My parents came to visit me a couple weeks ago. It was an emotional visit for them and for me. My parents have never been able to visit me before. Between my dad’s work and taking care of family, it was never possible. While they were here they came with me to my first ever bridal dress appointment and I found my wedding dress. It was perfect. They saw the place I've spent the last 3 years of my life, the place they’ve only seen glimpses of through FaceTime. And they came to my office. They told me how proud they are of me. (I joke that they’re proud of me for brushing my teeth, that’s just the way they are.) It was so special for them to be here, for me to show them things for once.
As part of my Easter basket, my mom gave me a beautiful children’s book with a pig in it. Pigs are my favorite. I love books and illustrations. *It’s not weird to me, although typing it I can see how it could seem. I am currently drinking a mimosa so don’t get any ideas.
I thumbed through the pages quickly when my parents were here. But when they left, I read it. And I understood why they wanted me to have it.
I’m not good with maybe. I’m not comfortable with the idea of possibilities and taking chances. If I had to list risk taker as one of my qualities it would be listed after spontaneous, meaning it would be at the very very end of the list. I like a sure thing. I like a plan. I like knowing how the parking is before I get there. I don’t like walking into place alone when I’m meeting up with someone. The list is endless.
My anxiety makes maybe hard to grasp because I’m usually bracing for impact, preparing for the worst case scenario instead of being sure it’ll work out.
But the thing about maybe that I tend to forget, is all the good things maybe can mean. All the good things the maybes have lead me to. Maybe I’m better than I think I am. Maybe I’m not behind. Maybe things are good, maybe I’m good too.
~*Podcast: Celebrity Book Club with Chelsea Devantez
This may surprise you, but I haven’t gotten into audio books. I like to sit down with a book and use my eyes to focus only on my book. Podcasts fill a very specific role in my life and it has to do with anything that may feel like work without being entertained. A walk without cats? Work. Actually working? Work. And today I got to add another thing to that list ~packing~ and I could not think of a podcast I wanted to listen to until I scrolled past this one. The only celebrity memoir I’ve read is Mariah Carey’s which I loved and highly recommend, but I only read it because I really love her. And a while ago I listened to some deep dives on Jessica Simpson’s book and I really liked it. As I scrolled through all the episodes I had a hard time deciding, but then I saw Gabrielle Union’s two books and said yes please! And once I was done with those I saw Padma Lakshmi and hit play on hers. All of them made me cry a little. But I love hearing the stories of smart and strong women (although I wish they didn’t have to be so freaking strong) and it made packing much more bearable.
Gabrielle Union’s We’re Going to Need More Wine
Chelsea and Rashawn Scott (Second City, Empire, Southside) dive into one of Chelsea's all-time favorite memoirs, Gabrielle Union's We're Going to Need More Wine. Come for behind-the-scenes stories from your favorite teen movies and stay for all the heartache and humor in between.
Gabrielle Union’s You Got Anything Stronger?
Chelsea and writer/actress Lydia Caradine cover Gabrielle Union's highly anticipated second memoir, a book packed with even more strength, vulnerability, and Bring it On references than its predecessor.
Padma Lakshmi’s Love, Loss, and What We Ate
This week Chelsea and writer Marcos Luevanos (Life in Pieces, Charmed, Love, Victor) dish on Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi's memoir, a book filled with enough juicy details (like her impassioned activism, penchant for dating older men, and modeling woes) to win over even the staunchest non-foodie.
I hoped to write about moving and saying goodbye to my apartment for this newsletter, but as I started to write that I realized I hadn’t really processed what this all means to me yet. So I’m hoping that the next one will be just that.
Have a lovely Sunday! Thanks for being here.
Xoxo,
Leiah