A woman with dark hair and sunglasses sitting at an outdoor cafe in an urban area, holding a white coffee cup. She is dressed in a dark coat, light pants, and tall black boots, with a black handbag beside her. The street behind her is lined with brick buildings and parked cars in the evening or late afternoon.

Unstructured | Notes from the Middle is a living journal of what I’m building, studying, and savoring—on the road, in the studio, and everywhere in between. Here you’ll find essays, dispatches, and working thoughts across entrepreneurship, food, culture, travel, and creative practice. Some posts are polished. Some are just notes. All of it is real, and in motion.

Unstructured

Francesca Sta Maria 10/27/25 Francesca Sta Maria 10/27/25

The Table is the Story.

The table is how I say I love you without needing to explain a thing. It’s where memory becomes ritual, where beauty and belonging meet. Every meal, every gathering, every candle lit at dusk—it’s all part of the same story I keep writing: one of care, connection, and home.

Francesca Sta Maria 10/16/25 Francesca Sta Maria 10/16/25

The Case for Structured Hobbies.

In a world where even leisure is optimized, hobbies have become side hustles, social content, or performance. But there’s something radical about doing something slowly, badly, and offline.

Francesca Sta Maria 10/9/25 Francesca Sta Maria 10/9/25

The Problem With Being Impressive.

I’m dangerously good at everything. That used to be the compliment—until I realized it was also the ceiling. This is what happens when you’re overused, under-matched, and praised into intellectual atrophy. I’ve rebuilt everything: my system, my mind, my standards. Because I’m not optimizing for range anymore. I’m building to become indispensable.