Portugal, I just couldn't stay away.

After road tripping down the Costa Vicentina for the past three days, I'm currently cozied up in the coastal city of Lagos on a cloudy Sunday afternoon. Here, the tile-strewn streets are candy-colored, the air warm, and two Portuguese grandmas are chatting fast + furiously on opposite balconies outside my AirBnb. Despite my worsening anxiety over the past month, I feel happy.

This whole trip is winding down faster than I'd like. I have in my hand a growing list of client work, emails, errands and personal to-dos to check-off before I embark on my technology-less meditation retreat this week. This list is causing me paralysis.

Everything feels like a lot right now—my anxiety is palpable, my ADHD worse than ever. And yet, I've found moments when I have been able to turn off my brain and sink into small moments of joy. Like when I started the road trip and successfully navigated my way out of Lisbon. Or in Sines, when Nelly's "Country Grammar" came blasting on my "Old School Hip Hop House Party" road trip playlist. A few nights ago reading this book with a glass of vinho branco while sun set over Praia da Arrifana.

Perhaps joy, like many things, begins life small before it grows.

Amidst this anxiety-ridden month, I've not stopped reading. It's one of the few things that makes me forget the to-dos, worries and "shoulds," and brings temporary peace. There's been many worthy articles lately, so here's a few of my favorites.

Enjoy your Sunday, wherever you are.

“And I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, 'If this isn't nice, I don't know what is.” Kurt Vonnegut

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Dream shoes (emphasis on the dream).

Dream rugs discovered via my brunch at Casa Mãe.

Currently on the hunt for a pair of boyfriend jeans. Any recommendations?

I discovered Daily Day, an independent Portuguese designer while here in Lagos. Their clothes are beautifully-made and have an urban-inspired, minimalist feel.

Just finished season two of Master of None. SO GOOD.

Loved this house tour. I want all her oil portrait paintings.

The Feminist Legacy of the Babysitter's Club. Only my favorite books of all-time.

This story is incredible and stunning and heart-breaking.

What do you suck at? (Me: SINGING) Why that's a good thing.

Leave yourself wanting more. I love this.

Four ways to improve your creative thinking. It's not just for artists, people.

The psychological importance of wasting time. YES TO ALL OF THIS.

Family planning, educating girls, reducing food waste—three of the top 100 solutions to climate change. I want to read this book.

I cannot wait for Will & Grace to return. In the meantime, THIS.

If I'm being honest, it's been a slooooow Monday morning. This weekend was busy in the best way possible. A Bruno Mars concert Friday night. Catching up on work (and cleaning my flat like a grown ass adult) on Saturday. And a lovely Sunday afternoon spent drinking rosé wine + eating pizza with friends in the fresh spring air.

I've been back in London three weeks now, which has me thinking I might be even worse at math than I thought because didn't I just arrive in my favorite city?!? Time's quick passing feels extra tangible right now. While I'd like to tell you that I'm sitting back and simply enjoying this travel experience, that would be a lie.

Relaxation is not a natural state for me.

I'm working on slowing down and finding contentment in "being." Next month, I'm heading to Scotland for a week-long meditation retreat! It's going to be a challenge, as anyone who knows me knows silence is not a natural state for me either.

Until then, here's to gratitude and 24 carat magic and not reading most of the news (no one needs immediate depression) and deep breaths and good friends and rosé wine (even when it gives you a black eye) and challenging yourself and doing your god damn best, because that's all you can do.

Here's a few links to start off your week. Make it a good one, friends.

"I think part of being a good person is just *trying* to be better. To see where you're fucking up and trying to be better, to know that the fuck-ups who get your goat are just people trying to do their best." Nora McInerny

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The perfect summer skirt.

Dream pumps...

...to pair with this dream sweater.

This lovely song.

LOLOLOL.

My man Neil DeGrasse Tyson spittin' truth.

We all need a Shultz hour.

You don't have to find your passion to have a fulfilling career. Preach.

The missing ingredient to happiness. This is so good. "What if, instead, you could let a want simply be there while it’s there, and also be fully aware — like the parent of a fretting toddler — that the thing in question is almost certainly not essential to your happiness, and couldn’t deliver it even if you did have it?"

Ten ways to feel less busy. This list is actually helpful.

This is disgusting. Another reminder of why we need to be mindful of consumption.

I've devoured these On the Grid neighborhood city guides since arriving in Europe. They're curated by locals working in creative industries and always 100% spot-on.

Currently reading.

It's the last Monday of March. The sun is barely illuminating Lisbon's candy-colored buildings through the thick, gray-tinged clouds. Though the air is still warm and fresh, and blowing in softly through the open window. If I count back on my calendar, I've officially been traveling by myself for 75 days.

Last month, an old co-worker commented on an Instagram of mine asking if I could teach her to be more brave. This question hit me hard, playing on loop over and over in my head: how can I teach women to be brave enough to travel on their own?

I couldn't quite figure out how to respond because honestly, I don't feel particularly brave. Or worthy of teaching this thing I don't feel. Most days, my inner monologue is that of most women I know: "I'm a garbage person with no talent and everyone is going to find out." So, I let the question rest. I didn't answer it or disregard it.

This past week, I found myself wrestling with another question any normal, 32-year-old woman wrestles with when a slew of happy engagement + baby announcements pervade her social media accounts: will I ever find a lasting partnership?

It's a big question, one that comes on the heels of a break-up last year. The truest answer is: I don't know. And I've (mostly) gotten to a good place with that.

Maybe it'll come, maybe it won't. In the meantime, I've simply decided my desire to do the things I love outweighs any fear I have of doing them alone. I refuse to delay living my one precious life because I don't have a partner (or a reliable travel buddy, which is equally as elusive). I love to travel, so I'm going to travel. And if you love to travel, you should absolutely travel your damn single lady brains out too.

So, that's what I got. It's not quite a fully-formed answer, but it's getting there. Until then, here are a slew of links for your Monday procrastination needs.

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The prettiest spring dress.

Bando's got new purses, and they are SUH CUTE.

My tennis shoes saw their final demise in Copenhagen, so I bought a pair of these velcro sneaks to replace them.

36 Hours in Fez looks absolutely dreamy.

Speaking of travel, the Citymapper app is saving my life on a daily basis.

A simple trick for stopping vertigo. (via my mom)

The gift of loneliness. A lovely essay that hits home right now. (via my friend Emily)

I've listened to this podcast four times since it aired. Life-changing.

Conscious consumerism is a lie. A depressing, but necessary read.

What happens when the Queen dies? A wonderfully lengthy essay on the end of Queen Elizabeth's reign. (via Rachel)

The sweetest, most heartbreaking Modern Love. (Also, an update on the story)

My boyfriend weighs more than I do.

I love Jenny Slate. "I think it’s really rude for someone to disparage a vagina in the female body after it’s just fucking created and exploded a baby into our world. It makes me furious and I will not change my opinion on that.”