The Collection: May 2024
Good Romcoms, Bad Romcoms, the Amazing Billie Eilish, Starting Life in Spain, and Setting Up New Routines
Welcome to 'The Collection' – your curated end-of-month digest of all things I found noteworthy, from the realms of literature, entertainment, advertising, and more.
This month has been about embracing change and setting up new routines. Trying new things, exploring, and just taking it one day at a time. Even though a little voice in the back of my head whispers that I’m falling behind, being lazy, or not doing anything – this slowing down has brought clarity and opportunities I never would’ve imagined if I hadn’t given myself the chance to look up from the work and rest for a second.
What I Read
Outline by Rachel Cusk
I joined a Book Club for the first time, or at least I tried. I stumbled upon Fable, a books/reading app that is basically what Goodreads should be and unfortunately isn’t. You can even sync all your Goodreads book lists—it's a great app.
One of my favorite influencers, Moya, started a Book Club on the app, with the first book being Outline by Rachel Cusk. It has been a little challenging for me to read it, but I am enjoying it! I love Rachel’s writing style, which means I need to read carefully to grasp the amazing bits of wisdom within the story.
I am slowly but surely getting through the book, and reading the other club members’ notes and comments has helped a lot too. Nonetheless, I want to keep at it, read similar books, and immerse myself more in these beautifully written contemporary fictions, especially those written by women.
What I Watched
Bridgerton, Season 3 directed by Tricia Brock (1 & 2) and Andrew Ahn (3 & 4)
Shonda knew exactly what she was doing by leaving us hanging until June 13th. Obviously, I binge-watched it and enjoyed every second of it. Nicola and Luke have the most amazing chemistry I have ever seen, on and off camera. 👀
Speaking of June, a new season of House of Dragon comes out on the 16th. Time for a recap.
Wonka directed by Paul King
For a moment, I thought I hadn’t seen a single new movie this entire month. Then I remembered: on my 10-hour flight to Spain, while waiting for my sleeping pill to kick in, I decided to watch Wonka. I made it through the entire movie, and found myself wondering... why Thimothée?
Olivia Colman is in it too, and honestly, who doesn’t love her? The movie was well done, with production design that reminded me of the Netflix series A Series of Unfortunate Events—which I thoroughly enjoyed at the time—combined with some whimsical aspects of a Wes Anderson film.
The Idea of You by Michael Showalter
Literally a Wattpad fanfic of One Direction, specifically Harry Styles. There’s something about Nicholas Galitzine that always throws me off, even though I do think he’s a good actor. The Queen of Genovia, aka Anne Hathaway, looked absolutely stunning as usual—she simply does not age. I give this movie a 2.5/5.
Mother of The Bride by Mark Waters
I watched this for Chad Michael Murray and Chad Michael Murray only. If I were to edit the movie down to only his scenes, it would unfortunately be about 10 minutes long. I will say, Benjamin Bratt did not look bad at all either. The movie itself? Pretty bad. 2/5.
Arts/Design/Ads
HIT ME HARD AND SOFT Album by Billie Eilish
A masterpiece. I’ve had the entire album on repeat all week, and there isn’t a single song I skip. My personal favorite is "Chihiro." Even though I’m biased because Spirited Away is one of my all-time favorite movies, this track is just so good. They all are.
Sydney Swisher
Another incredible artist I discovered on TikTok, Sydney Swisher is a self-taught painter from Illinois. She paints with oil on fabrics, incorporating the tapestry itself as part of the artwork. On top of that, she adds various 3D elements as finishing touches in the most clever ways. Here’s a link to her website if you want to explore more of her work, and below is the TikTok that made me fall in love with her art.
What I’m Working On
Big News: Trece Rebranding
I’ve probably mentioned on every single Collection Newsletter how I’ve been working on Trece’s rebranding and website. The time has FINALLY arrived. Branding updates have been made and the website is up and running. I’m obsessed with everything. Let’s just hope that it stays like this for at least the next couple of years.
This means I can now fully focus on projects I have been dying to get my hands on! All updates and projects can be seen on Trece’s Instagram :)
Branding for a Luxury Travel Agency
Por vueltas que da la vida, just two days into being in Spain, I found myself aligned with an incredible opportunity to collaborate on branding for a luxury travel agency. There isn't much I can share at the moment besides my excitement for this project. Rest assured, I'll keep you all updated once it's completed.
Random Stuff
Life in Madrid
It's been two weeks since I moved to Madrid, and I’m finally settling into a new routine. So far, it’s been great—I feel incredibly grateful and happy (though I miss Juni like crazy). I spend most of my days working at different coffee shops and exploring the city. As I mentioned earlier, taking things one day at a time has really paid off. I feel very aligned with what I want to do, who I want to be, and where I want to go.
Con muchísimo amor,
Isabella
Well now Im def watching mother of the bride