A (much needed) weekend reset
or something like that
These past few weeks have been a lot. May hasn’t been too kind to me.
I’ve been catching up on work deadlines and personal responsibilities. Packing my life into boxes. Moving to a new flat and managing all the related shenanigans. Trying to make my side of the flat organized. Acclimating to a different environment. It all added up — and it’s safe to say it took a serious toll on me. I was consistently stressed out and on the verge of an anxious breakdown. I couldn’t even carve out time to write in my gratitude journal or muster enough focus to read. I haven’t flipped a single page in over a week and have not finished a book in two months.
I was stuck in a cycle of constant burn out yet somehow consistently online, mindlessly scrolling in an attempt to ‘reclaim’ time for myself. But it wasn’t doing anything.
So, after an intense work week and feeling deeply frustrated by how my days and time were slipping out of my control, I decided to drop everything and spend a weekend on ME: unwinding, slowing down and doing the things that actually spark joy for myself.
This is a brief summary of that.
FRIDAY ~ SATURDAY
(Slept at) 2:30 AM - Finished The Pitt, and wow what a wonderful show. If you haven’t watched it yet, you’re seriously missing out. The only (organized) indulgence I had these past couple of weeks is watching this show when I have a bit of break.
12:00 PM - I slept in and stayed in bed until noon. I showered, put on sparkly eyeshadow to perk myself up, and my (recent) favorite red Mary Janes. I went out without a jacket because it was the kind of spring weather where it is still chilly but warm enough that you can enjoy the sun on your skin.
1:30 PM - I ate at one of the cafés near my new flat. I recently moved closer to the city center so I am glad about all of the choices of hangout spots that suddenly became more accessible to me. The coffee was meh but that bacon bap was fire. I want whatever’s in that to be injected straight into in my veins1 (an exaggeration obviously, but you get my drift). I scooped up every last bit of that aioli from the plate. I also read a bit of the remaining pages of the perfume book.
3:00 PM - A much-needed manicure refresh2! My hands were in desperate need of care, and I got this dainty pink cat-eye polish with designs directly inspired by cafemaddy’s recent manicure in Korea. Perfect for my now short nails.
4:00 PM - Quick stop at Boots, where I sampled makeup, took home foundation samplers, then restocked some essentials. It never gets old.
4:45 PM - A long overdue Waterstones visit. I went to pick up my signed copy of Ocean Vuong’s recently released book, The Emperor of Gladness. I’ve been so intrigued by this book - partly because I keep seeing it everywhere, but mostly because every snippets of Oprah x Ocean conversations almost always makes me cry. I was greeted by friendly bookstore employees — God, I love bookstore employees that actually read and recommend stuff on the fly. The paperback cover of Henry Henry intrigued me so much, so I picked it up to read the blurb. The girl who sold me my Ocean Vuong book approached me and told me that the former was really good and that she recommended it to a lot of her friends. That was all the convincing I need - I ended up getting it for myself because I was curious. Plus another book: Table for One - which was so me.
5:30 PM - I went to Lush to get myself some bath bombs. All week, I’ve been brainstorming ways to actually unwind for the weekend. I have a bathtub now in the my new flat and I figured it would be a good idea to soak in and have a field trip with it. I ended up taking home 3. A bit pricey, sure—but if I use one every two weeks, it's totally justifiable.
8:00 PM - Solo movie night with Sinners! I booked a seat at the more premium cinema in town—the kind where you can order food and have it brought straight to your seat. So that was my dinner: parmesan truffle fries and a New Yorker hot dog. I enjoyed the movie so much! And as a person who doesn’t watch horror regularly, that is saying a lot.
SUNDAY
7:30 AM - Sunrise Pilates! My first session in a while. This has always been my favorite time to practice—relaxing and challenging all at once. But more than anything, I am just so happy to be restarting my practice again.
9:00 AM - Neighborhood brunch! This is one of my favorite spots in the city, and it was my first time visiting their new (and improved and larger) space. I holed up in a far corner of the busy café, right by the window, with a tiramisu latte and a specialty bagel. It was still early for a Sunday, so there weren’t too many people—quiet enough (or at least not too noisy) to read while eating and sipping coffee. It was nice.
10:30 AM - Finally got around to doing my (long overdue) laundry, so now the flat smells like lavender and clean sheets. I also made it a point to finish organizing my shelves, especially my books. This is was my priority - I thought that as long as I establish a safe space (and I can only do that by surrounding myself with books, per usual), my stress level would immediately go down significantly. And I was right!
1:00 PM - Took a nap. II rearranged the room and moved my bed right beside the big window. I don’t mind the light at all—in fact, I prefer it. Now, I actually have “a patch of sunlight in my room” but instead of on a carpet, it’s in my bed - which was perfect. I love it when it’s actually sunny (a rare treat here in Belfast), and I can just lie there and practically sun myself in the comfort of my bed. I love the feel of sunlight on my skin. I’m practically a leaf: sunlight makes me happy and makes me feel alive. This has since become one of my favorite spots.
5:00 PM - Cooked truffle pasta for the first time in a long while. A quick and simple recipe for a gourmet meal: any pasta you have, this gorgeous mushroom & truffle pasta sauce from M&S, rendered bacon bits, sliced Polish pork sausages, a touch of garlic and butter, dried parsley and parmesan to garnish. I was also gifted this lovely truffle salt, which I used. It rounded out and completed the dish - all those truffle goodness. I love how subtle the salt is, yet packed with the truffle essence. I put it on a lot of things.
7:00 PM - I had the coziest soak with this CBD bubble bar from Lush called Botanomancy. 10/10, highly recommend. I want this in a perfumed bottle3. It was so relaxing and not cloying at all. I stayed in that hot > warm bath till I got wrinkly as a prune. At the end of it, I almost felt bad flushing all that goodness.
9:00 PM - Changed my sheets to live out my butter-yellow summer/spring fantasy. I’ve been obsessed with this color ever since it started popping up in my socials — especially here on Substack. Even before moving, I was very attached to the idea that a butter-yellow bed will make me happy. It’s very specific,I know, and I was glad that my order came exactly on time when I was trying this weekend reset.
9:30 PM - Quick home foot spa to close my pamper day. Applied my (simple) evening skin care, and put on fresh pajamas.
10:00 PM - Enjoyed the new, soft sheets and I started reading The Emperor of Gladness. “The hardest thing in the world is to live only once. But it's beautiful here, even the ghosts agree.” it read. I have a strong feeling it will become an iconic first line/opening to a book.
11:30 PM (onwards ~) - To sleep. My flat is close enough to the city center that I can here the street sounds like a muffle hum, even if my windows are closed. It’s like white noise to me, I realized, and I find that it lulls me to sleep. I love it so much. I think it reminds me of home.
I feel like that is the first weekend in a long while whe my body wasn’t on high alert. It reminded me again that I have to listen to my body and give myself enough time to breath and slow down. I woke up with a pretty sore body the next day (a Monday workday), the Pilates class finally catching up on me. But I felt relaxed and well rested than I ever had in weeks. And that brings me so much comfort. ✨
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I came back multiple times a couple of days after to get the same thing and the addictive thing is apparently a beautiful basil aioli. Here’re the contents of that glorious (best) bacon bap I’ve ever had in my life so far: crispy streaky bacon, Cooleeney cheese, basil aioli (🔥), and house-made milk buns. I’m desperate to recreate this at home!
I hate how cleaning is not included in most packages here in the UK. I have to pay extra all the time. That’s why knowing and having the patience to actually spend time cleaning and grooming my nails is a life skill I learned when I moved in order to save, because I do love fresh nails all the time. And maintaining that will cost a lot if you outsource it all the time.
Which apparently they have: 4:20PM perfume.
yes to butter yellow summer spring fantasy! 💛💛💛 Also glad to know that you have recharged ateeee! Winding down and resting is important too~