#61 open tabs no. 3, March 2026
gallery of diptychs; slowness and softness; a secret.
I started writing this last Thursday evening, to the buzz from the pub next door, the sun still up. Some days feel like clearer markers of the seasons changing, this was one of them. I’m not out there, but I know everyone’s looking forward to having Easter off.
Days pass.
I’m picking it up again on Tuesday night, the long weekend just behind me. From what I’d written then, I’d planned to whip up an aglio e olio after heading to the gym that night. That plan went to naught, as I left the gym close to 10pm and ordered some food instead. Coincidentally, I’ve just devoured a full plate of the pasta tonight—a savoury blend of anchovies, lemon zest, vine cherry tomatoes.
In this season of my life—starting a couple of new projects alongside my full-time job, and meeting new people every week—my scattered energy has become even more so. At the same time, my tendency to jump between things has started to feel like natural territory. I constantly swing between wanting to do more, feeling overwhelmed by it all, and feeling excited—knowing that by doing everything I’ll arrive at something more focused. That’s the hope at least. While I can’t speak of some things yet, here are the things I can share: some thoughts, words, and pictures from the past month.
some moments
Created this to self-soothe for when things feel like they always need to be quick: slowness and softness are what it means to be human.
I’ve been meeting new people over breakfast and it’s brought me so much life! I love seeing where the conversations go, and I always walk away feeling more connected and alive. We talk about everything from divorces to dreams, falling out of love in your 30’s and insecurities in your 50’s, the desire to uproot and live somewhere else. I’ve been enjoying them so much I had to speak to Eteri and Lisa, the founders behind the app that makes them possible. I can’t wait to share our conversation.
Looking for alignment > seeking acceptance. I know, sounds simple! Imagine my relief now that I’m actually living by it.
I used to hate the thought of starting something and ‘failing’. Now I’m more put off by the thought of not trying (and not failing). News flash: you’re actually unlikely to fail, especially when failure starts to mean something else altogether.
A Friday night with N—we were meant to cook dinner at hers, but a forgotten slab of butter led us to having a couple of pints at the pub instead. By the time we left, it was already late, so we headed to the chippy just by hers. That somehow turned into an unexpectedly personal conversation with the owner, E. Her biggest regret turned lesson: never give up your ambition for love (lol). Anyway, I love nights like this, one thing leads to another and you don’t know where the night will take you—all that matters is that you have each other.
for your visual pleasure
A major theme across the projects that I love: an obsession with just one thing. Or at least it seems that way, for a long time, before they venture elsewhere. The kind of brand that needs no branding exercise. This time my hyperfixation is Flores Paper, a family biz based in LA, and their signature spiral notepad. Every image they post feels desirably unmanicured, each a work of art. See: stripey, looong, stacked, count how many. I want to share them all. I couldn’t get an interview with them but glad that none other than Katie Merchant’s done it.
Workout essentials that can double as loungewear—pieces I would buy if I could bear the splurge. And another.
Books in beautiful houses, all I need.
I love things that flip something on its head! They’re almost always bound to be funny. You can also hide your fingers in one of these.
One serving of this, please. (No such thing as too much garlic.)
Something about teeny photos and big frames.
The Grosvenor Estate building that reminded me of E. F. Davies’s mugs.
This stitched up London bus seat feels so precious—more mending please!
They don’t know it, but Maria and Edouard are my tee/layering soulmates of late.
Droopy flowers always.
words of comfort
“The thing that makes someone an artist is allowing [others] to watch you be an ordinary person.”
“We are the things we love, or, we are literally our love.”
“Grand ideas kill first efforts. Begin with something in your range. Then write it as a secret.”
This: my secret.
“You worry a lot for someone who always figures it out.”
“Focus on the people who care about you.”
Something I said to a new friend D as we hugged goodbye, surprising even myself as it slipped out of my mouth. She looked like she was about to cry. I walked away thinking how long I’d spent learning that lesson, hoping I could save her from some of that time.
“I want to spend time with words. And I want them to make people feel something.”
I wrote this one day because I felt it so strongly, and somehow 32 other people feel the same. Everything points to who you are, no matter how much you try to look away.
diptychs baby diptychs
Coming next! An interview with Lauren Ibbs, the founder of London-based fashion label nnor. In the meantime, here’s me in their Interactive T-shirt.