“Is that Contour or Is that Structural?”
Two weeks have flown by! How is it the end of July? We couldn’t tell you. Here’s what we did.
Tuesday 7/9
Z: Catja and I have this grand idea that we should be able to construct a frame for our painting from some scraps of wood, so we decided to go to the scrapstore in Tooting to find some pieces of wood. The journey is rather long but absolutely worth the joy of roaming around a room full of craft supplies. We found some good pieces of wood, gorgeous fabric for new pillow cases, and some random bits and bobs for other crafts. We have yet to attempt to build this frame, but we will keep y’all posted on our woodworking endeavors.
C: SPOILER FOR ETHAN IF YOU HAVEN’T GOTTEN YOUR MAIL PRIVILEGES BACK
Ethan finally gave us his mailing address, so Zoe and I immediately started brainstorming about how to make the most memorable, eye-catching, slightly embarrassing card for him. We were so inspired by the attention to detail and sheer devotion he had to bulling his boots all weekend, so I painted the best, shiniest boot I could. I tried painting our faces reflected in the boot (see our incredible photo reference), but I am really bad at painting faces, let alone warped reflections of faces, so that mission failed. I finished the boot with a topcoat of Mod Podge to really seal in the sparkle.
Speaking of sparkle, Zoe broke into our new glitter gel pens to decorate the envelope in stars and hearts and smiley faces in a rainbow of colors. We hope this brings him and his platoon some joy when it arrives. It definitely brought us joy.
Zoe wanted to practice reading the children’s books she got at the library yesterday, so I sat criss cross applesauce on the floor as she read three books to me. I got flashbacks to kindergarten. She was a very engaging reader and did different voices for all the characters. I voted for my two favorites, and she packed them up to bring to her interview tomorrow!
Wednesday 7/10
C: After England’s surprise penalty kick triumph last week, I immediately went to Vinted and found a £2.50 three lions colorblocked polo shirt. It arrived today, just in time for the semi-finals, and I dusted off the sewing machine to crop the XL mens shirt to one a little more my size. I’m in love with it. After, I did some Gold Standard Arts Foundation work, which included many iterations of social media graphics and emails, then I chugged through my dissertation for a few hours.
Z: Knead the Bread is still going strong, which means I have to make random sourdough baked goods at least once a week, so I decided to whip up some sourdough cinnamon rolls. They did not rise that much :(, but we keep moving. Since I had the oven on I also made a baked potato for lunch. I realized that I don’t really eat lunch because I don’t want a sandwich everyday, so instead I just make whatever I feel like eating since that is better than no food at all…today was a baked potato, last week french toast…idk.
C: We went over to the boys’ house with Hebe and Anna to watch England v Netherlands. I brought assorted veg and hummus, and Luke kindly made the most delicious buffalo wings and fries. Jake joined us later after work, and we all gathered to watch the game… which England WON! I felt so ALIVE!
Thursday 7/11
Z: I woke up bright and early and headed out for my interview at the CofE school. The interview was a strange experience and I very quickly learned that maybe I am not cut out to work at a religious institution…probably could have figured that out before now but whatever. I sat down and immediately felt something looking at me, only to turn to my left and find a floor to ceiling portrait of St. Paul looming above me. I took a fun little writing test, which I was not expecting, and got to read my book to a group of little six year olds. They were all very cute and reminded me that I do actually like working with kids, just maybe not in this setting. I then had my formal interview before leaving after a long three hours. I massively struggled to leave the premises of the school which was rather embarrassing, so I scurried off to meet Catja at Primrose.
C: I made my way to Primrose Hill in the morning to meet Zoe for a post-interview debrief, which turned out to be very interesting. My brief stint in Catholic school prepared me for the quirks of religious institutions, so it was interesting to hear Zoe’s perspective on seeing the Lord’s Prayer on a poster and a massive portrait of St. Paul staring her down. Proud of her for getting the interview and killing it! Apparently she caught the attention of a small child named Ben, so I think that’s a win.
After basking in the sun, eating lunch, and dog/people watching for a few hours, we made our way back home to do independent dissertation work, job apps, and life admin. Later, Zoe helped paint my nails in honor of England. I’d never had nail art before, but I was inspired by Pinterest and felt very patriotic ahead of the England v. Spain final. She painted a lovely England flag and an intricate football pattern on my thumbs. I loved it! Think she and I have a new crafternoon activity now.
Friday 7/12
Z: I was itching to get out of the house to be a bit more productive, so Catja and I headed to Gails in Kensal Rise. It was a great choice because I cranked out 700 words on my final assignment for class and we overheard some fantastic conversations, which I will recount now.
Two elderly women at the table behind us were gossiping together. One said to the other, “He has been openly gay for 20 years, but I really don’t know what that means.” Ma’am I think that is pretty self explanatory but okey dokey.
Two older women and a younger man in conversation. One woman said to the other, “Do you even know any Chinese people?” The younger man replied, “Let’s change the subject.” Apparently today was the day to discuss your problematic beliefs in Gail’s…we clearly missed the memo.
The man next to us ate a croissant with a fork and knife. I know this is not a weird conversation, but it was deeply concerning to witness.
The woman sitting on the other side of us removed the crumbs from her table by brushing them all over the floor and my backpack…Why she didn't just brush them into a napkin and dispose of them in the trash can not a foot away is beyond me.
While all of this occurred, Catja also sent me a job advertisement to be a historical cook and food researcher at Hampton Court Palace. Of course I applied because somehow I have the qualifications for that…it is times like these that make me realize my resume is rather confusing.
C: After having a productive morning at Gail’s and heading back home, we had a fun movie night plus Chinese takeaway with the crew. I was craving some Filipino food, so as we waited for the deliveroo to arrive, Zoe and I took an evening stroll to Spoon and Rice in Willesden. (Z: I had been feeling a bit ill and my neck was in quite a bit of pain at this point. As we were walking, Catja looked at my neck concerned and pointed out that it was completely red and I had been bitten by some sort of bug. I had a minor panic over having an allergic reaction, but Nurse Hebe patched me up, so I am fine now! Love ya Hebe!!) I recently discovered that they sell halo halo and turon, two of my absolute favorite desserts, so I treated myself to both. The halo halo was genuinely some of the best I’ve had in my life, with all the add ins and a good scoop of ube ice cream. The turon was good, but my mom makes it better.
We returned home to eat all of our food, which was delicious (although it did leave many of us with some bowel irritation…) and watched the Disney classic, Lemonade Mouth. It has some bangers in it, plus our future President Bridgit Mendler starring as the lead singer of the band. It was a crowd pleaser, and we all had a lovely night hanging out.
Saturday 7/13
C: I am strugglinggg to stay focused on writing, but the diss grind continues since I have a draft deadline on Monday. Zoe was still in recovery from her interview, so she charted the year and a half worth of data from my mood chart for me. Will analyze at a later date for personal reference, but her psych degree is coming in handy on my mental health journey! We took a walk in Gladstone Park later to get some fresh air and check out the roses blooming at the top of the hill. It was a very chill and decently productive day.
Z: After agreeing to a movie night Wednesday, we attempted to contact Ethan over the course of four and a half hours with no response. Once he awoke from his rather long nap, he sped over to our house to watch Purple Hearts. Hebe, Catja, and I have been dying to watch this movie with Ethan, as it has a truly chaotic plot all surrounding the military. For those who have not seen the movie, here is a basic summary: Woman who is a singer has diabetes and cannot afford insulin because she has terrible insurance. She finds out if she marries someone in the military she can get free healthcare. Man in the Marines needs extra money because he owes his ex drug dealer. They agree to get married. The woman sings this terrible song a hundred times. (C: It is actually so annoying) He goes to jail because they find out it is a fake marriage. They live happily ever after with a dog named Peaches. Luke also joined for movie night and we all enjoyed this cinematic masterpiece.
Sunday 7/14
C:After being influenced by many TikTok interview clips, I finally started watching season two of House of the Dragon. I just sat in bed and crocheted while watching the incestuous, strategic, graphic, violent, dragon-filled plots unfold. I also developed a migraine just for funzies so I had to sit in the back garden, pop some Excedrin, and try not to faint for a bit. Our neighbor’s cat kept me company. Luckily, the miracle drugs worked, and I was only slightly dizzy on my feet! Hebe, Zoe, and I hopped on a few buses to get to the pub of choice for the evening’s activities. We passed by the chicken shop where Amelia Dimoldenberg interviewed Billie Eilish which was very exciting.
Finally, we met Callum by Dear Grace pub, where he magically secured us a table! Luke and his coworker joined us later, and we put down some pints before England and Spain duked it out. I didn’t realize how emotionally invested I was until a very drunk Australian girl pointed at me and LAUGHED OUT LOUD at how stressed I was when Spain scored again. I was very annoyed and very sad by the end. But a highlight was when Cole Palmer scored a rocket of a goal, and the whole pub started screaming and chanting. Luke’s coworker and I, despite knowing each other for maybe an hour, looked at each other, screamed, and hugged so tightly. I’ll never forget that collective rush of energy and camaraderie. I nearly cried when the final whistle blew. Damn, when did I become this kind of sports fan?
Z: My friends from growing up, Charlotte and Leo, were in town this week so they met us at the pub to watch the second half of the game. It was a bit of a high stress environment to meet everyone in, but it was fun to catch up a little through the chaos. With the end result being rather disappointing, we parted ways, but I will see them on Monday.
Monday 7/15
Z: I got some work done in the morning before heading out for afternoon tea with the Wehners (Charlotte and Leo’s family). For context, the Wehners are family friends who I have known since I was a little baby and have not seen since last summer, so this reunion was very exciting. We had a very fancy tea complete with little crustless sandwiches (we did refer to them as fancy uncrustables), lots of tea, scones, and fancy little pastries. Everything was delicious and Leo kindly ate the sandwiches with mayo that I was trying to avoid. It was nice to catch up on things I have missed from home and reminisce on funny stories from growing up.
C: I was grinding through some Gold Standard work while attempting to make meatballs. I forgot to add the eggs until after I rolled out all of the balls, so I had to start over. Then the oven never preheated to the correct temp, so I had to quickly pan fry a few to eat and make some very al dente spaghetti so I wouldn’t be late to meet Zoe, Leo, and Charlotte at a pub (Z: I am still confused why you made meatballs in the oven…) (C: the recipe told me to!!).
I zoomed over to Green Park and started speed walking to the pub. I was in the zone and making long strides when a man stopped me and asked where Covent Garden was. Me being a people pleaser and easily distracted, pointed him in the right direction. Turns out, he was poorly attempting to flirt with me. He did the whole, “So where are you from? No, what’s your ethnicity?” and got weird when I said I was Filipina but he thought I was Italian… so I said, “I gotta go,” and zoomed out of there, immediately texting Zoe. She replied, “Well at least it was in Mayfair.”
Luckily, the rest of the night was so fun. Leo and Charlotte are a hoot and a half, and I felt like I’d known them forever. We started talking enthusiastically about grocery stores in McLean for about 10 minutes before Leo said we can’t be all the way in London chatting about Virginia grocery stores. Later, after running through the pouring rain (Happy St. Swithin’s Day), we got drinks in Seven Dials Market and chatted about dating woes, tattoos, and stories from their childhood. I got a lot of insight into Zoe’s upbringing from them.
Tuesday 7/16
C: Zoe and I trekked down to Tooting again to revisit the scrapstore. I saw a post from them about these cool wooden paint sample tiles, and Zoe saw a TikTok about painting frames for wall art. We combined forces and picked up more craft supplies. We snagged more tiny plastic soldiers to randomly give to Ethan in case he forgets his career.
I got another migraine in the morning (I blame the weather’s mood swings and pressure changes) and felt quite ill after being on the train for 2 hours. So I popped more pills, applied for a job at the Royal British Legion, and watched HotD until the evening.
Z: I spent the rest of the day working on my final assignment for class. It is really coming together, so that is good.
Wednesday 7/17
C: I have been itching for a visit to the National Gallery, specifically to see The Execution of Lady Jane Grey… a very happy painting as you can guess from the title. I’d seen it online for years, but I’d never seen it in person. Hebe inspired me because she goes to the Portrait Gallery to contemplate Anne Boleyn’s portrait sometimes, so I woke up and decided today was the day. I didn’t make a booking, but luckily, I only had to wait 10 minutes in the queue in the warm sun.
I beelined for room 45 and sat on the bench, contemplating the painting and life as a bunch of rowdy teenage boys ran around me, which seems poetic. The brushwork was incredible - it was practically invisible. There’s something about the composition that just gets me… I loved it.
I visited my favorite impressionists in the next room before sitting outside in Trafalgar Square to soak in the sun for a bit. Feeling inspired, I found the closest Flying Tiger, bought watercolor paper and art supplies, then stopped by Gail’s for a quick bite before heading home. I happened to walk into Gail’s at the same time the power shut off because an employee got electrocuted in a puddle near the refrigerator. He was fine thankfully, but I decided not to stay long after that.
Z: In a very exciting turn of events I…worked on my assignment for class. I know crazy. My life has really become a whirlwind of non stop excitement :). I also probably applied to jobs to really spice things up.
After that thrilling morning and afternoon, Catja, Hebe, Lucy and I spent the evening in the living room watching the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders docuseries together. This show is addictive, and we highly recommend. If you have watched it, we love Reece but are confused by her fiance/husband, are deeply concerned by these people’s belief that everything is “in God’s plan”, and hate the head woman because she cut a girl who was 5’2 just for being 5’2. Also, the cheerleaders’ director Kelli was analyzing the girls’ makeup to make them camera ready and she legitimately asked, “Is that contour, or is that structural?” while looking at the video feed. It was, in fact, contour makeup, and not a “problem” with her bone structure.
Thursday 7/18
C: Zoe and I walked to Gail’s in Kensal Rise again for another destination work day to spice up our lives. I worked through my professor’s notes on my dissertation draft and fell down a Foucault rabbit hole. Zoe and I have a running joke because Foucault is somehow relevant to every field of study, and I cited his bio-power theory in my diss. I ended up on his Wikipedia page where I found the most incredible quote: "Foucault was an atheist. He loved classical music… and became known for wearing turtleneck sweaters." The “Personal Life” tab is my favorite.
On some completely irrelevant and unrelated notes: @mredpratt on Insta walked from the Thames source to the sea and finished today which was fun to see. I also finished painting a pretty door we passed on Churchill Road. Zoe wanted to be in my next sketchbook painting, so I snapped a pic of her in front of a lovely blue door. Crafternoons are popping off lately.
Z: In the evening, Catja, Lucy, and I finished the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders series and spent the rest of the night looking them all up on Instagram. We found out that the head girl’s boyfriend runs an IV on demand service, which is rather concerning and confusing. We also got to see Reece’s wedding photos, which were ADORABLE.
Friday 7/19
Z: Catja and I agreed last night to both exercise on Friday morning and meet in Regents Park. The plan was that Catja would go to the gym at 9 and I would meet her at 10:30 by running to Baker Street. After Catja left for the gym, I had 30 minutes to read through my assignment and submit it before starting my run. I like the run to Baker Street because it is basically a straight line, but it was rather warm on Friday, so it was slightly less pleasant. I made it to Baker Street station having sweat through my shirt and with a bright red face. It was lovely.
C: I made it to the gym for the first time in ages which was an achievement! The girls and I had been talking about the iconic Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders high kicks and jump splits all week, so I tested my flexibility at the end of my workout. I don’t think I can be a cheerleader for many reasons, but the splits are not one of them! It was, unfortunately, still quite painful.
I walked over to Baker Street and met a tomato-faced Zoe. I immediately gave her a water bottle to prevent her from dying, then we bought some giant Wotsits and grapes to eat in Regent’s Park. It was a sweltering day in the mid 80s, and we laid out on the damp grass to toast in the sun for a while. A song Zoe found on TikTok that we both fell in love with was finally released today, so we listened to it on repeat while reminiscing about home and lamenting men who take photos of women exercising in public. Totally hypothetical. Definitely didn’t happen today. Anyway, go listen to “Appalachia” by Rebecca Rea now and daydream about the Blue Ridge Mountains. Can’t wait to listen to it in Berryville with my dad.
Saturday 7/20
C: Anna invited us to crafternoon in Kensington Gardens, so we packed up our paint and some pastries and walked to the Italian Gardens. Unlike yesterday’s roasting temperatures, today was cloudy and cool. As soon as Anna joined us on the blanket, it started raining. We managed to camp out under a tree and stay sheltered from the downpour, so our crafternoon continued without a hitch. We spent four hours under that tree, catching up over the past two weeks and painting endlessly. It was lovely.
Z: We continued the crafting events into the evening while watching a 90s classic, Bring It On. I had not seen this movie in ages and forgot how truly problematic it is. It has some iconic moments, but I probably could’ve prepared Catja a bit more.
C: Yeahhh it definitely showed its age at some points. After we headed to bed, I watched my dance bestie Kasey perform via livestream at Jacob's Pillow in Massachusetts. I haven't seen her dance in ages, and she looks fantastic. We used to be baby bunheads at Washington Ballet, and now we're dancing in cities across the world from each other! So proud of her.
Sunday 7/21
Z: Charlotte and Leo were back in London for the morning today, so we met up with them for breakfast in Lower Marsh. We went to a little cafe, sat outside because it was SO nice, and had a lovely breakfast. Catja and I had pancakes, which were so good.
After breakfast and chatting about silly stories from summer camp many moons ago, Leo, Catja, and I headed to the Imperial War Museum. I think this has quickly become my favorite museum in London, and I was excited to see the new exhibit. We wandered through the WWI exhibit searching for the funniest hat. I always see something new when I go and this time I notice a “commemorative napkin.” It was a napkin given to this pilot who was the first person to shoot down a German plane from a British plane. For completing this impressive feat, the British government gave him a paper napkin with painted flowers on it…I feel like it should have at least been a cloth napkin, but maybe that’s just me. We then walked through the new Tim Hetherington exhibit, which was fascinating and I highly recommend.
C: The Tim Hetherington exhibit was incredible. I included one of my favorite shots in the photo album. As much as I’m not a huge wartime history buff, I really think the Imperial War Museum is one of the best museums I’ve ever visited. Still need to return for WWII one day.
Later, we walked to Lidl for our weekly shop. Our favorite employee was working at the registers again for the first time in ages. He deserves a raise because his customer service skills are impeccable. He always says, “Hi boss,” and “Hello darling,” and is just doing his best work. I’d die for that guy at Lidl.
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