount fyi.

Skincare

This isn’t quite a wishlist because they’ve already been purchased, but the products have not reached me yet, so I’m adding them to this! I was on Sephora last night - taking advantage of the savings event! I got 15% off so I took advantage! I repurchased the Sulwhasoo cleansing oil - LOVE. I trialed the small one first and its great (I always buy mini versions first). It melts all your make up off at night and makes the second cleanse a walk in the park. It also smells really good :) honestly, Korean skincare deserves all its flowers.

Then I got the Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless setting spray! One of my friends had it with her when she visited from London, so I tried it for a few days and loved it. It was between this and One Size, which I’ve also heard amazing things about - maybe I’ll try that next. let me know your thoughts on One Size if you’ve tried it!

Last but not least, I got the La Mer foaming cleanser. I have just run out of my Epi.logic true calm cleanser. I’m trialing the 30ml one at $30 ($1 per 1ml - welcome to stupid girl math). The brand is expensive but the quality is definitely there so I’ll keep you posted.

Fashion

I just bought these Satin Effect Heeled Mules from Zara! I saw them on Olivia Wayne on the Sheerluxe Show (I watch it every week) and I was like I NEED THEM! Brown is clearly the colour of the season and I think the style is really chic and I have a brown satin blazer that these will go really well with. They are $49 and £35 in the UK- run don’t walk!

What I’ve been trying

I tried a lymphatic drainage massage for the first time last weekend. I wanted to try it because I’ve heard about how it debloats you and just gives your body an internal detox. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I left feeling lighter and less clogged! Just to caveat, it’s not a super relaxing massage- you feel quite a lot of pressure and the massage motion can take some time to get used to. However, I would recommend if you’re feeling a little clogged or you feel like you body is holding on to a lot of water weight. I went to The Tox- great service!

What I’m watching

Disclaimer on AppleTV!

I started this weeks ago and I was like this is slooooooow! But a friend pushed me to keep going and I’m glad she did. It was really good. It is hard to explain why without giving it away. But basically, a mysterious book delivery threatens to expose a celebrated journalist’s past. The journalist is played by Cate Blanchett and she is incredible in it. The house they live in is dreamy- the layout, interiors and kitchen is 10/10. It really made me miss London.

There are relevant trigger warnings prior to each episode, so please pay attention to that, just in case xx

What I’m listening to

I’ve been listening to the SPILL podcast on Spotify and I love it. Its a podcast by two childhood best friends Billie Bhatia and Sasha Pallari. I really love the topics they cover from beauty, family, body image, dating and just navigating everyday life. It also helps that it’s absolutely hilarious and has me laughing out loud in public. It’s a feel good podcast and it’s beautiful to listen to their friendship and it makes you appreciate your friends more too! I look forward to it every week! <3

That’s all for now beautiful people! I’m working on the Christmas gift guide so stay tuned!!

Yours Sincerely,

Fafs xxx