Hi, I'm Nina Iordanova and this is the 46th edition of Something Good, a newsletter filtered through my 🧠, 🖐, and ❤️. Coming your way every two weeks, I hope you find something good here.
Hi! Sorry I haven’t written.
I meant to write six (🫣) weeks ago but had a messy end to a 2 year on-and-off (mostly off) relationship I wanted some time to process. I thought it would be fine to skip a newsletter and come back two weeks after, but then missed publishing when I got Covid and spent a week in a feverish sleep.
But now we’re back!
I won’t try and catch you up on the entire six weeks, but here are some stories instead.
1. The breakup bouquet
The day after the breakup, on a whim, I decided to go shopping. I wanted to get a cute top from Aritzia and a nice lipstick from Sephora. (It’s harder to be sad when you feel pretty, and if you manage it anyway it’s at least more satisfying.)
After trying on at least a half-dozen variations on the theme of tube top that were somehow both too big and too small at the same time, I left Aritzia empty-handed. I then spent a good hour trying on concealers in Sephora, wandering from mirror to mirror, rotating my head 360 like a demon as I tried to figure out if I’d picked a shade that would look invisible at every angle and under every lighting condition known to man. (If you’re wondering why I’m trying on concealer when I said I wanted to get lipstick, it’s because you’ve never been in Sephora). I ultimately ended up walking out with a new blush. (Yes, this is the only way to shop at Sephora).
On the way home, I decided on a whim to stop at a local flower shop to get myself a bouquet of flowers.
I liked this shop - it was run by an older gentleman with a soft Swedish accent. Last time I’d visited, he’d told me about living in Baltimore and missing the large garden his house used to have and all the things he used to grow in it. He said in some ways it’s easier not to have so much to manage now, and instead he just plants flower seeds in the empty edges of parking lots (sunflowers are his favourite).
“Hi! Do you have time to make me a bouquet?” I asked him. A couple had just left the store and it was only me and him inside, with 20 minutes to spare before closing.
He asked if I had any preferences for colours or if there was any occasion, already walking towards the refrigerated glass room in the back. “It’s a breakup bouquet. For me!” I said, laughing. It was a joke but it was also very true, which made it funnier to me.
After a second, he turned around. “Do you want to write a card to go with it?” he asked. I immediately burst into tears. He looked alarmed.
“No no, I was just trying to make you feel better! No, it’s okay!” he said in his light Swedish accent, not looking at me as he decided the best place to be would be inside the glass room, busy picking out the flowers.
“No, I know, I appreciate it, I would like to add a card,” I babbled back, turning away from him and fishing a Tim Horton’s napkin out of my pocket. I dabbed at my eyes, already sore from putting on and removing concealer for the past hour, then decided my best course of action would be to stare open-eyed at the fan on the ceiling til it dried them.
So that was how we spent the next few minutes, with me airing out my eyes and him pretending the glass room was in fact made out of concrete.
I got my bouquet, I wrote my card, and the flowers lived on my kitchen island for the next two weeks!
2. Gemma during Covid
This was the first time I got Covid (at least knowingly) and the first day was awful with fever and tiredness. It was also the first time that I didn’t think I was physically capable of taking Gemma outside. I posted on Instagram asking for help and had so many people reach out offering to walk her!! People who lived in the neighbourhood, people who lived far away - it was so so so nice. The DayQuil ended up kicking in enough for me to take her, but it was so nice to feel like we were taken care of.
Gemma herself was really cuddly while I was sick, even though I didn’t notice it at the time. I spent a lot of my time sleeping on the couch, and she’d come lay on top of me. If I was sitting, she’d put her head (or whole body) in my lap. Sometimes she’d stretch out so her belly was pressed against me and her head and legs stretched out on opposite sides.
All very sweet. I love this little dog very very very much.
3. New hair?
I’ve been thinking about going back to my natural hair colour (dark brown) for a while now, but also have a really hard time letting go of the blonde I’ve had for the past 5 years. I did a toner that darkened the blonde highlights to something resembling brunette, and now I’m debating whether to make it official official.
Actually this gives me a very good excuse to finally use the poll feature!! Do you think I should go back to blonde or stay brunette?
YES I’ve been looking for a reason to do a poll for so long! I think that’s a great note to wrap up on.
Thanks for reading and I’ll see you soon!
✨
Warmly yours,
Nina
Thanks for reading and I'll see you in two weeks! 👋
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