Swoonworthy Magazine - Issue 01

Swoonworthy

Contributors:

Printer Park Communications

Editor

Tiffanie Snyder

Art Design

Theodora Pangos

Writers

Anubhuti Kumar, Jess Johnson, Laura Schwartz, Tiffanie Snyder

Illustrators

Amber Liu for Swoonworthy logo, Coloring pages, Rom Com Bingo

Brittanie Snyder for Bathtub art

Photographer

Kerstin Auer of LilliKad Photography for editor portrait of Tiffanie Snyder & Ana B photo on page 47

Letter from the Editor

Hello Rom-Com Lovers,

Welcome to the first issue of Swoonworthy Magazine! Thank you for your interest. This first issue is dedicated to Gerald and Arlette Snyder, my grandparents. Since I have asked everyone what their favorite rom-coms are, it is only fair that I also answer the question: my favorite rom-com is equal parts

Stupid, Love

quirky characters in both.

We hope that you enjoy this first issue as much as we have enjoyed creating it. From home-blessings to yoga to the “make-over” and more, we love learning and romanticizing life. “Love is patient, love is kind, love means slowly losing your mind”

However, Swoonworthy Magazine would like to help keep your mind enthralled and active and excited as opposed to losing it. With that, live, love, laugh, read and repeat.

Thank you, Tiffanie

Magical MeetCutes

Uber Pool: When I got in the car, he was sitting where I opened the door, so he slid over and asked my name and we started talking! 20 minutes later when he was about to be dropped off he asked if I wanted to get out and have a drink with him at a bar nearby and I said yes. First impression was that I enjoy meeting people organically and really like when conversation is easy and interesting. At the bar I had a few moments where I was like, “WHAT was I thinking,” but we had a nice time and of course it turned out great.

Celeb I Spy: Stanley Tucci and Felicity Blunt met at the premiere for The Devil Wears Prada in 2006. They reconnected four years later at Emily Blunt and John Krasinski’s wedding in 2010 (after the passing of Tucci’s wife Kate). Felicity and Stanley began to date, and two years later they got married. Now they have kids and they are both incredibly cute together on Stanley’s show Searching For Italy.

Around the World: A reporter living in Manhattan set off by ship to Spain in 1960 after the death of his mother. Based in the apartment of a couple in Madrid,

he noticed a framed photograph of their goddaughter, Arlette, a beautiful young French girl from Casablanca. He did the most sensible thing, to rush to the nearest U.S. Air Force base and hitch a ride with a fighter pilot to Casablanca, with a letter of introduction from his landlord (the godparents). Within two weeks, Gerry and Arlette (the stunning French girl) were engaged. Within months, they were married. Love at first photograph and then sight.

Pen Pals: Carey Mulligan and Marcus Mumford met at a Christian holiday camp when they were twelve. They wrote letters to each other through their church. Later, they reconnected as adults. The chemistry was strong and within five months they got engaged. Now they have been happily married together for a decade. Talk about a power couple.

Do you have any adorable meetcutes that you want to share? Feel free to send us an Instagram DM at tag us on a post.

Ask Anu

Advice

Anu is a Clevelander living in New York and a graduate of New York University with a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Economics, and a Minor in Film Production. She has worked for organizations such as Environment New York, Hillary for America, Alissa Neil PR, Broadway Video, Care in action, and the National Domestic Workers Alliance. She’s been previously published in Brown Girl Magazine, Burnt Roti, and Washington Square News. When not writing, she can be found watching stand up specials and pretending to be a fan of the Cavs. Follow Anu at: @anubhuti_kumar

When starting a new relationship, what should you look out for? (good things to take note of and bad things to stay away from)

When it comes to big questions, I think the best thing we can do for ourselves and to find answers is break it down into smaller, more manageable questions, rather than paralyzing ourselves with nebulouslessness! First, let’s start with the fact that we need to evaluate a potential partner for ourselves. Start by making a list of things that are important to you. Is it that they text back in a timely manner? Is it that they take the initiative to make plans, and

plan dates? Do they ask you about yourself? Decide what’s most important to you, and decide if they fulfill those things.

Next, and not to be cliché, but take it to the board of directors aka the group chat. Sometimes we can be in a lavender haze and not see some glaring issues. Good friends will point that out, and that is why we need them in our lives, always. Good friends will ask you the hard questions you might try to gloss over, and they will celebrate with you when they know you’ve found true love (and help you make sure you don’t inadvertently mess it up)!

Be clear about your boundaries and once you are, don’t make them a shifting goal post to accommodate a new lover.

Also, think about your deal breakers. You don’t want to be Ted Moseby and get the ick over, like, loud chewing, but do decide before you get too invested what the things are that you absolutely cannot tolerate. Will they only go out for drinks, but you want to do fun daytime activities? Has it been months and you have yet to meet any of their friends? Will he never let you control the remote or complain about your choices?

Be clear about your boundaries and once you are, don’t make them a shifting goal post to accommodate a new lover. If they like/love you and you’re communicating your needs clearly, they should be making an effort to meet you where you are. If not, it’s not you, it’s them.

How do you find balance between prioritizing yourself vs your partner?

OK, this is a great question and I’m not sure anyone hits the right balance all the time! That being said, no one wants to be early years Ann from Parks & Rec or the little sister in 27 Dresses. In an effort to be healthy, 21st century partners, let’s keep these two things in mind:

1. Sometimes you’ll have three weeks solid of plans with your partner. Maybe they’ll have family visiting, maybe their friends are getting married, maybe you have a trip planned. It’s ok to spend the majority of your time on these things for them because you know they’ll do the reverse.

2. You need time to rest and recharge,

and any good partner and friend will understand that and give you grace. It’s a big and overwhelming endeavor to try and stay balanced and keep up with everyone and everything all the time, so the best thing you can do for yourself is break it down into some very tacklable goals. Here’s some examples to start:

1. Make an effort to set aside 1-2 nights every week to see your friends, on your own, without your partner. Maybe make it a set day every week, so you preempt weekly scheduling issues!

2. Take a minute each day to check in with a different friend. Stay up to date on each other’s lives so you have topics to discuss and follow up on when you see each other!

3. Check in with your partner every few months to see how they feel about how much space they feel like they can take for themselves, and share how you feel. Then make a plan to give each other the alone time and emotional support you each need.

Searching for a cute anniversary date night idea, thoughts?

So! Many! Let’s make a list:

1. A boat ride! Imagine floating around the Hudson River, at sunset, in a sailboat. Just a hint of danger being so close to the water and the risk of you or your phone falling in, wine in hand, snuggled with your cutie!

2. A comedy show. Ok, I know comedy can be hit or miss, but either way,

you’ll have a lot to talk about at dinner after.

3. An unlikely but still valid romantic, dramedy? Karate Kid. In the vein of 80’s puppy love romance, take your love to mini golf! The light competition, the complicated courses to strategize around, and the victory celebrations are sure to bring the two of you a lot of joy!

4. Take your partner to a diner to share a milkshake! Everyone loves some old-timey, Archie (not Riverdale)-style wholesome dates.

5. Karaoke. By the time you’re hitting an anniversary, you’re probably not afraid to be embarrassed around each other, and a Katherine Heigl-James Mardsen “Bennie and the Jets” moment is DUE.

How to hint that you’re feeling left out with your colleagues at work and what to do about it without starting drama?

This can be so hard, particularly in a COVID-ridden world where 1) there is often no office, 2) even if there is an office, some coworkers are often hybrid or completely remote, and 3) people are burned out! Socializing can feel like a lot when we’ve gone through some incredibly hard collective trauma, and consequently are overworked, reevaluating our priorities, and physically more tired after slowing down considerably for over two years.

Now that we’ve set the scene with some context and level setting, let’s focus on solutions. First, I think it’s important to adjust our mindsets and approach these

situations with grace for our coworkers and assume they are also showing up with the best intentions. They probably aren’t excluding you on purpose (maybe they are, and that’s an unprofessional situation which you probably want to stay away from and find another crew!), maybe they don’t know that you want to be a part of their social group, or they have a long standing rapport and are unaware how that comes off to others.

Second, let’s talk about what you can actively do to change this! The goal would be to build a rapport with your coworkers that they seem to have with each other. Do y’all do icebreakers at the beginning of your team meetings? Next time, suggest a topic to the meeting lead that is in the view of your interests (do you love music and concerts, ask people to name the last album they listened to! Do you LOVE romcoms? Ask people to name their favorite trope!). Now you have a baseline to build from! Take note of their answers and next time you read a rom-com you think they would be interested in, or hear music from their favorite artist, Slack them and start a conversation.

Now that you’ve found some things in common, invite a group out for drinks! Being the hostess means never being excluded. Beware, this means a fair amount of logistic burden on you and can be exhausting.

The situation started with them not including you, but now you’re leading the plans and bringing everyone together. This makes it obvious you do want to be friends with them, and if they continue to exclude you when they make plans, I promise it’s not you, it’s them.

Winter Wonderland Date Ideas

By Lana Schwartz

Winter is here and what does that mean? It means there’s a chill in the air, the snow is falling, and romance is in the air. What is fall if not the perfect time to fall in love? Whether you’ve been together for five months or five years, we have some perfect date ideas to crank up the heat, even as the temperatures drop.

A trip to the local farm

We know what you’re thinking, isn’t a trip to the farm a fall activity? And to that we say, why would you want to visit a popular destination during its peak season? Odds are good that if you go in October, your desired destination might be overrun with crowds – and there’s nothing less romantic than crowds. How can you and your date share a romantic moment as you reach for the very same apple if you’re surrounded by strangers? How can you nail that cute selfie if you’re surrounded by potential photo bombers?

Our advice? Arrange for a private tour of the farm, late at night in the dead of winter, after everyone’s gone. This way, you can have the most authentic experience possible. Plus, you should make sure you really get to know the farmer, especially if they live all alone, secluded in a rural area. We all know how solitude can drive a person crazy! Allow them to regale you with stories about and mumblings of their missing wife and kids. And why not ask the farmer to join in the corn maze so they can snap that perfect date night photo. If the farmer starts chasing you through the maze, keep running! It’s all part of the fun. Breathe in that crisp, night air for perhaps the last time and really take it all in.

Visit a historically significant building

Winter is the perfect time for getting acquainted with your more cultured interests. We all love a good museum,

but they can be crowded and expensive. It’s easy to forget how many beautiful, historically significant buildings surround us, whether you’re in the Big City or Small Town America. In your very own neighborhood, you could find a gorgeous, one-of-a-kind abandoned Victorian or Gothic home. If you’re looking for a creative (and free!) date idea, why not take a trip over? The two of you can stop to admire the home’s original features and marvel at the way people lived in the past. Don’t let the locked door or “condemned” signs deter you. Walk up the creaky staircase and through the abandoned rooms, breathe in the dust. If you squint, we bet you’ll actually be able to see the last tenants of the house for yourself! And why not introduce a little role play? Really immerse yourselves in the part and pretend to be people from the past. Before you know it, you’ll feel just like them – you’ll be talking like them, acting like them, maybe even dressed like them. Who knows? The two of you may even love the house so much you end up staying forever.

Have a quiet night in

As the temperatures lower, what’s better than a quiet night in? Open a bottle of wine and get intimate! With no distractions, the two of you can really get to know each other. Unfortunately, we live in what’s far from a distraction-free world. No matter what you do, something always comes up and interrupts an otherwise romantic evening. Our solution? Cut all the power in your house and see what happens! Hide your phones somewhere you won’t be able to get to them. Bury them, put them

in a lockbox and lose the lock, maybe even destroy them entirely. Whatever it is, just make sure they’re absolutely inaccessible, no matter what happens. It’s not like there’s going to be some emergency or something. And don’t stop there – throw out your candles, flashlights, everything. Sometimes, in the darkness, you can see that much more clearly. Whatever sounds you think you hear, or if you begin to suspect someone else is in the house with you, you’re probably being paranoid. Don’t let anything derail your perfect, quiet date night. Keep the lights out and the phone cut no matter what.

Throw a small, intimate dinner party

Sometimes introducing your new love interest to the rest of your friends can be intimidating. No matter what, there’s going to be a ton of pressure on each of you. To combat this, we suggest you throw a quiet dinner party so your guests can really dig in and become pals. An easy way to break the ice is by playing some fun games, like Pictionary or charades. Or take things even one step further with a more revealing game like Never Have I Ever or Two Truths and a Lie – you want your significant other and your friends to really get to know each other, right? That means you’ve got to delve deep, with incredibly personal and revealing questions. And no matter what you do, make sure you keep the alcohol flowing, so that everyone can feel as loose as possible. Who cares if glasses get broken or plates are thrown? Conflict is a key part of forging new friendships. If you notice that one by one your friends start to go missing, it’s probably fine! Give them their

me-time and don’t chase after them. Don’t forget: screaming loudly is a key part of stress relief.

Take a weekend away

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that there is nothing better on a clear winter day than a long drive upstate. Listening to music in the car, watching the scenery change – it’s like something out of a Taylor Swift song (the Folklore and Evermore albums, to be specific). For some true one-on-one time, rent a room at a bed & breakfast for a long weekend away. But sometimes the journey can be even better than the destination. Keep your eyes peeled during the drive upstate for a local farm stand to stop by, or snowy trails you can wander. If you really want to impress your friends, take a step off the beaten path and pay a visit to a closed sleepaway camp. There won’t be another soul in sight. You may find yourself so taken with the campgrounds that you forget about your bed & breakfast entirely. Suddenly you’re so rejuvenated that someone could easily mistake you two for teenage camp counselors. In fact, if a person with haunted eyes or even a sentient animal asks you as much, go along with it. No matter how menacing they may seem, we’re sure they mean it as a compliment.

Love Letter To My Bathtub

My Dearest Bathtub,

Thank you for keeping me toasty on cold days (and any kind of day). Thank you for containing bubbles, water, and love in addition to my body. Thank you for childhood bath time and adulthood bath time. You have seen my laughter, tears, my Bubble Bath Blues playlist, face masks, and many good books or magazines. Not only do I clean my body in you, but sometimes it feels I can clean my soul too. Whether in the dark with candles lit or in the light, you hear my mantras and meditation. Thank you for providing vacation. Relaxation. Sometimes dehydration. Warming sensation. Even dedication, bubble bath blues

Honest Real Estate Listings for the Homes of Romantic Comedy Heroines

By Lana Schwartz

If romantic comedies are about wish fulfillment, there is no greater fantasy than the home of a romantic comedy heroine. More often than not, our rom-com heroines have a square footage well in the thousands, impeccable decor, and live in the trendiest neighborhoods that would be well out of their budget based on their job descriptions. Below we’ve assembled real estate listings for some of the most enviable rom-com pads to grace our screens.

The Notebook

Make unforgettable memories in this breathtaking Southern mansion. It’s the rare home so gorgeous it’ll help you quiet the part of your brain that says “This is a plantation” and “I don’t feel great about romanticizing the south.” Incredible, unique features that were meticulously chosen and perfected by a master craftsman. Located on the banks of Wadmalaw Island, South Carolina, but if you squint, you’d swear it was North Carolina, or any other part of the south you want it to be!

House is for sale by the devastated children of the owners, who passed away suddenly, but not under mysterious circumstances (for the record, the death certificate reads “cause of death: heartbreak”). While the price tag is high, it’s important to the sellers that the home goes to the right people – preferably a young couple who will write their own classic love story, much like their parents.

The grounds are chock-full of unexpected marvels – from the Spanish moss growing on the trees, to the 1940s rowboat that glides across the lake, guided completely by its own volition. The wind? Or two young

lovers calling out to each other from the beyond? The answer depends on how much you fear the dead. (If the answer is yes, do not buy this house.)

Boasting thousands and thousands of square feet, the home could function as basically anything – even a nursing home, for example. Why would you want a house you could someday turn into a nursing home? Well, sometimes life takes unexpected twists and turns. You can’t prepare for all of them, but you can buy a house big enough to use as a nursing home, should you need to hire a full staff to provide round-the-clock care to your ailing partner in their final days. And then, you know, one thing leads to another, and suddenly you’ve hired dozens of doctors and nurses, opened your doors to hundreds of patients, and become the premiere nursing home in the state – all so that your partner suffering from Alzheimer’s might remember you for one brief moment per day. For example.

You’ve Got Mail

Be the envy of all your friends by snagging this rent stabilized apartment – the last one on the Upper West Side! Located on a quiet, tree-lined street, this charming one-bedroom, one-bathroom is smack dab in the middle of a rapidly changing neighborhood.

The apartment is a hop, skip and a jump away from cute coffee shops, bookstores, restaurants, and bars that only recently went out of business! The apartment is the very definition of charm, replete with a breakfast nook, built-in bookshelves, and gigantic bay windows, perfect for gazing out of and imagining what the Upper West Side was like before it was gentrified. Live

out all of your New York fantasies, be it having a romantic meet cute in Riverside Park, or shrugging your shoulders after each local business is forced out by rising rents and saying “This city really isn’t what it used to be.”

The apartment possesses all of its original features, dating back to the late 1800s – “you know, when this city really was something” – which is something you can and should say when you point them out to visitors. And this apartment is begging for visitors, if only so you can brag that you scooped up this place and they didn’t. Expand your dinner party invite list to include casual acquaintances, coworkers, long-lost family members, anyone you meet on the street and especially your enemies. After they leave, they’ll hang their heads in shame knowing they pay three times the amount you do on apartments half the size. If New York City real estate is a competition – and yes, of course it is –through sheer luck, you won and they lost.

An especially good fit for artists, writers, professors, or anyone in an erudite profession who could never afford to live in this neighborhood otherwise. $250/month. First month, last month, and security deposit required. Will go fast.*

It’s Complicated

It’s time for you to live your best divorcée life. It doesn’t matter whether or not you’re divorced, this house is perfect for empty nesters. You too can make middle age a new chapter, replete with plenty of lounging on all white furniture in all white outfits. Yes, you might spill red wine on your all white ensemble but life is for getting messy! Making mistakes! Immediately changing into a new all white outfit!

This sprawling Spanish style Santa Barbara home has enough rooms to host your grown children, including if one of them should want to move home for a while. You’re proud of them, you are, even if you don’t agree with all of the choices they’ve made. (A second master’s degree in medieval literature? Really?) All of them are busy with their own lives, which means it’s finally time for you to focus on the person you’ve been neglecting for 30 years – you .

Picture yourself stepping outside and breathing in the smell of the gardenias and jasmine you’ve planted. The spacious backyard is perfect for gardening, or any other type of hobby you might want to take up now that you have all this time for yourself. The house also boasts some incredible new features – like a professional grade kitchen, either for your own use or the use of your hired professional help. The house is ideal for entertaining, be it large parties, or a gabfest over white wine with your girlfriends, all of whom are of a similar age, in a similar tax bracket, are facing similar obstacles in their personal lives, and serve as guests at that key party you may or may not host.

For sale by owner. Listing price available to serious inquiries only, but is upwards of many, many millions of dollars.

Bridget Jones’s Diary

Responsible renter seeks another responsible renter to sublet a cozy one bedroom/one bathroom flat in one of London’s poshest neighborhoods. Flat comes fully furnished as the current leaseholder is moving in with her boyfriend. Has been a substantial amount of time since the flat has been renovated, as the current renter has lived there for their entire adult life, despite their best efforts. However, everything remains in proper functioning order – except for the appliances in the kitchen, which have not been used in many years and have likely given up on ever being used again. Couch in the living room is particularly comfortable for a night in watching telly and drinking as many bottles of wine as your heart desires. Bed is comfortable as well, or at least, so the renter has been told by multiple suitors. Sublet is for an indeterminate amount of time as current renter and her main love interest have been on again, off again, on again throughout the years and it’s impossible to know if or how long it might last this time. Subletter can enjoy the flat for as long as the current renter remains happy with her boyfriend, but should be expected to pack up in a moment’s notice if things come crashing down. Rent is £2000 per month. No proof of income is required. As it remains unclear how the current renter affords the flat, they recognize it would be almost hypocritical to ask the subletter for similar information. And while the renter has been called many things throughout their life (“verbally inconsistent spinster,” for one), they remain resolute that they are not a hypocrite.

If subletter meets someone and gets married before the current renter, they

have threatened to burn “the whole flat and neighborhood down,” so only the most desperate, loneliest of women need apply. No cats.

13 Going on 30

An apartment fit for a queen! Scoop up this East Village gem for only $5,000/month or live to regret it. Situated in a doorman building with floor to ceiling windows, endless amenities, and square footage worth selling your soul for. Located mere minutes away from Manhattan’s trendiest bars and most exclusive restaurants, where you can see and be seen. Nothing says “I’ve made it” quite like this two bedroom, two bathroom, with a walk-in closet that every little girl dreams of. Apartment has been on and off the market following a mysterious disappearance of the prior tenant, but is now finally ready for a new renter to call it home.

Important to note that any and all renters must be approved by the co-op board. They’re specifically seeking a stable tenant, who will keep to themselves, not throw slumber parties for the building’s 13-yearold girls (highly inappropriate, by the way), and prove themselves to be exceptionally mature. Any applicant with the mentality of a teenager will absolutely not be approved at this time. Applicants with jobs in dying professions – print journalism, online journalism, book publishing, independent bookstore and/or bakery owners, mid-level fashion designers, and writers of any kind –are strongly discouraged to apply.

*As of this time, this unit is no longer available, but have you tried falling in love with a millionaire bookstore owner who puts his utmost faith in market forces?

Home Interview Bailey Elaine Hue Gah

If cozy vibes are your thing or you are at all curious about what it takes to start a home goods brand, read on for some insightful information from the founder of the brand HueGah - Bailey Elaine.

Tell us about yourself:

My name is Bailey. I am an artist. I work in tech as my day job. I just moved to L.A. I started Huegah Home this past October. I have my art portfolio and I started to talk to suppliers and look at design for home stuff. I was photographing them with my art work because I wanted better photos with my art portfolio. Everyone was saying: “oh my god I want that!” So I thought maybe I should use my art as the style for a home store. I really love interior design. I know a lot of people like interior design whether they’re interior designers or not. I moved into my apartment in New York a couple years ago. This was in the pandemic and I was bored, with nothing to do. I redid the whole thing. I really like that and I think a lot of people do. But you don’t have to be an interior designer to enjoy that. It took a couple months. I built a wall. I repainted everything.

About Hygge:

I discovered this word because I was on a work trip last year in Copenhagen and we have family friends there. I kept seeing this word and I could not pronounce it because of how it is spelled—HYGGE. I rarely don’t understand how something is pronounced. The word makes so much sense to me: cozy energy. When you go somewhere at a restaurant or at home, it’s not sleepy, but it’s cozy and sort of romantic. Even if you’re by yourself. It makes you want to wake up every day, or just happy to be in a room. I

thought that really described my style and it described the feeling you get when you design a room or decorate in a place that you love.

I spell huegah how you say the word Hygge. It is a Danish word and it is used everywhere. We don’t have a word like that in English.

Favorite elements of hygge:

Everything is timeless. A lot of the pieces bring joy. They can fit in any home. A lot of them are statement pieces. Favorite word element is cozy. Good energy. Positive energy. You don’t want to leave the place. I lived in New York for a long time. My favorite nights would be if we (my friends and I) were at a nice restaurant or whatever and had good energy. You get another drink because you don’t want to leave. That’s how I want someones home to feel. A lot of people have dinner parties now. Or they have people over. I want someone’s space to make it feel like you don’t want to leave.

Top 3 Home Interior essentials:

1. Good lighting. In my shop you can find a lot of different lighting fixtures whether it be for the wall or table or whatever. I have a lot of candlestick holders, things like that. If you don’t have good lighting from the outside, making good lighting.

2. Natural elements of stone, linen, whatever it is.

3. Having some special pieces, not so generic. Something that means something to you.

Favorite romantic comedy interiors:

In Mad Men, I loved the different time periods that it went through. I loved seeing everyone’s home and office spaces and how it changed over time. It is not a romantic comedy, but there is romance and to me it is really funny and interesting. That is definitely one of my favorite series and it really inspires a lot. During different time periods you still have things today that might resemble something from that time period or was designed in that time period. It just goes to show how important timeless design is.

There is a scene from Mad Men where they had a house party, and they had the couch that was in the middle of the room, but it was built into the floor. I just loved that scene. The best part is that their space was made for entertaining. It was just so cool. I think people are trying to do that now with their space, have it better for entertaining in the home rather than going out. People realize it’s just as fun entertaining than going out. They’re equally as great. The culture for a while was to go out and that stopped for a bit.

Advice for a minimalist:

Have some things minimalist and for some things don’t be nervous about color or anything like that. If you want to be minimalist and not have much, maybe have a little bit of color. And vice versa for someone who is a maximalist. It makes such a difference when you don’t have clutter or things with words on them. Books are fine, but you don’t realize how things might look until you put everything away.

I’d say I am in between a minimalist and maximalist. In New York, I was more of a maximalist. Now that I have more space, I try to be more minimal.

Tips for making the home more romantic:

Candles. It’s such a small thing, but if you line your walls with fake candles in a hallway or in front of a mirror, it really makes a difference in the home. It’s kind of spa-like. It looks nice and it doesn’t look fake.

3 things learned since starting Huegah:

1. Listen to yourself. You will know if you enjoy what you are doing because it won’t feel like work. It is important to take a break, go for a walk. If you like what you are doing, you should acknowledge that and continue to pursue that.

2. Customer service is very important. It’s one of the most important things. You might not have a good product, maybe people don’t like it and that’s totally fine—it helps you actually. It is important to have good customer service. Even if something goes wrong, if you give good customer service they will most likely be a returning customer.

3. Always follow your personal choices. Don’t do things because you think other people will like them. I stand by that with my products and when I was in sales working for a fashion

company, you wouldn’t suggest something you wouldn’t wear yourself or you wouldn’t have in your own home. Brands do this, but they always try to think they’re leaving out these people when they do this. You start to lose your brand when you don’t pick things that you don’t like yourself or that you would not choose.

Advice for other female entrepreneurs:

Don’t be afraid to make big decisions, but at the same time start small. Don’t be overwhelmed. If you just think about the end goal you’re not going to start. You’re not going to get there. I started something so small; I just did candle stick holders. Even if I sold something for $20, I’d think that’s amazing. Even if someone liked a photo –that is amazing. If you can do that 1 time, you can do that 200 times. I always hear men are better at taking risks, but something I saw the other day is that women are more calculated. We calculate risks more. That is not a bad thing. Women should trust their sense of risk-taking more.

Do you romanticize your life:

I definitely do. Related to home, if you drink coffee or tea in the morning every day, don’t drink from whatever cup. Love every single cup you have. You’ll enjoy cooking more. Every day, treat yourself like that.

Some ways to make a home a cozy sanctuary:

Lighting. It’s very important and I don’t think its focused on enough. If it’s night

Made of Myth House Blessing and Clearing Ceremonies s e s

Everyone knows that the best houses in the rom-com world are the ones in Nancy Meyer films. Whether you are in a cute little cottage a la The Holiday this winter, or a picturesque family home circa Father of the Bride, there are many ways to get cozy and feel fabulous. Diving into positive vibes, we interviewed a ceremonialist to tell us more about how to bless our houses and really enjoy our homes. Whether you are in an apartment, your parent’s basement, or on a farm in the middle of nowhere, Madelyn’s advice can apply to your life and your home. Read on for some enchanting wisdom.

Please tell us about yourself:

My name is Madelyn and I live in Aspen, Colorado. I also love to get to the ocean whenever I can. I have a background in art and energy healing, mythology, and spirituality. My biggest passion is to create space for people to come into embodied presence where transformation is possible. I offer one-on-one cranial sacral sessions, embodiment sessions, and I do a lot of mythology and archetypal embodiment work as well as custom ceremony and rituals to help people create more meaningful rituals around weddings, baby blessings, and all of the different life transitions that we go through. I teach skills of presence and transformation to my clients online in group formats. I also offer tea ceremony, which is what I call a gateway drug to meditation. It’s a great way for people who haven’t experienced meditation or who have maybe a hard time meditating to come into embodied presence with support. And then of course I do house blessings and clearings to help create more resonance and alignment in life.

What does mythology and archetype do?

They give us a roadmap for where we are in our lives. Myths that have survived time describe the journey of the soul and the human experience that’s true for all of us at certain times in our lives. So they might not be true with a lower case t like a factual event, but they contain truth with a capital T: the Truth of our souls, the Truth of what it means to be human. So if you can find a myth that resonates with where you’re at in your life, then you have a roadmap of where you are and what the next step might be to take for you to transform the situation that you’re in.

Favorite Rom-Com:

I have to say the Princess Bride has to be top on the list because it’s such a classic. I also really love Crazy Rich Asians. Both of those films draw on fairytale archetypes. Crazy Rich Asians is a Cinderella story and it’s one of the best Cinderella stories that I’ve seen. And of course Princess Bride combines so many classic fairytale motifs.

Favorite rituals for the home:

I always like to begin with remembering what we’re learning from quantum physics that everything is consciousness. So, our homes have consciousness and energy in them already. Some of this also comes from Marie Kondo’s work. She does a lot around cleaning your home. She comes from a Shinto background, which is a Japanese spiritual belief that all things have consciousness. One of the best things to do just to begin is every time you leave or enter your home is to thank the energy of

your home. To tune into the life force of your home and its consciousness and thank it for sheltering you, for providing a place of comfort, protection, and safety. And just a simple acknowledgement of that with a bow of your head or placing your hand on the door as you’re leaving and entering your home is a really beautiful way to begin.

The other thing I love is the simple act of lighting a candle when you get home from work or at the end of the day before bed to change the frequency or the mood of a space. As you light the candle the fire element represents life force energy, so you can thank the life force energy. You can really notice and feel the energy of the sun in the flame that’s the heat in your body, it’s all the same thing. And as you’re lighting the candle set an intention for yourself or for your family. It’s incredible how a candle, just one, can change the energy of a room by inviting in the warmth of the sun that it contains.

Lastly, opening all the windows and doors.

If you’re feeling stagnant in your life or needing something to move or shift just ritually inviting in new energy and letting the old leave is a really simple way to do that. The most simple things are often the most profound, but we get caught up thinking things need to be complicated to be profound.

How do the house blessings and house clearings work:

I do them in four stages. It’s pretty intensive when someone works with me one-on-one. I also do these for businesses which has been really incredible to see how that has helped people flourish. Especially because business buildings have a lot of stagnant energy in them from previous owners. For new businesses that’s really useful. The first step of anything is to get clear on your intentions for the space for your home. I’ll also work with the numerology of the address to see what energy is already present that’s influencing the house. For example if there’s a two in the address: two is the number of union, of relationship, of working in harmony with each other. A home with a two in the number or as the total number it adds up to is going to be conducive to that kind of energy. This stage can take longer than the other stages because a lot of times what starts to come up in setting the intentions are subconscious blocks and material that hasn’t allowed your intentions to manifest in your life. We often times take a few calls to actually really get to the bottom of some of the competing beliefs, unconscious beliefs that they were holding. For example, beliefs that are preventing them from hiring the right person for their business. Once we are clear on the intentions, I

always ask my clients to have their home physically cleaned or clean it themselves before I come, that’s a huge piece of the clearing. On the day of the ritual I have my own ceremonial cleansing and clothing that I wear. We begin by calling in all of the elements, the four directions, ancestors and guides and asking for blessing and support to be able to clear and bless this home for the highest good of everyone, so it will benefit all beings everywhere. And then we start with clearing the home from inside out, we start at the front door. And I use tools like brooms, sage, sound instruments. Once the clearing has been done, it is time to set the intentions for the space. So we’ll go to the heart of the home like the kitchen or the fireplace and we’ll light a candle and I’ll have the people of the home speak out what their intentions are for the house and what they see happening here. And then once we’ve set the intentions for the whole home, then the next stage is to really set the new tone into each space. Using sound tools, water, plants, we go into each room and we start to refine the energy and set the frequency of the house. The last step is really important, which is that you want to seal the energy in once you have created the frequency that you want for the house. You want to make sure that energy is vibrant and boundaried. It’s like if you poured water on the earth instead of in a bowl. The bowl is going to contain the energy and keep the water clean. The final step is to seal the house, which keeps out bad energy and seals in the good. We do that on the whole property line as well as inside the house. And finally, we do a closing to thank all of the energies that were present with us that day, and give gratitude and thanks and bless the home for the higher good of all concerned.

Favorite part of home:

I love my whole house. I actually do healing sessions out of my home, which my grandparents built by hand. It’s a really special space. My whole house is kind of an open studio, but I love the kitchen because I love to cook. I love food and nourishment. And I also love my altar. For me, both the kitchen and the altar are spaces of transformation and alchemy and creating more love in life.

Favorite thing to cook:

I just made bone broth. That is one of my favorite things to do. Cook a really good home baked chicken and then take the bones and make a nourishing bone broth over the course of two days slowly simmering it.

Are there ways to read your home energetically:

One of the best ways physically is to look for places of clutter. Look for the places in your house where things are always disorganized or tend to pile up. Or places you don’t go or hang out in. That always suggests some kind of stagnation is happening there, and it needs energy brought to it. You can also use a pendulum. As you move the pendulum in a circle around your house, it will slow down or speed it up. It might become erratic or slow down at places of stagnant energy. It will have a clearer circulation of energy where there is clarity. Another way is we can all feel energy more than we give ourselves credit for. We know what a haunted house feels like. We can feel good vibes and bad vibes super easily. So another cool way to do it is you can create a little map of your home on a sheet and you can walk around your house and pause and just feel your body in different places and notice what’s happening in your body and take notes.

Where do you gather inspiration from?

Definitely the natural world and nature. I am always communing with plants and animals and the elements because they

are always in coherence. Nature is always energetically aligned and has messages to help us when we’re out of alignment. I teach a lot of my clients if you love birds, finding ways to give back to the animals and the life forms that nourish us. Whether you have bird feeders or you donate to the autobahn society, finding ways to live in reciprocity with them. Inspiration also from books, such as: “Women who Run with the Wolves”, by Clarisa Pinkola Estes.

What are some ways to make a home a sanctuary?

The best thing is to tune in with what makes you feel happy and joyful because that is what is sacred to you and that is what will create a sanctuary specific to you. Sanctuary comes from the word Sacred— so it means to make something sacred. So you can bring more awareness of the little things that remind you of what you love in your life. For me it’s having little statues or crystals around my house that remind me of what I love and what my values are and lighting candles at those places is a great way to do it. It’s all about consciousness: are you aware of what you love in your life? If there’s a sport that you love to play, where do you store your sports clothes and your equipment for that? Is there a way you could hang your baseball glove on the wall where it becomes something that you’re making sacred and beautiful or do you shove it in the closet when you get home?

What does a day as a ceremonialist look like?

I always begin and end my day at my personal altar practicing ceremony with

prayer and gratitude and meditation. That always sets my day up for success and clear energy. I’m always working with symbols and archetypes at my altar that represent what I am focusing on and creating more of and bringing consciousness to in my own life. I do a lot of individual sessions Monday through Wednesday and then I do ceremony work. On Fridays I offer free tea sits to the community at my house. If someone has hired me for a house blessing that typically takes all day to do depending on the size of the house. Sometimes people will fly me out to do their wedding or ceremony long distance.

Thoughts and closing remarks:

Enjoy your home and have fun! Take the time to bless your house. The smallest things can make the biggest difference. Don’t get overwhelmed by the big house clearing blessing, even just beginning the practice of greeting and thanking your home every day or lighting a candle every day can bring so much transformation to your space and to your life truly. Only do what feels good for you because that is the energy you want to bring into your house.

Mother Earth, our Home.

by Tiffanie Snyder

Burgundy and gold shedding from the sky

A symphony of color Or tears if trees could cry

Shaking shivers with the winds caress

Lady bugs lounge about Witnessing leaves crumble with distress

Contrasted with blank clouds of grey

The sky is bored

Almost to tears…of rain. Please stay

Beneath the weeping willow drapes are Swaying in the wind

Orange and scarlet confetti dot your car

Nature’s mosaic.

Hermès PR

Follow Brett at: @brettkalinsky

In the vein of The Devil Wears Prada, we want to go behind the scenes on the fashion industry. Hermès had a New York rom-com moment with their fashion musical “Love Around the Block” in their new flagship store. Max and ex-girlfriend Joanna reunite in the three-part show that includes colorful costumes, comedy galore, and a little tap dancing on the signature orange Hermès box. Prior to the creative show, this interview of Hermès senior public relations manager Brett Kalinsky occurred.

Please tell us about yourself:

My name is Brett Kalinsky, I am 28 years old and live with my husband in Manhattan.

What is your favorite rom-com?

It’s so hard to say, but my favorite rom-com is Sweet Home Alabama.

How would you describe your personal style?

I would describe my style as classic, not too trendy, and I am a sucker for the “coastal grandmother” vibe.

How has your style evolved over time?

In middle school I would kill my first born for a juicy tracksuit, so I’d say I’ve come a long way! I learned to express myself without buying unnecessary fads that I’d get bored of after a year. Less is more –quality over quantity.

If you could raid any closet from a rom-com, which closet would you choose and why?

If I could raid a rom-com closet, I would say it has to be Something’s Gotta Give.

What is your favorite part of PR?

I love the continuous challenge that public relations brings. No day is the same. I also enjoy interacting externally with press and editors, and it’s a great bonus that I love my company.

Where do you find inspiration (for fashion/in general)?

I find inspiration from my closest mentors. When you find a good one, hold onto them!

If you could start a new trend, what would it be?

If I could start a new trend, it would be no trends, if that makes sense! I am not a huge fan of fast trends that don’t fit someone’s personality. I’m not an avid follower of influencers per se, so I think the biggest trend is believing in yourself and finding creativity for what you wear within yourself – it’s in all of us somewhere!

What is your favorite fashion show you have seen?

I would probably say one of my favorite fashion shows was the first runway show I worked at while I was working for Ralph Lauren. It was Spring 2016 and I will never forget it!

Where has been your favorite place to visit for work or for fun?

My favorite place is hands down St. Barths. My husband proposed to me there, so it’s an incredibly special place for us and it’s one of the most amazing places on earth.

Hair and Makeup Ana B

Have you ever wondered what it is like to be behind the scenes during weddings? How the bride can enter the room flawlessly with not an eyelash out of place, even though she just bawled her eyes out during the ceremony? Hair and makeup artist and business owner Ana Buitrago of Makeup by Ana B paints a lovely picture with an inside scoop.

Please tell us about yourself:

I am a pro makeup artist who also does hair styling for weddings and events. I have been in the beauty industry for twelve years now. I own a beauty studio in Tysons Corner, Virginia. I run a team of about forty beauty artists. We specialize in luxury weddings. We work with hundreds of different brides and luxury wedding planners. We do corporate makeup as well. I love blogging and social media, and we have a great team that does that as well to get the word out about our services.

Favorite Rom-Com: Ever After with Drew Barrymore*. When I was growing up I was literally obsessed with Drew Barrymore. I loved that specific movie. It’s a very Cinderella tale. It is a period piece, midieval times, renaissance inspired. There is a scene where she goes to the ball and she’s wearing this gorgeous metallic crystal silvery dress and she has these wings on her dress and sparkly silver makeup. It’s not traditional at all, but it’s all over her face.

The Makeover—What are your favorites?

I really love makeover movies. I was thinking of Miss Congeniality with Sandra Bullock, how she was this really big nerd,

but she’s smart, and sophisticated, and then at the end she is super hot as well. Everyone loves a makeover story. It’s a fantasy that we all have. We want to be the underdog and turn into this beautiful swan and become this gorgeous person. Someone would recognize our own beauty and we could become the main character. I feel like Sandra Bullock has done a lot of movies like that and she always does an incredible job of showing the transformation that we can have. The Proposal. She was in Two Week’s Notice, which I really loved as well. I am a big Hugh Grant fan.

Real life love stories doing weddings, what have been some of your favorite moments?

I have to be honest, one of my favorites happened recently and that was yours and Mark’s. When I have been around you guys together I sense this genuine love. It’s a young, innocent, beautiful love. I think it is the way that it should be, especially at the beginning. When people have been together for a long time you get into a routine and sometimes it’s hard to appreciate someone when you’ve had them for a long time, but I think at the beginning of a relationship there’s a beautiful period, it’s like the honeymoon period. I think the way you guys connected and compliment each other, I could tell that the wedding was really important to you both, but your relationship was first. And how you guys were so respectful towards each other and loving towards each other and caring I thought was so sweet.

Thank you and a PSA to everyone:

You are in the hair and makeup chair so much during these experiences, so having someone that you love and trust and someone that can give their opinion if something dramatic goes on, is imperative. If I could offer any wedding planning advice to those who haven’t done that yet, that is my number one tip. Thank you Ana for being there for that and for my beautiful makeover moment.

On your blog you also have a lot of fun lifestyle content such as “Hostess with the Mostess”, “Summer Travel Essentials”, and even “How to be Conquering the Winter Blues”, so what kind of other lifestyle advice can you offer readers?

When I think about my clientele: a lot of them are brides, and so because the events are over, and maybe they’ll get their makeup done a few more times in their lives, but it’s not an every day thing I try to find other ways to create content that is still relevant to them.What beauty items do I need? What are the things that are going to make my traveling easier and more relaxed and make me feel my very best? That is the type of content that I try to share with my readers. A lot of times my readers or followers will share information back with me and I learn from them as well. I think it is a give and take with my clients. Maybe wedding content isn’t relevant to you any more because your wedding is done, but you’re still traveling and going through life things. Even when it comes to emotional things, like a lot of people are talking about mental health.

That is a constant thing, it is an every day thing. It doesn’t matter who you are, you are still dealing with mental health challenges. Sharing how we feel as a woman, as an entrepreneur, as someone who maybe on the outside looks like I have things figured out, but I do struggle too and I find my own ways to cope. I want to share that with whoever is interested in reading.

How long did building your clientele take?

I did work for Mac for a year. At the time, this was back in 2010, Mac was a premiere beauty brand and it was a prestige brand. It was also really hard to get a job there, so I had to go through four interviews to even get the job there. It was quite exclusive feeling and since I didn’t have any professional beauty experience at the time I really felt honored that I got to work there and get a job there. In one year I learned a lot. I felt like one year of working there was enough for me to launch myself as a freelancer and to build my own clientele. Once I started working for myself it was a little bit of a slower build and it took some time to make connections to network. I kept in contact with other artists, with previous clients that I had at Mac and little by little I started to build my own clientele. I started to get so many requests that I could not fulfill and I was starting to have to say no a lot to people, and that’s when I knew that I had to build a team and make it bigger than just myself. That’s basically how I got started. Over the last twelve years we’ve gotten pretty big in doing 300 weddings a year and working with forty artists.

For anyone starting out in the beauty world, what advice would you give?

Continue to work on your craft, be consistent, you have to knock on doors, and you have to be uncomfortable. I think it’s okay to put yourself out there and be a little vulnerable. Know that someone might say no to you and then down the road someone else will give you a chance. You have to be comfortable with hearing the word no. That’s okay because it will lead you to a yes.

What misconceptions do you think people have about the hair and makeup world and artistry?

I think people think it’s a glamorous job. I would say that maybe 50% of it is because we get to work with really amazing clients and we get to travel and we’re in the beauty industry which is on magazines and on TV shows. It is a hard job. First of all, you are carrying a load of products and heavy bags to different locations, so physically it is an exhausting job. When I travelled to Greece, I looked like I was moving there. I think as a freelancer, beauty artists are doing their own contracts and bookings and negotiation and coordination, so there’s a back end, a business end of the job. A lot of artists are doing that by themselves. Luckily I have a whole team that focuses on the administrative side of the business, but I had to build that from scratch. And once I built that, I was able to hand that over to people who I trained to do the job well. I think it’s better for the artist to focus on the creative or their craft, which is the actual beauty, their artistry. It’s not as easy as people think it is, but it sure is fun.

If you could start a hair and makeup trend, bridal or non bridal, what would it be?

I personally like red carpet styles over Instagram trends.I know that a lot of people try them. I think they’re so fun to look at on Instagram. I definitely watch them. I kind of think that the best beauty trends are the ones that make you feel the most beautiful in your own skin. So I am more romantic and timeless and I don’t necessarily jump on every trend that comes out. I think that as long as it reflects your personal style, I say go for it. I see people that do a really strong black wing liner or others that will always wear a red lip. I think it is signature to them and it is what makes them feel comfortable and pretty and I think go for it.

Is there a beauty or wellness ritual that you love to do?

As I mentioned we have a studio, and I have an esthetician in my studio Bianca. I do a facial once a month with her. It is like heaven on earth, my skin feels and looks glowy afterwards. I also just love the time that I spend with her, which is probably how my clients feel when I am doing their hair and makeup. Getting pampered by my esthetician, laying down and knowing that my face is going to be glowing and pretty afterwards makes me feel really good. I also get my nails done every two weeks and I usually try to get a hand massage during that time, which is good for me because I am always using my hands doing makeup and hair and all that. Those two things are my main things.

Closing remarks:

I wish you luck on your magazine. I love the nostalgia of it. Looking back on things that make us feel good. Movies, we can all relate to them and they inspire our lives. I think it’s awesome.

*After this interview Ana B did makeup and hair for some clients who went on the Drew Barrymore Show.

Which Fashion Vibe are you?

Pick one makeup look:

A. Red lipstick

B. Blush & lip gloss

C. Chapstick and minimal makeup

Pick a fabric to wear:

A. Cotton

B. Corduroy

C. Linen

Pick an accessory:

A. Chic scarf

B. Big smile

C. L.L. Bean tote bag

Pick a color and pattern to wear:

A. Navy and white stripes

B. Black and white polkadots

C. White on white, no pattern

Pick your favorite alcoholic beverage:

A. Red wine

B. Fruity cocktail

B. White wine

Pick your favorite non alcoholic beverage:

A. Coffee

B. Water

C. Tea

Pick a signature scent:

A. Amber & musk

B. Sweet vanilla

C. Floral rose

Mostly As - French Girl Vibes

Mostly Bs - Meg Ryan Vibes

Mostly Cs - Coastal Grandmother Vibes

Mindful Movement interview with Shaina & Abby

Do you ever wish you could go and sit with your yoga teacher and ask them a million questions? Something about the practice of yoga is so calming, and we want to know more about the people who instruct this magnificent art form. Below are two interviews with two yoga instructors.

Abby Farley:

I am a yoga instructor. I teach at a local studio by my house called Y6. I also am into sharing basically all things health and wellness. I love to do that through Instagram. It’s where I get to express my creativity while sharing those things. I also teach some online classes as well through my own website yogabyabby.com.

Favorite Rom-Com:

How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days. I love the humor and I love the duo of Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey. The way that their characters mesh together in that movie makes me so happy and it’s just so fun and romantic. That one is one I can watch over and over again.

What does mindful movement meant to you?

Being thoughtful and intentional about how you are caring for your body, not just with movement, but with things that compliment your movement as well. Your entire wellbeing. I think mindful movement also means going into a workout or an exercise with intentions and with a

purpose—why am I doing this, what am I doing it for, and how do I want to feel after. And that gives you more meaning behind every exercise, every pose, or workout that you do and I think that makes it more enjoyable and even more effective on your body if you are putting your mind into it too.

Ways to practice mindfulness:

It can be as simple as just thinking more mindfully about how you are going about your day. Maybe you are around people you care about and all it means is putting down your phone for a few minutes and giving them your full attention. Or maybe it means being more present with your daily tasks like making the bed or making your favorite drink. Maybe stop and slow down as you’re doing those things, and notice every action as you do them. I think that will help you appreciate everything about life a bit more. That is kind of what I like to start with, because it can be overwhelming to jump into it head first with the bigger things like meditation and those deeper practices. I think those come with time. It’s kind of nice to start with, “what can I do a bit more mindfully in my daily life?” Focusing your awareness and your intention on each little action throughout your day.

What helps you stay present?

For me, I think what helps me stay present is those routines that kind of keep me sane in the morning and night. I have a few

different things I like to do consistently each day if I am able to: make my bed, maybe make my favorite drink like a matcha, or of course practicing any form of movement that brings me joy. When I do those things consistently and I start and end my day with those little rituals it helps the rest of my day to be more mindful, which helps me to be more present. Honestly, coming back to mindfulness with everything. For me, putting my phone down when I am around people is a big one. Otherwise, I can’t fully focus my attention and I don’t want to miss an important moment or conversation with someone.

What inspires you?

I get inspiration from people on Instagram. I know Instagram can have its ups and downs when it comes to finding inspiration, because it is easy to compare yourself on there as well. I try to follow a lot of people who are a bit more authentic with what they share and a bit more real. That gives me inspiration. I love to follow other people in the wellness and fitness industry. It’s just fun to see how other people are sharing that. I enjoy connecting with people in that industry and space. It’s fun to learn from them how whatever they specialize in can compliment what I am working on. It’s fun to learn from each other and bounce ideas off each other.

What does a typical day as a yoga teacher look like?

For me, usually if I have a class in the evening I will spend my morning doing my own routine. That’s usually my own movement routine. I actually enjoy doing pilates at home and then I get my yoga practice in when I am teaching it. I enjoy making fun, somewhat healthy meals if I can. Still learning some recipes on that. Reels and TikToks are where I am looking at recipes right now. Also because it is satisfying to watch them. Usually I prepare for my class by running through it myself in real time alone. I will take notes as I go, write out certain poses that I want to include, some days include making playlists for my classes. I try to fit those to the flow of the class so that it builds in heat as the poses do and it winds down in the end. Some of the playlists have words. It depends on the style of class. If it is something more restorative and slow and meditative, I prefer to keep that instrumental. Some lo-fi music or some piano music. Calming stuff. If it is more of an upbeat vinyasa class or hot yoga, I usually start it with instrumental and then the upbeat sections will include music with lyrics, some more recognizable pop songs, and then I’ll move back into instrumental for the ending. Favorite track includes: Birdsong by Elderbrook. That one is my favorite for a vinyasa hot yoga class. That one I have been playing a lot in my classes

recently usually about fifteen minutes in when you’re starting to pick up the pace and build heat because it has a beat to it that gets me so excited.

Favorite smoothie recipe:

I love a pb&j smoothie. I think it is a popular favorite for most people. I usually do some frozen banana, frozen blueberries, sometimes I’ll do strawberries too, but usually blueberry and banana. You can throw any supplements you want on top of that. I like to do a coconut collagen powder or some flax seeds for added fiber. It also helps you feel full and satiated. I do almond milk or oat milk. And then peanut butter, but you can also do almond butter.

Favorite yoga poses:

I love some of the more beginner poses because sometimes it feels good and satisfying to go back to the basics, to do something you know you are capable of that is pretty easy. I really enjoy threelegged dog. You’re in downward dog, but you’re kind of doing a split. I also enjoy dancer pose. That one can be a bit more of a challenging balance pose, but pretty much anyone can do it. It is more about balance than flexibility. You’re holding your foot behind your head almost—like a bow and arrow kind of shape. It can help if your hips are opened and your back is loosened.

Most of the pose takes balance and focus. I enjoy puppy pose too because it gives a good stretch on your shoulders, chest, and upper arms.

Favorite part of class:

I think it depends on the class. My favorite class to teach is hot yoga. When the beat starts to pick up and the heat is building, usually twelve or so minutes into class. You start moving into a warrior flow and you repeat that flow a few times. I love the repetitiveness of that. It is satisfying to know what comes next and having a good beat that goes with it makes it really fun.

If you could be any rom-com character for a day, who would you choose and why?

That’s a hard one. Does Breakfast at Tiffany’s count as a rom-com? Because I would love to live as her for a day. Holly Golightly. That would be the character of my choice. I think she is so classy and elegant and I love how she makes do with the smallest things. She looks so nice and put together, but lives so minimally at the same time.

Shaina Hecht:

I’m a yogi living in Brooklyn. I’ve been practicing yoga for 15 years and taught for over a decade before transitioning to tech. I now work for an awesome tech company in the corporate wellness space and help companies integrate wellbeing into their workplace.

Favorite Rom-Com?

My favorite rom-com is Clueless.

Things that bring me joy:

So many things. Cooking, reading, spending time with loved ones, being in nature, moving my body, helping others, sharing experiences, music, a good movie/ show, etc.

My inspiration:

Mother nature. Awesome humans. Feeling connected.

Knowledge from my health and wellness journey that has been the most impactful/relevant:

It’s all about balance. Discipline and routine are just as important as flexibility,

openness, and curiosity. Health and wellness is a never-ending journey of constant evolution to become the greatest version of yourself.

Favorite ritual: At the moment, it’s making celery juice every morning!

Favorite health and wellness tip: Being kind to yourself.

What does this mean to me:

Balance and growth.

Closing thoughts:

Everyone’s journey is unique! Learn from others, but don’t compare your journey to theirs. The goal is inner peace. Do whatever brings you closest to that. Honor your body and discipline your mind. Speak kindly towards yourself, be accepting of others, and express gratitude for every single thing life brings you.

Journal Page Prompts

If your life was a Rom-Com, what would that look like?

How can you romanticize your life/the little things more in 2023?

How are you feeling right now?

A new morning ritual I would like to try:

A new evening ritual I would like to try:

What does my inner child say to me?

What is my favorite memory of this week?

What does nostalgia mean to me?

Manifesting a Man (or Woman)

By Tiffanie Snyder

This recipe yields half a dozen eligible prospects, but sometimes they are burnt or crusty. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees to ensure your thoughts have time to thaw.

Step One: Step Two:

Grab a writing utensil and a legal pad or your phone and sit in a quiet place (unless you thrive with noisiness, if so—turn on your blender).

Write down the specifics of what you are searching for in a partner. This can be as specific as someone who loves dogs, shares the same religion, or preference for coffee. Anything goes.

Plan out some dates with people. It can be a set up by your aunt, a dating app, someone you meet in a coffee shop, bar, or even play pretend by yourself.

Step Three: Step Five: Step Four: Step Six: Step Seven:

Add a sprinkle of caution, a dash of hope, and a dollop of open-mindedness.

(and this is a big one): Do NOT get discouraged. There will be idiots who make fun of your career and your pink backpack that “makes you look like Dora the Explorer”. There will be dates so horrible bugs are literally crawling up the walls of a restaurant in the lower east side. Use this for your stand up comedy. Use this for your art. It could take a day or year or lifetime. You might be surprised to find that your angry face doesn’t deter someone and rather encourages them to keep trying.

Mix it all together and let marinate until they appear.

Enjoy!

Best served hot with a glass of wine or hot chocolate. Your preference.

Colour me!

Rom-Com Bookstores

For those in need of adventure, we know just where to start. Home. Also known as romance themed bookstores. There are a few scattered around the United States of America (and more to come soon to Canada and elsewhere).

The Ripped Bodice in LA, California.

Complete with heart-shaped lighting fixtures and shelves dedicated from various famous romance authors, the bookstore is beyond dreamy. We purchased a blind date with a book and were not disappointed.

Love’s Sweet Arrow in Tinley Park, IL.

This store has their own signature romantic scented candle designed by Novelly Yours. The vibes are cozy and wonderful.

The Bookworm Box in Sulphur Springs, TX.

This store features a heartshaped clock of books on their wall (a heart shaped shelving display). It’s a necessary feature, since we could probably hang out in there all day on the cozy couches/armchairs throughout the store.

Meet Cute Bookstore in San Diego, CA.

Go for the Instagram photo with the iconic postcard picture of “Romancelandia” on the wall. Stay for the spicy reads and beautiful tarot cards.

Turn

Run by Nora Roberts and her husband (swoon, talk about a power couple), this store has author signings with Nora Roberts frequently. Boonsboro is equally as charming as the store is. For the most up to date schedule of events, we recommend calling them.

the Page Bookstore in Boonsboro, MD.

Rom-Com

Non-Fiction Recs

As If! The Oral History of Clueless

As told by the Amy Heckerling, the Cast, and the Crew

by Jen Chaney

Jen Chaney’s threepart oral history details “Before Clueless”, “Making Clueless” and the “Impact of Clueless”. In part one, Chaney provides a behind the scenes look of first impressions from actors, producers, and the director/writer Amy Heckerling of many cast members via anecdotes of the audition process. Heckerling used various slang dictionaries to write Clueless, and Chaney provides readers with a glossary of Clueless terms. Part two comprises production notes, wardrobe memories, usage of cellphones, summaries of scenes, photographs, the editing process, deleted scenes, and more. The impact of Clueless dives into the soundtrack. Spoil the ending? As if! The entire book feels like one very long article of quotes, but in a fun way. We hope it doesn’t leave you totally buggin’.

From Hollywood with Love: The Rise and Fall (and Rise Again) of the Romantic Comedy

by Scott Meslow

Meslow begins with descriptions of various iconic rom-com stars: Meg Ryan, Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock, Hugh Grant, Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore,

Jennifer Lopez, Reese Witherspoon, John Cusack, Katherine Heigl, Ryan Reynolds, Mindy Kaling, Henry Golding, and various films. Every chapter features an illustration of a character in a rom-com and a noteworthy line, which might ultimately exist as the best part of the book. He acknowledges Judy Greer with a subcategory of “the best friend”, and then immediately mentions Kathryn Hahn instead. Rude. An interesting term that Meslow formulates is the “raunch-com” — think There’s Just Something About Mary or Knocked Up. Given the book title and Meslow’s chapter order, the “rise again” encompasses Crazy Rich Asians and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. Perhaps charting the rise and fall (and rise again) of romantic comedies equates to an arduous task to encapsulate in one book. Scott Meslow tried.

I’ll Have What She’s Having: How Nora Ephron’s Three Iconic Films Saved the Romantic Comedy by Erin Carlson

If you love Nora Ephron as much as we do (or for that matter, Meg Ryan), you will love this informative book. Warning: you will immediately want to re-watch all the films after reading it. Carlson clearly conducted her research, interweaving anecdotes and interview quotes throughout. This book is highly recommended for those who care about dialogue and multi-faceted characters or anyone who craves New York or Seattle nostalgia.

Television Rom-Coms

Tell Me Lies is originally a novel by Carola Lovering. Emma Roberts and Karah Preiss with Belletrist executive produced the project for television, a ten episode series on Hulu. Not to be creepy, but we could stare at Grace Van Patten’s face forever. Toxic relationship alert for many different characters throughout the show. Likeable characters are not super prevalent. It’s more of a “love to hate” them kind of thing. College drama with many layers and a hint of mystery. For fans of: dark romance, college student drama, themed parties, spicy sex scenes, and immature antics. In addition, the show caters to seekers of early 2000’s nostalgia— blackberry phones and “Such Great Heights” by the Postal Service among other underrated songs of the time. We dig it. 4 /5 hearts.

Do you need a good cry? If so, we highly recommend the Netflix show From Scratch. Attractive European chef meets even more attractive American artist. Love, pasta, and family drama ensues. Dreamy Italian scenery meets an equally dreamy Italian soundtrack. Tembi Locke wrote the emotional memoir titled From Scratch A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home. We recommend the limited series for anyone who loves: travel, romance, Italy, food, family, and art. Zoe Saldana’s performance is absolutely breathtaking, and we look forward to seeing her face in Avatar (even though it is not a rom-com). 5/5 hearts.

Movie Rom-Coms

Your Place or Mine

February 10, 2023 Netflix. Long distance friends to possibly lovers? Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher. Need we say more?

The Idea of You

Anne Hathaway has signed on to this story, so we are sold before we even know what it is about. Rumored to be inspired by Harry Styles, Robbinne Lee’s The Idea of You is about: “Sophie, 40-year-old divorced mother, braves the heat to go with her daughter to Coachella, after her dad cancels his trip with his 15-year-old. There, she meets the lead singer of a band.” (IMDB). We love a book-to-movie adaptation. Release date unclear (either late 2023, or early 2024).

Barbie is coming to theatres July 21, 2023 and we cannot be more excited. It might not exactly count as a “rom-com” per se, but will undoubtedly be amazing with Margot Robbie as Barbie, Ryan Gosling as Ken, and Greta Gerwig directing. Expect a massive overload of fashion inspiration and the color pink.

Rom-Com Books

Happy Place by Emily Henry. The logline sounds sort of White Lotus ish: “A couple who broke up months ago make a pact to pretend to still be together for their annual weeklong vacation with their best friends” (goodreads). Available for purchase April 25th, 2023.

Vacation Wars by Meghan Quinn. Tessa travels to Santorini with her family before her sister’s wedding. The search for love is on. Excitement, flirtation, and adventure ensues. Available for purchase April 18, 2023.

The Fraud Squad by Kyla Zhao. It sounds like The Bling Ring meets Crazy Rich Asians, and we are here for it. Singapore high-society and a mysterious gossip columnist? It also sounds like Gossip Girl meets Devil Wears Prada. We are ready for all the glamour. Available to read January 17th, 2023.

Judge a Book by the Cover!

Follow Cassie at: @casacassie

Our little haven from freezing cold weather, rainy days, or just for fun: the bookstore. When you go into the aisles and peruse various titles at leisure, what do you look for? Everyone usually says: don’t judge a book by the cover. We are here to tell you to throw that notion out the window. Go ahead and judge the cover to your heart’s desire. Because, you know what? It took a long and arduous process to get there on the shelf looking stunning like that. Here to tell us more about this behind-the-scenes book cover process is the talented and amazing cover designer Cassie Gonzalez.

Tell us about yourself please:

My name is Cassidy Gonzalez. I am a book cover designer. I currently work at Penguin Random House in the Random House design department. I design adult covers. I design rom-coms, fiction, non-fiction, science fiction and fantasy.

How did you get into creating book covers?

I went to Pratt for graphic design. The summer after my junior year, I ended up getting an interview and internship at HarperCollins. It was an internship for the design department for ad promo, which is not connected to the cover design department, but most big departments will also have an ad promo for their marketing and publicity team. You download the cover files for the books that they want to make ads for. We would download the cover files and use the elements and style of the book to create assets that look like they could be part of the world of the book. I would be downloading the covers and eventually I was like: “wait, why am I doing this when I could be the one designing the covers?” So the next couple internships I applied to cover design departments. I interned at St. Martins press at McMillen, and Berkley and Putnam at Penguin Random House. Right after I graduated college I went into being a designer.

What is your favorite rom-com?

My all time favorite is When Harry Met Sally. Nothing tops our lord and savoir Miss Nora Ephron. For rom-com books, my favorite is one that I designed last year with the illustrator Casey Terpin, Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman. It’s a

really amazing book. That was one where it wasn’t finished when I was working on it. I just listened to the audio book a couple weeks ago. It was really sweet and I loved it. Her second romance is coming out soon and we just finished the cover for that.

Do you judge a book by the cover?

I think most people do whether you like to claim that you don’t. It’s pretty much impossible to do that unless you’re reading manuscripts like we are because they don’t have covers yet. As a cover designer, a lot of the times, you can tell what the motivations were for the editor and the author and the team behind the book. When I am looking at a book and it has a lot of special effects, it has the foil and embossing and it has a “big book look”, you can determine how people think this book is going to do. You can glean from the cover what the editor thought the intended audience would be.It’s pretty impossible to separate the book from the cover in my opinion. Once you know how the hot dog is made you can’t unsee it.

What is the “big book look”?

It differs with what is popular and what is happening in book design right now. These days I would say book cover design has gotten bright, big, bold and a lot of large type. A lot of that has to do with online purchasing, especially since the pandemic the past few years people might not have necessarily been able to physically go to bookstores because they were closed or people were not out and about. I think that has contributed even more to the big book look, so some of it is a little literal—the book itself is big and the type is very big and it’s very bright.

How long does it take to create a book cover?

It can really vary. In general, three months, two months, from starting sketches to final art. We design the cover, and then there’s a waiting period for the rest of the book to catch up in the publishing plan, and then we’ll design the jacket. You work on the jacket for a month and then you release it and then a few weeks after that they print the book and it’s on the shelves. For Funny You Should Ask, they had assigned someone else to work on it and there were a couple of rounds with that person, and then they didn’t like the direction it was going in. They wanted to try something really different.

There aren’t too many colors on Funny You Should Ask?

It is actually printed in a really special way. When you are printing a book you have CMYK. C is cyan, magenta, yellow, and k is black. Those four colors make up every color that is printed essentially. Pantone colors are specially mixed inks that are specially mixed to look exactly like the color that it shows in the little panetone chip. A lot of the times those are neon colors or really bright colors. Certain colors don’t usually print as well, especially with red tones. For this book, we replaced the magenta plate with a special panetone color so that the colors would be super bright, especially the red and look exactly how we wanted them to. That’s the deal with panetone. If you have the exact color, then you know it’s always going to turn out that color instead of guessing what the printer is going to make the color look like. So, that’s what we did for that one and that is why it looks so good.

Favorite book covers you have created:

My favorite ever is probably The Comeback by E.L. Shen. I designed it when I worked at McMillen. The author is one of my best friends. She and I were interns together at Harper Collin’s six maybe seven years ago. She is an editor and an author, and she wrote this book. We were working together at McMillen when I designed it. It was really special to get to execute that cover and it holds a special place in my heart always.

What are some of your favorite book covers created by others:

Mostly pretty much anything that Na Kim does is gonna be awesome. She is the best book cover designer out there right now. Also, Anne Twomey. She is the creative director at Celadon, and she was my mentor when I was at McMillen. I really love all her designs and the amazing advice she gives.

Where do you find inspiration:

The cool thing about being a cover designer is you get a different assignment every time, every book is a little different. So whenever I get a book about something interesting that I don’t know about, I get to do a lot of research into the time period or the setting or the characters. I think it is really fun for each book to get to dive in to every aspect of the book. For one of my first covers I did at Random House, Neruda on the Park, it’s about a mother daughter family story about gentrification in their Dominican family. I didn’t really know anything about the Dominican community in New York, so I called up a friend of mine

who is Dominican. I asked can I interview you about your experience and your family and anything visual you can think about, like restaurant signs or fliers from your neighborhood. I try to delve deeply into something if I don’t know a lot about it.

What does your creative process look like?

I feel like a lot of people feel this way: 95% panic and feeling like you’re not doing anything right, and then when you get it you’re like, “ah, okay I got it”. But for the first three rounds or whatever, you’re like: everything is terrible. I can’t do anything. Especially when I’m coming up with new concepts for the first round, every time I start working I’m like: this is awful. But it always ends up fine. I have a lot of books that I’m working on, and there’s a lot of pressure to make something really amazing and beautiful for each and every book. And obviously I want to give each book the special attention that it deserves, but it can be really hard sometimes to feel like you have to always be on top of everything.

What advice would you give aspiring book cover designers?

I feel like a lot of people don’t know that book design is a thing. A lot of people have this misconception about what it is that we do. Advice to book cover designers would be to research as much as you can about publishing, the publishing industry, and about book cover design. There’s a lot of really good blogs and websites out there that do cover round-ups of what they think is the best cover. LitHub does one every year where other cover designers vote on what they think the best cover design was. I think that one is really good. I would just

say do as much research as you can. One thing I always say is that if you don’t have book covers in your portfolio (which you probably don’t if you apply to an entry level position) try and make some book covers for books that you are currently reading and enjoying—not books that you read in high school. Not childhood bedtime stories. Not The Great Gatsby. Anything that you are currently reading because it shows what your taste is, it shows that you have a handle on what is popular right now, and it can also show if you design a cover and whoever your interviewing with is like, “oh I know the person who did the cover and I really love these let me show them to you.” They’ll show them to the person that designed it. You can make connections that way. Also, ideally if you’re a cover designer or at least ideally for me I knew that I wanted to be in a department where I would enjoy the books that I worked on. I don’t think that’s a requirement that the books you are reading are to your taste. I think it makes it a lot more enjoyable for me personally when I’m working on a book that I really enjoy it. If you are making cover designs for books that are your taste and you are putting them in your portfolio, it can show art designers exactly what

The Romantic’s A-Z Street Atlas of London

By Jess Johnson

Follow Jess at: @jkcjohnson

As Virginia Woolf once wrote: “The streets of London have their map, but our passions are uncharted. What are you going to meet if you turn this corner?” No matter the decade, the neighbourhood or the characters involved, love stories set in London share an unpredictable magic. Generations of filmmakers have been drawn to the city’s mixture of ancient history and vibrant modern energy. From concrete tower blocks to ornate townhouses, this is a city of contradictions – as infuriating as it is beguiling, with a surprise around every bend. Read on for a run-down of the best romantic film locations around London, inspired by (what else?) the classic cabbie’s A-Z Street Atlas.

ACTON An Education (2009)

The first film on our list is certainly not the most straightforwardly romantic – Lone Scherfig’s An Education explores a sinister and shadowy side of seduction, based on the 1960s-era memoirs of journalist Lynn Barber. When clever but naïve 16-year-old schoolgirl Jenny (Carey Mulligan) meets suave older man David (Peter Sarsgaard), she is swept into his seemingly glittering world without realising what kind of man he really is. The shots of Jenny’s school were filmed at The Japanese School in Acton.

87 Creffield Road, W3 9PU

BANK

Imagine Me & You (2005)

Do you believe in love at first sight? Bride-tobe Rachel (Piper Perabo) and wedding florist Luce (Lena Headey) fall head over heels for one another on the former’s wedding day, battling against their coup-de-foudre connection for most of the film. The finale sees them reunited, running to each other in the midst of a traffic jam outside Bank Underground Station by using a football voice-projection technique (“You’re a wanker number 9!”)

Princes St, EC3V 3LA

BARBICAN

Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)

Dating from 1123, St Bartholomew the Great is London’s oldest parish church. It is also where Charles (Hugh Grant) gets memorably punched in the face mid-jilt by Duckface (Anna Chancellor), in Four Weddings and a Funeral. The medieval church’s inspiring interiors have appeared in countless other films – including Shakespeare in Love, The End of the Affair and The Other Boleyn Girl.

W Smithfield, EC1A 9DS

BOROUGH

Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001)

Bridget’s flat is nestled above the Globe Tavern pub in Borough Market. It serves as a true time capsule of its era, from the chintz lampshades and battered chaise longue, to the landline phone and CD player on which to blast ‘All By Myself’ while eating Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. It is from here that Bridget runs out after Mark Darcy in the snow in her tiny zebra-print knickers, in a truly iconic rom-com finale. 8 Bedale Street, SE1 9AL

GREENWICH

Bridgerton (2020-present)

Greenwich is the dream backdrop for the soapy, sexy historical-romance series Bridgerton, set in Regency-era London. The Bridgerton family’s red brick Palladian Georgian mansion is actually The Ranger’s House, which sits right on the edge of Blackheath. Run by English Heritage, nowadays the Grade I-listed building houses over 700 works of art including fine jewellery, bronzes, furniture, porcelain, ivories, oils and tapestries.

Chesterfield Walk, SE10 8QX

HAMPSTEAD

Truly, Madly, Deeply (1990)

Romantic poetry, lush woodland, storybook cottages… Hampstead is the perfect setting for lost love and yearning. In Truly, Madly, Deeply, Nina (Juliet Stevenson) is holed up in her decrepit-yet-picturesque Hampstead flat, grieving the death of her cellist lover Jamie (Alan Rickman, with a very rakish moustache). Although partially filmed in Bristol, this quirky tearjerker perfectly captures the misty beauty of the area – you can walk up the Holly Bush Steps, and visit the cosily romantic pub at the top.

Holly Bush Steps, NW3 6UZ

HEATHROW AIRPORT

Love Actually (2003)

A Richard Curtis classic, encapsulated by its opening line: “Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow airport.” The film’s introduction shows a medley of people greeting each other at the gate, depicting love as an all-encompassing force found between siblings, children, parents, friends, family and strangers, not just lovers. Consider this the opening montage that spawned a thousand ‘Welcome Home’ placards. Longford, TW6 1EW

HOUNSLOW

Bend It Like Beckham (2002)

Gurinder Chadha’s hilarious and heart-warming

romantic comedy stars Parminder Nagra as Jess, a teenage girl who longs to play football professionally – against the wishes of her loving but traditional Sikh family. Jess and Jules (Keira Knightley) first meet at Barra Hall Park in Hayes, where Jess is playing football and Jules convinces her to try out for the Hounslow Harriers, as coached by Joe (Jonathan Rhys Meyers).

Barra Hall Park, UB3 2NH

LADBROKE GROVE

Lover’s Rock (2020)

Directed by Steve McQueen as part of his Small Axe anthology, this is a beautiful and transfixing love story between Martha (Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn) and Franklyn (Micheal Ward), two lovers who meet at a house party in 1980. The vivid depiction of time and place is apparent in not only the records being played but also the décor, the fashions, and the overall mood. Named after the romantic reggae genre of the era, it has a truly unbeatable soundtrack.

Ladbroke Road, W11 3BQ

NOTTING HILL

Notting Hill (1999)

Picture the scene: floppy-haired bookseller William (Hugh Grant) rounds a corner on Portobello Road and bumps into beret-wearing movie star Anna (Julia Roberts), spilling his orange juice all over her impeccable white-teeand-black-leather-jacket combo. William’s travel book emporium was inspired by The Notting Hill Bookshop at 13 Blenheim Crescent. Now a popular tourist destination, it is just two minutes’ walk from the character’s famous blue front door – once owned by the film’s writer, Richard Curtis.

280 Westbourne Park Rd, W11 1EH

POSTMAN’S PARK

Closer (2004)

“Lying is the most fun a girl can have without taking her clothes off”, and this fib-filled 2004 melodrama remains a London classic. Postman’s

Park is where Dan (Jude Law) and ‘Alice’ (Natalie Portman) go for a walk, after she is knocked down by a taxi and hospitalised on their first meeting. A small public park near St Paul’s Cathedral, it is the home to the Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice from 1900 – a tribute to the bravery of ordinary people. The Alice Ayres memorial tablet is real, and can be found under the loggia in the park.

King Edward St, EC1A 7BT

PRIMROSE HILL

Been So Long (2018)

Fewer Belgravia townhouses and Kensington cafés, more night buses and kebab shops – Been So Long is a more tangible kind of London romance. It follows Simone (Michaela Coel) and Raymond (Arinzé Kene) as they fall in love across Camden Town. In one pivotal scene the two sit on a bench on top of Primrose Hill at dusk. “I didn’t used to think this hill was for people like me,” she says, before they break into a wordless, theatrical kissing sequence against the city’s purple-gold and glittering skyline. A true love letter to the city and its people.

Primrose Hill Road, NW1 4NR

THAMESMEAD

Beautiful Thing (1996)

An uplifting gem by Hettie Macdonald (who went on to direct 2020’s Sally Rooney adaptation Normal People), Beautiful Thing follows two working-class teenage lads as they fall in love in a 1990s southeast London housing estate, to a soundtrack of the Mamas and the Papas. The area of Thamesmead where it was filmed has undergone extensive renovation over the last few years, but the local landmark of Southmere Lake remains.

Southmere Lake, SE2 9TX

VAUXHALL

My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)

Written by Hanif Kureishi and set and filmed in Vauxhall during Thatcher’s 1980s, My Beautiful Laundrette was an instant romantic classic upon release. Omar Ali (Gordon Warnecke) and his punk boyfriend Johnny (Daniel Day-Lewis) have a passionate secret love affair at the titular laundrette, while renovating it for Omar’s uncle Nasser. Once called Powders Laundrette, the site was more recently a Portuguese café.

25-27 Wilcox Road, SW8 2XA

WATERLOO

Sliding Doors (1998)

According to the butterfly effect, even tiny events can have a huge impact on our lives. Sliding Doors follows a double-pronged narrative structure that explores two different outcomes for our heroine Helen (Gwyneth Paltrow). Either she manages to slip through the closing Tube doors and get home in time to catch her no-good boyfriend cheating – or she doesn’t. These sliding doors in question can be found on the Waterloo & City line platform at Waterloo Underground Station. Existential crisis not guaranteed.

York Rd, SE1 7ND

LONDON ZOO

About A Boy (2002)

Toxic bachelor Will (Hugh Grant again) has no responsibilities and no regard for anyone but himself. That is, until he accidentally befriends bullied preteen Marcus (Nicholas Hoult) and his depressed hippie mum Fiona (Toni Colette). Not afraid of life’s messiness, the film offers an exploration of love and community that goes beyond the romantic. In one scene, Will and Marcus talk about women as they walk past the Penguin Pool at London Zoo – as Will is bribing Marcus to pretend to be his son so he can get a date with a hot single mother, naturally.

Outer Circle, NW1 4RY

Swoonworthy Slang!

A is for Ask Anu, our resident advice columnist. If you have any questions, Anu can answer them. Relationship advice, life advice, or help with friendship drama and more.

B is for Bathtub. Our favorite place to be.

C is for Coffee/Cupid. One is a modern day god of love, and the other is an ancient Roman god of love.

D is for Dates. We will celebrate calendar dates, romantic dates, and the food/ fruit dates.

E is for Enemy to Lover. A wonderful romance sub-genre/ trope. Need we say more?

F is for Friendship. Love doesn’t always have to be romantic. We love our friends endlessly.

G is for Galentine’s Day and Gosling. Both are amazing. One is the best day of the year (and the other is the best man of the century). Whether it’s a girls night out or in, we hope you have the best time ever.

H is for Hot Girl Rom Com. Smart girls read romance. Full stop.

I is for Indie. We love independent mags, as we are one, as well as bookstores and more.

J is for Journal. We love a good journal page and jotting down thoughts.

K is for Kiss marks. We love them. A lot.

L is for Love Triangle. May the best suitor win.

M is for Marriage or Magazine. We love both.

N is for Neighbors to Lovers. Everyone loves friends next door.

O is for Office Romance. Go get bossy or be with the boss (totally up to you).

P is for Poetry. Give us a rhyme anytime. Sublime.

Q is for Queen. You rule!

R is for Runaway Bride or Reese Witherspoon. Both are exciting.

S is for Slow Burn Romance. Patience is the name of the game.

T is for Television Romance. We want more of it please.

U is for Upbeat. We will try to provide optimism in crazy times.

V is for Vampire romance. Twilight might not be a romcom, but the soundtrack is insanely underrated.

W is for Wilderness. Appreciate nature wherever.

X is for X-rated. Just kidding.

Y is for You. Love yourself! We love you too.

Z is for Zen. We hope you find your happy place and calmness. We hope this magazine can also be a part of that happy place.

For the Believers of Meant to Be