A week in the life, in photos.

Instagram Stories: Behind The Scenes

Psst: No audio version this week since this is longer than my usual weekly essays and has a visual component.

Every Tuesday afternoon, I sit down at my laptop and I draft the week’s Substack post. I alternate between personal essays and Desk Tours. This week is an essay week.

Often I get to an Essay Tuesday and I’ve spent the last two weeks thinking about a specific idea or feeling. Sometimes I get there and can’t get myself to write about whatever it is at all. The idea isn’t ready, maybe, or I’m simply not brave enough to touch it quite yet. That’s kind of where I am this week. Whatever it is I want or need to say isn’t fully formed yet. So I’ll wait. Instead, I thought I’d try something a little different. A peek into my life via my camera roll. A week in photos. God knows I take enough of them, even if my camera roll looks arguably more boring than it used to.

A few weeks ago, someone messaged me and said (very kindly) that they missed my fashion content, the years when I was posting daily outfits and fashion recs. It made me a little sad because I miss the constant shopping a little bit too, the buzz of a new purchase, a fresh outfit, of seeing how many people had clicked on a link. But there was something else that bothered me about the message. It was this small reminder of all the people that I had assumed silently dropped off after my hundredth post about my book, my thousandth day of the same few shots on stories: Dog, floral chaise lounge, garden, book, repeat. Maybe I was more interesting before, I thought. I mean, it’s a reasonable conclusion. My life is more boring now in the most literal sense of the word. It’s still beautiful, filled with beautiful things and a thousand points of privilege, but it doesn’t have the specific, constant tinge of novelty that it once had when I was making money as an influencer. A new package at the door! A new outfit! A new recommendation! Instead, aside from a deviation here or there, I mostly have the same dog, the same floral lounge chair, the same garden, the same morning reading routine. Week in, week out.

And yet, my life feels just as exciting now. I still get excited about newness, of course. A fresh outfit, a great new find. A thrifted treasure. Treating myself. A new city, a great view. Of course. But I am just as thrilled about the same old boring things. Week in, week out. That’s why I keep taking photos of it all and sharing them. Reading in the morning. Writing at my makeshift desk, books all around me. Winnie sleeping in a little ball in a flare of light. A new development in the garden. Every time I go to take a photo of it and then share it, it’s because I genuinely have this moment of thinking: This is great! Isn’t this great? And that excitement has nothing to do with novelty at all. It’s constant. It’s boring. It’s wonderful. I can’t say the lack of new ~content~ has done wonders for my engagement on Instagram (it decidedly has not), but I consider it a gift that I never sit down for my morning coffee and open my book and feel anything other than bliss. So I take the same photo every day. My book, my coffee, the house quiet before the day has started. It has more in common with all the stuff before than I sometimes realize. It’s still a beautiful life that excites me. I’m still happy to share it. And if you do want to tune in for some of it, I’m grateful. I’m glad you’re here. Here’s the last week of my life, via my camera roll.

Tuesday

• I started the day like I always do: Morning reading and coffee. I was finishing up ONE STAR ROMANCE for Bad on Paper’s August Book Club Episode (I am always doing this at the last minute). It was chilly in the mornings last week, which meant I could finally curl up under a blanket while I sipped + read. Heaven.

  • I had an important/exciting meeting (via Zoom) at 10:30 a.m. on this day, and I read maybe one chapter of this before I started getting anxious/pacing my living room/drinking too much coffee.

• I take a lot of photos of the dog. She’s lucky she’s cute because she keeps peeing in our guest rooms. Does she hate guests? Does she hate us? Unclear. Tips welcome.

• For months, Jake and I have been staring at this plant in the garden and saying, “Wow, it’s really taking off! Look at it go!” Turns out, it was a weed. Thank you to the Apple plant identifier tool for that one. Please remember this if you ever feel compelled to ask me for gardening tips.

• My interior design skills mostly consist of screenshotting random images like this one, sending them to Jake and then asking if it (or some version of it) is possible. For the writing cottage renovation, I’ve been considering heat-proofing the wall behind the wood burning stove with Delft tiles (or lookalikes). I’m vaguely considering a warm white for the walls and a dusty blue or yellow/beige for the trim (don’t hold me to this) and I thought the tiles could play against the colors and vibes nicely. We’ll see, though…

• I’m still loving exercise lately, especially as I find myself in a hold pattern with Book 2. I jog so slowly it is essentially an exaggerated walk. I think about work stuff. I listen to Taylor Swift and damn it, I feel great. Having said that, on this day, I headed to the barn after my Zoom meeting (it went well!) for my workout and enjoyed the cool breeze through the barn the whole time. I tried not to think about the fact that the breeze was traveling over all those floorboards from the cottage, most of them coated with hundreds of years of dirt and spiders.

• One of my favorite activities of all time is taking a stack of books (usually 2-5) that I haven’t started yet to bed and lazily reading through the first sentence or chapter and then choosing which one to start. It’s sort of like Netflix scrolling, but for books, and it feels downright luxurious. Plus, it fools me into thinking that like I’m putting my vast TBR library to use. (Yes, it’s no longer a list or stack but a full library. I’m choosing to view this as a good thing). I ended up choosing THE HUSBANDS from this stack (more on that in a bit).

Wednesday

• We got Chinese food the night before and Jake brought this to me in the morning with my coffee. I then stuck it to the front of the fridge, where it will live until it falls off and gets swept into some impossible-to-reach corner of the kitchen.

• Fifty or so pages into THE HUSBANDS and I was officially obsessed. I’ve since finished and can confirm that it’s amazing. Absolutely one of my favorites of the year. I loved how the author managed to balance depth with humor.

• It was in the 50s this morning so Winnie was adjusting to the cooler temperatures. In my heart, I feel strongly that she is meant to live in California. 70 degrees and sunny. No deviation. Hates to get her paws wet. Abhors heat. Not great with cold but oddly thrilled by snow. She is particular, but aren’t we all?

• I hope the morning light in our house never gets old.

• On nice days, Jake and I work outside at either ends of our table and it feels like a very ridiculous meeting where neither of us speak to one another.

• Snapped this photo of the river and some truly remarkable clouds on the way to pick up something at the post office. An absolutely gorgeous day. I listened to Pod Save America’s DNC coverage and took the long way home afterward to grab an iced coffee before getting back to work (the Dunkin was was absolutely not on the way home at all, but this type of day requires a treat).

• I got a new journal while in Delaware last week, and officially started it as a writing journal. Each day before I begin to work on Book 3, I write about how I’m feeling about the story, what’s working, and what isn’t. For a while, I have been doing a giant brain dump journal entry before every new draft, which has really helped me be honest about my biggest fears and challenges, so I figured… why not do that every day? So far, it’s been immensely helpful and I have more momentum on the draft than I have in a while.

• Around 5 that evening, I got an important email that I had been anxiously anticipating for most of the day. Upon first read, I felt good about it but needed to process some specifics. I tend to take to the hammock when I need to think deeply about something — writing, work, etc. I brought my laptop out there to read through the email a few times, then shut it and processed everything for the last half-hour of the workday while Jake worked on the cottage. I wasn’t sure how I felt about some things in the email, so we decided, as we often do, that getting Mexican food for dinner would probably help. This, too, usually works for me. After thinking/talking through it all, I felt great and more excited about book stuff than ever

• My aunts had recommended the movie WICKED LITTLE LETTERS on Netflix and I love me some Olivia Coleman, so Jake and I watched this after we got home from dinner. We both really enjoyed it, though it was very different than I expected! It was chilly enough to drink tea while we watched, which was downright delightful.

Thursday

• If you’ve been around for a few years, you may remember my first efforts to become a morning person. This is how my morning reading routine started, actually. I realized that the one thing that would get me out of bed in the morning was reading with a cup of coffee, and then I just kept making it happen. Over the years, this habit has slipped (though the morning reading as stayed, no matter what time I wake up). But I’m pleased to report I am back at it. The earlier I wake up, the better I feel. But it takes serious discipline, and I’m trying to prioritize that. First step: I have to be in bed by 9. Full stop. It’s hard, but it’s so worth it when I get to lunch and all the most important things have been done.

• Here you’ll see Winnie in what we like to call her “Oreo cinnamon roll” mode.

• I loved the way the color of this grasshopper looked against the shadows/light on our patio chair cushion. (Listen, I told you I was potentially more boring now. You can’t say I didn’t warn you).

Friday

• I broke my “in bed by 9 p.m.” rule (already, yes) on Thursday night to stay up and watch Kamala Harris’ speech at the DNC and, I’ll be honest, to see if Beyonce would show up in the end. I started a Harris 2024 chatroom in our Bad on Paper Geneva group and live-chatted with people all night. It felt so damn good to feel hopeful together again. No Beyonce in the end, of course, but it was still a wonderful night, and I loved this photo that someone shared with me the next day. I screenshotted to remember it and share with friends.

• Despite my lack of daily outfit posts, I still do really enjoy getting dressed, and I try to share/document the looks that make me happy. This was a Friday, so I had planned to meet a new friend for breakfast and threw together this look at the last minute. For anyone who’s curious, my weekly work breakdown at the moment is:

  • Mondays: Book 3 drafting. Email catch-up. BOP episode review. General housekeeping.

  • Tuesdays: Book 3 drafting. Substack drafting.

  • Wednesdays: Book 3 drafting. Substack editing/recording. BOP prep: ads, outline, miscellaneous.

  • Thursdays: Book 3 drafting. BOP recording. Substack reviewing/editing/scheduling.

  • Friday: Flex/open (meetings, content creation, interviews, catch-up, or just an off day if I can afford it!). I also tend to use Fridays to tackle paid content for Substack.

• Back to the outfit: I am very into the idea of baseball hats with more feminine dresses lately. Anyone else?

  • At breakfast, a stranger stopped me and asked if my dress was Doen. It is! She said she’d been considering it but was hesitating because of how sheer people say it is. And look, it is sheer. I won’t lie to you. But generally, I just throw a pair of bike shorts on underneath and I think it’s fine. Also, it runs very large! I am in the XL and wish I got the L.

    • As a secondary note re: sizing, I recently treated myself to a new Doen dress for fall. The XXL didn’t even button. Shopping as a woman who isn’t thin – it’s fun, isn’t it?

• It was 68 and sunny all morning and we sat outside at Bartlett House to catch up. I drank a full large drip coffee and then got an iced latte to-go when we said goodbye. One thing about me is that when it’s 68 and sunny I am buying 4-5 beverages a day minimum. I am going to caffeinate myself to the point of mania. It’s a sickness.

• Later, Jake and I realized we were officially out of lunch groceries, so we stopped by Kinderhook Books to try out their new lunch menu! A bookstore! With food! And wine! What could be better? We both got the kale caesar with chicken and it was delicious. We ate it in the garden and headed back home to finish up the work day.

• For dinner, we were both in the mood for something casual so we ended up at Yummy Kitchen (as we often do on Friday nights) which was perfect. The sunflowers there had popped, the weather was perfect, and we hung out for an hour before grabbing ice cream on the way home.

• I had treated myself to a fresh manicure after lunch (I do ANC/dip on my natural nails every 3-4 weeks) and, as is tradition, spent the rest of the day admiring my hands. Admittedly, I have always had very unphotogenic hands (though I do wonder if by this I really mean that I don’t have thin hands, but that’s a whole other discussion…), but as a life-long nail biter, it will never not amaze me to have “long” nails. When they look particularly good (to me) I tend to take photos like this. My 11-year-old, nail-biting self would be astounded (please see the Monday recap).

Saturday

• We woke up early on Saturday to take Winnie to a vet appointment (she’s fine — long story!) and then grab breakfast afterwards. I didn’t have to think about this outfit at all, but it felt great. It was easy. I felt cute. I’ve mentioned this before, but in addition to the $$$ of it all, I also haven’t felt particularly compelled to shop this year because I haven’t liked how I look in clothing a lot of the time. We all need one outfit that just feels good and safe, though. And for me, lately, it’s these oversized jeans from Abercrombie, my beloved All Too Well sweatshirt, a hat, and my Birkenstock Boston Clogs.

• The weather was once again gorgeous, so we stopped by the Old Chatham Country Store for egg sandwiches and iced coffees (and then we got scones, too). We sat outside with Winnie and it was really quiet and generally wonderful.

• Afterward, we came home and I read for a bit in the hammock, continuing my love affair with THE HUSBANDS. It was actually a bit chilly in the shade, even with my sweatshirt and jeans. Fall, I tell you! FALL! Later, we stopped by the garden store and I was sweating, but that’s neither here nor there. We spent the rest of the afternoon gardening and sweating some more.

• I took this photo of the parapet wall on one side of our house because it is definitely leaning, and my anxiety tells me that if I don’t document it and it happens to fall one day, we will never be able to recreate it. This is how my brain works. Oddly, I do feel more relaxed now (we still need to stabilize it, though). And no, I can’t hear the word ‘parapet’ without thinking of Fourth Wing either. I still am not sure what it means in dragon context.

• The journey to find the perfect woodburning stove for both my future office and our library (the green room) continues… I found this image on Pinterest and was intrigued. Because the stove will set outside of the fireplace in the library rather than in it, I have become very particular about the idea of it fitting in aesthetically. This image felt like the approximate vibes I am hoping to achieve (though I’m pretty sure the proximity of that rug to the stove isn’t up to code). Again, we’ll see.

Sunday

• Sunday was a very chill day, filled with mostly nothing. Jake worked on the writing cottage in them morning and I watched my home renovation shows and drank my coffee (an important weekend ritual for me). Afterward, we grabbed bagels and then tackled the grocery shopping together

• After putting all the groceries away, I grabbed a zero gravity chair (side note: why are these so heavy?), a homemade iced coffee, and THE HUSBANDS to read down by the river. I spent the rest of the afternoon there, finished the book, and let me tell you, it was just delightful.

• Jake gave Winnie a (much-needed) bath in the afternoon and she was naturally enraged for the rest of the evening.

Monday

• There is no telling exactly when I will be able to move my desk situation into the cottage out back, so in the meantime I have taken up residency here. Ergonomically, it is a questionable set-up, but it’s the best option I’ve found so far. I love being surrounded by books and all my little trinkets. Eventually, this room will be a library/sitting room and I can’t wait to find furniture that makes sense for the layout – and to get a working wood burning stove in there!

• I filmed myself talking on stories for the first time in a while and all I kept thinking was: Is that what you look like now? Why do you look so old, Olivia? I really, really am learning that filming myself constantly for social media warped how I viewed my face. If I looked good via the front-facing camera with the Paris filter and the right light, then I looked good enough. Now, when I feel like I can’t achieve that, I panic. I took this selfie after filming myself because I all I kept thinking was, “Wait, do I really look like that?” I’m not really sure what my goal was, but now I have this slightly terrifying photo of myself to look at.

• In the afternoon, I was working on an outline for a school supply/back to school-themed Bad on Paper episode and decided to do some nostalgia research by paging through some old journals. This is always a painful and hilarious experience for me, and this instance was no different. It floors me that I am still. at 31, worried about so many of the same things that I was worried about at 11. Though I don’t know if it disturbs me more than I am still sitting here thinking about my face and body all the damn time, or that I was that young and already conditioned to want to look “better.” I could write a book about this. Maybe I will.

• While we were at OCCS on Saturday, we saw a reminder for Monday night tacos and margaritas. We usually don’t go out on Mondays, but the workday was long and by the time we reached 6, tacos and margs sounded like a great idea. They were! It was a gorgeous night and we sat outside and Jake patiently listened to me spiral about my career.

• The hydrangeas have started to change colors a bit. I love this particular mix of pink and white. It brings me a lot of joy.

And that’s a week on my camera roll. Thanks for taking a small peek to the mundane ins-and-outs of my day, and I’ll see you here later this week for a DESK TOUR from one of my favorite authors.

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PS: One last thing before I go… you can order my first novel NOW! I appreciate your consideration, time, and support immensely.

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