Pleasure Project
An invitation to romanticize your ordinary days
Welcome to the Pleasure Project. An invitation to romanticize the f*ck out of your ordinary days this week, in order to bring some pleasure and whimsy back into your life.
First things first, I’m a Taurus, so if you’re not a Taurus, you need to get on board with blowing up the most minuscule moments to make them feel like a 5 star experience. We center around all of the senses here: beautiful aesthetics and scenery, rich smells, only the best tastes that you can savor, and luxurious touches. From making your guest bedroom feel like a 5 star European hotel, to beach maxxing with the cutest swim suit + coverup, your favorite beach chair and a sandwich with Diet Coke on the side, to making your kitchen feel like the 1:1 version of the homegrown bakery down the street + inviting guests over to feel it with you, twinkle lights in the back yard illuminating your summer solstice dinner party. This is where you’ve landed.
So, wherever in the world you are, sink into your cozy couch, pull up your cashmere (or amazing Costco find) blanket and grab your choice of beverage - the perfect coffee, a juicy crisp prosecco or fruit infused sparkling water are all acceptable. If you want to get crazy we’ll also allow a coke with lemon or herbal tea. Now let’s jump in to the Sub Umeris ‘Pleasure Project’ on how to make every day feel like a scene from a Nancy Meyers movie. Even implementing 1-2 practices will make you feel like that b*tch this season.
Pleasure Project
Arguably the most important character of our Nancy Meyers movie:
The Table (meals)
A Saturday morning farmers market - grab a fresh tomato - you know, one that smells earthy and the stem prickles at your nose - a loaf of sourdough that’s the perfect amount of hard on the outside and spongey on the inside, lettuce that has the crisp to flop ratio just right and, last but not least, a ball of creamy burrata sitting in a tub of cheese water (sounds gross, is delish). Obviously you brought your own Celtic sea salt and olive oil from Italy in the canvas tote hanging over your shoulder - woven rattan beach bag would also be acceptable - hosting your favorite floral sheet. Take it to the nearest patch of grass, riverbank or beach, put it all together and enjoy.
Next up:
The Soundtrack (music)
Olivia Dean. Nothing else needs to be said. Let her jazzy smooth voice spill out of your speaker morning, noon or night. She sounds equally as luxurious while making pancakes as she does softly narrating your work day administrative tasks or over candlelight with a glass of red wine and steak. Pick your poison.
Last but not least:
The Nightstand (books)
You’re going to have to trust me when I say this - you need a MINIMUM of three books on your bedside table.
1/ An adult picture book - no not adult content ew - a Pinterest board in print form, your most inspiring coffee table book. this one is just for when you want the same hit of dopamine as scrolling through a perfectly curated feed would allow - but we’re going back to print baby. Maybe it’s a collection of Italian countryside finds, maybe it’s your most beautiful cookbook, maybe it’s stunning sprawling architecture or maybe its nature based - trees, bodies of water, stunning wildflower fields.
2/ A fiction book that lets you get lost in another world. I don’t care if it’s a rom-com, murder mystery, magic kingdom or the smuttiest book you could find - whatever your guilty pleasure book is, that should be the next book in the stack.
3/ A non-fiction book. Could be a memoir on someone you’re obsessed with, a history book that enthralls you: greek gods and the origins of mythology, early American history, the Roman Empire. It could be business book if there’s a new professional muscle you’re trying to strengthen. A book on nutrition and diet. A how-to on gardening. Anything that tickles your fancy.
4/ Bonus points for this one: a poetry book. Can be an old classic or a new contemporary poet. Anything that uses the art of words to put the world in a new perspective - perhaps in a way that you can relate to more or that makes you question everything. As a poet, I’m biased on this one but there’s nothing more luxurious than poetry.
