Episode #191: Amazing Home Decor Items Under $50

This week, we are going over our favorite home decor items that we found for under $50. Plus, we are doing a book report on The Creative Act by Rick Rubin.

You can find the podcast posts archive here.

A big thank you to our sponsors! Check out the offers from Ritual, Calm, LMNT, and Modern Fertility.

And, if you’re looking for a specific code you heard on the podcast, you can see a full list on this page!

Show Notes:

Here’s a picture of Pumpkin:

Favorite Home Decor Items Under $50:

Elsie:

• Bed canopy
• Charm School coffee table book
• Puzzle board
• Throw blanket
• Cutting board

Emma:

• Dress form
• Easel
• Flatware
• Cake stand with dome cover
• Christmas lights

Here’s a link to Emma’s blue gin

Miss an Episode? Get Caught Up!

• Episode #190: The Parent Trap – Comfort Rewatch
• Episode #189: Favorite Summer Things (Deep Dive)
• Episode #188: Motherhood, Life, and Business—Oh My!

Episode 191 Transcript:

Emma: You’re listening to The Beautiful Mess Podcast, your cozy comfort listen, and this week we’re going over our favorite home decor items that we’ve found for under $50. This was an email request from Sabrina Weyland. Plus, we are doing a book report, and we are gonna talk all about The Creative Act by Rick Rubin. 

Elsie: Yes, Rick Rubin was so adorable. 

Emma: Dong. Just kidding.

Elsie: I felt tempted to make a gong joke as well. It’s a lot of gongs. 

Emma: It’s good. I like it. 

Elsie: It’s vibey. I thought it added to the atmosphere, and yeah, it was cool. Okay, so before we jump in, I have something to share, a little news in my world. So we have recently grown in our family by one tiny little pug puppy named Pumpkin, and her full name is Pumpkin Spice Larson, and that was Jeremy’s idea. And she is our daughter’s puppy. Our daughter just turned eight years old and she had about a year to think about what kind of puppy, just kind of everything about it. And since we had recently lost our pug last year. She felt very strongly that she wanted to have a pug that looked exactly the same. Specifically, she would say she wanted to look like it could be Suzuki’s baby, it was very sweet. So we went on a quest. We found a puppy and she’s perfect. It’s our first week. It’s been an amazing, amazing first week. She is very, very fun. And we haven’t really, I don’t feel like we’ve gotten to like the hard part yet where it starts to be super challenging. It’s still kind of like the honeymoon phase where we’re just like enjoying every moment and she’s hardly doing anything bad at all.

Emma: She hasn’t chewed anything yet. Yeah, I met her and I was really like, Ooh, you got a really chill one. She’s seriously just like snugly and sweet and slept a lot and then would hop around the yard after the kids. 

Elsie: She just likes to race around the coffee table in circles and she has her little play times, but she does also take a lot of naps. It’s wonderful and the best part is definitely seeing our daughter who’s eight now be a full-time caretaker. She basically doesn’t let anyone else touch it. She’s very, very, very protective and working, trying to do everything herself and I think that’s been really good. I’m glad we did it in the summertime, even though it was a little tough to like to do it when we had just moved. I am glad that we did it when she’s home from school because she’s got hours and hours a day and it’s definitely in a form of entertainment. 

Emma: A lot of bonding time because she’s home. No, that’s perfect. Tell them some of the other names that she thought about other than Pumpkin. Cause I feel like she had a good list going. 

Elsie: Yes. It was either gonna be Pumpkin, Noodles or Buttons. Those were the main names, and I think they’re all great, so we’ll probably just keep the other names. Save ’em for next time. 

Emma: You know they’re all awesome names. Yeah, Pumpkin’s very cute. 

Elsie: I’ll put a picture in the show notes if you haven’t seen it. She’s so cute. 

Emma: And how is Marigold doing Because she doesn’t love dogs. She’s a little scared of them. 

Elsie: Marigold, her main thing in life is she’s really scared of dogs and she’s really scared of storms. We were concerned, she does well with our other dog who’s a dachshund. Small little dog. So we thought it’ll be okay, but maybe it’ll be a little bit of a rough start. But she’s been trying to pet her and being open and she’ll say that she loves her. So that’s good. I think that’s the best she could be doing because she’s really not into dogs. 

Emma: Yeah. I heard her say, she’s like, I’m being brave, I pet the dog. And you’re like, good job Goldieyou’re doing it. I always put up our dog whenever she comes over cuz he really jumps a lot. It is a little scary if you’re already a little scared of dogs. Okay, well let’s talk about favorite home decor items that are under $50. We each have five. 

Elsie: Yeah, this is a fun subject. So I mainly picked things from Amazon just cuz it was easy for me to find them. 

Emma: I literally just walked around my house and tried to notice things that I felt pretty certain were under $50. I had to look a couple of them up. My list is very random but I was like these are things that like just spark joy for me, I’m happy they’re in the house, but they’re not obviously like major furniture pieces. You could find a major furniture piece if you like thrifted it or something, but none of mine are, mine are very random things.

Elsie: Yeah. I have been in thrifting and flea marketing heaven, having moved to our hometown. It’s one of the biggest strengths of this town is things that are like, better than Nashville. I try not to compare very much, but this is one of the really good things that it has is lots of flea markets. Unlimited flea markets, it feels like. Anytime I can find a time when I can get out for an hour or two alone, there’s always a place that I haven’t been to for several weeks, which is wonderful. I love that. And I’m definitely in my used shopping era, but for this, I had to pick things that you can buy too. So, these are new things. 

Emma: Okay. Well, what’s your first one? Mine are in no particular order either. 

Elsie: Mine too. Mine are random too, don’t worry. My first one is a bed tent for my daughter. So it’s kinda like the little canopy thing, mine was $39. It’s a really good quality and they come in a lot of colors. They come in, I think definitely pink and blue, and I got one that’s kind of a beige. And it’s just such a cute thing to add to a bedroom to give like our daughter, she’s a full-time princess. Her princess is her only aesthetic and she’s very committed to it. So she wants her room to be as princessy as possible. So basically as soon as we arrived and we got her bed set up and everything, she started saying, where is my tent? Yeah, I’m gonna link the exact one we got because I think it’s exceptional quality and a really good price. 

Emma: You know, it’s funny, I haven’t thought about this in years, but you probably remember, but when I was like in middle school, probably early high school too, I had a mosquito net around my bed.

Elsie: That’s a bed tent too. 

Emma: Yeah, it was basically a bed tent. I just liked that it was see-through, and it was technically a mosquito net.

Elsie: It’s like a tool. 

Emma: Yeah, used for camping. But it was made of like tool material where you could see through it, and I just thought it was really cool. So I get it Goldie.

Elsie: We were definitely interior decorating children, and I want my kids to be interior decorating children.

Emma: We had opinions. 

Elsie: Yes, it’s fun. I can’t wait to share their bedroom tours. I’m not close to being done yet, so it’ll be at least a few months. But they’re very, very different from the past tours I’ve done where it was like, sort of Pinterest mom, stuff that I like, these rooms are stuff that they like and you’ll see it. You’ll notice a big difference just cuz of their ages now it’s like once they get old enough to say what they want and be very specific and be a part of the process, I think it’s a very, very magical stage.

Emma: Definitely, I can’t wait for it. I don’t even care what he likes by then. Right now, if he could voice opinions, I’m sure he would want a race car bedroom, but he’s not really even at the age where he does that Anyway, so my first one is a dress form. So years ago I bought this, honestly, pretty cheap dress form off of I think Amazon, and I’ll link one.

Elsie: Tell me everything you use it for. 

Emma: So at my old house I would just kind of put seasonal items on it. It was kind of like in my closet area. We didn’t really have a big enough closet for both of us, so I had built this always-out open closet kind of concept, and so it was kind of in that area. And I would just put different seasonal dresses on it. I also have a couple of dresses from our old line that we did years and years ago, the Red Velvet line, and some of them are made of fabrics that Elsie designed, things like that. And I don’t really wear them, but I sometimes put them on this dress form because I just like seeing them. It’s like a sentimental thing. But here at this house, pretty much, as soon as we moved in and got our boxes unpacked and all that, had my dress form and it’s kind of tucked, there’s kinda like this little hallway between our bedroom and the bathroom that’s connected and it’s like this just itty bitty hallway. And so there’s a full-length mirror in there and then this dress forms there and I put my wedding dress on it. 

Elsie: Oh, I wanna go see. 

Emma: Yeah, I’ll show it to you. And so it’s not really like on display, like in the living room or something, but I always wanted to display my wedding dress somehow because it’s handmade. My friends made it and put it together, and I just love it. I still to this day love my wedding dress for more than 10 years. 

Elsie: It was so fun to make. It was one of my favorite memories from your wedding. 

Emma: Yeah, and obviously I only wore it once, it is a wedding dress, but I like having it out on this dress form, so it’s fun. But I also feel like you could use one for like seasonal-looking clothes. Something wintery or something Christmasy, or something Halloween-looking. 

Elsie: I think that’s a good idea. I might get one from my closet. 

Emma: It’s kind of like making your room a little more like a retail store, which I think some people would find silly, but I actually enjoy it. It makes me feel like I get to see my clothes in a different way. And I do have a few items, like my wedding dress, especially that I don’t wear. It’s just important to me and kind of like some of the dresses from our old dress line, like they are just sentimental. 

Elsie: That makes sense. Okay, my next one is a book, it’s a coffee table book, and this is an elite-level coffee table book. Like I can’t believe how good it is. It’s my favorite decor book I’ve had probably ever, or definitely in the last few years, it is called Charm School. The Schumacher Guide to Traditional Decorating for Today.

So Schumacher is just like a wallpaper brand and they have like fabrics and upholstery, like the kind of preppy house where you see a headboard that’s matching the wallpaper and the curtains, that sort of thing. But the book is so good. I have to say like home decor books, they’re not always rich with ideas, some of them it’s just hit or miss, and especially with the newer ones, I don’t know, some of them are just a miss, but this one is a banger, so I will link it in the show notes. Yeah, just super good ideas on every single page. It really inspires me for how I want to decorate my new home and is just fun to look at in general.

Emma: I love that. 

Elsie: To your next one.

Emma: So my next one is an easel. Actually, we’re recording this in my home office, which we’ve never done before together, which is fun. But mine’s sitting in the corner. So one, you can definitely get an Eastwood that’s over $50, and you can also find them under $50. It just depends on what look you want and how I guess dirty it would be, I don’t really know. But mine’s wood and it’s really pretty plain, but I like it because it encourages me to paint, which is fun. It’s big, and it makes it way easier, but you could also just put a piece of art on it as a different kind of display. And I’ve seen a lot of people put their TVs on easels. Especially when it’s like in a room, like a bedroom or something where you kind of want a different vibe, I guess. And I feel like that’s an interesting use of it, but mine pretty much always has a half-painted painting on it or a blank canvas, but I just kinda like the vibe.

Elsie: I like the vibe of it too. Yeah. I’ve had my easel since I was in my twenties, and I’ve moved it all the time at every single place I’ve ever lived, and it’s so big. But I do feel like it is a very worthy purchase and something that you can keep forever if you need to. 

Emma: Yeah. I feel like after I bought mine, I saw a really good one at a thrift store, and I almost bought it, but then I was like, I really don’t need two easels, there’s just no reason. But, so anyway, you can find them used sometimes too, and those are kind of nice because then they usually have paint on them and stuff. So it’s kind of already vibey. 

Elsie: Yes. Okay, my next one is a puzzle board. So I got my puzzle board secondhand, but I found basically the exact same one for $49. The thing that’s cool about a puzzle board is number one, it has little drawers on the side so you can divide, you just open them up, leave them open on your table and divide them up like your, the main colors of your puzzle, so it’s just a way to prep and make it quicker. And then the other thing that’s cool about it is that it’s a way to move your puzzle around. So on ours a lot of times we’ll be doing ours at the dining room table, and then if you have people over and you need to move it, but don’t want to lose your whole puzzle, you can move it into a different room. So that’s the point of it. So I basically use it for every puzzle even if I’m not planning on moving, because it’s just nice to have that just in case. 

Emma: Yep. I have a puzzle table as well and it’s very useful. It’s good for a party too.

Elsie: And it’s cute. It’s one of the things, I don’t know if I would call it a decor item cause it’s functioning, but it makes the house feel like a home. All right. What’s your next one? 

Emma: My next one is flatware. So obviously if you get a bigger set, or you buy really nice flatware, it could be over $50. But mine is a smaller set. We usually only get the kind that’s a setting for four. And I have two sets, one is black and one is gold. And I just feel like having forks and spoons and knives that you really enjoy is such an upgrade. From when I was in my early twenties, I just had whatever was the cheapest that I bought at Walmart, or whatever. Because that’s something you use every single day even if you don’t like cooking, you probably use your own forks and knives and all that every single day. So I feel like having something that you’re excited to pull out is nice.

Elsie: For sure. Yeah, I love that. Yeah, mine’s also, it’s not really expensive, but I do think that having it match and having something you like is really great. Okay, my next one is the best throw blanket ever. I think we’ve talked about these before. We got them from our Beautiful Mess team.

Emma: This is on my list too. That’s so funny. Well, it gets double-duty. Okay. I love that though. 

Elsie: Double duty. It is $42, I know because I bought another one after I had it for a little while, the problem was that my dachshund wanted it to be her blanket, and I wanted it to be mine and we couldn’t agree on that so I got another one. Yeah, so it’s like a checkered-looking blanket, a simple throw blanket. I don’t know what kind of fabric it is, but it’s very soft, very warm, very cozy. It’s the perfect TV blanket. The only other thing I like a lot to use is quilts but quilts are expensive. I don’t think I could find a quilt under $50 they’re just not. But this is under $50 and we’ve definitely, we’ve had two of them for about a year now and we use it every day. 

Emma: Yep. I love ours. It comes in a bunch of colors too, and mine is like a beige and white checkered. But you could get colors and I’ve washed ours quite a few times now and it’s held up great. 

Elsie: Yeah, same. Yes. Okay. Well, what’s your next one, or is it just that? 

Emma: No, I have one more other than the checker throw blanket, which we both put on our list and that’s hilarious. 

Elsie: I’m not surprised.

Emma: I’m not surprised either. It is a great blanket. Okay, and then my other one is Christmas lights, and rope lights because I feel like we talked about this in some episode about holiday decorating. But I will use Christmas lights throughout my house all year round in different ways because I love the glow of a Christmas tree. And so when that season’s over, I still kind of like having that around at different places. So I have this fake fiddle leaf that has the Christmas lights on it, and it’s in our living room. And so it’s like a room that I’m in a lot in the evenings because obviously, I don’t really turn any of these on during the day cause you wouldn’t notice them. So, yeah, it’s just like a nice little vibe, and I like that. And then I also install, well I don’t really install, I’m just putting it there, but a little rope light behind, I have like the shelf above our coffee bar that has like our liquor bottles, and we don’t have that many, but one of them is like this, like blue gin, I can link it. 

Elsie: Oh yeah. It’s very cool. 

Emma: Yeah. And so I just, I feel like it’s a fun vibe. And then I have my appall, so it’s a couple different colors and I just think it makes it feel like a bar. It’s kind of a funny thing, but I find it very cozy. So if I’m like in the kitchen at night after dark and I’m cooking, it just has this little light that’s like cozy feeling, I think. 

Elsie: I love that, that’s cute. My last one is a bit because it is $58, so I thought maybe I could link to the one I have. It’s $58 and then to another one that is under 50 just to stay true to the rules. But it is a checker cutting board. So like cutting boards that look like they’re like dark wood and light wood in like a checker pattern. I really like them. I just got ours and it’s like my favorite cutting board. It’s the only one I wanna use. I just think it’s so pretty. And I think little things like that, especially in the kitchen are very worth it because it’s just like a thing you use every day that brings you a little bit of joy that makes you feel nice and pretty. I think that kind of thing is a good way to spend money in life, like things that make you feel put together or cute. Or, I don’t know, like having a favorite coffee mug, having a favorite knife, having a favorite pair of slippers, things like that. 

Emma: Yeah. When I have my pastry case out with a little glass topper, I actually have pastries in it. I really feel like I have my shit together. 

Elsie: Oh my gosh, you’re right. 

Emma: Here we go, Nancy Meyers. I’ve done it. 

Elsie: I just realized I need to get one of those. So that’s one of the things, we had to leave our house. Staged, and we left our dome, our baking dome.

Emma: Yeah. Do you need another one? 

Elsie: Yeah, I’ll get another one, that’s fun. Okay. I’ll add, let’s add that to the end of the list. A favorite baking dome because then we’ll have the perfect ten. 

Emma: Yeah, mine’s kinda on the smaller side too, so I could use a bigger one. So what I put in there, lasts a little longer.

Elsie: I have a couple of different sizes. I have one that’s small that you can put in your fridge with like cheese, maybe two boxes of cheese. 

Emma: That’s what I have. It’s kind of more for cheese really.

Elsie: And then I think it’s good to have one that’s big enough where you can just put like a whole box of croissants in it.

Emma: Yeah. That’s what I need. I don’t really have that, and I need one of those. 

Elsie: There’s nothing more Nancy Meyers than filling up the little glass cake dish with croissants and leaving it on your counter, it is a good feeling. 

Emma: Yeah. That’s when you’re like, I am put together. Okay. Well, now we’re gonna do a book report. So we had two books that were reading this summer and one of ’em is The Creative Act by Rick Rubin. And Elsie had already read this, so why don’t you tell us your overall impressions then I’m gonna read a few quotes or notes that I took from the book and we can just discuss them.

Elsie: Yeah, so I read the book all in one day, which you’re really not supposed to do.

Emma: I would not recommend it. 

Elsie: I listened to it on a road trip. I would definitely recommend it as an audiobook because I think Rick Rubin’s performance is especially great for this type of book.

Emma: It is soothing.

Elsie: I don’t have any notes with me. Like with my moving situation, there’s 0% chance that I’m gonna find my recruitment. 

Emma: Did you feel inspired? Did you feel like, oh, I wanna make something right away? Or did you feel just like a calmness, just any impression like that? 

Elsie: Yeah, I felt like confidence and like inspiration, and definitely like calmness. And I think that for my personality type, it’s important for me to stop being frantic about all the things I need to do or like a list, and to focus on one creative project at a time, which can sometimes be a challenge for me. So, yeah, I thought the book was great. It was definitely, like I’ve said before, big magic adjacent. He definitely read Big Magic and he definitely loves it, like a hundred percent chance. But yeah, it has those vibes. So I think that for someone like me who I’ve listened to, big magic, I don’t know, several times, and I’ll listen to it for the rest of my life. It’s really, really good. I will take any book that fits into that category at any time. So yeah, I thought it was very enjoyable. And the gongs between the sections make it kind of like a whole vibe. 

Emma: Yes. So if you do listen to it as an audiobook, which we both did, it is formatted, kind of like just little thoughts, almost like a five-minute little meditation or 10 minutes, and then it’ll have a little chime or a little gong, and then it’ll go to something completely different. And it felt very much like someone’s stream of consciousness that they’d written out over the course of months and months. Like any time he was feeling in a thoughtful place, he like wrote down some thoughts and that became a book. So it’s not very linear. So I think it does make a good book. If you’re wanting a five to 10-minute thing, like in the morning or in the evening, just like chill. 

Elsie: Like a little meditation.

Emma: Yeah, a little meditation. Then I think this would be a good fit for that. But you could also just listen to the whole thing on a car ride, like else he did. That’s fine. 

Elsie: I have a weird thing. I have the capacity to cram self-help books. So I don’t recommend it for everyone, but it makes me feel good.

Emma: I agree. Okay. So I’ll just read some of the notes that I took, and I think a couple of ’em might be quotes, but most of them are more like, I was just typing out a note as I was listening. So one is he says that art is conflict and rebellion. So you should do your voice your way, and he was talking about how great artists are not average. They break out conventional ways. 

Elsie: Hell yeah. 

Emma: That little section was very much. I remember him talking about how it’s important to know the rules of whatever your medium is, and he’s a music producer, so sometimes he mentions music, but honestly, the book feels like it gets written for any artist. I was obviously thinking about writing a lot as I was listening to it cuz I really wanna be a writer. But it could work for painters or whatever you like to do. I think it could work, but yeah, he was talking about how you should know the rules and you should understand your form, your art form, the category that you work in, whatever. But then you have to bring your voice your way to it, which is gonna be an act of rebellion, and it’s probably going to break some rules because no one else really has your voice. Like 

Elsie: Yeah. And it’s probably gonna piss some people off because I think to have great art, any popular novel, music, book, move, anything popular has people who love it and people who really hate it. And I think that being able to evoke those emotions and feel confident and comfortable in that space sets you up for success. 

Emma: Yeah. I think If people have a strong reaction to your work that’s a good sign. And of course, I would prefer people love things I make, but honestly, if they hate them, that’s pretty interesting too. Much more than if you just are, it’s completely average to you and you forget about it immediately after, that’s probably the worst. 

Elsie: If everyone loves it, then nobody loves it. I just don’t believe that there’s art that everyone loves. 

Emma: Yeah. There was another part he was talking about getting distracted and procrastinating in art, and what I loved about it was he really approached it without a lot of guilt or shame.

He was very much like, you don’t need to feel bad about that. Everybody gets distracted and in fact it can be a good thing. So one of the things he talked about was it can be really helpful to give yourself times where you’re kind of half doing something, but your mind can wander. And think about your art.

Elsie: That’s such a good, comfortable, cozy, creative space. 

Emma: Yeah, so he was talking about going on walks, which I often think about what I’m trying to create while I’m on a walk. So I’m not even thinking about blog posts, thinking like how I’m going to format something or whatever. So going on walks, in the shower, driving cuz it’s like you are doing something but you do have space to think about something else. And I thought that was interesting. So people that have, like, if you have a long road trip ahead of you, if you’re by yourself, you could use it as a time to brainstorm. So anyway, I liked that and I just liked that he was taking away, you know, if you’re sitting there working on a song and you just keep getting distracted, just get up and go on a walk cuz it just means that you need to be doing something like that. It’s not a big deal, you don’t need to feel bad about it. Anyway, I was really into that. Okay, he has his whole part, it was so cool. It’s very hippie, I think, where he’s talking about listening or consuming without prejudice. So he is saying, how we grow is by learning, and so if you’re talking to someone instead of thinking about the next thing you want, or like crafting your argument as they’re talking, it’s like you should just stop and just listen. And he said a natural thing that happens is it makes it where you’re slower to respond, which some people might find a little bit off-putting or they might just not be used to it, and so it could be strange to them. But to really listen to someone else or to consume some kind of art or whatever, a movie, a story, you’re listening, whatever, you really have to turn off that part of your brain that’s like wanting to respond. It’s like, what do I think of this and how do I wanna argue against it, or whatever it is. Yes. You have to turn that off and just take in what’s coming at you. I thought it was good advice generally. 

Elsie: No, that’s great advice. The worst thing you can do is while someone else is talking, think the whole time about what you’re gonna say, that’s the worst possible thing. 

Emma: It really is because you’re not gonna learn anything and you’re probably gonna misunderstand whatever it is that you’re not listening to because you’re not. Okay, I had this little section about having patience and he talked about it like accepting the natural rhythm of life. I feel like the other day we were even talking about something and we were talking about like how in the future something might be easier for me or whatever. And I remember saying something, I totally stole it from this book, but I said something like, I accept the timing of the universe cause that’s one thing that I’m really trying cause I’m not good at that, I’m a very like future thinker, I want to finish things.

Elsie: You absolutely need to though.

Emma: Yeah. So it’s hard. I think everyone has their own discomfort with it, but timing among other things is something you rarely are able to control, and so accepting the timing of the universe I think is a role lesson in patience. But you will be much happier if you can do it, so, he’s right. And there’s nothing you can do about it anyway, so you might as well accept it.

Elsie: My tarot cards kind of are always saying let the universe timing, take control, things like that. Basically, don’t rush, don’t push, don’t force things. And I think that’s something that probably we all struggle with. 

Emma: Yep. I do, for sure. So there was this one part he was talking about. The role of an artist, and I think this is very big magic of him. The role of an artist is to ride the wave of inspiration until it runs its course. So that might be a project and a half. It might be half a project, it might be one project, or it might be starting to work on something completely different than the thing that you set out to work on. And I thought that is someone who is like kind of a chronic finisher. I actually felt that was challenging for me. He’s kind of saying, you’re lucky when inspiration comes and knocks, or like in Big Magic, she talks about it like a muse that’s like living in the wall and it visits you, kind of thing. So the idea that like, as an artist, you’re just a vessel for something that the universe is trying to bring forth. And it might bring forth like one whole painting, or it might bring one and a half paintings and Rick says, you should just ride the wave until it’s out, so whatever that means. I think for me as a chronic finisher, I find that a little bit frustrating cause once I get going on something, I’m like, I wanna finish this. But sometimes like for the day or for the week, you can tell like, you’re out. That was it, and if you force it the rest of the work sucks and you can tell and you’re like out for a time. 

Elsie: Definitely, I think that’s very good advice. 

Emma: Yeah. I think it’s a good thing to keep in mind. Okay, and I think I have one more. The last one that I put in my notes app, which is what I’m reading, is he says, when inspiration is flowing, you should try to finish however much like the first draft is really what he is saying. So you can always polish it more but he says, a lot of times artists have this thing where they just wanna get this one part perfect before they move on to the next part. So like in a song, they’re like, I just want the hook to be perfect, or in a book, I’d be like, this first chapter is so important. The first chapters are so important, I better keep working on that, and not finish the whole book yet. But he talks about how a rough finish product is so much more helpful than a well-crafted fragment. And he also kind of talks about it that in order to do that you have to a little bit go through ego death, where you’re like, I know this whole thing isn’t good. I know that parts of it are, but this is my rough draft, and parts of it suck, but I’m just gonna get that down, and then I’ll polish it later. It’s almost like allowing yourself to be a little bit vulnerable, knowing that it’s not finished, it’s not as good as you want, and it’s getting there, but it’s not there yet. 

Elsie: Yeah, and it’s definitely like a sign of faith to believe that you will have a chance to fix it later, but that it doesn’t have to be right now. 

Emma: Yeah, and I think for him too, he is kind of saying that’s a way you can kind of distract yourself that’s not helpful is by hyper-focusing on getting one piece perfect, and not kind of getting the whole thing down when you can. 

Elsie: Yeah. No, I think that’s a very good tip, especially for writing, because it’s very easy to do, to get stuck. Even blogging, I feel like I do get stuck on one little part. Yeah, that’s a challenge for sure. 

Emma: Yeah. You can see it in my drafts a lot if I have like a bunch of drafts in, but they’re all like half done, I feel like it takes so long before they’re done. Whereas if I have one that I like work, I start to finish it in one to two days or whatever. And then sometimes I’m like, oh, this isn’t totally good, and a week later I add to it or I’m like, this needs a whole nother part, or whatever, but yeah, it’s just funny how those things work. 

Elsie: Yeah, privately our review of the Rick Rubin book is, he definitely wrote this book himself. If an editor or a ghostwriter or whatever would’ve had their way, it would’ve had way more bragging about his success, way more stories for his career, and been a little bit more cohesive. But it’s really just like he gave us almost his journal, and I love it for that. So I highly recommend it. 

Emma: Yep. Five out of five gongs. Love it. 

Elsie: Nice. All right we are gonna pass it over to a joke or a fact with Nova. This week we have a special treat, Nova has prepared a pug-themed guided meditation for you. So close your eyes and get ready. 

Nova: Hello. Imagine you are in your kitchen. There’s a “bark, bark, bark” at the door, you open the door to see a pug. You take the pug in, you give him some water, you give him some food. And then you pet him. And then you play with him and play and play until you’re tired and your dog is so, so happy. Then your dog jumps on you and licks your face, and then she says “bark” and then you pet him. Then you guys go inside and you guys go to sleep. The next morning you do a boat, your pug likes the boat because he can get splashed with water and he’ll get cool. And he loves the boat and he likes it and he loves you. And the ending is you and your pug live happily ever after with your pug and you having fun. 

Emma: All right, well, thank you so much for listening. You can submit your questions at podcast@abeautifulmess.com or you can call and leave us a voicemail and we might play it sometime, and our number is 417-893-0011. We’ll be back next week with a whole episode about birthday traditions.