No. 39—curated by a guest visitor

"The mundane, the absurd, and the profound", two drinks, and the case for the midweek overnight trip.

Frequent Visitors is a weekly newsletter created to share a thoughtful selection of our favourite visits—both online and off—curated by friends, not algorithms.

For today’s issue we have a special guest (and previous FV feature) sharing their finds!

Recent Visits
by Leigh Patterson

Some info on today’s FV curator, Leigh:

Websites:
Luccastudio.co
Moonlists.com

Substack:
Themoonlists.substack.com

Social:
@leighpatterson @themoonlists

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1. The Ex-Clown, the Fan, the Stranger and I by Thomas Amouyal, Sara Elkamel and Charlotte York

I love the selection at Mast Books (they are also a Moon Lists stockist) and recently they suggested this book to me, which is a kind of call-and-response journaling project inspired by engaging with the “mundane, the absurd and the profound.” Clearly up my alley.

2. Night Drink

As a lifelong insomniac I am eternally searching for new hacks to trick my body into sleep. 

Tart cherry has been shown to increase the body’s ability to access melatonin, and I like this more gentle attitude of encouraging your brain and body to connect the dots that are already there (rather than my historic aspiration to just knock myself into a coma). I’m still early in my experimenting but am enjoying this combo: A splash of tart cherry juice, a teaspoon of magnesium (I use this one), stirred very well and topped with 3-4 ounces of very very cold water.

3. The Kindle “highlight” feature

I love an e-reader for ease and nighttime reading (see: insomnia). In particular: The very handy Kindle feature that allows you to export any bits of text you “highlighted” and then delivers them via email in a well-organized PDF.

4. Tekuno

Two drinks in one list, I know! I’ve never been much of a tea-drinker but recently thanks to the hyper-rare Japanese teas from Tekuno I’ve gotten into brewing a big pot of Hatomugicha and sipping it throughout the afternoon. Earthy and subdued, the teas all have expanded my lexicon of how tea ought to taste. And although I’m admittedly biased since I worked on this project, I love the clever design of the pyramid sachets—which were inspired by metabolic architecture and Japanese marumado—and designed by Scott Barry, a clever friend whose work I consistently admire.

5. The Overnight Trip

I am a huge advocate for the midweek overnight trip when I’m feeling restless or bored or just in need of a change of scenery. Typically I go alone, cancel all my calls, and bring along my laptop or a project that requires focus. This is my version of a business trip. Qualifiers I recommend in selecting a location:

• No more than 1.5 hour drive away from home.

• A good bar and/or lounge for working in a public space.

• A couple things to do but not too much to do (ie: one good bookstore, or one museum to break up the day.)

• Get a room with a bathtub.

• Take an extra outfit. Sometimes you arrive, realize one day is simply not enough, and it’s no big deal.

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Thank you for reading and we hope you enjoyed your visit! Leigh, thank you for sharing your marvellous finds with us. I will be daydreaming about my first midweek overnight trip until our next visit.

As always, we’d love to learn about some of your favourite finds by reading + responding to all of your replies to this email!

Until next time,
SV

Forward to a friend!! FV is sustained by a thoughtful community of dedicated readers and it would mean the world if you shared it with someone you think may enjoy it xx