I’m back this week with a little catch-up blog post, just giving some little updates for my lovely readers! I have noticed quite an uptick of readers in the last year, which is crazy because sometimes I can’t decide if I want to write a blog anymore. Other days, I’m so proud of the time and work I put into this space. I recently got a cool opportunity from this little blog of mine, so read ahead to find out more.

So today, lets talk about Brat Summer a little bit more, but from a home decor angle. Then I’ll tell you about my love for my sketchbook, and my new crochet curiosity. At the end, I will touch on my 2024 summer reads.

Brat blogging with fellow brats on the Rent Blog

At the beginning of summer I wrote about my love for Brat Summer and Charli XCX since I was a 2013 tumblr girl. I think when I wrote about it, Brat had just dropped, taking the entire internet by storm. Since then, I’ve seen everything become Bratified. It was and still is such a cultural moment. This brings me to some cool news at TheRollerCodester Blog.

Rent Blog approached me to give my two cents on the Brat culture for their website, and I jumped at the chance. I was an OG Tumblr girl, and an early adopter of a Charli XCX it-girl lifestyle, so I was honored to be considered some authority on all things Brat. Anyway, I wrote about the Brat Summer home– how it looks, the energy of a brat bedroom, and how to obtain the essence of Brat in your own space. Read it here at Rent. Blog!

Here is my writing corner. I made the photo green to give you an idea of the brat energy in this home of mine. Do you see the brat summer vision in my home decor? A gouache painting of Sharon Tate I made during Covid lockdown, and a miniature canvas painting of a sparkly knife (also painted by me). Neon green skeleton, and some polaroids… SO BRAT.

Creativity in the summer: Sketchbook days, Crochet girl dreams

For once in my life, there’s no big creative block ruining my self-esteem. Growing up I was always considered one of those “artsy” kids, and I liked having that self-image. Unfortunately, once you become an adult, your attention and time get split between work, family, and friends, and simply paying your bills on time. Gone are the days of casually drawing and painting for hours… Or so I thought.

Recently, I started bringing a sketchbook everywhere I go, and it has helped me to just sketch. The biggest barricade in my twenties was this inclination toward making all sketchbooks super cool on every single page. If I had one bad sketch in the book, I’d feel defeated and less interested in filling that sketchbook to the last page.

I recently changed my thoughts on that, so now having a perfect aesthetically cool sketchbook is bad, actually, for me. Where’s the growth, yknow? Perfect is boring. I don’t know why I thought my sketchbooks all needed to be masterpieces in my twenties, but now in my thirties, I find drawing once a day (yes, even if that drawing isn’t any good) to be a great success, and I’ve been lugging my ugly little moleskin journal, my colored pencils, markers, and pens all over town, and I’m at peace!

Also, I recently obtained a free ziplock bag full of crochet hooks, so I went to Goodwill and bought a couple of bundles of unused yarn to practice crochet basics on, and quickly realized crochet is kind of fun. I have a friend who loves crochet, and they’ve offered to crochet with me, so hopefully one day I can make an actual article of clothing because that would be so sick.

2024 summer reads

Here’s what I’ve been reading this summer! I might have to do an extra blog post on this later this week, because all the books deserve a bunch of hype, and this blog post is already getting a bit long!

You know what, YEAH. Tune in later this week for an in-depth conversation on all these books I’ve read or started reading this summer. I will delve… later.

Walking home from the local combination coffee shop / photo lab / record store in my neighborhood. It was JULY in this photo, even though it looks like April. Weather is crazy! Anyway, my Moto boots and denim Jeff Rosenstock tote bag have been THE summer staples for me this season.

We still have 2 weeks of summer left, so hang in there! Thanks again for reading my blog. I plan on going to ren fest and the Minnesota State Fair in a week or so, and I will likely be writing a food blog about it.

Comment your 2024 summer book recommendations below, and I will add them to my “To be read”.

Best,
-C