Have you ever hit a breaking point in your overwhelm where your brain just forces you into a mandatory summer chill session?

Maybe it’s a summer thing…

I hit that point last week. I won’t even try to make it sound cute: I was a stressed out mess over everything from work to personal stuff, and no amount of list-making or staring at the computer screen was helping.

I thought I could hustle through it, but no. My brain was like, “That’s it, Mishka. Slow the eff down.”

I fully admit that I may have too many projects going on right now. As basic as it sounds, I love doing stuff! Making things, going places, collaborating…

I mean, you guys know me.

But sometimes, a girl’s gotta grab a bottle of brut rosé—this one, in particular, is perfection, and I grabbed it while leaving Grand Central—and just recline in the grass.

So that’s exactly what I did.

I ended up taking an entire day mid-week to slow down and defrag my brain.

(Remember manually defragging your PC? I used to love watching those little cubes get organized!)

I popped that bottle, sprawled out on the lawn and attempted to reach a place of relative zen. I still thought about projects (and I still took these photos—guilty), but once the tripod was shoved aside, I was able to chill out and just enjoy the day.

Aaah, what a feeling! Summer in the Hudson Valley has been amazing. Knowing that I’m returning to the city in August has helped me to appreciate it even more.

And what’s a chill session without a chill uniform?

I’ve been repping DOPESINS this week in my favorite new muscle tank, which they printed just for me (but you can grab the t-shirt version here).

In short, my afternoon lounging in the grass taught me a few things:

• Lemon essential oil scares most bugs away
• An overcast day is even better than the blinding sun
• It is possible not to obsess over the projects
• It is sad when you accidentally drink a tiny bug that’s landed in your drink
• Trust no one 😉

I hope you’re having the chillest summer ever—and yet, I hope you’re hustling and achieving your goals, too!

I think the key to being a creative person who seriously needs the occasional recharge is finding a balance between the two.

If you’ve cracked that code, drop me a comment. I wanna know.

Until next time…

Summer is here, and it’s not messing around! New York has been pummelled by heat and humidity for the past few days, making it a good time to sit on the porch (or in front of a fan) with a good book.

It’s been a long time since I lined up books to read. I’ve spent the bulk of the past 5 years reading personal development and business books—and basically spending all of my free time working on blogs and websites or other projects.

To be honest, I have raised my eyebrows more than once at those who seem to blow through books each month. I don’t have the patience for stories, I sometimes mumble to myself. I have stuff to do!

Sadly, that’s been my mindset for a while, which is why I’ve fallen behind with my own blogging (which is, essentially, storytelling), here on Hey Mishka.

The good news is, I am slowly edging back into fiction.

Last year I went on the annual family beach camping trip and picked up a cheesy beach read on my way. I chose it for its bright pink cover and amusing synopsis. It was a story about a blogger who goes through a major life transformation after her picturesque world falls apart.

Timely, right?

Anyway, I didn’t finish that book, but it was pretty fun to read, and reading fiction made me realize how my own writing has dulled over the years.

They say reading is one of the best ways to become a better writer, and I could immediately see that I was grossly lacking in storytelling techniques, unique character development, and the ability to weave an engaging narrative of any kind.

Yikes.

(You guys may or may not know this, but I am attempting to write fiction on the side.)

Long story short, I’m back into fiction again, re-reading some of my favorites, and checking out some new books as well. My genres are all over the place, much like my brain.

Below you’ll find my reading list and (non-affiliate) links to the books on Amazon.

Spring is feeling rather summery here in the Hudson Valley, but I’m definitely not complaining. Am I the only one who doesn’t realize just how gloomy winter gets until it’s over? Each spring I feel like I’ve been reborn into a brand new human. New goals, new projects, new inspiration…

I know that’s considered the whole point of spring, but it really is a powerful effect. I was basically a stressed out basket case all winter long, and now I’m easing into the warm weather vibe like winter never happened. Actually, can we pretend that?

Anyway, now that the woods are turning green and the temperature is a nice, even 70 °F for most of the day, I’m spending as much of mine outside as possible. And trust me, it just wouldn’t be a chill day outside without a sweet little glass of pink moscato.

Thumbs Up sent me these crazy cute diamond-shaped whiskey glasses to try, but since I don’t do much hard whiskey drinking these days, I decided to test them out with a bottle of summery pink moscato instead. Yes, the ultimate girl drink is my favorite thing to indulge in when I’ve finished hours (and hours) of writing and I just want to unwind.

These little glasses held up to the task, but are they really worth the money? Check out my review below.

I often lament about missing my “creative past”—an era between 1995 and 2009 where I was a veritable powerhouse of creativity. I was writing fiction, molding miniatures out of clay, designing clothes, sketching up characters and even drawing DIY comics…

A lot changed in my life after graduating from fashion school, which isn’t surprising. What I didn’t realize was that the free-wheeling creativity is what I would miss the most from my younger days.

Once upon a time, I would spend day and night on creative projects. It was as natural as breathing. These days, I have an instant pang of “isn’t there something you should actually be doing?” when I attempt to engage in something whimsical.

Growing up also comes with a fat dose of reality, and that distracts us from the all-important sense of joy and discovery that embarking on a random creative adventure can be. That’s why I was so excited to see #The100DayProject pop up on my Insta-feed this April. It’s a 100-day long challenge where participants simply do one creative thing each day.

Some people are doing visual and performing arts, others are writing or making music. When I found it, I decided to try and revive my love of sketching, and I created a separate Instagram account to post my creations each day.

The odds that I’ll actually do this every day for 100 days is pretty slim, but I am welcoming the excuse to take time out of my day and just draw. It turns out that this is excellent therapy—almost meditative.

My drawings are nothing groundbreaking our amazing. I have a recurring theme of pastries and pretty girls in romantic, melancholy moments. I’ve been photoshopping some of the sketches into backgrounds to create a little world.

My long-term idea for this project is to develop it into a series of characters who live in a little imaginary world called Pink Moon Cafe, but I’m not really worrying about how/if I get that far with it.

Another idea behind the separate account is to encourage a message of solidarity through creativity. Drawing and writing have gotten me through some tough times in my life. My creativity is something I know I can always take refuge in when the shit hits the fan. We don’t always remember how powerful a tool self-expression can be, in all forms.

For now, I’m having fun, and I wanted to post this to remind you guys to have some fun too.

So, tell me! What did you enjoy when you were younger? What if you could pick up the habit again? If you need permission to do so, I’m giving it to you now. Creative expression of all kinds can be a form of therapy and a way to rebalance our minds.

Making things feels good. If you want to see more of my drawings, check out Pink Moon Cafe here and follow the account! And be sure to follow my main Insta, Hey Mishka, if you’re not already.

Let me know what you end up doing, and drop me a link to your account if you’re doing the challenge, too!

I’ve got a brand new website and I’m super hyped about it!

My site was feeling a little “off” since I rebranded for winter (here’s a preview of what it looked like—opens in a new tab). I liked the color scheme and the sleek vibe, but it wasn’t really me.

As you guys know well, I’m all about the girly color scheme, pops of pink, and creative accents. I threw sleekness to the wind and tried to achieve all of this with the new site.

The same weekend that I conceived the new design, I did an informal photo shoot on a Brooklyn rooftop, hoping to use some of the shots on the About page. Only a few made the final cut, but I wanted to post them here anyway.

They represent a kind of refresh for me. I felt different that day. I’d just identified some new goals as a writer, and I felt brave enough to infuse my personality back into the thing that represents me as a writer on the internet.

Have you ever done a professional project of some kind with other people in mind? Ominous, judgemental “other people”? I’ve written my bios and designed my websites around this vague idea of what I think my industry is looking for. I’ve always done it that way.

This time, though, I wanted the website to be ALL me. Whether or not it’s glossy or elevated enough, it’s really me. That was so important to me while creating it, and it feels good to say I achieved it.

It did take a long time to rewrite my bio. I tend to cringe every time I look back at things I say about myself (don’t we all?) but at least this “about” page is structured and cohesive.

I tried to include information about my ideal clients, as well as what it’s like to work with me—rather than just blathering on about myself. The aim is to filter out clients who aren’t an ideal match ahead of time and excite the ones who would be perfect.

Anyway, check it out if you want! It makes me smile. I hope it’ll inspire you to infuse more of yourself into your “real world, professional” marketing materials, too.

Oh, and a quick side note: There are a lot of freelance “experts” out there who will tell you a website isn’t necessary for writers, but I have to disagree. I get job leads through my website pretty often. Most of them mention something about it—how the design caught their eye, or they could immediately see my fashion/lifestyle niche shining through.

This may be the Libra in me speaking, but a website is literally a 24/7 streamlined, dynamic snapshot of your services, your personality, your expertise, and your vibe in general. Why wouldn’t you want an all-in-one tool that could attract or deter certain clients right off the bat?

Anyway, I’m not going to get on a soap box right now… but you can get a bunch of tips about growing your freelance writing career over at Day Job Optional.

In the meantime, I’ll be over here sipping bubbly and celebrating this new year/bigger career vibe.

Pinkies up! I treated my mom to tea and scones at Alice’s Tea Cup Chapter II this week, and we were amazed at the cuteness of it all. I’ve been wanting to try this place for years and was excited to find a breakfast deal on Groupon.

The whimsy of this place is next-level, but be sure to sit on the actual next-level (2nd floor) for the full experience. Tall windows, yummy mint green walls, and adorable little tables make this place rather dreamy.

It was fairly empty since we arrived midday. Mom had the day off and I have the perks of the freelance life (choosing your own schedule = midday tea parties).

The next time you need a little escape, but a vacay isn’t exactly in your bank account, hop on Airbnb and find yourself a cute local place to stay! That’s what I did for Valentine’s Day this year and the experience was just as good as leaving town.

Check out this super-cute loft apartment! It had a cozy, lived-in, yogi vibe, which matched the couple who lives here perfectly. I got to meet them briefly before they took off for a Costa Rica adventure.

On a total whim the other night, I took a pair of scissors to my hair and chopped off 6″ or so. Maybe even more! It was getting super long, and even though I was having fun styling it this winter, I felt that cliche need for a change of some kind. It sounds silly if you’ve never done it, but it really does change your life when you lob off this much hair.

The last time I cut my hair into a short bob (way shorter than this) was when I was 25—here’s evidence!

Just like the first time, I felt like I had some heavy energy to shed. Some demons to release. January wasn’t the easiest month, and I sort of felt like I was dragging the 2017 version of myself along for the ride.

Aside from the idea of releasing energy and feeling lighter, I really like how it looks! I can wear it down with bangs or flip it over on my head for a sort of instant hairdo.

I was never really into “doing” hair or figuring out what style works for me. It has all been trial and error. Having long hair often meant just trying it up so I didn’t have to deal with it either way. Even when I dropped a fat stack of cash on balayage last spring, I had no idea how to make it work for me.

So, here we are. Short hair, happy Mishka, and my favorite hat.

A funny, kind of magical thing happened to me recently. After the holidays, right around the time I usually feel the S.A.D. vibes setting in, I opened a newsletter from one of my writing heroines, Alexandra Franzen. For anyone unfamiliar, Alex is one of the most generous, warm, wonderful presences on the internet. She always seems to be giving.

Inside this email, she offered a pep talk to any of her readers who needed it. She admitted that—assuming her lists is in the tens of thousands by now—it would take some time to get to everyone, but she promised to answer each one.

Anticipating my typical winter blah-ness, I hit reply and confessed to one of my writer idols that I tend to feel crappy between February and March. I explained that by then, I’ve  usually lost the glow of the festive season and the sparkle of the new year. Noting that this discouraging part of the year was imminent, I asked her for any advice she had on staying inspired and happy.

I sent off my email, and waited.

I was definitely late to the Downton Abbey train, my friends. I watched an episode or two when everyone was going crazy about it a few years ago (I mean, people are still definitely going crazy about it, which this post clearly proves), but I didn’t get caught up in the fever until I sat down and really watched it this month.

Yup! This month! As of January 2018, I can officially declare myself a crazed Downton Abbey fan. My mother bought the special edition box set and we sat down to watch them together after I arrived in the Hudson Valley this month.

On Christmas morning my dad surprised us with tickets to the Downton Soiree & Exhibit in NYC this month, so we shopped for 1920 style dresses and accessories and sped off to the city last night for this amazing event.

The soiree was a cocktail party with in-costume wait staff (they looked right out of Downton Abbey) and endless champagne (which was partook in generously, obv).

The exhibit was a combination of museum-style displays of props and artifacts from the show—costumes, love letters, instruments used in the house—as well as in-depth history lessons surrounding the real Downton Abbey plastered on the walls.

Our favorite part, though, was that you could walk through recreations of the Downton Abbey rooms. From the dining room and servant’s hall to Lady Mary’s bedroom, it felt like stepping into the actual show. How cool is this?

The costumes on display were authentic vintage from the late 1800s and early 1900s. Below, you might recognize who wore each of these outfits if you’ve watched the show.

My crappy phone camera couldn’t even capture how dazzling and sparkly these were. As a fashion design grad and a lover of vintage, I was in my glories.