I did one of these lists last year and it was fun to reflect on the many lessons I have been humbled by in the three and a bit decades I’ve been alive. Many to do with food, many to do with love (see: unrequited, heartbreak, desire), friendship and achieving the perfect capsule wardrobe. I’ve been in a bit of a writing slump (you might have noticed a distinct lack of essay over the past few weeks), which I’m trying to pull myself out of. I’ve got a triptych of mini essays arriving next Sunday questioning nostalgia, success and perfection. Until then, please enjoy my personal set of rules for life (quite hard to come up with 33 new ones - if you want to compare and contrast, here’s my 32 lessons from last year).
Cooking for yourself on holiday is chic! Eating out is fun but expensive and not always as good as the pasta you make for yourself.
If you’re making something with few ingredients buy the BEST possible versions of each one. The good pasta you never buy. The heritage tomatoes just because. The fancy ricotta that actually tastes of something. Proper good olive oil!
A 10-step skincare routine is a fallacy. You just need a clean cleanser, a nourishing moisturiser and a breakout-proof sunscreen. I spent so much money and energy on trying to make my (already good) skin better and I made it worse.
Supplements do actually make a difference!!! A pint of water with magnesium before bed? Best sleep of my life.
Pick romantic partners that make you feel like how your favourite song in your favourite moment does.
If they’re making you feel crazy, confused, insecure and generally like you’re unravelling, they’re not the one.
Roasting a chicken on a wire rack will stop the bottom from going soggy and help you achieve crispy skin all over - just remember to liberally salt it (all over AND inside) a few hours before and to pat the skin dry with a paper towel before oiling it up.
In my experience, cooking something tried and tested for a dinner party is a much better idea than trying to impress them with something new. Signature dishes are so in.
Know what you’re looking for when you go charity or vintage shopping. It’s way easier and much more fruitful to go in with an intention.
Don’t forget about the 1:1.1 ration when it comes to cooking rice! One part rice (rinsed until the water runs clear), to one part water + a pinch of salt. Keep the lid on for 10 minutes after it’s finished cooking so it doesn’t stick to the bottom.
Holding a tiny child’s hand and having them smile at you is sort of the same as falling in love.
Success looks different for everyone; one person’s white picket fence is another person’s prison.
Dating is horrible but it can also be really fun if you get out of your own head (a WIP for me).
If you put something on and you don’t get a good feeling about it immediately, you probably don’t need to buy it.
You need twice as much water as you think you do a day.
It’s nice to let someone else cook for you so stop trying to control how they do it (another WIP for me).
The Parent Trap is the best source of inspiration for clothes (double denim, mom jeans, dad shirts), men (Nick Parker, the perfect man) and food (chocolate chip pancakes, chilli and cornbread, “I’ll just have half a grapefruit, thank you very much”).
Breakfast tacos are what mornings are made of: corn/flour tortilla, avocado, scrambled eggs, hot sauce, lime, perfection.
It’s ok if it takes you more than a sentence to describe what you do for a living.
Going on holiday with your parents as a 33 year old is cute!
Comparison truly is the thief of joy. Hard lesson to learn but good to know.
Figuring out what you want when you’re dating and being able to communicate that up front will save you a lot of heartache.
Don’t take your date to your favourite anything until you know they won’t ghost you (hard to tell in this day and age, tbh).
A glass of cold Chardonnay on a warm weekday afternoon is enough to turn any bad day around.
Cold noodles > hot noodles.
You can love a place and not need to live there.
You can sometimes dislike the place you live in and love.
Sun and cold water can’t fix everything but it’s a pretty good remedy.
Questioning your entire life at 33 is totally normal (right?).
“I've been in love with people and ideas in several cities and learned that the lovers I've loved and the ideas I've embraced depended on where I was, how cold it was, and what I had to do to be able to stand it.” - Eve Babitz
Drinking coffee on an empty stomach is no bueno: food first, then coffee, to stop your cortisol levels from spiking.
(Don’t believe everything you see on TikTok)
This still stands: there is, sadly, such thing as too much salt.
#5 oosh
Number 11 x