Where to eat really good vegetables
+ Book news and morning routines.
Every time I sat down to write this newsletter over the past few weeks, something crazy happened. January was an emotional rollercoaster of Velocicoaster-level proportions, and for most of the month it felt like a win just to get out of bed and accomplish anything at all.
One thing that helped keep me going through this years-long month was a fairly strict adherence to my morning routine. The internet is full of advice on how to make the most of your mornings, from aesthetic TikToks of pilates princesses who are on a reformer in full glam by 6 AM to countless articles about writers, CEOs, etc who do their best work early in the day. My friend Anne Cruz, who I’ve bullied into doing The Artist’s Way, recently referred to the entire program as “morning person propaganda,” which isn’t not true.
My own morning routine is built around morning pages, the practice of writing a few pages by hand in a notebook that most people associate with The Artist’s Way. I’ve been at this daily practice pretty consistently for over two years. It provides both a sense of purpose and an immediate accomplishment for my days that never fails to get my off to a better start.
While I don’t wake up at a set time, I try to be out of bed before 7 AM. I use these cryo gua sha things on my face and spend about 10 minutes on my skincare routine before making myself a matcha latte and settling in for journaling. I do the five minute journal, write 2-3 pages in my morning pages notebook, and then work on my planner and to-do list. When that’s done, I drag myself to the yoga mat for at least 10 (but ideally more) minutes of exercise.
I don’t execute this perfectly every day, but having the framework is important—especially during those times when everything feels impossible and overwhelming.
Book News!
Feast and Famine: The Last Great Heir is officially out in the world! You can buy it wherever books are sold, but I’m partial to local indies or Barnes & Noble if you want the very pretty exclusive edition.
The book is also this month’s Barnes & Noble Young Readers Monthly Pick, an incredible honor that I’m still wrapping my head around. This kind of support means *so much* to a debut author like me. If you’ve pre-ordered, ordered, shared, or reviewed TLGH in the past few months, thank you from the bottom of my heart <3
If you’re based in NYC, I’ll be signing books and having a public discussion with my editor at Barnes & Noble Atlantic Avenue TOMORROW, 2/4 at 6:30 PM! The event is free and open to the public, and there will be treats from Ladurée—the inspiration behind the patisserie in Fauret! I hope to see you there.
Where to eat really good vegetables
Lately when I go to a restaurant, I want one of two things: a perfect bowl of noodles, or really good vegetables. I don’t just mean a big crunchy salad, though I’m never going to say no to something like that. What I actually want is seasonal produce given the kind of deliberate treatment usually reserved for a cut of Wagyu or a Snowdance Farms chicken.
My local-ish go-to for this kind of meal is Public Records, a sprawling, dimly-lit space in Gowanus with perfect acoustics that’s best known as a music venue and completely slept on as a restaurant. I’ve never had a meal at Public Records that wasn’t a 10/10 experience. Everything on the menu is vegan and much of it is gluten-free, which makes this a great place to take your friends and family who want a very Brooklyn experience but also have a laundry list of dietary needs. During the day, it’s a sunny coffee shop with great music where you can hang out, write, and enjoy a housemade veggie burger or a cardamom rose sticky bun. At night, it’s the kind of date night spot that will impress literally anyone, vegan or otherwise. I’ve had mushroom aguachiles here so convincing that friends who don’t like seafood won’t eat it.
Gjelina, the LA-transplant Italian-ish spot that opened to early fanfare on Bond Street and then immediately closed due to a fire is back, and I for one am very glad. A lot of people go here for their wood-fired pizzas, which feature topping combinations that could easily be a Nolita Dirtbag meme and are honestly pretty good. But I get most excited about ordering a table full of their vegetable-forward small plates. Give me charred Caraflex, braised kabocha, roasted carrots, etc. The space here is big and multi-faceted. In the. main dining room, you could have what feels like a peak Sex and the City era dinner with a big group of friends. If they try to seat you in the cold, oddly sterile front cafe area, tell the host you’re happy to wait for another table.
