This week, I came across a piece Joan Didion wrote titled “On Keeping a Notebook.” Do you keep one? I do — mainly a site for half-formed ideas, phrases I like, words that interest me. Some pages are a constellation of little expressions that don’t belong together in any meaningful way, but that somehow plink pleasantly against one another like wind chimes, revealing new sounds and resonances. Other times, I’ll get a full sentence down (sometimes, they blessedly arrive pre-dressed in one intact unit), the clarity of my penmanship atrophying as it approaches the period: one big, slouching race of a thought barreling to its own conclusion. In general, the notebook contains the first light for all my new writing. I’d never thought about my notebooks this way before, but they are a dawn. The sun rising.
What do you keep in your notebooks, I wonder? Do you keep one?
One of the phrases in the Didion piece that leapt out at me:
“But our notebooks give us away, for however dutifully we record what we see around us, the common denominator of all we see is always, transparently, shamelessly, the implacable “I.””
God, she cuts a smart line, doesn’t she? I love the phrasing. And I thought, too: but aren’t we always giving ourselves away? On the page or not! The cluster of hair clips in our purses, the photos on our lock-screens, the cities we keep in our weather apps, the photos and post-it notes constellating our desks, the mug rings on our coffee tables – – everything is confession. Everything is revealing the wondrous and weird signatures of who we are.
Thinking about this and feeling tender. My sister and her wife just left after a five-day visit, and I am visualizing all the beautiful little details that collect around them. The turns of phrase, the waffle-knit loungewear they both love, the pile of knitting on the couch. A mug with a spoon in it; their boots at the door. Sigh. No one tells you how little time you get with your siblings after you’ve flown the coop of your childhood home…
Alas, onward —
P.S. Writing this reminded me of our self-portraiture. So charming.
Sunday Shopping.
+The iconic BA&SH Meredith blazer is on sale plus an extra 20% off with code EXTRA20. Love it in that burgundy; it’s discounted to around $200 with the code! These are so incredible chic, classic, timeless, and you know I love a blazer. Great travel piece — pair with Ruti pants and a soft cotton base layer for travel day; use it over a slip dress (or something like this for less) in the evening; pair with jeans for exploring. Just works.
+I’ve organized all my best “Boxing Day” (most of which have extended into the weekend) sale finds here.
+Not pictured below, but a propos of the soft base layers I now require: Leset is running a great winter sale. Treat yourself to their fabulous pointelle tee and matching pants in ballet pink, or snag one of their Margo tees (I slightly prefer SoldOut because it’s more tuckable and has a silkier handfeel, but these have a great fit/silhouette and look expensive; I also own a few of these). And one lucky size L gal can score their gorgeous Barb pants on sale here!
+An ultra-chic wear with everything boot, 30% off. This is the shoe silhouette that does it all. Works with cropped jeans, full-length jeans, barrel leg, midi and maxi skirts.
+Nili Lotan Shon pants on sale! If you’re a petite gal, try the Brylies instead.
+Victoria Beckham is offering 15% off sitewide this weekend. I used the promo to order three products I keep hearing buzz about: their eyeliner, foundation drops, and colour wash for cheeks. Would look gorgeous bundled into this oversized Cuyana cosmetics case…the packaging is all quiet luxury! And speaking of beauty/cosmetics while traveling: Cadence is still running a winter promotion where you can get up to 25% off. This is such a chic indulgence for a traveler! Love these tiny cases for carrying Advil, little amounts of hair serum or face oil, etc.
+Reminder: these are the best inexpensive running/walking gloves.
+Chic sweater to pair with discounted Mother jeans.
+A great scalp scrub to reset for the new year.
BASH BLAZER // NILI LOTAN SHON PANTS // ORIBE SHAMPOO // BEST INEXPENSIVE RUNNING GLOVES // WE NORWEGIANS SWEATER // MOTHER JEANS // VB EYELINER, COLOUR WASH CHEEK TINT, AND FOUNDATION DROPS // CUYANA COSMETICS CASE // AEYDE BOOTS // CADENCE CAPSULES // ROZ SCALP SCRUB
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I kept thinking of your line – “the clarity of my penmanship atrophying as it approaches the period: one big, slouching race of a thought barreling to its own conclusion” – so much so, I had to retrace my steps to find it once more!
Perfectly describes my actual transcription of the line from Claire-Louise Bennett: “Anticipation, when it occurs, often makes me animated and expansive, as if I am perhaps reviving and honing my senses in preparation for the waited object: yes indeed, the world is a scintillating and fascinating place when a half-remembered mystery leans in within reach.” I keep these thoughts in a grimoire as a dash of magic to my days. There’s many quotes via Magpie in there, too!
!! Thank you so much for this generous compliment! I’m so glad you related to that feeling, and Bennett captures it beautifully. I know the exact sensation she’s describing!
Also – thanks for the gift of the word “grimoire.” New to me and I added it to my “line of the day” journal.
xx
I’d love to learn how you manage your ideas and phrases. Do you digitize them after writing in your notebook or have some kind of indexing? As a fellow writer, I am trying to figure out a system for taking my various inputs and having them in one place.
Sadly, no – I wish I had a better method but I really just keep them in lists here and there and review the notebooks every few weeks and recopy them if they’re still calling to me and abandon them if they’re not. It’s very fluid and a lot is lost in the process, but I’ve sort of made peace with that personally. It feels more like steeping in a bunch of words/ideas and whatever collects at the end is the magic.
xx