How to Thrive During Spring, the Moodiest Season
plus: the OG Arnold Palmer, three addictive shows, and Barbie explains something important
I once ran into a friend on the streets of Soho on an early October day so warm it felt like summer. He was dressed in fall finery: suede loafers, corduroy trousers, a tweedy jacket, and a sweater, all in earth tones. I said hello and complimented his seasonally appropriate wardrobe.
Visibly sweating, he laughed and said, “Oh, I’m way too hot! The calendar says fall, but the weather says otherwise. I really rushed the season.”
I feel that impulse keenly at this time of year when it’s officially springtime, but many days still feel like winter. I want to put away my heavy coat, gloves, and turtleneck in favor of a snappy trench, ballet flats, and t-shirt, but doing so risks miserable shivering.
Like a beautifully decorated cake that reveals itself to be stale upon first bite, spring always disappoints me, and I’ve long grumbled that it’s my least favorite season.
But this year, I’ve found the trick to appreciating it: dropping my expectations and accepting that this is a two-steps-forward, three-steps-back season, during which there will be more warmth and daylight, birdsong, and flowers to savor AND plenty of opportunities to maintain my favorite winter habits.
Spring, I’ve realized, is a season that likes to hit the snooze button a few times before getting out of bed. It’s not lazy or infuriatingly unpredictable; it’s simply sensitive and shy. The last thing spring wants is to be rushed. And by graciously accepting spring’s true nature, I’m more able to embrace it.
My strategy for happily accommodating spring’s changeable moods? I’m using a BUT/AND approach…
Wear more color but don’t underdress. I’ve dusted off my multi-colored cross-body bag (no longer in stock, but similar to this) and am wearing a winter coat, gloves, warm socks, and a hat when the weather calls for it.
Drop everything to go outside when the sun’s out, and…
…keep the firewood basket stocked for roaring fires inside on cold, grey, wet days.
Eat lighter but keep it comforting. This clean and cozy chicken noodle soup, this plain risotto from The Art of Simple Food, and this slow-roasted chicken and green bean dish are all in my current rotation, and we grill outside anytime the weather cooperates.
Appreciate the longer days and later sunset, but…
…keep the bed dressed in flannel sheets for maximum coziness!
On gloriously warm afternoons, my favorite activity is to sit outside by a fire, wrapped in blankets, my face turned to the sun. I’d love to know: how do you feel about springtime? Are you coping or thriving?!
📺 Girls5Eva: I am a late arrival to the ridiculously silly low-stakes delight that is Girls5Eva, a sitcom-style series about a Spice-Girls-inspired girl band who reunite decades later to chase their dreams of pop music success. Starring musical theater heavyweights, Sara Bareilles and Rene-Elise Goldsberry, along with Busy Philipps and Paula Pell, the whole cast seems to be having a great time, and I love the flashbacks to the band’s “original” 90s songs and performances. One of my favorite parts of the show is the terrible but catchy theme song (there’s a music video!) that I can’t help but sing along to at the beginning of every episode, “cos forever’s too short.” I’ve been inspired to listen to 90s pop classics when I’m making dinner in the evening, and in an oddly satisfying way, the show makes me feel like it’s never too late to follow your creative dreams!
📺 Palm Royale: set in 1960s Palm Beach, Kristen Wiig is impressive playing it straight as a former beauty queen itching to be accepted into the socially cut-throat world of Palm Beach society. The fashion and scenery are straight out of a Slim Aarons photo shoot, and the cast is all-star, from Laura Dern and Ricky Martin to Carol Burnett, plus Kaia Gerber, Cindy Crawford’s daughter! The storylines are not entirely sensical, but I’m watching for the escapist and sun-drenched fabulousness - while cheering on Kristen Wiig’s underdog character in her quest to be accepted.
📺 3 Body Problem: this ambitious, globe-and-outer space-spanning, dark, sci-fi, mystery series is not perfect, but had me hooked from episode one, when we learn that scientists all over the world are dying, while at the same time, scientific experiments are inexplicably failing. The series toggles in time and place between a post-Cultural Revolution China and modern-day England, and can be confusing at times, with a variety of elements and subplots moving the action forward, including an uber-realistic video game. I enjoyed the mystery of it all, and the interesting questions it raises about science, the future of our planet, and our place on it, and am toying with the idea of reading the novel it’s based on. Be warned, the final episode does not provide a sense of closure because Season 2 is in the works…
👓Looking for something else to watch or read? More ideas here:
📆 March 2024 Recs // 📖 Books // 📺 TV Shows // 🍿 Movies
🎉 Congratulations to Caroline, Jojo, and Samantha, who each won a copy of What Can I Bring? by Sophie Hansen, last week’s special guest.
Entertaining, amusing, thought-provoking miscellanea from the Interwebs: NBD, just THE Arnold Palmer making an Arnold Palmer! //
’s easy-but-fancy spring party menu (including grocery list and game plan) is a public service! // The inspiring story of the dedicated teacher who got the attention of an award-winning author // My Mother’s Death Blew Up My Life. To Fix It, I Opened a Business. And it just happened to be a bookshop that also serves wine! // ’s solution for spring dressing conundrums: the flannel! // LOL’d watching Barbie’s (and Ken) discuss our greatly changed water consumption habits // helps us figure out whether you really have to and sums it all up in a handy (sweary) flowchart //
That’s it for me this week! Thank you for reading and see you next Friday! xo Amelia
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Girls 5 Eva is a gift to humanity.
Thanks for the flowchart shout-out! I too am finding Palm Royale very entertaining, without it being entirely “sensical” 😂