Have you guys heard of this thing? The 2001 novel nominated for a Booker Prize and later adapted into the 2007 BAFTA and Academy Award-winning film starring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy? I remember hearing buzz about the film and actually seeing it at the Texas Union on campus, though I have no recollection of watching the film, just of being in the theater. And as a woman who is alive, I also obviously am familiar with Keira Knightley’s green dress, which I imprinted on much like I imprinted on Anastasia’s opera dress. Did you know that Keira Knightley’s green dress in Atonement has its own Wikipedia page? And that, tragically, Anastasia’s opera dress from the 1997 animated film by Fox Searchlight (now Disney), does not?

But anyway, I digress. I’ve never read Atonement, nor do I remember the movie all that well. And for whatever reason, amid my spree of bright, bubbly, easy reads titled something like The Last First Date or The Worst Best Man or My Favorite Half-Night Stand, I was like “I should read Literature that is Acclaimed,” so I threw in some holds at the Brooklyn Public Library. As a result of this, I did wind up finally reading (and then watching) Pride & Prejudice for the very first time, and I had an absolute whale of a time doing so. So fun, so flirty, so remarkably phone-free. When I watched Pride & Prejudice (the Keira Knightley one, as recommended), I was primarily struck by how some fairly banal activities for the time now feel like an event or something to brag about. Elizabeth’s always going out on these walks, and she’s obviously unreachable during them unless someone physically goes out and finds her. Elizabeth’s whiling away an afternoon by sitting on a swing looking off into the distance while she twirls in place, letting the ropes twist together and then letting them untwist. And that’s a totally valid activity that she didn’t need to explain to someone, even when she’s interrupted by a friend. “I actually spent the afternoon totally unplugged. Went for a walk without my phone and then sat at the park. Went on the swing set even! All without documenting it or repeatedly checking my phone!” It almost immediately became a top choice for a “comfort watch,” because it feels so peaceful, so undisturbed.

But anyway, again, I digress.

In addition to Pride & Prejudice, I also recently checked out Atonement, because apparently I’m only reading literature where Keira Knightley stars in the movie adaptation. I went into it knowing the stars of the movie, that there is a green dress, and that presumably there is something that someone must atone for. And I came out of it a puddle of tears, intermittently weeping for an entire day.

If you haven’t read it in the past 25 years, I can heartily recommend it if you would like to read a book that really sits with you after you close it. Where you feel changed, unsettled, weepy. I do not want to give much away, but know that it is fairly slow-paced. The first half (literally) of the book is a single day. The second 30% or so is another single day. The next 15% is another day, and the final 15% is a fourth day. You may read an entire page devoted to the late afternoon light, another five pages devoted to dress selection (and thank god it took so long, because we got The Atonement Dress out of it).

The number one thing that reduces me to tears in a book or movie is any scene in which an older person reflects back on their life, on who they were and no longer appear to be to the casual observer. Where once they were young, bright, excitable, forward-looking, and now they are older, slower, perhaps regretful or nostalgic, and looking back on how much time has passed. On how they wish things were different. Gut-wrenching. I keep finding myself thinking back to a line or two from the second-to-last page, when tears sprang to my eyes without warning. What a ride, and a book that really cements my “I don’t rate on Goodreads” opinion. I used to, long ago when I was an unhealthier Enneagram 1 fixated on chronicling everything I had read, desperate to reach a certain book count in the year, and assigning everything a number value. But how could one possibly rate Atonement using the same scale with which one rates Wow, No Thank You, by Samantha Irby, which is a series of funny and sharp essays that make you laugh out loud? An impossible task.

Seeking psychopaths

Speaking of movies at large, I’ve recently solidified my favorite genre of film: one in which an absolute psychopath devises an elaborate plan to get revenge or get what they want (and probably don’t deserve). Saltburn. The Talented Mr. Ripley (which features the same actor who portrays Commodore Norris in Pirates of the Caribbean, another Keira Knightley classic, since I’m apparently noticing themes). Gone Girl. I want to be gasping and in awe of how sycophantic and conniving the lead is, how quickly they adapt to any scenario, how ruthless they are in achieving their goal. I want it to hinge on interpersonal relationships, where the lead is a master at reading the room and knowing what to say and how to approach people. And they probably kill at least one person at some point, because they’re, as stated, an absolute psychopath.

If you have any recs, let me know. And don’t tell me to ask fucking ChatGPT. (“Chat, why is there a loneliness epidemic? When I order everything online, choose ‘no contact’ delivery, and redirect conversations I’d usually have with other humans to you, a collection of code?”)

Jelly doughnut focaccia

Been seeing a lot of jelly doughnut focaccia discourse on the sourdough, baking, and bread subreddits, and I’ve finally pulled the trigger on a sourdough version.

It was delicious.

And doughnut, not donut. I’ve never liked spelling or grammar updates that just feel like enough people did something incorrectly that it became okay in a given style standard. This is my perhaps baseless reasoning for hating AP style, because to me it feels like the idiots’ version. “Can’t remember your comma usage? It’s okay! You don’t even need it with us. Apostrophes confuse you? Just do kind of whatever!”

And for this reason, it shocks me to learn via Merriam-Webster that allegedly AP style prefers “doughnut,” NOT “donut,” a move which I think we can all agree feels pretty Chicago Manual of Style.

Anyway, the focaccia slapped and I fear I will finish it all by tomorrow. But you know what they say: Summer bodies are made in winter June.

And never fear, I wouldn’t leave you hanging.

“Wow, kind of a weird topic when it’s February 27,” you remark to me. I know! I actually started this a month ago! Over a month ago! And then I just let it sit here because I couldn’t think of a title or any sort of intro copy. But today appears to be the day where I complete this, so here we are.

Now, without any further ado, a selection of my 2026 resolutions.

Consume 30 unique plants a week

We set out to make this our January goal and “hopefully” form a habit of it for the rest of the year, and we very quickly realized that we already consume significantly greater than 30 unique plants a week. So, check, I guess? Nailed it! #humblebrag #aimlow #arepeoplestillusinghashtags Even if I achieve nothing else, I’ve got this one down. Way to go!!!!

Complete nine sewing projects

I really enjoy sewing. Like 13 years ago, Doug got me six weeks of sewing classes as a Christmas gift, and I cried because it was so thoughtful. In those classes, I made a drawstring tote bag, a stiff and absolutely gargantuan maxi skirt, and 94% of a cotton shirtdress in an adorable bluebonnet pattern. I walked out of that last class feeling energized and ready to take on more projects (and finish that shirtdress). I bought a sick sewing machine with a LOT of features, as well as most of what I’d need to sew. I bought a whole bunch of patterns and fabric. And then I spent 13 years not touching the sewing machine even once. Whoops! But I did continue to buy patterns and fabric whenever I saw some I fancied, and the amount of fabric I bought was always entirely the wrong size. Like 1.2 yards of something. Do you know how limiting that amount of fabric is? I didn’t at the time—but I do now!

Last year, I recommitted myself to sewing. It’s an ideal hobby: It’s creative with limits (I choose the pattern but can mix and match elements and choose my own fabric). It is structured. It involves instructions. It does not entail looking at a screen. Logically, it all adds up. However, I needed to rebuild my skills and confidence, so I signed up for classes at Brooklyn Craft Company to make a hideous elastic-waist skirt (gotta start somewhere), a less hideous cotton slip dress that’s FAR too large for me (my fault), and a pretty serviceable pair of green linen trousers. With this done, I purchased access to Mimi G’s Sew It Academy and took the beginner sewing course, in which I made two tops, linen wide-leg pants, and a linen wrap skirt. Tbh, I’d wear the pants and the skirt. Progress!

Now, my goal for the year is to complete nine new projects all on my own. Scary!! I am used to having an instructor be like “do this,” instead of having to read and understand the instructions on my own. But I’ve just embarked on cutting out the pattern for my first project: a teal cotton dress. Stay tuned.

Do a pull-up

I have put “do a pull-up” on my resolutions list for literally years. Like over five years at this point. And every year, I’d be like “I’m going to do a pull-up this year” and then I’d take zero steps toward making this a reality. Like the mere act of stating that I plan on doing something in the future will result in me spontaneously measurably improving my upper body strength. Turns out it doesn’t? But this year, I’m doing it. It’s happening for real this time. I’m doing lat pulldowns. I’m lifting heavy. I’m doing dead hangs. So prepare to be amazed. And if, nay, when I succeed, then I’m free to move on to my other fitness-related resolution that I’ve never achieved: doing a backflip.

Figure out what the fuck I’m doing professionally

Work sucks. For a while now, it’s gotten progressively more and more “Hey, so we asked ChatGPT to write this thing, but it’s bad, so can you take a pass at it and make it sound more human?” Like, “Hey, here’s a bag full of actual garbage. Can you take a pass at it and put together something that resembles a meal?” Even if I do get an actual creative brief for something, the brief is inevitably ChatGPT? Like, it includes “Great, here’s an idea for an engaging blog post focused on [XYZ]:” So demoralizing.

I guess that’s why I’ve toyed with getting back to my blogging roots? I miss writing, and I especially miss writing something that is fun and uses my brain and does not have to contain these 15 keyword variations which are awkward and grammatically incorrect and don’t naturally fit in a sentence. At what point did work become “I don’t know what I’m doing so I just asked AI what we should do, and it recommended these things, so I asked it to generate a marketing plan, and then someone else asked it to read the marketing plan and develop a creative brief for a given piece, and now here’s a creative brief that effectively no one has put actual thought into and is just based on information that whichever AI has gleaned from the internet, so let’s just draft it and use the right keyword variations so it’ll be picked up in whatever search engine and rank highly, but then no one will come to the page anyway because the AI summary at the top of the search results scrapes the content from this document and others to form this kind of horrific overview”? And that’s just everything? That’s the whole internet.

We watched an episode of The X-Files last night where they go to a trailer park neighborhood full of “freak show” performers, and I found myself thinking, “How lucky they are to be so present.” Just an absolutely enormous cell phone with no caller ID, a similarly enormous coat, and vibes.

Well, I don’t have a tidy segue to an end or anything. And clearly I need to post something, or it’ll be May and I’ll have to post about resolutions. So with that.