the matcha diaries

trigger warning: just a quick heads up before we dive in, this episode includes candid discussions about body image struggles, weight, and negative self-talk, so please prioritise your peace and skip this one if those topics are triggering for you!

in this week’s episode, we are back with part 2 of our vulnerable chat about navigating body image, but this time we are zooming out to look at the current narrative and the intense societal pressure we face in our late twenties. we pick up right where we left off, diving into the triggering return of "low-rise" fashion trends and the reality of toxic algorithms pushing extreme weight loss transformations. we also open up about the surprising societal pressure that comes with wedding dress shopping, our fears around how pregnancy changes our bodies, and the unrealistic "bounce back" culture surrounding motherhood. ultimately, we talk about how we are actively untangling our self-worth from this toxic online narrative and retraining our brains to focus on gratitude for what our bodies can do.

to stay up to date on our lives, contribute to future episodes and share any of your thoughts - pls do follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tiktok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or subscribe to us on youtube ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠ (leo's booktube) ! ☕ also, if you want to join our BOOK CLUB... you can join us ⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠ - current book of the month is 'Salem's Lot' by Stephen King).

if you don't have any social media and want to chat (or for advertising opportunities), please email us at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠

trigger warning: just a quick heads up before we dive in, this episode includes candid discussions about body image struggles, weight, and negative self-talk, so please prioritise your peace and skip this one if those topics are triggering for you!

in this week’s episode (part 1), we are getting super vulnerable about navigating insecurities and untangling our self-worth from our appearance in our late twenties. we share our current thoughts about our relationship with our bodies, some recent experiences of obsessive/toxic behaviour, and some of our recent struggles. we do our usual highs and lows at the beginning of the episode, but if you want to skip the catch-up and get straight to the main body image chat, jump ahead to 25:00.

to stay up to date on our lives, contribute to future episodes and share any of your thoughts - pls do follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠tiktok⁠⁠⁠⁠ or subscribe to us on youtube ⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠ (leo's booktube) ! ☕ also, if you want to join our BOOK CLUB... you can join us ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠ - current book of the month is 'Salem's Lot' by Stephen King).

if you don't have any social media and want to chat (or for advertising opportunities), please email us at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠

we are back after a much needed (unintentional) break! this week, cara gives us all the cozy details of her two-week trip home to jordan, from eating endless kanafeh to celebrating her dad's birthday. on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, leo recounts a chaotic three city work trip in germany that involved lost luggage, a burst appendix, and crying on a train next to drunk backstreet boys fans.

this is very much just a catch up episode to say hello and give you guys our little life updates <3

to stay up to date on our lives, contribute to future episodes and share any of your thoughts - pls do follow us on ⁠⁠⁠instagram⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠tiktok⁠⁠⁠ or subscribe to us on youtube ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ (leo's booktube) ! ☕ also, if you want to join our BOOK CLUB... you can join us ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ - current book of the month is 'Salem's Lot' by Stephen King).

if you don't have any social media and want to chat (or for advertising opportunities), please email us at: ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

we're back with another jampacked autumnal BOOK EPISODE!!! this one is all about our tbr & hopefully it can inspire some of you at the same time. <3

all the books we speak about:

Classics

• Rebecca — Daphne du Maurier
• The Count of Monte Cristo — Alexandre Dumas
• Dracula — Bram Stoker
• The Girl in White — Lindsay Currie
• Hallowe’en Party — Agatha Christie
• Dead Poets Society — N. H. Kleinbaum
• Jane Eyre — Charlotte Brontë

Fantasy/Witchy

• The Once and Future Witches — Alix E. Harrow
• Rewitched — Lucy Jane Wood
• One Dark Window — Rachel Gillig
• the new ACOTAR !! — Sarah J. Maas
• Phantasma — Kaylie Smith
• A Sorceress Comes to Call — T. Kingfisher
• A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking — T. Kingfisher
• A Discovery of Witches — Deborah Harkness
• A Dark and Secret Magic — Wallis Kinney
• The Witches of Cambridge — Menna van Praag
• One Dark Window — Rachel Gillig
• A Natural History of Dragons — Marie Brennan

Romance/Romantasy

• Assistant to the Villain — Hannah Nicole Maehrer
• Immortal Consequences — I. V. Marie
• Arcana Academy — Elise Kova

• The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy — Megan Bannen

Dark Academia / Mystery / Thriller

• London Falling — Paul Cornell
• Not Quite Dead Yet — Holly Jackson

• Murder at the Pumpkin Pageant — Darci Hannah
• In the Company of Witches — Auralee Wallace
• The It Girl — Ruth Ware
• The Goldfinch — Donna Tartt
• The Thirteenth Tale — Diane Setterfield
• If We Were Villains — M. L. Rio

Horror

• ‘Salem’s Lot — Stephen King
• Bunny — Mona Awad
• Coraline — Neil Gaiman
• Alchemised — SenLinYu
• Slewfoot — Brom

Other

Falling for Peachtree Bluff — Kristy Woodson Harvey

to stay up to date on our lives, contribute to future episodes and share any of your thoughts - pls do follow us on ⁠⁠instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠tiktok⁠⁠ or subscribe to us on youtube ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ or ⁠here⁠ (leo's booktube) ! ☕ also, if you want to join our BOOK CLUB... you can join us ⁠here⁠ - current book of the month is 'Salem's Lot' by Stephen King).

if you don't have any social media and want to chat (or for advertising opportunities), please email us at: ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

it is finally time for the autumn diaries and we couldn't be MOREE excited eep!! If you’re looking to build the ultimate autumn tbr, we’ve got you covered. from cozy, low-stakes fantasy and small-town witchy romances to moody dark academia and gothic classics, we are breaking down our absolute must reads for the season.

we’re sharing our personal favourites, our latest additions, and the stories we can’t stop thinking about.

Books Mentioned in This Episode:

Witchy Vibes & Everyday Magic

• The Ex Hex (Series) by Erin Sterling

• The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

• A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna

• Weyward by Emilia Hart

• Heartless Hunter & Rebel Witch by Kristen Ciccarelli

Cozy & Enchanting Fantasy

• The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

• Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Fairies by Heather Fawcett

• The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig

• Silver Elite (Series)

• Twilight & ACOTAR (Our cozy re-reads!)

Dark Academia & Secret Societies

• The Secret History by Donna Tartt

• Babel by R.F. Kuang

• If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

• Bunny by Mona Awad

• Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang

• The Academy by Erin Hildebrand

• The Exorcism of Faeries by J.L. Vampa

Gothic Classics

• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

• Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

• Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

• The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Mysteries, Thrillers & Sleuths

• Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

• Murder at the Bookstore by Sue Minix

• A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

• The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

• And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Romance & Heartwarming

• The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston

• If It Makes You Happy by Julie Olivia

• You, Again by Kate Goldbeck

• My Roommate is a Vampire by Jenna Levine

• Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Graphic Novels

• Witches of Brooklyn by Sophie Escabasse

p.s we know that cara's video and audio are slightly out of sync at times and will try to work on a solution for the future on this as we are not 100 percent sure whyy this kept happening! Sorry if this gets a bit annoying to watch!!

to stay up to date on our lives, contribute to future episodes and share any of your thoughts - pls do follow us on ⁠⁠⁠instagram⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠tiktok⁠⁠⁠ or subscribe to us on youtube ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ (leo's booktube) ! ☕ also, if you want to join our BOOK CLUB... you can join us ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ - current book of the month is 'rebecca' by daphne du maurier).

if you don't have any social media and want to chat (or for advertising opportunities), please email us at: ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

guys what can we say, this episode is objectively, kinda, really, a little bit *weird*... please see this as one big mind map being actively created ft. audio cut outs, real time realisations & autumnal themed tangents... aka WELCOME TO OUR BRAINS!!!

some resources to create your own (much better planned) personal curriculum:

• Online courses: Coursera, edX, Udemy, MIT OpenCourseWare, Khan Academy, Class Central, LinkedinLearning, Skillshare, great courses
• YouTube: CrashCourse, TedED, Great Art Explained, The Life Guide, OverSimplified, freeCodeCamp, Kurzgesagt
• Books and articles: Google eBookstore, Project Gutenberg, Open Library, Internet Archive, Libby, Medium, Substack
• Communities: Subreddits, Discord, Facebook, Amino, Skool

you can find the personal curriculum notion template we mention here <3

to stay up to date on our lives, contribute to future episodes and share any of your thoughts - pls do follow us on ⁠⁠instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠tiktok⁠⁠ or subscribe to us on youtube ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ or ⁠here⁠ (leo's booktube) ! ☕ also, if you want to join our BOOK CLUB... you can join us ⁠here⁠ - current book of the month is 'rebecca' by daphne du maurier).

if you don't have any social media and want to chat (or for advertising opportunities), please email us at: ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

dare we say.. grab a pumpkin spice latte, light a candle & get cosy with us for this week’s big yap ☕️🍂

in today’s episode, cara shares the huge life update of finally going wedding dress shopping (and unexpectedly finding the one!!), while leo debriefs her week of unplugging from media, silent walks, and romanticising everyday routines. then, we dive deep into the psychology of nostalgia: why rewatching our favourite comfort shows (hello, gilmore girls season) feels so safe, the science of remembering things through rose-tinted glasses, and finding peace in who we used to be. 

(p.s. if you want to skip our weekly yap about cara unexpectedly buying her wedding dress and leo’s week of silent walks, skip straight to 33:40 for the nostalgia chat! 🤍)

to stay up to date on our lives, contribute to future episodes and share any of your thoughts - pls do Follow us on ⁠⁠⁠instagram⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠tiktok⁠⁠⁠ or subscribe to us on youtube ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠! ☕ Thinking of joining our BOOK CLUB? We’d love to have you! Check it out  ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠! for advertising opportunities, or you don't have any social media and want to chat, please email us at: ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

are you also constantly playing music, podcasts, youtube videos and even series in the background?? have we lost the ability to be in silence with our thoughts? and maybe most importantly, what impact is that having on our brains?

these questions (& more) are the ones that prompted us to go on a good old fashioned research DEEP DIVE this episode. we cover:

• what impact does silence have on our brain (creativity & emotional processing)?
• is constant stimulation actually making our overthinking tendencies worse?
• can music ever have a positive impact on productivity?
• what impact does being an extrovert or introvert have on your tolerance for environmental stimulation?
• social silence and how we can apply this to ourselves

as always, grab yourself a hot drink & enjoy this episode! <3 FYI: the main topic starts 14:53 mins in

to stay up to date on our lives, contribute to future episodes and share any of your thoughts - pls do follow us on ⁠⁠instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠tiktok⁠⁠ or subscribe to us on youtube ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ or ⁠here⁠ (leo's booktube) ! ☕ also, if you want to join our BOOK CLUB... you can join us ⁠here⁠.

if you don't have any social media and want to chat (or for advertising opportunities), please email us at: ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

YT video mentioned:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quroaZV0YBc

References:

https://medium.com/@thewhimsicalshots/why-your-brain-needs-silence-more-than-music-5d46f442bfe8

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12109699/#B45-brainsci-15-00482

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jun/19/usa.guantanamo 

https://newhumanist.org.uk/articles/why-your-brain-needs-silence/

https://quietquality.nl/en/blog/what-silence-does-your-brain/ 

https://neurosity.co/guides/silence-vs-music-deep-work 

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12109699/#B45-brainsci-15-00482 

join us this week for the long awaited guest episode where ed & i (cara) are joined by our lovely neighbours... who are also called cara and ed! (confusing I KNOWW) 

we asked you guys to send in your relationship/COUPLE questions, and we had a big chat answering them from both of our couples' perspectives. we got into so many juicy themes, including:

1. maintaining independence & social life: answering questions on how to balance quality time as a couple while still making time for your own friends, and how to make sure you grow together without hindering your individual progress or hobbies.
2. co-living logistics: tackling the day-to-day realities of living together, including tips for just moving in together, keeping your sanity when living with in-laws, and navigating a "bedtime gap" when one person is an early bird and the other is a night owl.
3. managing finances: discussing the tricky topic of splitting expenses, whether to use joint bank accounts, and how to handle it when couples want to approach saving and spending differently.
4. conflict resolution & the 7-year itch: sharing advice on how to actually reconnect after a fight, learning each other's fighting styles, and having super honest conversations about navigating doubts or the "seven-year itch" in a long-term relationship.
5. keeping the spark alive: answering how to maintain attraction and romance post-honeymoon phase, from understanding each other's love languages (and actually using them!) to planning intentional, thoughtful dates.

whether you're single, moving in with your partner, or years into a relationship, grab a matcha and join us as we share our honest thoughts & advice.

to stay up to date on our lives, contribute to future episodes and share any of your thoughts - pls do Follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tiktok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or subscribe to us on youtube ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! ☕ Thinking of joining our BOOK CLUB? We’d love to have you! Check it out  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! for advertising opportunities, or you don't have any social media and want to chat, please email us at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠

in this week's episode, we have a big yap and end up unpacking a few big conversations around self-image, getting older, and modern influencer culture

we talk about:

• growing up, aging, & acceptance: shifting from fearing the milestone of turning 30 to finding quiet gratitude in aging naturally (and spotting our first forehead lines in the mirror).

• beauty standards & self-perception: how we see ourselves versus how the world sees us, ranging from the drama of "hair dysmorphia" after a haircut to the normalization of procedures like botox and "looksmaxing" for younger generations.

• influencer culture vs. authenticity: unpacking the viral nantucket craft shop that posted a "no influencers allowed" sign, and debating whether anti influencer backlash stems from subtle misogyny, spatial disrespect, or general performative fatigue.

to stay up to date on our lives, contribute to future episodes and share any of your thoughts - pls do Follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠tiktok⁠⁠⁠⁠ or subscribe to us on youtube ⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠! ☕ Thinking of joining our BOOK CLUB? We’d love to have you! Check it out  ⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠! for advertising opportunities, or you don't have any social media and want to chat, please email us at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠