WHEN I FIRST began putting together this instalment of Life Lately, had actually disabled the entire TIG Instgram account (as in, removed it from the internet) and deleted the app from my phone—hence the title. Also took time off from Twitter at same time and reclaimed all of the EXTRA hours left from those two alone to catch up on reading (currently reading this book). Recently, in our triweekly articles series, we had included two very interesting articles on this very topic: The Case for Deleting Everything and America Offline, both of which had confirmed my restless feelings and urge to be extremely and wildly social media-free. I began with Instagram and Twitter, as both were initially meant to be enhancements to TIG, means to help readers find their way over when there was a new story. Neither has worked out to function that way, with Twitter driving very little traffic (and being of little general use in life), and Instagram becoming an entity all its own. In terms of numbers, Pinterest and Facebook are much better enhancers for the site and require very little upkeep, so it was easy to decide what to get rid of.

And perhaps we're not the only ones who have been thinking about our online consumption. During 2020's lockdown, "People also moved into more intimate spaces online—a resurgence of blogging, digital art, zines, simulations, and insulated, creative places where 'the internet' was not just shorthand for a handful of giant companies." (The Atlantic) After things began opening up again, "Netflix reported its worst first quarter in eight years, after seeing historic growth in 2020", so perhaps we're heading into a new era of more time IRL. Speaking of which, here are a few things we've been up to lately, from peony shopping to oat milk lattes, breakfasts in old-school diners and discovering new places and things...

We found the most amazing old-style diner decorated with dark pink marble tables and pale pink & white striped wallpaper and hardened longstanding diner waitresses serving tables with gruff efficiency. The tea came in those little stainless steel pots served with the kind of white cup and saucer sets you get in hotel restaurants. It felt like being on a movie set.

Early April—the first time in many, many months that I set foot inside a store. It felt so strange. Everyone was in masks, of course, and there were hand sanitiser dispensers everywhere, but it was actually nice to browse around all the beautifully stacked shelves that had sat in the dark and saw no visitors for a very long time.

After a year of ordering flowers in (and finding some wonderful new delivery services along the way), it was wonderful to browse the peonies and roses in person once again...

"Try to learn to breathe deeply, really to taste food when you eat, and when you sleep, really to sleep. Try as much as possible to be wholly alive with all your might, and when you laugh, laugh like hell. And when you get angry, get good and angry. Try to be alive." —Ernest Hemingway

Actually sitting in at a café: this is our favourite coffee shop, and after being without it for over a year (making aero presses at home)—sitting in, rather than the usual takeaways—was a nice change and reminded us of another thing that we had taken for granted during lockdown.

A new khaki green quilted coat and our bestselling Windsor Wicker Handbag, which was on backorder for the past few months because it was so difficult to keep in stock. You can order yours here.

"There are even fewer who’ve left all social media platforms, but they cite positive changes in their mood and worldview." (Buzzfeed)