Weekly Report, vol. II
consider this permission to break convention
Welcome to the WEEKLY REPORT. This is where I get to share the 100% Curated by Nikki Lang seal of approval with you.
As a reminder, I am no longer on Instagram or any social media platform for that matter. This is where we can connect :)
What I’m READING this week:
THE KNIGHT AND THE MOTH by Rachel Gillig
“When you do the right thing for the wrong reason, no one praises you. When you do the wrong thing for the right reason, everyone does, even though what is right and wrong depends entirely on the story you’re living in. And no one says they need recognition or praise or love, but we all hunger for it. We all want to be special.”
― Rachel Gillig, The Knight and the Moth
I don’t fear—I know—that I will be insufferable about this novel for the rest of my thirties. It’s one of those, “buy a copy for every person you love” type of book.
It’s such a fresh and original fantasy (fantasy romance, technically, but I am not beholden to abiding by the cult/ure of Big Book Publishing). Also, I wanted to be best friends with the Gargoyle in this story which is such a niche and unexpected thing to admit.
The amount of highlights, the one liners that took my breath away, the STORY that left me needing more by the end of the last page…
“Which is more intricate?” he mused. “The designs of men, trying to reach gods, or that of gods, trying to reach men?” My hammer collided with a chunk of granite. “What is either to the intricacies of women, who reach both?”
― Rachel Gillig, The Knight and the Moth
I hope you read it, order it at the library, find a used copy, and end up passing it along to someone else. Let me know if you have time and have thoughts on it in the future!
What I’m EATING this week:
It’s been 18 days of homemade meals, three times a day, and I've found a nice groove for our family. It sounds like a lot, but we repurpose leftovers, make tons of snack plates, and keep favorite recipes on rotation.
The urge to get SWEET BASIL pizza struck last Saturday (someone get the Queen Marguerite with pepperoni on June 28th in honor of my birthday ok?) after a long day and I’m so glad I resisted.
I already had dinner marinating and ready in the fridge and my discipline paid off. It was the best buffalo chicken sub—ever.
This week I am trying some recipes from a subscription so I can’t share them with you. Tim Laielli is one of my favorite food (bloggers?) and his voice overs are hilarious. I’m someone who communicates on egg-shells at times and you can tell he is someone who has to work hard not to crush the entire dozen lol.
You might recognize one of these recipes as…GASP…bread. Yep, going back to my Mother Dough days and trying my hand at focaccia.
I’m craving some fresh tomatoes, herbs, artisan salt, and olive oil as the sun sets over my beautiful patio and plants (which are all THRIVING, I will have you know.)
For my sweet tooth friends — if you go to a birthday party this summer make sure you make these homemade funfetti bars! I made them for a birthday party and wow they are *sweet* but so perfect for an afternoon of celebrating.
What I’m PLAYING this week:
I’m currently re-writing my SATURN fantasy fully at peace that if this book (series) takes me a decade, so be it. I am proud that I’m working at it and resisting the urge to get it right the first time.
“Because clarity comes from engagement, not overthinking (or under thinking just for the sake of rushing!)”
Diana Gabaldon of Outlander started at 35 with nothing more than a passing interest in men wearing kilts and the knowledge that she always wanted to write…she just didn’t know where to start.
Here is my playlist for writing this story and characters. I am ever faithful to her, adding in new songs as chapters re-work and refine themselves. They never get old to me, something new always appears when I take the time to listen.
Also, this will give you a small taste of the story since I don’t have anything else to share (for now).
What I’m OBSESSING over this week:
This quote from Diana Gabaldon, author of OUTLANDER book series:
“Anyhow, you see what I’m saying, I trust. I don’t object at all to romances, but I don’t write them. I don’t observe the conventions of the genre—or of any other, for that matter.”
Apparently, DG used to be accosted at book conventions by (no surprise here!) the romance community because she refused to follow the genre conventions. More on this “community” another time when I’m not in such a chipper mood.
But her romantic couple didn’t meet until after page 60 (a sin), her male lead had a tragic experience with the villain (a double sin), and at the time, writing in first person was the most egregious of all!
When I read her dry, and unbothered, responses to the noise over the many decades, it gave my heart an extra inch of oomph.
Courage? Permission? I’m not sure, but it made me sit down at my desk and ask myself—
“Can I stand behind my story and characters with that much conviction?”
I knew the answer, disappointingly, was a big fat no. Which led me to my next question.
“What isn’t true, in my story? What is holding me back from believing in it with my full chest?”
I made the list. Went back. And let me tell you—writing what is true to the story, the characters, and my voice, is a game changer.
It clicked, all because of that one little blog post I obsessively read by DG.
So, if you know of any other artists or authors who also break convention, send them my way. I am le obsessed.
What I’m RECOMMENDING this week:
MAD WOMAN by Chelsea Bieker (it remains my number one read of the year).
This is the epitome of Cancer Season. If you read one book this season, this is it.
I know … everyone loves to boil Cancer down to a crying Kardashian meme or portray us as a cute cuddly woodland animal … but we are so much more dimensional than that.
“The world is not made for mothers. Yet mothers made the world.”
― Chelsea Bieker, Madwoman
“Well, the important thing with men is to find one that won’t kill you.”
― Chelsea Bieker, Madwoman
“One day the thought came to me to try things differently than she said they had to be, and so I did. But it wasn’t easy letting her go. It was a death.”
― Chelsea Bieker, Madwoman
As always, let me know if you read it or have thoughts on it!
What I’m TREATING myself to this week:
As the solstice and Cancer season approaches (my sun and mercury are in Cancer) I’m treating myself to a very, very, embodied summer (instead of remaining in the mental grip of Gemini season).
This means less studying and more writing.
This means less burning the candle and more breathing around the projects that aren’t finished yet.
This means less thinking about optimal movement or routines, and just getting down on the ground to do a juicy 15 minute pilates with my favorite teacher and platform.
So, I guess you could say I am treating myself to the most primal and ancient wisdom of all. Nature.
Which means less resistance and more peace.
As promised, here’s a little looksie-loo at our massive bathroom renovation! We started in April and we’re almost done … almost … almost. I promise I’ll bring out the “before” and “after” photos soon!
Until next week!
NIKKI LANG (: