Dig into the good stuff this wknd
Tony Vaccaro for Marimekko
Hey friends,
There's something about spring that makes us believe in fresh starts again. Maybe it's the extra light in the mornings or how the air smells slightly green, like everything's stretching awake after a long nap. For me, spring is a gentle nudge to get outside and reconnect—with nature, with friends, with myself.
Lately, I've been spending more time in the garden and discovered a quiet joy in working with my hands. Pulling weeds, planting seeds, and getting dirt under my nails is strangely therapeutic. Turns out, there's science to back that up! There's a bacterium in soil, Mycobacterium vaccae, that can actually boost our serotonin levels when we come into contact with it. Nature's original antidepressant, right there in our backyard.
Whether you're replanting a windowsill herb garden or just sitting on a patch of grass for a few minutes, this season is a gentle invitation to slow down and pay attention.
Let's dig into the little pleasures that make life feel rich and rooted. Here's to a soft, sunny, serotonin-filled spring.
With dirt on my boots,
Emily @ Hard Copy
📺 Watch
When Life Gives You Tangerines is a K-drama full of beautiful moments that remind us that there is hope when we can draw from the strength of others, even in the most excruciating circumstances. (Netflix)
With all the prestige dramas out there, North of North is the sitcom you didn't know you needed. It's *so* good. A young mother in the tiny Arctic town of Ice Cove sets out to reinvent herself after a dramatic breakup. In a place where everyone knows your business, she navigates the messy, funny highs and lows of motherhood, dating, work, and self-discovery. (CBC, Netflix)
Grab your popcorn and a friend and take off for the movie theatre to watch The Wedding Banquet, starring SNL's Bowen Yang and Golden Globe winner Lily Gladstone. It's a joyful comedy of errors that will have you belly-laughing: a gay man offers his lesbian friend a green card marriage in exchange for covering her IVF treatments. Their arrangement takes an unexpected turn when his grandmother announces plans for a lavish Korean wedding banquet.
🎧 Listen
If you take dream pop, sprinkle it with rock, and add decades of experience, you get Miki Berenyi Trio's effervescent album Tripla. You don't yet know the words, but you'll be humming along while you boogie around the house.
For lighter and even dreamier fare, Jellywish is the gauzy, pleasant, and warm album out now from indie-folk group Florist.
With their incredible band, precise injection of strings, and gentle but haunting vocals, Youth Lagoon's latest album, Rarely Do I Dream, rounds out this week's picks.
📚 Read
Written in the 1970s, Fish Tales by Nettie Jones captures the exploits of Lewis Jones, a free-spirited 30-something woman who bounces back and forth between bohemian New York and the affluent Black community of Detroit. As she surrounds herself with a flurry of friends and lovers, the author probes themes such as race, sexuality, agency, and exploitation.
Freshly published, Andy Anderegg's Plum is already receiving rave reviews. The book's protagonist is a young girl living with a physically abusive father and an enabling, alcoholic mother. She's close with her older brother but must develop her own survival plan when he moves out. The topic is bleak, but ultimately, our heroine comes out on top.
Like so many of us, Maggie Nelson, celebrated author of The Argonauts and Bluets, did some heavy-duty reflecting during quarantine. She emerged with Pathemata, Or, the Story of My Mouth, which reflects on the isolation engendered by the pandemic and the ongoing struggles caused by the writer's chronic jaw pain. In classic Nelson style, daily reflections and dream imagery are woven throughout.
PS In January, we shared the 25 books we were most excited about this year. Now, we've added 23 more for you to consider.
🛁 Indulge
With longer days and warmer weather, the gardening season is officially in full bloom. Whether you're a seasoned green thumb or just starting to bring your outdoor space to life, now is the perfect time to channel Martha and get sturdy gear for your outdoor adventures. Why not add a few tools for the kids to help out as well?
Kids garden tools, Lee Valley. Gardening apron, Esschert Design. Straw hat, Tilley. Boots, Blundstones. Waxed down vest, L.L. Bean. Hoodie, Good for Sunday. Jeans, J.Crew. Garden carry-all, Anthropologie. Soap and hand lotion. Shears, Kakuri. Beatrix Potter’s Gardening Life, Marta McDowell. Sunglasses, Ray-Ban. Blanket, Lands Downunder. Soap, Anto Yukon.
Tony Vaccaro for Marimekko