Happy Earth Day

Lately I have come to regard Earth Day as my Easter.

I’ve long thought of the trees as god(s); I’ve worshipped at their roots, found support in their branches, rejoiced in their gifts of fruit and oxygen and shade.

( When I was a child I climbed up pine boughs with my journal to a congregation (church?) of one; the closest thing to heaven I knew: the treetops. )

And now, like the buds and blossoms before me, I am born again in the sun of spring; I let it call me away from the cozy den where I’ve passed the winter.

In April, I strive to be extra-holy, resisting the temptation to pillage and consume all that is made available to me, be it baked miracles or fermented vegetation pressed into sweet juices or generous conversation or even secondhand treasures I flatter myself I might save.

I redefine sacrifice by what Mother Earth has already given up for me. I remember the lambs I stopped eating in the name of our shared name — may another Rachel do the same?

I stop to observe the bravery of the rain-soaked worms, marvel at the bright yolk-flow from my morning egg, and kiss back the flirtatious wind as she dances with my hair. I think about how one of these wonders holds no more power than the other, holds no less worth than me.

In water I’m inclined to consider my imperfections. I imagine rinsing them away in abating ripples. In spite of this, the waves buoy me; a floating forgiveness.

To sin and scripture I have not subscribed, and yet I find salvation in all these earthly things.

- ♡ ♡ ♡ -

I Know That I Like Tomato

“I can’t help it if I know what I like, and I know that I like tomato.” 🍅🥪📓 -Harriet The Spy

When I took these pictures last October, at the height of a tomato-and-mayo sandwich fixation period, I remember planning to post them with this caption — sans attribution, to see if anyone would recognize it. I wondered if another ‘90s kid with continuous film quotes in their head also heard this refrain / felt the urge to seal their sandwich down with a punch every time it involved tomato. 

I couldn’t have imagined that by the time I actually got around to sharing this idea and these pictures, circumstances would feel so very different from last October.

Michelle Trachtenberg, the actress who played Harriet The Spy, died yesterday, barely four decades young. This distant-yet-still-feels-personal news is coming at the close of a dismal February which has brought an uncanny amount of death to my community — and that’s aside from the more metaphorical deaths those of us in the US are collectively watching plague our democracy.

Meanwhile, I’ve passed five unplanned weeks off social media, awaiting some clarity in my presence and complicity in these afflicted spaces. I wish I had a concise answer and plan for myself, but that fog still lingers.

One thing that continues to be a north star through it all? On which I’ve focused my free hours offline — yet which also spurs me to connect here with you more than any outfit sharing or thrift tip — that which offers unlimited room to ask and ponder my unlimited questions — and what was, in fact, inspired by Harriet herself all those years ago? Writing. It’s the only devotion that persists from my childhood (evidence below), and the only thing that’s made sense to me this whole time. Whether online or off, I’m going to keep writing.

 

I’d love you to write me too; let me know how you’re doing in the comments if you have some words & brainwaves to spare.

Trend Alerts... and Alarm Bells

 🚨❄️ WINTER COAT TREND ALERT ❄️🚨

… just kidding. I may be on these NYC streets, but I’d be lying if I said I know what’s "going on" in the fashion world.

The coat you see here is VINTAGE — I had originally assumed since the 1980s, since I like to call it my “John Bender coat.” Recent tag research indicates something closer to the 1950s (!!), which is thrilling to me, as that makes it one of the oldest pieces in my wardrobe.

But did you believe me for the two seconds I cited it as on-trend? With the mad-dash speed our trends cycle at these days, could you even tell one way or the other?

That’s the thing about trends: who’s telling you what’s what anyway? A business? An influencer? Some corporate overlord from their mighty tower? Wise woman once said, “if the shoe fits, walk in it everywhere you go.” Trends are alright to embrace if they already fit your style profile. But be wary of any reports that give you the sudden urge to buy something new (like, now.)

Speaking of side-eying corporate overlords, today's news about Meta abandoning their fact-checking has caused me to recommit to this blog space, lest the unchecked "free speech" landscape goes the way it seems it will. 

If you'd like to join me here, I'd love to have you! Blogger has removed the subscription option from my homepage in recent years, so I'll be working on a workaround for email alerts. Meanwhile, feel free to bookmark me and drop by when fancy strikes, like a neighbor in the '90s.

Let's stay sustainable, uncompromised, and committed to FACT in 2025. 

Fondly, 

Rachel // Inspirsession