It is Monday! There was a brief period sometime this year when I was posting twice a week, on Wednesdays and Sundays. More recently, I have not been posting at all. I would like to get back to posting twice a week, but I have decided that I would rather post on Mondays instead of Sundays.
Cottagecore is one of my favorite aesthetics. It romanticizes spending time in nature, going on picnics, wearing flowy dresses, and living slowly and sustainably. I tend to gravitate to this aesthetic in the summer. Sometimes before I fall asleep, I like to watch slow living videos on youtube, my favorite channels being TheCottageFairy and Ruby Granger. I love slow living, cottagecore videos and I wanted to see if I could do something similar but written instead.
My goal for these slow living posts is to inspire being outside and doing wholesome activities that are nourishing for our minds and bodies. I want to show how enjoying your time does not have to include spending money on a bunch of material things, otherwise, feeling grateful for the elements surrounding us and taking care of the planet in the process.
Gardening in the Morning
My day started around 7:00 in the morning. I went through my morning routine, and then outside to go check on my little garden. I have been tending to my baby tomato and squash plants which I started from seed a few months back. Both my tomatoes and butternut squashes are doing pretty well and it makes me so excited to see their progress every morning when I wake up.
Afternoon Picnic
The main event of the day was a picnic in the rose garden with one of my close friends. She brought snacks and I brought some pasta salad. It was very warm out but luckily we both brought straw hats to protect ourselves from the hot sun.
Paint the White Roses Red
The roses reminded me of the analogy from Alice in Wonderland, “paint the white roses red.” I have never actually read the Alice in Wonderland book but nevertheless, the modified story has still made an impact on me. The live-action Alice in Wonderland film was one of my favorites growing up, and I still look to it for inspiration.
There are many interpretations of this analogy. I see it as turning something you already have into something greater. I see “painting the white roses red” as making yourself out to be the person you want to be through improving and reaching your aspirations. However, that rose is still a white rose despite how it may look red after painting it. It is not a red rose. This year I have found it valuable to nurture my true self. I do not believe that accepting yourself for who you are is limiting yourself to being the same throughout your whole life. I still want to improve, only I want to improve in ways that make me proud. Fulfillment comes from how I feel about my own achievemtents, not what others think about them.
My friend at the rose garden mentioned how the sunset-colored roses were her favorites. I said that the yellow ones were mine. We are all born a blank rose, and we grow to paint ourselves in whatever colors we choose, whatever interests we have, and whoever we spend our time with. That rose, whatever it may look like, is what I believe to be a visual representation of who we are.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Movie Night
That night I went over to the same friend’s house to watch the first Harry Potter movie. We both grew up obsessed with the franchise(we still are) and we wanted to relive the nostalgia. We both dressed in Harry Potter gear, and despite wearing our Hufflepuff and Gryffindor merch, we are both Ravenclaws.
I hope you found this post a little bit inspiring to do some leisure activities. I would love to keep making these kinds of posts because they are very fun for me.
