4 Things That Smoothed a Bumpy Week

a song, a read, a podcast and life tidbits

Oct 01, 2023

4 Things That Helped Smooth a Bumpy Week

1. Pollution by Jonah Kagen

My friend recently introduced me to Jonah Kagen’s music. He dropped this single last week and shared that it is a song written to his younger self. It gives me ALL the feels. Music is so healing isn’t it? If you really want to have a nice bonding sesh with your inner child listen to this track first and then follow it up with You’re Gonna Go Far by Noah Kahan.

2. The Lioness of Boston by Emily Franklin

Admittedly it’s been years since I read a historical fiction book. Since I was a little girl, I loved getting lost in the stories of people who came before us and digging into everything that made them human. I fondly remember taking refuge from the real world inside Ann Rinaldi books.

During my junior year of college, I took an art history class for the first time with a magical professor (who I actually wrote about). My one regret from college was not discovering art history sooner. I went to school a 5-minute walk from the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum and we would take frequent trips. Like many who step inside, I was captivated but also found myself endlessly curious about the life of Isabella Stewart Garnder.

While it is technically historical fiction, The Lioness of Boston by Emily Franklin left me deeply relating to Isabella Stewart Gardener. It also reignited my love of using stories and the past as mirrors for our own lives. Needless to say, I will be visiting the museum again in the very near future and waiting for the documentary about Isabella as a woman, not just the heist.

From BookShop:

…when Isabella first arrived in Boston in 1861, she was twenty years old, newly married to a wealthy trader, and unsure of herself. Puzzled by the frosty reception she received from stuffy bluebloods, she strived to fit in. After two devastating tragedies and rejection from upper-society, Isabella discovered her spirit and cast off expectations.

3. The Good Life Project

Jonathan Fields always puts out great content and often it lands at the perfect time for me. This episode with the fabulous

Alex Elle

Arielle Estoria

and Rosie Acosta was exactly what my heart needed this week.

4. Long Walks

I’m finally (I hope) on the back end of over a month of pretty intense back pain. It’s kicked my ass emotionally. By the end of the week, I felt good enough to leave the dogs at home and take a long, slow walk at a gorgeous wildlife sanctuary down the street. The following day I met a friend for an impromptu 5-mile morning coffee walk where we soaked in the beauty of the beach on a gray day. Never underestimate the power of putting one foot in front of the other.