The Mood Board #043
Living a creative life 🤝 being creative // Plus what I'm reading, wearing, and doing to find inspiration this month.
I was explaining The Mood Board to someone last week, and it occurred to me that it’s been a minute since I’ve shared the philosophy of The Mood Board with you all. It’s evolved over the years and there are so many new faces here as well, so I thought what better time than to share with you all the thought process behind this space.
The Mood Board is all about curating creativity and inspiration in our daily lives. I believe that art, creativity, and inspiration should be integrated into the everyday, from the clothes we wear to how we decorate our homes to our skincare routines — and everything in between.
When we live creative, intentional lives, we’re more likely to create. And the more we create, the more creative our lives become. It’s a beautiful reciprocal way of being, one I personally strive toward every day.
The Mood Board is intentionally curated to be messy, chaotic, and a little all over the place, because that’s how my creativity shows up. It’s the ritual of making my favorite salad for lunch, talking about books I love, reflecting on a writing prompt, wearing bright, colorful outfits. It’s chatting with friends and decorating my home and going on walks in the sunshine.
Creativity, to me, is a patchwork — a mood board ;) — of so many parts of my life, and I hope that through this space, you can begin to see creativity all around yours, too. Thank you for being here. I hope you feel inspired. <3
xx Brianna
May’s playlist is a mix of mostly MUNA, The Japanese House, and Noah Kahan — a perfect chill vibe for spring, in my opinion. 🎶
A few pieces I enjoyed recently:
💌 How to Think Like a Creative Director (Not a Feed Addict) - Eimear, Brand House
💌 The Neuroscience Behind Women’s Intuition - Aurora, Silver & Gasoline
💌 Your Childfree Friends Are Worth it - Annaliese Godderz, Mother Curious
And one by me:
💌 99 Side Hustle Ideas And Ways To Make Extra Money - The Good Trade
I hosted a still life painting night at my apartment, and it was dreamy! We each brought a couple items to add to the still life, set it up together, and painted and chatted for hours. It was so fun to see how everyone’s pieces turned out in their own unique styles, and we had so much fun. This is your sign to do a similar hang! :)
What a time to be a lit girl, y’all! My note from last week sums it up:
I just finished Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke, and wowowow y’all that is a wild ride. I couldn’t put it down. It’s about a trad wife influencer who finds herself in the 1800s, and we go back and forth between seeing her build a social media empire and live “the simple life” (but is it so simple?"). Have you read it? I don’t want to spoil anything but I have T H O U G H T S. If you’ve read it too, message me and let’s yap, because what a book!
Now, I’ve moved on to Saturn Returning by Kim Narby. A total 180 from trad wifedom and instead a messy lesbian love triangle. First, I just want to shout out the amazingggggg book launch party in NYC a couple weeks ago hosted by sapphic and the city by grotto and Sapph Lit because it was truly a queer girl’s dream party. And second, I want to tell y’all that I am genuinely eating this book uppppp. Will share more thoughts when I finish it!
And here’s a little glimpse at my big sexy upcoming TBR list. 🥵
📖 Into the Blue by Emma Brodie
📖 Girl’s Girl by Sonia Feldman (out June 2)
📖 Long Island Girls by Gabrielle Korn (out June 23)
📖 Body Language by Meg Howrey (out Sept. 1… insaneeeee galley brag y’all, I’m screaminggggg)
Paid subscribers get daily creative prompts sent to their inbox every month! Here’s today’s prompt:
Open a notebook today and write for 5-10 minutes straight. Let it be cathartic and just get everything out of your head and onto the page.
Little reminders that there are still fun and inspiring parts of the internet. <3
🍜 I’m obsessed with this small food content creator right now.
😍 Anyone else in love with Rama Duwaji’s personal style and art???
🌼 I love it every time Anna B. Albury shares a travel treasures haul.
🧅 The world needs more vegetable-inspired whimsy like this carousel installation.
🫂 No one needs to tell me twice to gather with women more often.
🕯️ Ritual! Isn’t! Woo Woo! It’s! Neuroscience! Say it again for the folks in the back.
🏰 What’s your favorite medieval window style?
👔 Spring outfit formulas that workkkkkk.
On my bod:
💙 I just bought these Madewell jean shorts (#jorts) when I was in NYC. They’re so comfy!! I sized up so they’d be a bit lower rise and comfier.
💙 I’ve been loving this colorful and comfy terry sweatshirt from Gap! Can’t wait to wear it all summer long.
💙 Feeling hot and bisexual in this soft cotton henley from Buck Mason. 10/10 for vibes and comfort.
💙 This checkered Damson Madder dress was a splurge but I L O V E it. I’ve been styling it so many ways this spring – a recent fave was pairing it with my favorite Levi’s quilted jacket. I’ve been having so much fun mixing patterns this season.
In my cart:
💙 I have a wedding later this summer to go to and I really feel like I might need to buy this green flowy dress for it.
💙 Which color of these shoes from Charlotte Stone should I buy???
💙 At some point, I’m going to purchase an Alex Mill tote bag. Today is not that day, but ya girl is drooling over it in the meantime.
⛅️ Cool thing that happened alert! I was featured in The Strategist talking about my favorite jacket for spring. (Spoiler alert: It’s this one.)
🚙 ICYMI: Playwright Sara Malinowski shared her Inspiration Diaries on The Mood Board last week. And friends, her play Girlfriends will be at the Hollywood Fringe Festival this summer. Get tickets here!
🥗 I’ve been eating what I’m calling my “Sexy Summer Salad” on repeat for the last few weeks. Here’s what in it: Spring mix lettuce, salami, fresh mozzarella, parmesan, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, Graza Drizzle olive oil, and Brightland Balsamic Vinegar. It’s sooooo good (see the joy it brings me below).
📚 Did y’all see the Summer Reading Challenge from Feeling! Magazine? So fun. I’m definitely going to participate. And I might buy myself a lil personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut as a reward at the end of summer for old time’s sake.
🔒 Anyone been thinking of trying Brick? I have one and love using it to get off my phone and focus. If you’ve been on the fence, let this be a sign. They were kind enough to give me a 10% discount for y’all. Just use my link here. :)
🧀 My new goal is to have a snack plate summer, inspired by Skylar Allen.
💫 I got a facial for the first time ever about a month ago, and she told me I needed to exfoliate my face more often. I have been using the Ursa Major Green Slate Mineral Polish about twice a week and it is working wonders! Also, it smells heavenly. I feel like I’m at the spa every time I use it.
🍫 I was so kindly sent “Pleasing Ending” chocolates from a collab between Alice Mushroom and Pleasing (yes, Harry Styles’ brand!!!). Oooo-wee it works! If you want a lil libido boost, check it out.
📱Just wanted to shout out that I love my phone case from The Dairy. So if you’re in the market for a fun cool girl case, check it out here.
🌈 Question of the Month: What’s one way you can be more embodied and present this month?
Thank you for reading The Mood Board! It means so much to me that you are here, and I hope you found bits of inspiration here today. Say hi on Instagram here, shop my faves here, and read my other writing here. And if you want to buy me a coffee, you can do that here. :)
Also, the only "simple life" I wanna live is one with Paris Hilton + Nicole Ritchie in chic overalls.
RUNNING to The Neuroscience Behind Women’s Intuition. Thanks for sharing, friend!