> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.gabriellas-edit.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Issue No. 24: I Keep Trying to Do Everything. Sometimes I Do Nothing Instead. - URL: https://www.gabriellas-edit.com/issue-no-24-i-keep-trying-to-do-everything-sometimes-i-do-nothing-instead/ - Published: 2026-09-18T06:22:01.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-18T06:22:01.000Z - Author: Gabriella Quansah - Tags: #template I turned 31, launched The Niitty Griitty and learned that sometimes a deadline is more useful than another private plan. Plus: two very good dinners, a neutral outfit worth repeating and the marble tray that required absolutely no further justification. *Career. Style. Restaurants. Life upgrades. And whatever else happens to be living rent-free in my brain that week. Every Thursday. Happy you're here!* --- ## BOOKMARK THIS 🤎 Ask the Archive — your shortcut to every recommendation, restaurant map, and answer: https://ask.gabriellas-edit.com/ 🤎 My Amazon storefront — finds, beauty, home, little life purchases: https://www.amazon.com/shop/gabriiellas15 🤎 My ShopMy — outfits, shoes, accessories, everything I wear: https://shopmy.us/gabriiellas 🤎 Barry's free first class: https://share.barrys.com/gabbysep15!4ba0f95fc8!a 🤎 Subscribe for a discount on your first lash appointment at Pampered Nail Salon — DM me after for the code 🤎 Subscribe for a discount on your first nail appointment at Blossom Nail Lounge — DM me after for the code [![photo placeholder](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c3/39/c3392474-380a-44ad-82cb-cc4e18b95ed0/content/images/2026/09/no.-24--2-.png)](https://ask.gabriellas-edit.com/live-edit?ref=gabriellas-edit.com) **Have you been to* [**Ask the Archive*](https://ask.gabriellas-edit.com/?ref=gabriellas-edit.com) *yet? You should.* --- ## What's Got Me Thinking This Week I turned 31 this week. Thirty had milestone energy. Thirty-one is more like…ok girl, what exactly is the plan here? Not in a bad way. I’m excited. Grateful. I’ve also eaten out literally every night since Saturday, so I am clearly celebrating with restraint and discipline. But birthdays always make me feel like I need to assess my entire life at once. Work. Creative projects. Home. Health. Relationships. Finances. Have I become the woman I said I was going to become? Have I updated the couch? Very casual questions to consider over cake. --- ## THE BIG THOUGHT > My birthday came with a launch date [![photo placeholder](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c3/39/c3392474-380a-44ad-82cb-cc4e18b95ed0/content/images/2026/09/Tezza-1293.jpg)](https://ask.gabriellas-edit.com/?ref=gabriellas-edit.com) There’s a TikTok voiceover that is basically: > Start a business, work full time, become a famous actor, bake a three-tier cake—and do all of it immediately. I feel seen and also attacked. ### That is my natural operating system. Do everything. Now. I’ll make the list. Research the options. Build the entire thing behind the scenes. Do all the grunt work. Then, right when it is time to let anyone see it, my brain goes: Wait. No. Stop. Ahhhh. ### Because planning privately is safe. Nobody can judge the idea. Nobody can misunderstand it. Nobody can decide it is dumb. But also…nobody can enjoy it. That was the scary part of launching The Niitty Griitty: [https://theniittygriitty.com/](https://theniittygriitty.com/?ref=gabriellas-edit.com). I’ve always wanted to build something that felt fun and different—a place where people could ask the questions they were genuinely curious about, get a real answer and also play around a little. The birthday-week timing was only partly intentional. I wanted a real goal that would force me to finish it, and then the dates sort of collided. Naturally, I started asking myself all the calm and helpful questions: Is this a good idea? Will people understand it? Will people judge me? Then it went live. People started responding to the first questions. They sent things they wanted us to investigate. They played the games. And suddenly it stopped feeling like a private idea I needed to defend and started feeling like something people might actually have fun with. My immediate reaction became: ok…just roll with it. I don’t think every idea needs to be shared before it is ready. Private time can be useful. It is where you experiment, change your mind and make the thing better. ### But privacy can also become a very comfortable place to hide. So my intention for 31 is not to accomplish every goal simultaneously while baking a three-tier cake. It is to take a few more risks. Put myself out there a little more. Take life a little less seriously. Make the thing. Give it a date. Let people see it. Then roll with it. --- [![outfit photo placeholder](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c3/39/c3392474-380a-44ad-82cb-cc4e18b95ed0/content/images/2026/09/IMG_9951.jpg)](https://ask.gabriellas-edit.com/?ref=gabriellas-edit.com) ## One Thing I Learned > The fresh-start effect ### The concept: Researchers call it the fresh-start effect: temporal landmarks such as birthdays, Mondays and the beginning of a new year can make us feel like we are entering a new chapter. That little psychological dividing line helps create some distance between who we were and who we are trying to become. Research has found that people are more likely to pursue goals immediately after these kinds of landmarks—including after birthdays. Read the research: [https://faculty.wharton.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Dai\_Fresh\_Start\_2014\_Mgmt\_Sci.pdf](https://faculty.wharton.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Dai%5FFresh%5FStart%5F2014%5FMgmt%5FSci.pdf?ref=gabriellas-edit.com) ### In plain English There is a reason your birthday suddenly makes you want to fix your finances, change your life, reorganize the kitchen and launch a media company before dinner. ### What I’m stealing from this Use the burst of motivation, but give it somewhere specific to go. One idea. One date. One smallest version you can actually finish. --- ## WHAT I WORE > The khaki look deserved another lap This is not a new outfit. That is the point. I’m running this khaki look back because the best clothes are the ones that can survive more than one appearance. Neutral, easy and put-together without making getting dressed its own project—which I clearly do not need more of this week. [![outfit photo placeholder](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c3/39/c3392474-380a-44ad-82cb-cc4e18b95ed0/content/images/2026/09/Tezza-0650.JPG)](https://shopmy.us/shop/collections/6146271?ref=gabriellas-edit.com) [Shop here](https://shopmy.us/shop/collections/6146271?ref=gabriellas-edit.com) Perfect for: Brunch, daytime celebrations and any day when you want to look polished without doing outfit calculus. [Shop the look](https://shopmy.us/shop/collections/6146271?ref=gabriellas-edit.com) --- ## WHERE WE ATE > Laya — the birthday dinner with a side of two desserts [![restaurant photo placeholder](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c3/39/c3392474-380a-44ad-82cb-cc4e18b95ed0/content/images/2026/09/Tezza-9951.JPG)](https://ask.gabriellas-edit.com/map?ref=gabriellas-edit.com) Paak took me to Laya in Hollywood for my birthday and—good choice, babes. It’s a Middle Eastern restaurant with California influence from Top Chef Middle East & North Africa winner Charbel Hayek. The space is warm, open-air and very Hollywood in the best way: fire pit, lounge seating, two bars and enough atmosphere to make dinner feel like an actual event. The portions were good, everything was delicious and the team was so sweet that they brought us two desserts. The chocolate molten cake was fireeeee. But Laya’s signature is the rose soft serve with pistachio and a giant cloud of cotton candy on top. Subtle? No. Correct for a birthday? Absolutely. Perfect for: Birthdays, date night, girls’ dinner or a meal before going out in Hollywood. [Map](https://maps.app.goo.gl/1yNVixUR9k9LpYPC9?ref=gabriellas-edit.com) [![restaurant photo placeholder](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c3/39/c3392474-380a-44ad-82cb-cc4e18b95ed0/content/images/2026/09/Tezza-6031.JPG)](https://ask.gabriellas-edit.com/map?ref=gabriellas-edit.com) ## VIA AURELIA > CHIC ENOUGH FOR THE PARTNER DINNER I went to Via Aurelia for a partner dinner, and this is exactly the kind of restaurant I want for that occasion: super chic, delicious and polished without making dinner feel like a board meeting. [![restaurant photo placeholder](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c3/39/c3392474-380a-44ad-82cb-cc4e18b95ed0/content/images/2026/09/Tezza-0845-1.JPG)](https://ask.gabriellas-edit.com/map?ref=gabriellas-edit.com) It’s from the team behind Che Fico and takes its name from the ancient road connecting Rome with the Tuscan coast. The menu brings that coastal Tuscan influence into San Francisco, with seasonal ingredients, Italian wines and a very considered Mission Rock setting. Perfect for: Partner dinners, client dinners, a grown-up celebration or anyone who wants Che Fico energy in a slightly more buttoned-up room. [Map](https://maps.app.goo.gl/hRBTwD2VXABHatG68?ref=gabriellas-edit.com) --- ## HIS EDIT — PAAK'S PICKS > The blue suit that escaped the boardroom [![photo placeholder](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c3/39/c3392474-380a-44ad-82cb-cc4e18b95ed0/content/images/2026/09/IMG_9915.jpeg)](https://shopmy.us/shop/collections/7698934?ref=gabriellas-edit.com) Paak paired the blue suit with a black shirt and tie, then added the Off-White sunglasses for just enough edge. Polished enough for the occasion, but absolutely not giving quarterly earnings call. [Rent the suit](https://www.menswearhouse.com/rental/p/blue-suit-calvin-klein-id-tmw-5323-2p-look?color=blue&ref=gabriellas-edit.com) [Shop the sunglasses](https://www.off---white.com/en-us/eyewear/sunglasses/arthur-sunglasses-OERI127C99PLA0011007.html?ref=gabriellas-edit.com) --- ## THINGS MAKING LIFE EASIER > The honey-mustard crunch without the pretzel-bag spiral [![product photo placeholder](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c3/39/c3392474-380a-44ad-82cb-cc4e18b95ed0/content/images/2026/09/81M-aV9U1FL._SX679_.jpg)](https://link.amazon/B01TX9rZX?ref=gabriellas-edit.com) I am a honey-mustard pretzel girlie. Unfortunately, I can also turn one bag into a personal challenge. This Catalina Crunch Protein Snack Mix scratches the same salty, tangy itch and actually keeps me satiated. A strong desk snack for the part of the afternoon when lunch has left the building but dinner is nowhere to be found. [Shop](https://link.amazon/B01TX9rZX?ref=gabriellas-edit.com) --- ## The tray that required no further analysis > Natural Calacatta Viola Marble Tray [![product photo placeholder](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c3/39/c3392474-380a-44ad-82cb-cc4e18b95ed0/content/images/2026/09/614dPX0MrgL._AC_SL1500_.jpg)](https://link.amazon/B06E5Y9PX?ref=gabriellas-edit.com) I mean…look at it and tell me it isn’t cute. Perfect for perfume, jewelry and all the tiny bathroom-counter items that otherwise start forming their own neighborhood. Not every purchase requires a reason. Sometimes the marble is pretty. [Shop](https://link.amazon/B06E5Y9PX?ref=gabriellas-edit.com) --- ## CLOSING VIBES Watching: Older seasons of The Real Housewives of Atlanta. Chef’s kiss. Paak probably wants to poke his eyes out, but this is quality television. Rewatching also feels like discovering the source material for half the internet’s reaction language—including the legendary “Who said dat?” spiral. Listening / internet rabbit hole: Drake’s FOMO. Album? Short film? Extended music video? An expensive disappearing act? It is technically a self-described “not-so-short film” combining videos for previously released songs with some new music—and one of the new tracks interpolates Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas.” It briefly appeared on YouTube and then disappeared, because clarity would have been too easy. Anyway: choosin’ Texas, baby. [Here’s what we know](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/singles-albums/drakes-self-funded-surreal-short-film-includes-new-country-inspired-tracks?ref=gabriellas-edit.com) Currently adding to my personality: A new couch. New couch, new me. I am so excited in a way that makes me feel deeply adult. Stay tuned for the full sit test and photographic evidence next week. > UNTIL NEXT WEEK Thank you for spending part of my birthday week with me—and for being here while I put something new into the world. My plan for 31: fewer private plans, more public attempts. And maybe one night of eating at home. Maybe. See you next week. 🤎