welcome to isa-mail

le delizie (delights) 001 ⁂ seasonal mood boards, beethoven, starlings in rome

Dec 17, 2024

if you’re getting this, we probably already know each other (hi, friend!!) and there’s an even higher probability that you’re a person whom I adore. on the off chance that we haven’t met: wow—welcome, hello!

growing up, i was certainly a blogger grl (xanga, blogspot, tumblr). personal blogging more or less died out in favor of social media and i’ve been feeling the lack ever since. as a leo, i miss pouring my heart out in the commons without Instagram’s character limits, but more than that: i miss non-monetized spaces just for the hell of it.

my favorite newsletters push me to be more curious, inspired, and energize me to try something new or think differently. they feel closer to the “old internet” in that expansive and exploratory way. plus, i live for a good round-up.

what i’d like isa-mail to be

⁂ a collection of things i’m thinking about and/or delighting in (what i’m calling “le delizie”)

⁂ peeks into roman life (what i’m calling “alla romana”)

⁂ crafting corner + ways to use our hands

⁂ maybe! a place to talk about language learning as an adult, etsy treasures, italian stuff, etc.

⁂ an invitation for you to share something with me

in a world of professional content creators and ever increasing ennui, as my friend adina reminded me, “what happened to just making stuff for your friends because it’s fun?” so welcome, all (hi, adina)! here goes.

try ⁂ seasonal mood boards

i like to visualize the year ahead, but the idea of one mood board for a whole year scares the crap out of me. instead, in 2022 I started making seasonal mood boards. sometimes they include recipes to make, books to read, knitting patterns, places to go; overall: the spirit I’m hoping to settle into during the season.

as someone who more or less gets paid to make mood boards for a living, i try to keep it solidly between approachable and aspirational. for example, last winter featured popcorn with nutritional yeast and black lime, chili salt, which turned into an nightly ritual. this winter features stretching and monochrome outfits—very do-able!

practice ⁂ living still lives

i would love to live in laurel schwulst’s brain for an hour or two. in an interview for escape the algorithm, the artist, educator and writer discusses her project, Firefly Sanctuary, where she developed a website dedicated to her apartment, creating both a physical and digital dwelling. something that stuck with me was how she curated an ever-changing still life in the enclosed space above her refrigerator. “As a visual person, it was hard to ignore — it’s asking to be a little gallery.”

while the project no longer lives online, you can learn more about it and read her manifesto for the sanctuary here.

Consider places often overlooked
Let certain things exist naturally
Remember that creativity can be about removing things just as much as adding things

listen ⁂ beethoven’s piano sonata #17

i grew up listening to classical music with my folks on WQXR and it stirs something in me that few mediums do. this sonata has been firmly wedged in my head for months. complete the look with this tee.

diy ⁂ stainless steel kettle glow-up

nothing tickles me like a cleaning trick that is cheap, works and takes basically one minute. since moving to italy, all surfaces in contact with tap water are destined to become calcified and honestly a bit icky—which really ruins the vibe when you’re trying to make a cup of tea. luckily for us, mommy bloggers (no shade—they’re the original influencers) have a solution for just about every cleaning quandary.

how to clean your stainless steel kettle:

add 1 tablespoon of citric acid to half a kettle of water.
allow the water to boil and pour the water out.
give a gentle scrub, rise and—voilà—good as new.

to pay “alla romana” means to split the bill evenly among friends. here, you’ll find something plucked from life in rome.

samyoukilis

A post shared by @samyoukilis

starlings dazzle. if i’m lucky enough to catch a murmuration at dusk, it always stops me in my tracks. sam youkilis captured one such performance. take a peek.