Right time, right place
What I've been up to this past month, $20 for your thoughts, and more.
In the early 2010s, I embarked on a (in hindsight- very cliche) European backpacking adventure with two close friends. It was my first international trip without my parents and the three of us spent months meticulously planning our route, our activities, and our accommodation. Since this was a time before instagram (the horror), we relied on a borrowed Lonely Planet tome and recommendations from friends. We made sure to visit all of the classics such as The Eiffel Tower (from Passport to Paris with Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen) and The Trevi Fountain (from The Lizzie McGuire movie).
With backpacks stuffed to the maximum airline-approved weight of 23kg, we set off for a Grand Adventure™️. We walked the glittering halls of Versailles, saw the leaning tower of Pisa, and watched the sunset in Santorini. While all of these postcard moments were cool enough at the time; 10+ years later, I find myself defining the trip by other memories instead. Ones that feel so decidedly early 20s.
You know— the things that could only have happened because we went to that particular part of the world during that particular time in our lives. Things like:
Being so thrifty (ahem, cheap) that we literally starved ourselves, subsisting on $3 beers for lunch or dinner.
Making eyes, then running off, with attractive strangers (very MK & A)
Staying in a dingy hostel with no internet so we streamed the Game 7 Stanley Cup playoffs on a beach.
Learning about wine for the first time in Tuscany and then making Chianti wine our personality.
Having just returned from the longest vacation in over 5 years (a much delayed honeymoon), I find myself thinking about this convergence of time and place. I’ve had folks tell me that the trip seemed “sooo Neets!” which feels… validating? (While I shouldn’t care about how I’m perceived by others…. let’s be honest—we’re the personal brand generation.)
Mainly, it’s just nice to know that the things I care about on the inside, felt seen on the outside— via what I decided to do with the time I had in Japan. A kind of “authenticity” litmus test, if you will.
A big part of what made this trip feel “so me” (or “so us” as I don’t want to exclude Rob) is that it was so decidedly early, child-free 30s.
We went to an endless amount of art exhibits (we even stayed INSIDE one!), we walked 20,000 steps a day, we subsisted off of $3 convenience store onigiris (some things never change) and we didn’t blink an eye at a day trip that required 6 hours of round trip travel. We prioritized the things we care about (japanese paper and art, photography, vintage shopping) and ignored all the “noise” (landmarks, various shrines, etc.)
Looking at the trip, all laid out like this, it’s clear that this was a representation of where we’re at in our lives right now—two grown-ups who are pretty grounded in their interests, AND who also love kids/ kid things, despite not having them currently. (If you've been following along for a while now, you probably know that the question of when/ whether or not to have children looms over me daily.) We sure as heck balanced the fancy art galleries with Disneyland, children’s book museums, and Ghibli everything. In fact, there wasn’t a Sanrio store I walked by without stopping to take a look— either for myself, or for my nieces.
I’ll do a better, more thorough re-cap another time but for now, know that this trip really was an absolute dream— for this version of me right now. It’s impossible for me to know who I will be the next time I’m in Japan; however, I hope I get to meet her sooner rather than later.
Extra, extra, read all about it!
I haven’t had a chance to properly reflect on the incredible weekend that was Tombolo but here are some photos, captured by my all star sister, Amy Teixeira to whet your appetite:
One unexpected thing that came out of the pop-up was the appreciation/ buzz for the faux Tombolo newspaper, The Tombolo Times. 🥹
Small but mighty, we filled it with activity and drawing prompts, jokes, and more. I’ve had some folks mention how much their little one enjoyed playing with the paper and/ or how it’s used as functional but aesthetic coffee table decor (honestly, BLUSHING).
With that in mind, I wanted to get a sense of what the interest might be for an ongoing Tombolo Times (see survey below)… maybe a way to keep that community of art-loving kiddos and grown-ups connected?
Share your thoughts, get a $20 shop credit! 🗞️📰
I’ve created a brief survey re: The Tombolo Times for parents, teachers, or just anyone who has children in their lives and/ or appreciates cute and whimsical things. Upon completion, as a thank you, you’ll be gifted a $20 credit to be used in the Digital Downloads shop. (Just in time for the holidays!)
Well, it’s been officially a year of experimenting with both this Substack, and my Patreon! While both have been swell with lots of learnings; I’ve decided to pull the plug on Patreon and migrate all of the content I would have been producing for that corner of the internet, over to this corner of the internet.
What that means:
Starting mid November, there will be an option to support my work directly via a paid tier in Substack. What I’ve been sending out for free each month will still be free; however, paid subscribers will receive:
A bonus Soft Sundays comic each month
A life/ process/ sketchbook update each month (things I’m working on, learnings, etc)
Extra “What I Googled This Week”/ Fun Facts content
Q&A/ Ask me Anything
All-access pass to my Digital Downloads Shop including new prints each month
Knowledge that you are supporting this newsletter and this artist 🥲 (Hiiii!)
Stay tuned for more details xo
Save the date! 📆
I’ll be running my first ever holiday sale from November 18th-25th this year! If there is a print, or even an original, you’ve been eyeing; be sure to add it to your calendar so you can get the dealz dealz dealz! 👀
Inspired by my friend’s late father, as well as my personal habit of hoarding receipts/ paper paraphernalia, I decided to create a “sketchbook scrapbook” for Japan since it felt like a once-in-a-lifetime kinda trip. It encouraged me to notice little details around me, and it was a perfect way to eat up some time during long travel days on trains. An unexpected bonus is that I found it very grounding to come back to the same materials over and over again, amidst so much new happening in my day to day.
I’ll be doing a deep dive into the sketchbook-scrapbook, along with a Japan itinerary in November for paid subscribers, but for now, here are some photos. Enjoy!
I got through a few books this past month but the one that really had a hold on me was: Butter by Asako Yuzuki. Come for the food descriptions and true crime, stay for the unpacking of expectations for women in modern society.
Not a lot! I typically listen to podcasts while doing art work or house work… both of which were missing this past month. With that said, we did have this ghibli playlist playing in the car throughout the road trip portion of our travels:
I am all-in with my Halloween movie watching marathon right now!
Outside of Halloween things, we got to watch two unreleased Ghibli short films while in Japan (one at Ghibli park, one at Ghibli museum) and they were both so delightful. They aren’t screened anywhere else and you can’t stream or buy them so the chance to watch these films is worth the price of admission in and of itself.
Of the two, A Sumo Wrestler’s Tail was my personal fav:
This poor garden has definitely seen better days! It’s been mostly neglected since early September so it’s on my to-do list for November.
Highlights: My Pampas Grass plant bloomed(?) for the first time ever! Someone told me that planting Pampas Grass is a signal to the neighbourhood that you and your partner are swingers. 🤦🏻♀️ (Spoiler alert: we are not.)
Lowlights: I missed my Cafe Au Lait Dahlia season and I will never forgive myself.
To-Do this month: Collect seeds! I’m hoping that despite the rain we’ve been having, some seeds from our special Dahlia breeding patch can still be saved. It’s also almost time to “shut down the garden” aka cover the soil with compost and cuttings, take down stakes, etc.
Not a lot of internet-reading this past month so instead, I’ll share some of my favourite things from the trip:
Japanese pencil case technology is incredible. I bought three pencil cases and had to resist getting this one that stands up(!!) when opened.
I wanted this Miyazaki paint set (with colours selected by him!) but alas, it wasn’t being sold at the Ghibli museum shop.
This incredible wood block artist who also creates children’s books (I couldn’t resist getting one.)
I really appreciate the update on your experimentation between Substack and Patreon. Cheers to you and this new chapter!
This is good