Welcome to PEAK BLOOM 🌸
An introduction & a brat-less summer
Hello! Let’s get introduced: I’m Chelsea, a reporter, gamer, and poster in D.C.
This isn’t my first newsletter rodeo. I started out in 2018 writing a kind-of weekly newsletter called the Caffeine Queen of DC, which was a love letter to D.C. really: The events I wanted to go to, the places I loved, the coffee shops I frequented.
I stopped publishing around the start of the pandemic for a lot of reasons, but the most pressing being that I felt like I had nothing else to say and also I was really freaking busy being a health reporter in the middle of the pandemic.
Yet, the newsletter grind didn’t stop for me. Over the last few years, I’ve been a founding writer and author of Axios DC — another D.C. love letter but more newsy — and now I write a morning health policy newsletter.
Why then would I want to write another newsletter?
Recently, I performed in Capital Fringe’s The Body Show. For the first time in years, I was asked to write something creative — non-fiction, yes — but entirely in my own voice. And I had so much fun doing it.
Since then, my notes app has been filled with small bits of personal writing: a reflection on the stress of wedding planning, a short story set in Stardew Valley written from the perspective of the new farmer in town, a poem proclaiming my love for the D.C. Titanic Memorial.
With PEAK BLOOM, I have an opportunity to write love letters again. And sometime soon, I’ll figure out a more aesthetically-pleasing header.
I envision this newsletter as a dispatch, mostly to D.C. readers, but also anyone else who gives a shit. Peak bloom, to me, is more than the height of springtime in D.C. It feels like love — bear with me — that’s fresh, new, beautiful and joyful. Inside PEAK BLOOM, you can expect to find out what I’m loving lately in the city, how I’m spending my personal time, and occasionally how I’m explaining internet discourse to my offline fiancé.
If this isn’t for you, that’s cool. But if it is, I hope you subscribe. I’ll see you here every week.
D.C. Dispatch
What I love lately
D.C. afternoons aren’t too hellish to sit outside anymore (though the humidity sucks). I won’t get too comfortable — this is my 10th summer in D.C. and there’s bound to be another heat wave.
In truth, this summer hasn’t looked the most brat to me; planning a fall wedding and being a reporter during a bizarre, busy election cycle has made sure of that, but there are a few things I’ve been able to enjoy lately.
Olympics viewing at my favorite beer gardens: I watched the U.S. women’s soccer team premiere at the Olympics with a cider in hand at the Midlands. I expect to split my time over the course of the Paris Olympics watching events there, as well as Wunder Garten, and Bluejacket. There is, of course, a local angle to Team USA: swim star Katie Ledecky, runner Noah Lyles, and soccer players Trinity Rodman and Casey Krueger, to name a few. And if you want to learn more Olympics, the Library of Congress has a special exhibit set up through the end of August.
My nearby DPR pool: Sitting poolside makes for a perfect Sunday afternoon. Just don’t forget sunscreen and your own towel. Find out where your closest one is here.
Nationals Park on Tuesdays — and their summer concert series: My friends and I have been spending a lot of our Tuesdays at Nats Park this summer. Why? Tuesday is Deals & Steals. $4 hotdogs! And a bonus: For most games, D.C. residents can pay just $5 for a ticket. We like to buy the $5 tickets after work, get some hotdogs, and stakeout at a standing-room only bar in the stadium. With the 6:45pm start time and the pitch clock, games move quickly. There’s also the summer concert series. Yes, I was at Carly Rae Jepsen concert and I saw everyone I went to American University with. There are more upcoming shows, including Two Friends and Lady A.
Tasting menu
Some observations
I recently had a glass of wine at Nido Wine Shop + Market in Mount Pleasant. This quaint women-owned wine shop has few tables, but if you can snag one, it makes for a pleasant, quiet evening. No competing to be heard over a million other chattering people here. I especially appreciated being able to speak with the knowledgeable owners about what type of wine to order.
And speaking of wine, do you follow Soft Shell DC? If not, you should. Alexya Brown and Jess Foster are the two geniuses behind some of the hottest wine and dine events around the District. Follow their IG account for information on their upcoming events. I ordered a Valentine’s Day treat box from them earlier this year and it was *chef’s kiss.*
Crystal ball
Looking to the (near) future, I’m most excited right now for the Maryland Renaissance Festival, which starts August 24 in Crownsville, Maryland. Single day tickets go on sale on August 1. I love the Renaissance Faire — so much so I talked about how it’s all about looking sexy last year on CityCast DC’s podcast. As a big fan of Dungeons & Dragons and just plain dress-up, an afternoon in a fictional English village that is somehow both medieval and Renaissance where I can try archery, watch a jousting tournament, and eat a turkey leg is actually perfect.
Letter of recommendation
Fuck the form-fitting shift dresses. I’m a big fan of the shapeless, baggy linen dress during the late D.C. summer — especially since my job requires me to run around Capitol Hill in the heat. If it’s not too tight, no one can see the boob or back sweat.
Screen Time
Daily average: 8 hours, 27 minutes
What I’m reaching, reading and playing
Big Screen
I’m invested in the second season of House of the Dragon — perhaps though not as much as the first season which was masterful in both writing and acting.
The thing is, I’m a book reader and, while I loved to “but actually” during the Game of Thrones years on my GoT fan Tumblr account, I’m really enjoying this adaptation of the original story. Yes, I love the longing between Alicent and Rhaenyra! I love Aemond, a true anime villain, eyepatch, sexy little fit and all! I love Aegon’s complexity as a menace, budding socialist (?) and a mommy’s boy! And I love the show’s callbacks to the original series — for example, Cregan Stark’s Jon Snow-esque appearance and the Freys being the divas they are.
But if there is one “but actually” I might offer: Rhaenyra should be worse. We should HATE her just as much as we hate Alicent (who I have trouble hating). In the books, she isn’t dubbed “King Maegor with teats” — after the cruel Targaryen King Maegor — for nothing (except perhaps sexism…) But for real, I want to see her get a bit more brutal to have her way. This is Westeros after all.
Medium Screen
I’m a Kindle girly and I’m currently using it to read Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder, which is about a woman who is convinced she is turning into a dog. I just started the book, but my initial impression is awe of the main character’s resentment of motherhood as well as her desperate efforts to justify her husband’s lack of attention and care. It feels particularly profound to me as I plan my own wedding which has come after more than a decade with my partner and years of conversation about what would define an equitable, joyful marriage to us. Stay tuned, but I’d welcome recommendations for a less intense, beach read, too.
Small Screen
If you’re here, you know I’m Very Online. Lately, I’ve been enjoying the way brat as a meme has been co-opted into the presidential election. You might say that when CNN holds a roundtable to describe a meme it’s effectively dead, but I disagree. Cringe is IN. In a recent group chat thread with my smart, accomplished friends, we agreed that it’s OKAY to be earnest and it’s fine to be a little cringy. Maybe it’s not such a bad thing to be Seen for our goofy memes and jokes. Let’s just let it ride.
*Click*
What I’m reading