Mexico dispatches: a favorite button-down shirt, a tiny travel sound machine, and beach birds
plus the unexpected joy of (neon) resort pants
I'm writing this from a bustling resort restaurant in Mexico. From my table, I can see the blue-green ocean of the Gulf of Mexico and palm trees waving in the warm breeze. Everyone around me is buzzing and happy, cutlery clinking while some vaguely Euro house music thumps above me. The vibes are good. It's lunchtime, and I'm hungry. I walk through the buffet, feeling a nostalgia for college cafeterias. I carefully place some cheese on my plate while watching a teenager nearby meticulously line up her plate and glasses as she waits for her grandmother to finish her meal. I recognize a kindred organizing spirit – perhaps we both find comfort in creating small moments of order amidst vacation chaos. One of my most embarrassing truths is that while I love the travel part of a trip, I'm terrible at the actual vacationing; it's hard for me to relax in the best of times. I find it hard to turn off the part of my mind that tells me my self-worth is linked to my productivity. And, of course, when you're a parent, vacation is not a vacation but a "trip" - juggling making sure everyone is having a good time, that no one gets sunburned or sick, and managing the inevitable chaos. I have a fair amount of social anxiety (even medicated), and so the prospect of interacting with an unending stream of new people (both staff and guests) fills me with dread. If you can believe it, Tim grew up in a hotel (yes, really! he was a modern-day Eloise!), so these trips hit different for him. Heading into this trip, I told myself to think of the inevitable hard moments as a form of exposure therapy. So far, it’s working!
Reading Notes
My mother went to MIT for graduate school - she graduated from what eventually became the MIT Media Lab. At some point during my teenage years, she started receiving the MIT Technology Review, and to this day, it is my favorite periodical (ok, well, maybe a tie with World of Interiors). While I grew up in a rural town in Vermont (population: 3,000), the articles in MIT Tech Review always helped me understand how big, hopeful, and exciting the world could be. I brought the latest issue on our trip, and this article, Migrant Birds at Night, AI's Delight, on using AI to unlock scientists' understanding of bird migrations, was a small joy. I'd heard of the Merlin app (also referenced in the article) from bird-obsessed friends, but after reading this article, Ben and I saw some tiny birds (sandpipers!) running down the beach, and I downloaded it on the spot. Then the article, How Poop Could Help Feed The Planet, is about a company in Seattle that recaptures ammonia, water, and dry "poop crepes" that can be used as fertilizer. Two midwestern dairies have already adopted the technology, capable of converting 250 million gallons of cow manure into reusable water, organic fertilizer, and ammonia. I don't believe technology will solve all our problems alone - humans must tackle them first. Still, it does give me hope to see change like this, especially using technology to solve real problems instead of making another app or service for us to pay for. What strikes me about these articles is how they represent moments of order created from chaos – bird migrations made comprehensible through AI and waste transformed into something valuable.
I *am* on vacation, and since the only way I ever truly turn my brain off is to read, I just finished Perfect Fit, a contemporary rom-com set in Austin by Claire Gilmore, and The Blonde Identity, a silly but fun spy romance that reminds me a bit of the Mission Impossible movies. They are the best kind of low-stakes, easy read. This week, the small act of identifying a beach bird with Ben or losing myself in a romance novel created tiny islands of peace in the sometimes overwhelming ocean of 'relaxation.'
Design Notes
A. This paper lamp from Remember is cheerful! It has a Euro plug, which means you may need an adapter.
B. I bought this deck of watercolor prompts as a Christmas gift for my mother-in-law (a fantastic artist) but only rediscovered it as I was packing for our trip this week (doh!). I brought 10 or so of the cards on this trip, and these tiny (the box is barely 3 inches square) watercolor "confetti" cards. I own many watercolors, but these have turned out to be some of my favorite colors.
C. Katy Elliott sent me Beata Heuman's Instagram. What a delight! This post caught my eye—I love a flame stitch pillow. Etsy has a nice selection of graphic pillows —yellow flame stitch, tumbling block, and rectangular flame stitch!
D. Mango Home is one of my favorite sources; this basket looks good!
Travel Favorites and Found Objects
E. I bought these TSA-approved travel containers a year ago, and they are a small, chic joy!
F. This tiny (2 inches wide!) travel noise machine has been in heavy travel rotation this past year—highly recommended!
G. This Frank&Eileen shirt in "famous denim" black was a recent purchase I have been living in. I didn't expect it to be a great warm-weather vacation top (I wore it for the plane ride), but it's been a great coverup and walking-to-get-coffee top. I also own it in the chambray color. It's pricey, but the fabric - so soft yet so structured - plus an excellent cut is worth it. I recently bought a third one on Poshmark for $70. I'm between a size large and a size medium (it's an oversized fit).
H. These neon gingham PJ pants give me so much pleasure and have been perfect "resort" pants. They are $14, but I did take them to my tailor and have the flounce on the bottom removed. I bought a size large, and I think they run slightly large.
I. This ciao hat is worn by Ben and me equally these days—a great sun hat.
J. A-never-lose-your-phone-again color!
K. The only Reefs for me (a true IYKYK).
Gardening Notes
I figured out how to "embed" Instagram favorites into the newsletter, so here are two gardening finds - the first on how to reuse salad "clams" to start seeds and the second on how to plant poppy seeds.
As I finish typing this, I realize a small irony has emerged. In trying to escape the pressure to be productive on vacation, I found myself writing this newsletter, which genuinely relaxes me. Perhaps vacation isn't about forcing relaxation but finding those moments where time expands, and anxiety recedes. Last night, I watched Ben watch a magic show; his face lit with wonder. At that moment, I felt the knot of 'vacation anxiety' loosen just a bit – a small victory in my ongoing exposure therapy.
And until next Sunday,
Abbey
Finally, I’m looking forward to seeing Black Bag at the theatre when we get home! I love spy movies!
Sunday Daily Dose of Green
Bonus Notes - Subscriber Section
I often have a few finds that don't fit into the main image (my favorite part of the newsletter and the hardest to get ‘right’) or the overall flow. For the next couple of newsletters, I'm going to experiment with putting a few bonus finds here for subscribers as a tiny thank you for your support.
This pillow from Mango Home almost made it into the newsletter, but there were just too many pillows!
Jasmine Dowling's creativity wowed me. Here is an ad she did for Kerastase, but her whole website is a rabbit hole worth exploring.
I recently became a paid subscriber to Tate's Online Safety Substack, which provides lots of clear "how-tos" about phones, online safety, and doing the things we all know we should do to protect ourselves!
Just saw Black Bag tonight - it's so fun! And I never knew Mango had a home line. From living abroad I have always loved Zara Home, so I need to check it out.
Spent way too much time searching online for bargello pillows and I love those pants!