5, 4, 3, 2, 1…we’re back, baby!

Hello friend!

Man, it feels so good to be writing to you again. How quickly “I’ll get back to the newsletter in a few weeks once my life settles back down” can turn into six months (whoops). Well, consider this my official recommitment to showing up. Creating something beautiful in my corner of the internet, and connecting with you in the process, fills my cup without fail, and I’m so excited to be back at it. And if you’re new here, welcome to The Top Note! I’m so glad you could make it :)

I was reflecting recently on why I share what I share here, and in the process I started thinking about the 5-4-3-2-1 technique. Have you heard of it? Basically, it’s a self-help tool in which you focus on the present by identifying 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste. While the technique is designed to help with anxiety, I find it useful when I simply need to get out of my head and reengage with the world around me. Which, during the sleepy winter months, I have to remind myself to do quite often!

Here’s a few things I’ve identified recently:

• The golden sunset light catching the dried flowers on my desk and painting them into shadows on the wall

• Slipping into a lavender Epsom salt bath and feeling the aches in my joints dissolve

• Miles Davis in the mornings, as incense burns and I journal out the previous day’s thoughts

• How I like my coffee: pourover, with cream, and maybe a few drops of Vermont maple syrup

• A quick spritz of Halfeti on my wrists, which transports me back to summers in Portsmouth NH selling perfumes in a shop just minutes from the ocean

• Witnessing the little details and crevices in another person’s day to day, in real life or via social media

I hope by getting a glimpse into the windows of my world in real time, with what I’m up to and what I’m enjoying, you can remember to appreciate the things that brighten up your everyday life. And if these letters bring a little light to you, as much as they do to me, then I’ll consider this a worthwhile endeavor.

I love you all, and I can’t wait to share this year with you. It’s promising to be an eventful one (more on that to come!), and I have some ideas for how to show up in new and more creative ways here. But in the meantime, I’ll leave you with a few things I’m loving right now, and I’ll see you back here in a month.

Xoxo

Em

Top Note (for enjoyment):

• Forthave Spirits is one of the cooler distilleries right now IMO, and their amaro takes the cake as one of my favorite post-dinner treats.

• Picked this book up from The Green Ray in East Nashville on a bit of a whim, and haven’t regretted it once. Joan Didion was the coolest.

Heart Note (for connection):

• I finished watching American Symphony on Netflix last week, and my goodness, what a beautiful, deeply vulnerable piece of film. Whether you’re already a fan of Jon Batiste’s music or not, this is one to add to your “to-watch” list.

• A recommendation: pick up this puzzle, open this bottle of wine after a quick chill, put on this playlist, and gather your 3-5 closest friends over for a cozy, connection-filled evening.

Base Note (for reflection): 

• Written in sync with the progression of the seasons, A Year in Practice by poet Jacqueline Suskin is a program of holistic techniques and journaling prompts to nurture the creative seeker all year long. I’m working on cultivating more of a creative rather than technical approach to making music this year, and this book has been an invaluable guide in that so far.

• Why do so many boutique grocers, or as this article calls them, shoppy shops, look the same? This article on Grub Street made me think twice about why I feel inclined to buy certain goods—and then share about owning them on Instagram.

Scent of the Month: I stumbled into The Maker Hotel cocktail lounge quite by accident during an overnight stay in Hudson NY back in 2021. Just following Google Maps to the nearest cocktail bar, I was not expecting to find myself draped in the coziness of a 19th-century candlelit carriage house, complete with fireplaces, a grand piano, and an elegant U-shaped bar. Things went from excellent to sublime when I discovered that the cocktail menu paired with a line of fragrances formulated by the hotel itself. As a parting gift, the bartender gave me a sample of Paradiso, a dewy, lush waft of tropical fruits and florals that paired perfectly with my beverage. Consider me sold.