Just Lately

"And that orange, it made me so happy, as ordinary things often do, just lately."

In light of TikTok quite possibly not existing in 2025, I’ve been thinking about what space I may move to online, which has required thinking about not just the literal content of what I write about, but the form. Tik Tok’s design—ie where the comments are, how interactive it is, not just the algorithm— and its resulting idioculture are unique, and have made writing fun again. While this Substack has existed, it’s always felt like a complex, overwhelming blank page.

On Tik Tok, short form was king, which meant each day, I could write a paragraph, re-read it, and send it on its merry way into the world. For some reason, I’ve made this form as something that has to be polished and newsletter-like. But what if it could be just slightly longer than a Tik Tok or IG post. What if imperfection, and a bit of a tendency to ramble, was also allowed here?

Like many girls who grew up in the 90s/2000s, I once nurtured a dream of working for a magazine. My nature meant that I collected magazines, tore out pages I loved, and kept a binder as though I were a pretend head of a beauty department. As I’ve continued to be online, I’ve felt unsure how to bring in those broader, longer form desires, without making it into a big formal project without flex. In some ways, I’ve come back to what 13 year old me liked, and maybe this Substack can be that— a blog.

I’d love to share my little reflections, books I’ve been loving, places, beauty products, a story. I’m trying to let myself plant a seed, and be present for the growing, rather than decide to, for lack of a better metaphor, take a plastic tree and shove it into the ground, pre-formed, unmoving, sterile.

So here it is, with the title being from my favorite poem, The Orange, with the love of mundane things, just lately. Now let me tell you a few places online and things I’ve been curious about lately.

Beauty: I recently picked up a powder blush, by NYX. I haven’t worn a powder blush in years, and putting it on reminded me of when I first learned how to do makeup in high school, in cheerleading (yes, really. In hindsight, I was a bit too sardonic to be a cheerleader, and it showed). I’ve been liking the ability to control placement more, especially in winter when my skin is pale and any color shows immediately. I love the color “Butta in time”, linked here.

Fitness: You may already know I have a fixation on how Taylor Swift is able to be strong and have enough cardiovascular endurance to make it through the Eras tour, and at present, I’m beginning to ask that about the other pop stars, too. This is really NOT about the aesthetics, but rather what athletic feats pop stars have to do, and how they get strong and nourished enough to be able to belt and dance for hours in a row. I’ve come to the conclusion of a mixture of strength, endurance cardio, and mobility, like in pilates. Speaking of, here is the playlist I use for my home mat pilates, that makes me feel like I’m in some overpriced studio in NYC (not in my Boston apartment, next to my kitchen table).

Books: Whenever I feel my attention span waning and hope for the world decreasing, I know I have to make an effort to read more (and then go forth with what the book plants in me into creative efforts and connection, both online and off). At present, my favorite recent read for nonfiction is re-reading Braiding Sweetgrass with my book club, and reading Sophie Cousens newest romantic comedy novel, Is She Really Going Out with Him?. Learning and light, yet introspective, women’s literature. I can’t recommend either more highly.

This is Just Lately, for now. This was easier to write than I thought. Perhaps I do just need to follow my long time internet business crush of Cup of Jo, and let small pieces be enough. It is still bad art, isn’t it?

Take care, and talk soon,

xx

Margaret of Bad Art Every Day