10 Offline Things I Did This Week
Pre-order launch and birthday edition
I just had one of the most special weeks of my life. Announcing a book has felt like a steady pulse of energy, creativity, joy, love, desire, and madness that is hard to put into words. I can’t really think of another thing in life that would give me this sort of high.
If you missed it, my memoir opened for pre-orders this week. Here are the announcement posts:
My book pulls back the curtain on the untold reality of being an influencer—chasing online validation, navigating the relentless gaze of the internet, and becoming a mirror for everyone’s projections.
It’s the FIRST BOOK OF ITS KIND, brought to you by the same team who edited I’M GLAD MY MOM DIED (Jennette McCurdy), MEN HAVE CALLED HER CRAZY (Anna Marie Tendler), AND DOWN THE DRAIN (Julia Fox) at Simon & Schuster. I am so excited for it.
I’ve been going down digital memory lane this week, reminiscing about the days on which the book is based. This week, I re-posted an old story from 2018 on my IG and shared my current reaction—equal parts compassion and slight embarrassment—noting how freely I danced while unintentionally flashing some boob from a sheer shirt. In response, I got a DM that simply said, “Girl, you knew your tits were out.”
Of course I knew. I knew what I was doing. And I still do.
¯¯_(ツ)_/¯¯
To make matters even more special, I turn 35 today. (!!!!!!)
35 feels really fucking big. Whenever I say that, everyone goes, “It’s not that old!”
I’m not saying it’s old. I’m saying it’s refined, it's adult, it’s big female energy.
It’s seasoned.
It’s experienced but still energized.
It’s young enough to recognize time passing yet old enough to appreciate the journey unfolding in real-time.
My birthday falls two days after Valentine’s Day, and this year more than ever, I’m reminded that February birthdays have a magic all their own. Growing up, I envied my sister’s August birthday—celebrated with beach bashes and pool swims—while mine felt tucked away in the winter cold.
But last night, my friends and I dressed to the nines in our winter best and headed out into the snow. For me, my birthday has become a beacon of light in the winter darkness.
Enjoy this week’s 10 things, and I’ll see you later this week for a special paid subscriber essay that delves deeper into influencer accountability and viewer transgression (paid subs only). Enjoy your Sunday!
10 Offline Things I Did This Week
Noticed buds coming from the soil floor. On a walk with my dog on Monday I noticed but a tiny little bud poking through the soil floor. A message of renewal, quiet power, and hope in the dead of winter.
a little sprout of joy Noticed the grass getting greener. As winter stretches on and we begrudgingly pull on our heavy coats for what feels like the hundredth time—still battling lingering colds and not yet met with the full force of March’s whipping winds (I’ll never forget you, NYC March winds)—there’s a quiet shift happening. I swear, looking across Brooklyn Bridge Park this week, instead of a sea of gray and brown, I saw tinges of green, yellow, and white along the hills. Things are getting ready to bloom.
It’s light out at 5 PM. Have you noticed that at 5 p.m., it’s still bright outside? Do you realize how special that is, after months of living in the dark at 4 PM? That means we can now take a longer evening walk or run out for groceries before dinner with a little more light. And it only gets lighter from here. Hallelujah.
Made my first milk bread scallion rolls. I dove into breadmaking this week and let me tell you….I think I need a bread mixer because the recipe said to mix the dough for 15 minutes in a stand mixer, but since I didn’t have one, I gave it my best shot by hand for about 5 minutes before calling it quits. The rolls turned out good—but let’s just say they had a little more “chew” than intended.
scallion milk bread rolls Working on the final edits of the book. IT’S CRUNCH TIME, BUT YES, I AM DOING FINAL EDITS BEFORE WE PUT THAT BABY INTO FINAL PRODUCTION <3
Bought myself a pair of Manolo Blahnik’s. In my mid-thirties, nothing gets me off more than investing in beautiful, well-crafted pieces—the kind that make me squeal with excitement every time I put them on. If you follow me on IG, you know I bought a pair of fake Manolo Blahniks off The Real Real on accident. So yesterday I took myself into the MB store and I bought myself some authenticated stilettos. One of the many benefits of being 35 and childless is this. (Though I still want kids if you’re listening, God.)
My first Manolo’s <3 Attended Carla Fernandez’s Renegade Grief pre-launch party. Renegade Grief is a book that challenges the idea that grief is something we need to “get over” and instead offers a compassionate guide that honors the depth of your experience, builds community, and carves a path toward a soulful life after loss.
Celebrated my 35th. I have been going out more this year than I ever did in my late 20s. I think I self-cared so hard I lost sight of the fact that I was still young and could go out and be social (even while not drinking, which I don’t). I’ve remembered to enjoy life again, in a new way. AND I LOVE IT!
A GIRL WHO IS HOURS AWAY FROM 35….. Cried, a lot. Call it birthday emotions, V-day stress, the beginning of my book release, or just general emotional buildup, I have been crying a lot this week. Tears flow through me while I’m doing pilates, while I’m laying with Samson, while I sit on the couch, or when a certain song plays from my past. It feels so good. Thank you, God, for the ability to allow me to feel my emotions so fully. I am so grateful.
Continued my hot chocolate tour of New York. I love when you guys tag me in your hot chocolate outings. One of the better cups I’ve had is from Red Hook Coffee Shop. It went for about $4/5 and tasted perfectly sweet and creamy. Their foamed milk was also 10/10.
See you later this week for that special paid subscriber essay on influencer accountability and view transgression/parasocialism!
WITH LOVE
A 35-YEAR-OLD LEE
Happy day of your birth and congrats on your book! 🤍
Happy Birthday!!! 💗✨🪩 Love that you celebrated in such a fun way - and can also SO relate to all the emotions that come up around birthdays