Monday Musings: A Week In The Life
Last week was one of those stretches that felt full in the very best way. I spent a few days in San Francisco at a bloggers’ summit, which was such a fun mix of work and pleasure.
San Francisco Adventure
I take this magnifying mirror everywhere I travel. The lighting is much better at a window than in any hotel bathroom.
We networked, shared what’s working, swapped ideas, gabbed like women do when they finally get to sit down together, and of course, managed to fit in a little shopping.
We had a private shopping experience at Sézane, which was a treat, and I came home with this fun little Bobby jacket, which I love.
We also explored a bit of the city while we were there, including Chinatown and Union Square, and had lunch at Neiman Marcus, which always feels a little old-school and lovely to me.
Mr. AWSL came along and spent time visiting his sister, who lives nearby, and that made the trip even better. We did quite a lot of walking, saw a lot, ate well, and came home tired in a satisfying way.
Feng Shui
My daughter recently asked me to help her with the feng shui in her apartment, which made me smile because it brought back a whole chapter of life I hadn’t thought about in a while.
She moved in last year and has been slowly putting the space together. While doing so, she stumbled onto feng shui and remembered that I used to know a fair bit about it. In my 40s, my brother and I studied it for a while, and I always found it fascinating.
If you’ve never looked into it, feng shui is an ancient Chinese practice focused on arranging buildings, rooms, and objects in ways that work with the flow of qi, or life force energy, to create more harmony in a space. At its core, it’s really about how your surroundings affect the way you feel and function. I’ve always thought there was something to it. I’ve noticed over the years that when I’ve made a few thoughtful changes in a room, the space often feels calmer, easier, and somehow more settled. She picked up a book for us to look through together, so we’ve been having fun with that. Have you ever explored feng shui?
Flight To Vancouver
Over the weekend, we flew back to Vancouver for a quick visit before our trip to Asia next month…and yes, this is the best photo we got of what I wore :). You can see me stowing things in this little belt bag, which I always wear to traverse the airport and then stow in my carry-on to board our flights.
We’re looking forward to spending time with our daughter and soaking up a little more of Vancouver in spring before we head off again.
Vancouver is absolutely beautiful right now. We’re in the middle of cherry blossom season, and the city looks especially gorgeous this time of year. The flowers are blooming, and the weather is gorgeous. The seawall is lined with blossoms that never last quite long enough. There’s always something about spring here that feels fresh without being showy.
Currently Reading
And before I go, I have a book recommendation from my daughter this week: The Briar Club by Kate Quinn. It’s set in 1950s Washington, D.C., in an all-female boardinghouse during the McCarthy era, where a group of very different women becomes connected through friendship, secrets, and a weekly supper club started by a mysterious new tenant. It took my daughter about a chapter to get into it, but once she did, she was hooked. It’s one of those historical novels where the female friendships are just as compelling as the plot itself. The minute she described it, I swiped her copy and am now currently reading it.
I’d love to hear from you. Have you ever tried feng shui? What are you reading right now?
I have heard of feng shui but I understand when you said that sometimes small changes can make a room look and feel better. Vancouver does look lovely 🌸
I thought I was the only one who stuck my suction cup mirror on the window.
I’ve been doing it for years! The best lighting!
If you like The Briar Club, read The Alice Network by the same author. It’s very good!
I’ll try it. I’ve seen it on shelves forever.
Loved The Briar Club! The Rose Code and The Alice Network (both by Kate Quinn) are also worth reading.
I very much enjoy architect Cliff Tan, “Dear Modern” on Youtube, especially when he mentions monkeys and birds. All in good fun but helpful, too.
I have always thought feng shui had merit but never had time to really investigate it. I’m all for anything that creates peacefulness and calm in my life. Can’t wait to see pics of your Singapore trip. Have a great time!!
I know very little about feng shui but I did keep what little I knew in mind when I made some changes to our house. There was no way to get to the front door from the street without going way down the driveway or walking across the grass so I changed that and put in a walkway. It just seems much more welcoming that way. Then the front door led straight through the house to the back door. The feng shui theory was money would come right in the front door and go right out the back and that’s about what it seemed like as we were always spending money on repairs. So when we did a kitchen remodel, I closed off the back door as another door was quite close by. Now the kitchen seems much larger even though it’s the same square footage.
I also very much enjoyed listening to The Briar Club and Theo of Golden.
Those sound like great fixes. She can’t close off a doorway so she’s going to use plants and a rug.
I loved The Briar Club. I’m currently reading The Life Impossible by Matt Haig.
I have very minimally explored Feng Shui, but I can sure can feel when the vibe is off in the rooms of my home. I appreciate you sharing a book on the subject. I would like to know more about it. San Francisco and Vancouver look so cool. My husband and I have travels to the west coast in our future plans.
Having recently re-connected with feng shui as well, I recommend the podcast, “Feng Shui Decoded.” I originally read the books by Western School of Feng Shui founder Terah Kathryn Collins. The podcast is conversations with her colleagues and a fun way to get back into the topic.
Reading: Wreck by Catherine Newman.
I LOVED Terah Katherine Collins books. Thank you, I will look for her podcast.
I’m currently reading this book and love it! Great choice
I loved Briar Club and just finished More Than Enough by Anna Quindlen which I thought was great.
I haven’t been to San Francisco for years and your photos have me thinking I need to revisit!
this is a p.s. I’m going to recommend The Briar Club to my bookclub for our next book
Awesome, I’m really enjoying it.
Beautiful pics of SF, you picked the perfect week to visit. The pictures of the China Town gate brought back a lot of nostalgia, years ago I worked in a building a few doors up and spent many a lunch hour shopping and eating at hole in the wall restaurants. I had my home feng shui’d years ago. Some minor changes and I believe it helped. I’m interested in Sezane clothes, I follow another blogger who features this brand and the items are so stylish……have a lovely week…
just ordered your feng shei book!
Glad to see that San Francisco is nice. I was told that it has declined.
It had, but is coming back now!
I am reading Loitering With Intent by Muriel Spark. This is an author who can truly write a woman. No male gaze involvement. Love your scarf.
Nice!
The books I’ve enjoyed lately are “The Frozen River” by Ariel Lawhon, “Long Island” by Colin Toibin, and “Lion” by Saroo Bierley. This last book is a memoir including photos describing Saroo ‘s life after getting lost in a train station in India and living in Australia with his adopted parents.
This week my book club is discussing Kate Quinn’s The Diamond Eye. It is an amazing read based on the true history of a female sniper from Ukraine during WW2. You must read it next!
It sounds amazing! She’s a great writer
The trip to San Francisco sounds like it was a lot of fun – how nice that you ladies are a sharing community! I’ve heard rumor that a Sezane store is going to be opening in Newport Beach, here in Southern California. I’ve read Briar Club in recent months and I really enjoyed it! Now I need to find more books by Kate Quinn.