New Year, Same Blog
emergency dispatch
Happy new year!!! I hope you had an absolute mad one/a gentle and peaceful easing in to 2025, whichever floats your particular boat.
I normally give a TL;DR recap, but in this case you should really just read this one first if you haven’t already:
I’m in London with the American for New Year. We travelled here together and, to my delight and relief, he was not insane, weird, or unpleasant to travel with. Which is a real result, because you just never know. (I like to think I am also a very reasonable travel companion.)
We got to the hotel where we, ahem, caught up properly. In the hotel room, there is a shelf lined with postcards and coasters, all featuring this funny little guy doing funny little things. I looked at the coasters and had a bit of a giggle. I immediately sent a photo to the group chat and decided I had to tell all my substack friends asap. So what I am doing now is sending a mass email to 700 people to show you all a picture of a coaster. Sorry. Or maybe you’re welcome? I wouldn’t normally bore you with hotel wall decor, but come on!!! look at this!!!
I pointed to the coaster and said to the American, ‘oh my god, it’s you.’ To which he said, ‘I have more hair than that’ (true, tbf).
We had plans to bring in the new year at a fancy-ish event. I took this opportunity to Make An Effort. The first and second time I met the American, I was dressed for a mountain. The third time, I had gone for some nice underwear. This time, I was wearing a tight, strapless, black velvet dress and heels. I did my hair. I put on makeup. I even slapped a bit of the old pink lipstick under the old eyes. I endured an extremely uncomfortable strapless bra for hours. And I’m glad I did make the effort because every person I saw last night had really gone for it on the dressing up front. And all looked incredible doing so.
Oh my god London is so fucking busy! I knew it was going to be busy, but I don’t think I had really understood just how busy ‘busy’ could be, you know? I don’t think I could live here. I know there are Londoners reading this and hats off to you, I don’t know how you do it.
Soon after midnight, we decided we had fulfilled the necessary criteria to have ‘done’ New Year’s Eve to a sufficient extent and decided to head back to the hotel to make the most of our time together.
Quick aside: I’ve never gone out with anyone taller than maybe 5’10 (absolute maximum) before. The American is approx 6’2 and, at midnight, when I was standing on my tiptoes and he adopted the posture of a question mark to kiss me, I just felt a bit silly doing that so publicly. I also don’t think a bird’s eye view is my best angle and much prefer to be looked at straight on than like a selfie taken on a digital camera in 2008. I don’t mean this as an insult to him in any way, obviously— tallness is a celebrated feature (also he’s very good looking and very interesting and fun and considerate- he’s a catch).
Anyway, back at the hotel, to quote Mamma Mia!, …
I then performed a move I am calling a ‘reverse Mia Thermopolis’. No, that is not a sex thing. It’s where I wash off my makeup and release my hair into a wavy mass and don a particularly unfetching pair of plastic-rimmed spectacles. Paolo would have a hairy canary.
I’m quickly writing this on my phone the next morning while he’s in the shower. I hope you feel like you’re receiving the ‘omg look at this’ text that I sent to my irl friends last night.
If anyone wants to ‘text me back’ by telling me what you did last night, I am incredibly nosy and would love to know. Anything from ‘book in bed’ to ‘coke in toilets’ eagerly welcomed.
Happy new year, you all made the last chapter of my 2024 extra special. I started this blog on a whim in the middle of the night one Saturday in September and actually can’t believe how much it has added to my life these past few months. Thank you for being here <3<3<3
I'm so honoured to be one of your four male readers 😂
You might have mentioned this, but...does the American know about Mr Darcy? (surely not, I'd assume).
I posted a note about my NYE, but I'll copy it for you here:
"I spent a quiet New Year’s Eve on my own - having sent my parents to bed early - with a scotch (or two), watching ‘All of Us Strangers’. I may have got a bit teary-eyed."
In my last post, I mentioned how I don't like NYE very much, and finding out that Jools Holland is pre-recorded is what did it for me years ago.
Happy new year Livvie! Love the front line reporting nature of this post. That coaster - it’s fate! Things are sounding extremely promising for the young American. I’ve always had good vibes about him - look forward to more in 2025!