Before I start this ramble, a moment must be taken to brag about my mother because CAN YOU EVEN BELIEVE HER LATEST PAINTING??? I’m obsessed with it. Me, Francesca and Pilar, three of the five self-proclaimed Marvettes, the gals who ran Marvin, the coolest bistro in Los Angeles from 2015ish-2020ish. I mean it’s still cool, we’re just not there anymore…
If you’re interested in purchasing any of the paintings I post OR in commissioning a special piece of your own, please visit her website, lynnfelton.com!!!
She is truly the most talented woman I know.
How is it Sunday again?
You’re telling me it was one week ago exactly that Alan and I sat in a theater, 10:30 in the morning, bellies full of biscuits, fried chicken and gravy after our early date day began with an extravagant “I have a tummy ache now” breakfast. Not ideal for heading into a nearly three hour long movie but… ya know… we made it.
The Odyssey was loud and epic and I had a good time. It did not change my life but it did inspire me to start reading The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller which I am enjoying. Having read and loved Circe (by the same author) a year or so ago I’d been meaning to pick it up and I’m glad I did.
There’s a world in which I fall headfirst down a rabbit hole of Homer and Greek mythology but then… I’m also still obsessed with dinosaurs and how the Earth formed and American history and I can’t seem to focus on just one thing long enough to retain any meaningful information apart from, “can you even BELIEVE it?!”
Maybe I need to write a curriculum and start home schooling myself because there is SO much I want to know. If I could go back to fourth grade and start learning again as a 42 year old, I’d be great.
Anyway, this week FLEW by faster than any week I’ve lived yet this year. I almost forgot to sit down and write a post because I genuinely thought I had a few more days to ponder what in the heck I want to say.
I’ll tell you this much, taking my own passport picture was one of the more humiliating tasks I involved myself with this week. Not only because I had to look at white background selfies for thirty minutes but also that I kept having to go from behind to in front of my iPhone and wait 5 seconds for the shutter to click directing myself on how much or little to smile. It made me want to slap my own face and pout and cry and scream. Why is one of my eyes so much bigger than the other? Look at the wrinkles on my forehead. Why do I slouch so much?…
Capturing this picture was a dangerous threat to my well-being.
I sent Alan this screenshot of my camera roll.
He told me his sous-chef saw it over his shoulder and said, “damn Brittany, go off!” and I yelled,
“DID YOU TELL HIM I WAS TRYING TO GET MY PASSPORT PHOTO???
I don’t just sit around taking pictures of myself on a tripod I’m not even on Instagram anymore?!”
Also, explain to me how it’s been ten years since I last renewed my passport. To measure time in passports is a metric I’ve not considered but last night while trying at least thirty times to center my face enough for the government to approve at least one of these horrid selfies, I felt relieved knowing I’d not have to do this again for a decade.
In 2017 I had very short, bleach-blonde hair and went to Kinko’s to get my photo snapped. The outcome was a picture I’d describe as “heady”… there’s just a lot of head here.
Before that, my first passport photo was a masterpiece from 2004 (yes, I did go three years with an expired passport) where the man at Kinko’s insisted I stare into the “Look Here” note posted at the very bottom of the camera underneath the lens.
“Are you sure it won’t look like I’m looking down?”
“No. Look there.”
Awesome.
Three decades worth of terrible wallet sized photos and what a damn journey it’s been. I can’t stop imagining what it’ll be like to renew my passport at 52. Will I be wealthy? Will I have written a novel or a memoir? Will I have a donkey?
It highlights my affinity for snap-shotting mundane moments with my mind. Like the night before my first date with Alan when I stared at myself in the mirror and thought, your life is going to be different after tomorrow and then it was.
Or my deep appreciation for the silver light that shines here around 8pm. The way it illuminates the crape myrtle trees across the street is nothing short of wondrous and I can’t help but reflect on a time when I wished to have all my nights free to fully enjoy moments like it.
My sister-in-law reminded me this week that it’s been two years since I left restaurants and retired my fifteen year serving career. As if renewing my passport for a third time wasn’t baffling enough.
Sigh. Life is so cool.
The other major headline from the week is the cupping massage I got last Wednesday after three weeks of having to turn my whole entire body to look left or right.
Alan nearly passed out seeing the round bruises left on my back while I’ve oggled them the way one would look at their own ear wax. The darker ones indicate areas where stagnant blood, heat and toxins have collected and believe it or not, the deepest purple spot was right on the area from which my neck tweak originated. It’s awesome to look at.
I’m a real massage whimp so I wouldn’t say I necessarily enjoyed the experience BUT I do feel like my body detoxed years worth of sludge. I took it very easy the last few days and indulged in a lukewarm bath with epsom salts and apple cider vinegar to help purge the rest. My skin looks amazing and I’m proud to report the bruises are fading after only a few days. Way to go circulatory and lymphatic systems!
I’d like to add this kind of treatment into my life in some regular fashion because it really truly does feel so good to take deep care of my body.
All in all a relaxing flash of a week.
Here’s some other things I loved:
This precious small bottle of rose I got from our local natural wine shop, Vine Fine Wine. Totally obsessed with going in there, telling them what I’m cooking and leaving with exactly what I want.
Puzzle Party! Reminder to get standing dates on your calendars with friends and loved ones. I used this as a perfect excuse to test run some of the treats I’m making for a special catering gig at the end of the month. Word to the wise, do NOT set lemon possets IN the lemon rinds, they will soak up the bitter pithiness and you will be very upset.
Scandal. Still. Obsessed. Has it gone completely off the rails in season 3? Yes it certainly has and I’m here for it.
This post and the comment section from Maybe, Baby this Sunday about getting your boyfriend to take a good picture of you. Lol. Here was my comment:
Dahlias. I absolutely love declaring a definitive favorite anything. Favorite Color: Red. Favorite Shape: Heart. Favorite Car: Kia Sportage (lol times a million but I got one as a rental last year and haven’t stopped thinking about how good the click of the turn signal was…) Finally I have decided to claim a Favorite Flower: Dahlias. They’re just so freaking delightful and show off-y but in a chic way. I love them.
Hope you had a lovely week and are off to a good start to August.
AUGUST?! What even?!!!!!!!
I’ll talk to you next week.
Love, Brittany
🎪 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
Last week’s post:
This month’s podcast:
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.