What a weird week it already is, am I right? The days between Thanksgiving and the holidays always feels odd, but this year, between the unusually warm weather and the fact that time has pretty much lost all meaning in 2020, it’s even stranger than usual. That said, I am pumped that it’s almost December, if only because that means an excuse to eat lots of cookies and dress Ellie up in holiday pajamas:
One of us is much happier about this than the other.
Anyhooooo, for non-dog-related updates on what’s going on in my life right now, read on for this week’s installment of And Everything Else:
#1. I wrote about why you’re having so many nightmares
If you’re waking up sweaty and freaked out due to bad dreams fairly often these days, a) I’m sorry and b) trust me, you’re not alone. This year, I’ve had far more nightmares than ever before, some of which are clearly pandemic-related (i.e. realizing I’m mask-less in a crowd of hundreds) and others of which are seemingly random but still disturbing AF. Fun!
I decided to speak to sleep experts and psychologists to find out why this rise in nightmares is happening, as well as what we can do to lessen the frequency. Their insights were fascinating—and you can check them out here, in my story for HelloGiggles.
#2. I took a step back in my novel writing, in order to move forward
When you’re working on a first draft of a book, everyone tells you to just keep going—even if you want to make 948394 changes to what you’ve written, you’re better off powering through to the finish line and then going back to edit. This is good advice! It’s super easy to be a perfectionist and get so lost in edits that you never actually make it through the full draft. But… that’s not always possible, as I realized this week while working on my novel-to-be. As much as I wanted to keep going, the changes I knew I needed to make to what I’d written so far were SO big that it felt silly to continue as normal.
So, I spent a few nights re-outlining the book, and while I still have another night or two of outlining to go before I can get back to “real” writing, I’m so glad I did this. It’s frustrating to have to take a step back when I want that word count to go up up up, but now, I’ll be able to write a plot that actually makes sense, with characters way more filled out than before. As I keep reminding myself, progress is not always a straight line.
#3. I made some excellent Black Friday(ish*) purchases
*Not all these items were bought on Black Friday proper, but I’m using it as an excuse for my shopping, okay? Cool. Anyhow, I bought:
This incredibly soft jacket from UpWest that I’m already basically living in. It’s so cozy, super warm, and really cute—what’s not to love?
This crewneck sweatshirt from Old Navy in gray, because I already own it in blue and it is the perfect cozy fit.
This pullover hoodie from Old Navy in green. I realized the other day that my closet is surprisingly lacking on hoodies, so I decided to rectify that situation. Can’t wait to wear this!
This face wash with benzoyl peroxide from PanOxyl, because it’s the only face wash I’ve ever used that’s actually kept my hormonal acne at bay. Highly recommend.
FYI I don’t get any commission if you buy any of the above—I just wanted to share my purchases, in case anyone needs some shopping inspo! Let me know if you grab one of these items for yourself.
#4. I made more custom crosswords—and it’s not too late to order yours!
In the past few weeks, several of you have commissioned customized crosswords for your loved ones as holiday gifts, and I’m so glad! Christmas and Hanukkah are coming up fast, so if you’d like to order a puzzle but haven’t reached out yet, what are you waiting for?
All details on the puzzles are here—feel free to shoot me a message through my website, respond to this newsletter, or email me if you’d like to commission one yourself or have any questions.
And that’s a wrap, folks. Come back next Monday for more, and subscribe (for free) to Simon Says if you haven’t already, please!
With love from me and Ellie in our holiday PJs,
-Rachel