What's your perfect weekend?
I’ve changed how I like to spend my days off.
A big thank you to Sezane, this week’s presenting sponsor. Their fall collection is perfection.
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Hi, hi!
How was your week? Any fun weekend plans? Tell me in the comments! My own weekend will be filled with family stuff as my aunt and uncle are visiting (hooray!). I’m so looking forward to spending time with them (but also, decompressing at home a bit). It’s been a busy week and the next month looks packed, calendar-wise. ‘Tis the season, I supposed… things are really ramping up both work-wise and socially.
When I was in my 20s (and really all the way up until my mid-30s), living in New York (especially the four years when I lived in a studio apartment in Murray Hill), my weekends were packed to the brim with as much excitement and fun as possible. I definitely spent more time out of my home than inside it. A single Saturday could mean bouncing from brunch to a movie to a happy hour to dinner and drinks after . . . without ever going home in between. In those years, I found that sort of Saturday exhilarating. I’d probably sleep till noon the next day and then repeat the whole shebang. Oh, to be 28! Now, that sort of day would wipe me out!
These days, my weekends are much slower (if I can help it!).
My perfect weekend really depends on the circumstances. If it’s been a very social week or if I have been traveling, I like to use those days to recharge. I like to have—scratch that—need to have a day to fully decompress and be mostly alone. If it’s been a really chaotic week, I’ll sometimes go the whole weekend without seeing anyone besides my family.
Mostly, though, I like a quiet weekend that is a mix of cozy time at home and seeing my friends, preferably with just one social activity per day.
I present to you, my ideal weekend.
Friday:
I finish up work by 5 p.m. and get a massage after work. The best ever.
Friday is my favorite night to stay home, as my weeknights can get a little busy between my weekly family dinner, events, and seeing friends.
A bit of beautification is involved. I do some sort of face mask, maybe self-tan or whiten my teeth.
And then, things get wild. Wait for it. . . I let myself watch a movie or TV show in bed. I have a TV in my bedroom but I try to see it as a special treat, not something routine. Most TV watching takes place downstairs on the couch.
Saturday:
Wake up when I want, no alarm clock. Probably around 8:30 a.m.
Do my word games (of course). It is always Wordle, Connections, and Strands—in that order.
Throw on loungewear, take a walk to get a bagel (everything with veggie cream cheese and sliced tomato) and an iced coffee.
Come home, eat, spend a couple hours reading.
Noon: Family comes over for pool time/niece time, a casual hang.
3 p.m.: Back to my book.
5 p.m.: Shower, get ready, meet up with friends.
My ideal Saturday night plan is pretty simple. An early dinner (call it 6 p.m.), go to the movies, grab one drink after dinner. Home and in bed around 10 p.m.!
Sunday:
Wake up when I want, no alarm clock. Probably around 8:30 a.m.
Some sort of exercise. You’ll notice Saturday was lazy. I like to have one of my weekend days be workout free.
Chores. I like to have the house fully put back together by the time Monday rolls around. I have a housekeeper who does a deep clean, but once a week I do all of my stuff: multiple loads of laundry, sweeping, weeding, and leaf-blowing outside, putting away clutter and clothes.
It's time for just a little bit of work. Hear me out: Proofreading the next day’s blog and going through my inbox post gives me peace of mind!
Read for at least a couple hours.
Meet a friend for a sunset walk along The Battery.
Order Indian food for dinner (I love the chicken tikka masala from Spice Palette in Mount Pleasant, and thankfully they are on Uber Eats.)
Watch some sort of show or movie, go to bed early! The older I get, the more I appreciate an early bedtime.
There you have it. My ideal weekend! How about you?
Sezane is one of the brands I shop at most, so it’s always an honor to partner together. Their new fall collection is fantastic. A mix of old favorites (this trench which always sells out, the Le Crop jeans!) and fresh new favorites (a lug sole loafer, a tailored blazer in cozy chocolate brown corduroy). But also: the perfect white tee, my new favorite button-down, and a really good beaded necklace.
I size down in the trench and up in the jeans!
A big guide: how to style leopard pieces. We take four key pieces (ballet flat, jacket, jeans, silky blouse) and show you the best way to style them. This was a fun post!
My favorite memoirs to listen to on Audible. I LOVE a good (ideally author-narrated memoir). Right now, I’m listening to Ina… she is the best!
Rich wines and burgundies. The color of the season!
PS - Everything in my Flagship Store is 20% off this week!
I finished reading The Boyfriend, by Freida McFadden and I ultimately really enjoyed it. I’ve mentioned before that I’m not necessarily a huge fan of McFadden’s writing style BUT she does a twisty plot so well. This one kept me on my toes; I had to know what was happening… and it got me a couple times! An easy, read-in-a-day thriller.
Next up was The Most Famous Girl in the World, by Iman Hariri-Kia. I wanted to love it (the plot surrounds a journalist and a thinly-veiled but potentially murderous Anna Delvey-type). I thought the plot was fun but I really disliked the main character (she was just so messy) and felt like the story was too campy/off the rails for my liking.
My current read is Did You Hear About Kitty Karr, by Crystal Smith Paul. I am about 100 pages in and enjoying it so far. When a famous white actress dies, bequeathing her multimillion-dollar estate to three wealthy Black sisters, it prompts a lot of questions! The book alternates between past (Jim Crow South) and present (Hollywood glamour!) and a mystery seems to be slowly unraveling. I am enjoying it so far.
On audible, I am still listening to Ina Garten’s memoir, Be Ready When The Luck Happens. It is truly a treat: I don’t want it to end!
you learn you're not missing anything meaningful by staying in and enjoying your own little paradise. i'm not a couch potato but I am an unapologetic house potato.
What does it say about me that I am 24 and that weekend sounds pretty perfect to me?! Lol!