the wednesday roundup no. 1
february 5, 2025
Welcome, welcome to the first roundup. I’ll be doing these on a biweekly basis, always on Wednesday. In order to provide variation, still make an appearance here on my newsletter, and not get burnt out, I wanted to create something a little more ‘airy’ to break up the heavier long-form essays. Besides, it gives you a window into my everyday life—makes my ‘face’ seem a little less invisible behind the ideas I talk about.
Each roundup’s sections may vary slightly, but overall I’ll try to keep them the same—we’ll experiment as we go. The goal is to share just a few (so you don’t feel overwhelmed) impactful or favorite things, ranging from podcasts to clothes.
So without further explanation, here we go!
Books
White Nights by Fyodor Dostoevsky
At only 82 pages long, this was a heartbreaker. I found myself racing through it, already foreseeing the end. The main character was angsty to the max, so if you’re in the market to listen to a man’s romantic dialogues, this one is for you. Besides the beautiful conversations between characters, I just enjoyed the length of this one, especially considering the content.
Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
Although much thicker than Dostoevsky’s White Nights, it reads pretty quickly and moves at a rapid pace. I haven’t delved into the fantasy genre in quite some time, at least not high fantasy like Sanderson’s work. I was pleasantly surprised by this one, and I’m excited to read the next one in the trilogy. He combines depth of content, character growth, and pretty decent worldbuilding elements in around 600 pages.
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
I won’t say too much on this one, because honestly I would go on forever. Excellent masterpiece, but no surprise there, considering its Dickens. I was fascinated by Estella’s upbringing and extremely odd ‘training’ by Miss Havisham. I would suggest go reading Megha Lillywhite’s article on Dickens’ work and falling in love.
Lifestyle
I found an amazing workout skort at Target, curtesy of Casey Ho from Blogilates. It is sold out in-store (sorry!), but she has a similar one on her website (granted, for twice the price I bought mine for).
Notion has become my all-time favorite planning platform. I use it mostly for Substack, but I’ve also used it to plan out my TBR and other various reading lists/goals.
Native’s shampoo and body wash are my favorites when I can find them on sale, but I always keep a bottle of their moisturizer on my skincare regimen shelf. The downside is that it doesn’t last for very long, but I’ve found it to be very light and not a heavy oily consistency which I love for my skincare products. The coconut and aloe ones are both wonderful. I found mine at Target, if you’re looking to purchase it in-store.
Young Living essential oils were something I’d always known about but hadn’t used myself until my kinesiologist prescribed me a few different ones. YL is not oversold. Plants are powerful, and YL harnesses earth to create holistic medical grade oils that really rewire brain chemistry to function as we were intended. Lately, I’ve been using their roll-on called Valor, used to enhance decision-making skills, giving strength and courage to move forward.
Inspiring think-pieces
Ekstasis magazine had an article from a couple years ago that changed my perspective and gears toward writing. Written by Paul Pastor, it discusses mining for gold in this world rather than easily obtaining it through other passive means.
Food
Nora Cook’s vegan green pasta recipe is delicious. It’s best made with whole wheat spaghetti or linguini.
Try ordering a strawberry matcha latte from your local coffee shop. Starbucks does a pretty delicious one, but I always prefer supporting small businesses. Depending on if the cafe does excellent matcha, you may be surprised by how yummy it is.
Inspiring images
Media
September’s recent playlist
Soft To Be Strong by MARINA — album ☞ LOVE + FEAR
Bluebird by Lola Marsh — album ☞ Remember Roses
You Learn by Alanis Morissette — album ☞ Jagged Little Pill (25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)
smile by bodie — single ☞ HAPPY TO BE HERE
Pods
Wild at Heart’s three part series on spiritual maturity
Heart of Dating’s S13 MM69: Right Person Wrong Time Is So Stupid
If you enjoyed any of these recommendations, let me know in the comments! Share some of your own recent interests or likes, too—we always love suggestions over here. Please feel free to share my work and if you can, donate a one time amount by clicking on my Buy Me a Coffee link via my main page, or feel free to pledge a subscription amount toward my little space.
Have a blessed week, my friends. Xxx.
Found you from your algorithm post ❤️ we have a lot of similarities & I enjoyed this roundup post. Gave me some material & ideas to look into.
Wild at Heart is a great podcast!