Love Note | No. 9

Catching up on our weekly correspondence.

May 08, 2026

“Maybe it’s not about the happy ending. Maybe it’s about the story.”

-Albert Camus

If you’re keeping track, here’s our current lineup:

Monthly Issues, Weekly Love Notes, Daily Edits (check out the new Art, Styled posts!), A Study In, Underlined, & Thought Daughter Musings

Keep scrolling for this week’s Love Note!

BY LC

What I’m reading:

Physical - After a bought with decision fatigue, I’ve decided to go straight down the list of my Classics Reading Challenge for the Girls for the Underlined series. So we’re starting at one with the OG—Pride and Prejudice.
Ebook - About to start Carley Fortune’s new release Our Perfect Storm.
Audio - I’ve had Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash on my list for weeks. Although I may switch it to physical instead of audio. TBD.

What I’m watching:

Finished The Count of Monte Cristo on Masterpiece and loved. Sam Claflin as Edmond Dantes… Excellent.
Been looking forward to the Off Campus series coming to Prime next week. I’ve been saying this for ages—this series is this decade’s One Tree Hill. Hands down. I read the book series years ago and fell in love with the characters. Yes, the books are spicy, but the friendships and character growth are next level.
Apple TV’s Imperfect Women is an excellent watch. Truly had me switching up my theories every other episode. Stunning cast.
The Devil Wears Prada 2—No notes. The original is one of our top comfort movies, so we had high hopes and they certainly delivered. I felt this to be much more story driven than the first, if that makes sense. Which I found captivating in its cultural relevance. Going into it, I was a bit concerned they were going to overdo the references from the first movie to an annoying level, but they walked the line of nostalgia perfectly. Emily Blunt has cemented herself as one of my favorite actresses.

What I’m listening to:

Noah Kahah walks may be more effective than therapy. It took me two long walks to listen/read through all his new lyrics and feel all the feelings. Orbiter has been on repeat from first listen. Aaron Dessner gets it.
Big Ethel Cain phase via Spotify as of late. One of my most streamed songs of 2026 will be American Teenager, I can already tell.

What I’m making:

Smoothies have re-entered the chat. I’m someone who runs cold like all of the time, so as much as I love them smoothies are flat painful for me in the winter. My digestion and skin are thrilled to have these back in the daily routine. My go-to are this turmeric ginger one, this green one, and this berry one.

What I’m wearing:

Our weather finally seems to have leveled out to a permanent warmth (praise be) so I’ve been thrilled to pull out some of my favorite warm weather dresses. The Ischia is perfect for this time of year. Also loving this pleated shirt dress.

What I’m shopping:

This mini shirt dress from J.Crew has my absolute attention.
These navy ponte pants for work and beyond. Loving the kick flare gingham ones too.
I recently switched out all of my undergarments to the Skims line and am pretty obsessed with this fabric. Like actual butter.
This bucket bag hasn’t left my brain since I found it.

What I’m doing:

Working on some special projects—the kind that I may or may not ever share here as frustrating as that is ha.

NOTE WORTHY

Some new arrivals to note:

GAP is doing something for me right now—Doen-esque. Don’t miss their 40% off new arrivals.
Tuckernuck has some beautiful new arrivals! Very summer ready.
The new Hill House summer drop—some of their classic styles like this mini but also some fun new silhouettes like this set and dress.

IN THE STACKS

HOW TO KEEP UP

I’m most active on Notes with The Daily Reverie, Ways to Say I Love You, and Art, Styled series. I try to publish new Posts weekly with my current lineup being: Monthly Issues, Weekly Love Notes, Daily Edits, A Study In, Underlined, & Thought Daughter Musings.

One thing you can do to support here on Substack is to follow, like, and comment on notes and posts. You can find a full, shoppable collection of each post and more here on my ShopMy along with more of our travels and day to day over on Instagram.

If you’re looking for more recipes, travel guides, or curated finds be sure to visit my website By Lauren Cermak. Feel free to message or comment below!