Kent Rogowski, Love = Love. #9

On a good week these things write their damn selves. La la la, life is great, photo of dog, post completed.

But I began this habit of making lists for the tough weeks. The ones where it feels like nothing is good at all. Forcing myself to look on the bright side can be difficult, but it’s important, so I’m gonna do it anyway.

Good things:

• Tough love means you give a shit.
• Life would be emptier without downtown magic. It’s fun working next door to one of your best friends. It is pretty sweet & nice the way my service industry pals & I can combine employee discounts to keep each other well fed, well dressed, and well… drunk. (& in my case, surrounded by yarn.) In fact, this city is a pretty good place to be broke in because people are totally into helping each other out. I’m thankful for that every day.
• Coffee.
• Big lists & countdowns.

Grapefruit Thyme Gin from Cocktail Remedy

• Fancy drinks tonight at my house! White Strawberry Lemon Sangria, Grapefruit & Thyme Gin Cocktail.
• Doing my very very best to be there for people who need me. Even when it tires me out. Even when I wish I could do more.
• Being able to recognize it when I need a break & some alone time. I know this is a skill that not everyone has, but I’m so grateful that I do.
• Glad that there’s someone out there writing actually helpful articles for young women on topics that are important, like how to look like you weren’t crying in public.

Tattoo by Alice Carrier. I would love a yarn-haired lady like this.

• I love thinking about tattoos. Alice Carrier is apprenticing now but everything she posts has me mentally planning a destination tattoo road trip.
• Knowing that your friends have your back even if you don’t get to see them enough.
• “Good Friend” by Plants & Animals keeps showing up on my itunes. “I wanna make all the good times.” & “I wanna wake up & see your shoes in the stairwell.” & “It takes a good friend to say you’ve got your head up your ass.”

• I’m knitting myself a top. I’m just starting to understand the allure of custom sized clothes…and that it could be a reality in my life one day.
• New ideas for things to make that basically amount to “put a doily on it.”
• I just told a friend a secret dream of mine & she said basically that she would do everything she could to help. It is so rare & astounding when people are willing to go to bat for me without hesitation.
• And… cute dogs.

This week Bridget texted me, “Declare victory whenever possible.” Even out of the context of our conversation I like that as a motto. It’s the kind of thing a perfectionist needs to hear often.