The Monthly Edit No. 05 | September | Autumn vibes, travel ban and a reminder that things take time

Hi and bye September! It’s been a while now but I am still extremely excited for autumn. I was desperately waiting for the weather to turn crisper and fresher once September arrived, and although it took a couple of weeks in Berlin, now autumn is in full swing and I love it.

There’s not too much to highlight for September. I’ve had a bunch of office days and enjoyed bringing out some of my fall pieces such as my cashmere tops, the beloved Banana Republic blazer, my gray mohair cardigan and my new jeans jacket. I brunched a lot this month. Let me say that again. A lot. And had a lot of coffees out with the excuse of enjoying the perfect autumn weather while it lasts. And honestly I’m happy about it because right now, it’s rainy and 10 C degrees in Berlin, so coffee on the terrace is not that fun anymore. Not that I’ll skip the coffees out but still. We gotta enjoy this short life we get.

Mid-September I had a little work trip and attended a product conference in Hamburg, which was really fun. I don’t travel almost at all for work nowadays so whenever I get the chance to do something different I do my best to enjoy it. It was also one of those well organised conferences, so that made it easier to enjoy. The evening before I met a few other Product Managers over a “blind dinner date” which made the whole “networking” aspect much more natural and fun. As for the conference day itself, it was packed with interesting talks so I drew as much inspiration as I could to fuel my day to day once back at work. I also came home with a couple of free and new-to-me product books to add to my library, and that’s always something exciting for me.

The biggest highlight from attending the conference though has to be the train journey to Hamburg and back. It was two and a half hours each way and it felt like therapy. Truly. I used the train ride to enjoy a good read – The Thursday Murder Club was my September read – and also a good coconut milk rice topped with mango, which is my newest obsession. Honestly, I feel like a monthly, uninterrupted 2-3 hour train ride should be mandatory for mental health. There’s no destination needed, just the train ride itself, charged AirPods, a good book and of course a side of a coffee and possibly a little treat should you fancy it. Ok, I’m sold on this brilliant idea. Now can somebody campaign for it?

Filter coffee with a dash of milk is my go to order nowadays.

Other than that, I’ve been indulging in simple autumn cooking like oven-roasted cauliflower and squash as a side to anything and everything and I love how easy, simple and healthy it is. Oh and tasty of course. I also baked an apple pie over the weekend and nothing screams fall louder than that. I loosely follow this recipe usually, except I buy the pastry dough and it always turns out delicious. Simple and delicious!

In other news, I’m also on a self-imposed travel ban until the end of the year and it’s taking a lot of effort and mental health to stick to it. Usually I’d be planning a trip to Paris around this time to fill our yearly Paris trip quota, but since this year we switched it up and went in spring it’s no longer in the cards. Also, after seeing New York in summer both the Mr and I have a massive itch to see it during fall or even winter, so we constantly talk about it being a possible destination. So my travel brain is practically constantly screaming at me to book one or the other, while my budget brain is scrambling to count pennies. Together with the Mr. we decided not to travel anymore for the rest of the year to keep our budget under control after all our travelling this year.

In reality it’s actually only me that’s on the travel ban since anyways the Mr has a few work trips lined up so I’d like to ask for the victim treatment here. Usually I would accompany him on most business trips since it’s cheaper when we can fit it in like that, but I have to say no for now. We might still squeeze in a small trip to visit family or a getaway for the two of us, but no extensive travel plans shall be made. So if you are in the same situation, my thoughts are with you. If not, and you’re enjoying a busy travel calendar then I am very very excited for you and I hope you are enjoying every single minute.

Work thoughts

Take a step back and start with listening to build better relationships. Stakeholder management takes a lot of work. Finding the common ground, building relationships, managing expectations in the right way, taking feedback in and all of that. It’s a key skill in most professions and an essential one in Product Management. Often times, as a Product Manager you’re the connecting dot between the many teams – marketing, sales, business operations, development, executive team, you name it. Aligning everyone towards the same goal and driving that forward can easily be hindered by poor relationships. After a while you will think you’ve gotten the hang of it, or that it’s them and not you who got it all wrong when things don’t go well. But it’s a good idea to take a step back and start with listening. There is always something you don’t know. A good dose of honesty and transparency to lead the way goes a long way. And so does a good dose of empathy. Being more curious and less judgemental. And honestly this can apply to any relationship – work relationships, friendships or romantic ones.

Building things right takes time. One of the keynotes at the Product conference I went to, was from Oliver Reichenstein. He is the founder of iA Inc, the design studio behind the writing app iA Writer. Which by the way I’ve now added it to my wishlist for the time when I will be ready to start writing a book (that if it ever happens). His keynote was masterfully delivered. The talk recording is not online yet but you can keep an eye here. He won the audience over with his focus on quality-focused product management although from a purely non-product perspective or background, which made it even more enjoyable and impactful. His whole thesis was around going against the current tide of shipping things fast, and instead going slow when building something, because making things takes time. And making things well, even more. Whether that’s a product or something else. Everyone’s selling something these days and most things are fast products that are made to break, because:

“Why would you sell quality when you can sell crap? Quality and innovation are slow and expensive because they come at the cost of repetitive failure. Thinking takes time. It’s painful.”

And this resonated with me. It’s a great reminder for how we’re living life and not just how we’re working or building products. Making things takes time. Whether that’s building a new product, a career, a home or else. Taking the time that things need to be made is alright. It’s not only a product-management philosophy but certainly a way of life too.

What I recently bought

Fall is the season when I am most thinking of buying something new. Once the weather turns, I have a few quintessential items that I always have an eye on – like more knits or more coats – and so it’s the perfect time to keep hunting. I haven’t bought much yet since I’m trying to keep things under control, but I still got a few things this month.

Preloved cashmere. I love cashmere for the cold season, and over the past years I’ve developed a little obsession with short sleeve cashmere t-shirts. I generally buy them preloved on Vinted because nothing beats those prices, but I will say it is a time-consuming feat. This months I got one in dark grey, and I can’t wait to wear it. Here is how I wore a similar cashmere top (but in beige) I also got on Vinted last year.

Jeans jacket from Zara. I haven’t had a jeans jacket in a decade most probably, but when I saw this grey one in Zara it felt like the right piece. It’s a steal in terms of price, and for a jeans jacket that’s 100% cotton, it does not feel like compromise to get it from Zara. I already got a tonne of wear out of it and you can see how I wore it here and here. I love wearing it and because it’ grey it’s so easy to thrown on and works with a lot of different outfits, whether it’s work outfits or errands ones.

Adidas Samba Spezial in brown. I already own a pair in light pink – which by the way I love and obsessively wear all the time -so when I saw this colour I was sold on them. I don’t actually have much brown in my closet but what better time to start wearing it if not in autumn? Plus, the Samba Spezial style is tried and tested in terms of comfort. I wore mine for touristing days with 20k+ steps while in Japan and they passed the test with flying colours.

What’s on my wishlist for fall

More preloved cashmere sweaters. I won’t lie, I am still obsessively searching Vinted for cashmere sweaters because they’re always on my wishlist. Short sleeve tops, crewneck sweaters, turtlenecks, you name it. I like to keep an eye out for the perfect pieces and while it’s time consuming it usually also pays off. I am already very excited to see what new pieces I manage to add this season.

Barbour jacket. I’ve been eyeing a classic Barbour jacket for a few years but it’s not that easy to find them and try them out – at least in Berlin – so I never pulled the trigger so far. I recently found a shop where I could try out their classic jacket and I quite liked it. It comes with a pretty steep price tag but when you think it’s truly made to last a lifetime, I feels like an investment I could easily justify at some point.

COS short wool jacket. I’ve seen it and tried it on in store a few weeks ago and loved how nicely it sits. I did not pull the trigger because I wonder how much wear would I get out if given that there is not much in between seasons weather in Berlin. It’s usually either summer hot or winter cold so I still need to figure out if it’s worth it and if it might work for layering. I also liked this khaki version from Arket for a pop of colour.

What I’m reading

I started Richard Osman’s series “The Thursday Murder Club” in September and while it took me a bit to get warmed up to the whole murder mystery style, the characters are very endearing and now I am fully invested in it. It’s fun, light-hearted and wholesome novel series that just fits so well with the autumn mood. I am now onto book number two in the series, “The Man Who Died Twice” and enjoying it a lot.

Looking back at my summer reads, and in case you’re in need of a good book, I can also recommend having a look at my recent favourites: “Blue Sisters” , “Hello Beautiful”,  “The Hotel Nantucket” and “The Signature of All Things”.

What to bake

I already started with baking apple pies, but if apple pie is not up your alley this season, then a pumpkin bread would surely be on your list. I have been eyeing this recipe from Half Baked Harvest – Cream Cheese Swirled Cinnamon Pumpkin Butter Bread – and while I’m not sure about bothering with the cream cheese part, the cinnamon pumpkin bread itself will most definitely materialise in my kitchen in the next week.

What’s new on the blog

There is a new bag review post on the blog that I’m very excited about. I poured a lot of time into it and tried to cover as much information as possible, so hopefully if it’s something of interest for you, you’ll find it useful. It’s the Chanel Medium Classic Flap Bag Review – 3 Years In. I’ve had the classic flap bag for over three years now and it was time to share a detailed and honest review. I talk everything from the decision process to wearability, price, wear and tear and more so you can decide if it’s worth it for you or not.

That’s it from me in this edition. Thank you for reading and stay tuned to more updates on the blog. I am also curious, what gets you excited this fall? Any recipe you can’t wait to bake or perhaps something new you’ve just bought that brings you joy? Let me know in the comments since I always love to get some inspiration.

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