vibe check #33: flower power, dolphins & astronauts and jennifer coolidge's great advice
a dose of joy and motivation to get you through the week.
vibe check: noun | an act of finding out how someone is feeling or how they make you feel, or what the mood in a particular place or situation is.
Welcome to The Vibe Check – a dose of joy and motivation to get you through the week featuring a (ever-changing) combination of things to read, things to listen to, things to laugh at, things to buy, things I’ve saved over the last week and more.
Hiya. How are things and how are you?
Once again, it’s been a while. At this point, it feels embarrassing to give yet another reason for yet another lapse in my regular Substack programming. But between a honeymoon, a manic job and a very, very depleted energy source, it’s been hard to steal away the pockets of time that I usually manage to do in order to write.
But I’m here now and there are plenty of thoughts, essays and interviews heading your way. Strap in, brace yourselves, gird your loins etc.
Before we dive in, I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who continues to support this newsletter as a paid subscriber. I can’t tell you how much it means to know that my silly thoughts, stories and opinions are so valued. You’ll have noticed that I paused payments while I stopped writing and I’ll be keeping them paused for a bit longer, too.
Anyway, now onto the good stuff. Scroll down for this week’s Vibe Check recommendations, here to deliver a dose of joy and motivation to get you through the week.
Enjoy!
SOMETHING TO WATCH
Last week, two NASA astronauts, who had been in orbit since June, finally returned to earth. They’d initially set off to spend eight days at the Dragon Freedom space station. But the trip ended up lasting nine months.
As they landed in the ocean just off Florida’s Gulf Coast, their long-awaited welcome home party didn’t just involve loved ones and fans – it involved a pod of dolphins too. Watch here.
SOMETHING TO READ
I know that the people’s princess, Jennifer Coolidge, is now probably most known for her role as Tanya McQuoid in The White Lotus, but for me she will always be Amanda (daahhhling), the fake British-accented old friend of Phoebe and Monica in Friends.
Like most people, I have loved her in everything she’s ever been in, so her candid, oversharing and honest interview with the Sunday Times Style really was such a joy to read. But thing that really stuck with me was her reflection on self-sabotage, and her advice to those who don’t want to do what she did, to make sure that ‘when the wave comes, have the guts to stay on.’ Read here.
SOMETHING TO BUY
No links this week, but just simply a direct order for you to go out today and buy some fresh flowers. Not expensive ones, not fancy ones – just bright ones that will add an extra shade of joy to the room. I bought these orange ranunculus last week and they’ve unfurled and frolicked in their vase and they’ve made me so happy. You don’t even need to spend more than a fiver. Seasonal stems like daffs and tulips are cheap, but endlessly cheerful.
THINGS I SAVED LAST WEEK
That’s all for now. See you next week!
Em