Reader, welcome to Afternoon Tea! As a self-confessed hopeless romantic and anglophile to the highest degree, it is one of my deepest sorrows that I am not one to regularly partake in the privilege that is afternoon tea. Although I often enjoy a cup of Earl Grey on slow afternoons, my chipped mugs and sliced bananas are poor substitutions for the Spode china and brilliantly colored petit fours that would abound in an authentic ceremony. As such, I invite you to a virtual celebration of the elegant pastime that begs us to appreciate beauty and focus on being present. Here, you will find a somewhat jumbled collection of my revelations, reflections, and that which I relish from the week. So please, brew a warm pot of tea, procure for yourself an array of scones and biscuits, and peruse with me what is lovely in life.
Thanking the Academy
What does it mean to thank the Academy? To do so is to extend a breathless word of overwhelming appreciation to a higher power, to a force second only to the Universe in terms of its ubiquitous and enigmatic presence. As such, here you will find my own earnest appeal to make my gratitude known – a profound and dreamlike thank-you to that manifestation which is omnipresent, alluring, and all-encompassing.
- Late-night studies with my roommate and a new friend. Is it not best to find the fun in productivity, Reader?
- Gratitude that I am, in fact, a student at The University of Texas at Austin. How lucky am I to call myself a longhorn. OU sucks!
- Though the class is one of my favourites, that it was cancelled this Thursday meant I was able to sleep in two extra hours.
- A friend with whom to freak out over school projects.
- The kindness of strangers.
- Pasta. Yum.
- A sleepover!
- Encouraging and understanding professors and TA’s who try their level best to help their students acquire new skills. Reader, how delightful is learning!
- Coffee. I was never a coffee girl until very recently, but now I can never, ever go back.
- Cool (-ish) morning temperatures!
- Friends who are role models. I count myself lucky indeed to be surrounded by people who are so kind, so good, so beautiful in their hearts.
- The sweetest new friend.
- Providing an afternoon of good-natured-teasing ammunition after being pulled over for speeding.
- A beautiful close to Romeo and Juliet, and the connections that will last.
- Cookies from an incredibly generous, overwhelmingly good person who I am lucky to call a friend.
These Are a Few of My Favorite Things…
In an unending effort to live just as my icon, Ms. Julie Andrews, below you will find my own weekly compilation of that which brings me just as much joy as “raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens”.
- Reader, I will never pretend to be immune to scams. I find it difficult to believe any one person would willfully cheat another, and thus, I often am a victim of ridiculous schemes. However, with over one million followers on TikTok, I want to believe this woman’s business is quite legit, and am tempted to try her products. Shall we see together?
- The Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew is a delicious, albeit expensive, treat that has been kickstarting my mornings (and afternoons).
- A silk scarf to wrap my hair in the evenings. I never thought my curls could look so tame in the mornings!
- As I am on the hunt for 21st birthday dresses, I keep finding such fun gems as this and this.
- This setting spray which has converted me from my coveted Urban Decay spray.
- A song that somehow exudes R&J in energy.
- Reader, the most delightful member of our cast brought her Polaroid camera, and it was such fun to watch those memories develop before us.
Seven-Day Design
A word (or two) of wisdom to guide the upcoming week.
Immortal Echoes
- “O God, make me good, but not yet.” – Sebastian Flyte
Evanescent Intentions
- This week, I will be patient.
Darling Reader, having been treated to my share of pain, in times such as these, times in which I am exceptionally happy, I find myself looking over my shoulder, waiting for the other shoe to drop. For surely life can not be such a pleasurable thing all the time.
Of course not. An excellent adventure is one full of peaks and valleys, and, most importantly, eyes set firmly on the horizon and never the setting sun. But such reasoning is no excuse to waste the good, waiting for the bad.
Reader, there is much I want to do in this time of joy. There are connections to be made, experiences to be had, a life to be lived… before the other shoe drops.
Thus, this week I will be patient. I will not force joy down my own throat, binging on happiness just because it is abundant. I will not run myself ragged in a crazed endeavor to stuff the good times full of even greater good before they are gone. I will not fly between states of being, nervous and anticipatory. No, this week I will be patient. I will let what is meant for me find me, and seek out that which feels right to pursue. I will not expect doom, but live in the moment. I will breathe and be patient and slow down. And I will enjoy the good, before God makes me so.
Love,
Lettie Anne