Shit I Been On Lately
Life updates + conjuring that early summer feeling
Heyyyyyy!
I’m finally home from a month exploring Arkansas, and I can’t wait to cull all my photos from my digital camera and share my favorite stops along the way. I swear, everyone’s gatekeeping Arkansas, but I wouldn’t do that to you. I’m a girl’s girl if nothing else.
This weekend, we’ve been recovering from a harrowing journey back to Louisiana. About halfway through our six hour drive home, the AC in my car crapped out. We stopped at my dad’s on the way back to our house for a couple of days to have the car repaired (to the tune of $800) and it threw off the remainder of our week. The publishing schedule I had set for myself got a little screwy. That said…
No Sacred Sunday today! I’ll be back next week answering your questions. Feel free to submit your own here (fully anonymously).
I have some other pieces of writing to share with you soon that I’m really excited about: a roundup of my most amazing estate sale finds I think you’ll want to see, quitting my job (I’m self-employed), being seen vs. being recognized, my plans for Dive Bar Summer and a list of some other Substacks I think you should be reading.
I think in addition to being super busy reintegrating into normal life after being away, I have to admit, I’ve been a bit gun-shy about posting here after a recent influx of new subscribers (hey new subscribers)!
As this space continues to grow, I hope to get a better sense of what you enjoy reading and what I most enjoy sharing. Right now, it’s all over the place, but I’m having fun!
I thought today I would share some Shit I Been On Lately — a collection of inspirations that conjure that early summer feeling.
I think being in Arkansas for a month, where the temperatures were markedly cooler, really messed with my sense of time, the seasonal rhythms I’ve come to know deep in my bones as a lifelong Louisianan.
The moment we crossed the state lines, I felt summer wrap herself around my shoulders like a hot, wet blanket, sticky yet familiar and comforting. The following list feels kinda like that; it’s my ongoing search for the feeling of Summer that maybe no longer exists. Can we recreate it, here, together?
Addison by Addison Rae
I’m here to announce the album of the summer has landed. If you’re an Addison Rae skeptic, I hear you. You’re thinking, “Isn’t that the teenager from TikTok?” And yes, she is. I’ll spare you The Defense of Addison Rae lecture I delivered to my friends at the bar last night, but listen to the album and circle back to me. It’s super fun. It sounds both really different from anything I’ve ever heard and yet also borrows heavily from Britney Spears’ Blackout, Hilary Duff’s Metamorphosis, even hints of Madonna’s Music or Ray of Light. Maybe something else I’m missing? Dying to know your thoughts.
Hippie Mom Jewelry
When I was in high school, I had this friend Kat whose mom was everything to me. She had remarried a man who drove a yellow Mustang. They had a house with an above ground pool and way too many Yorkies. Kat’s mom smoked cigarettes and was really fun and kinda let us do whatever the hell we wanted. She also rocked an anklet like no one else. I’m fully taking a page out of her book this summer.
I picked up some waist beads and power bracelets in Arkansas, along with a vintage coral necklace and earring set. I’ve got a couple toe rings from Etsy headed to my mailbox as we speak. I’m still on the hunt for the perfect anklet. There’s something about adorning the body that just feels so sumptuous, so summer.
Dive Bar Summer
Miller High Life. Dollars stapled to the walls. Several scuffed up pool tables. Smoking a cigarette on mismatched patio furniture getting eaten alive by mosquitos. This is what I envision for my summer. This is what summers felt like when I was 22. Now, at 32, I don’t really drink, and I stopped smoking long ago, but I’m yearning for the kind of low stakes, low cost community that seemed so much more within reach a decade ago. Call it a recession indicator, but I calls it like I sees it. Dive bars are fully back, baby.
If you’ll be in New Orleans or Baton Rouge this summer, I’m hosting several Dive Bar Summer nights at various dive bars across both cities. Just a fun, free way to make new friends with other esoteric hot girls. Find me on Instagram for dates and locations!
Unfussy Summer Hair
For the last few years, I’ve been pretty committed to the keratin lifestyle. But this summer, I feel like experimenting with my natural curls again. I’ve been down this road before, and frankly, it was exhausting. The Curly Girl Method left my scalp itchy, my hair in shambles and my wallet significantly lighter. These days, I’m just washing and conditioning with whatever’s lying around, raking in some drugstore mousse and calling it a day. My hair texture is pretty similar to Kate Berlant’s, pictured above, my forever hair muse. I have a haircut scheduled for next week to bring my natural curls to life. Will report back!
String Bikinis
I have strong swimwear opinions. It’s hard to find stuff I like anymore, because what I like isn’t what’s trendy. You won’t catch me dead in florals, in high waisted bottoms, in one-pieces, in a high leg swimsuit of any kind.
For me, it’s always been the string bikini. I like a solid color, I like a retro nod. I think a string bikini looks hot on literally everyone, especially this one from Bright Swimwear, pictured above, I got for myself this summer. It’s incredibly well constructed and reminds me of the old American Apparel triangle bikinis I swore by back in the day. The Los Angeles Apparel ones are simply not the same!
Flip Flops
Nothing screams summer to me like the humble flip flop. It’s not pretentious. It’s not expensive. It’s waterproof. It’s up for any adventure. It feels like being barefoot, but not. I love the THWACK of a good flip flop on the bottom of my foot. And I love the way a flip flop is the perfect canvas for some toe rings and anklets. Picking up what I’m putting down here?
I bought these square toe Havianas in 2023 and wore them down so bad that I bought a second pair last year to replace them. I’m about ready to buy this exact same shoe again this year because here’s the thing, when I find something I love, I’m loyal. I also stand by these classics from my high school days.
These Specific Walmart Shorts
There weren’t many places to shop where we were staying in Arkansas, and I found myself running to Walmart when I was low on summer appropriate clothing. On a whim I bought these shorts. I’m sorry, but for $9 you really cannot beat them. Plus, there’s a a built in D-ring to presumably clip your carabiner. A must for lesbians everywhere, just in time for Pride.
Self Study
One of my 2025 resolutions was to “create more than I consume.” Now, halfway through the year, I think I’m going to change that goal starting now. It’s not that I need to consume less, but I need to consume better.
Instead of breezing through a book or film, I’m feeling inspired to slow it down a bit, make some notes of words or references to look up, write down my own thoughts, connect the dots to other media and come to my own conclusions in a way that I can hopefully share here soon!
YouTube creator Anna Howard calls her approach a Digital Garden, and I like that a lot. This Substacker describes her own method of “self study” in this post. I also liked Mina Le’s approach from this YouTube video.
I’m kind of voluntarily putting myself through summer school. Into it.
Listening to my inner voice
Since (mostly) getting off of Instagram and after being alone in the woods for a month, my inner voice is LOUD. And she’s had some messages for me that I plan to carry with me this summer. Maybe you need to hear them too.
I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.
God’s timing is always right. God’s timing is always right. God’s timing is always right.
I trust myself to figure it out. I trust myself to figure it out. I trust myself to figure it out.
There’s a real summer energy to these, a clear message to chill the fuck out and let the fuck go. I can get on board with that.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this little round up, a first of its kind. I enjoyed putting it together for you. Would love to know what Shit You Been On Lately if you feel like sharing in the comments!
<3
Syd