Target Finds

Happy Monday! It's time for another Target Finds! Target is definitely in summer mode right now. I love that they already have summer displays set out. I found so many great things over the past couple of weeks, so I wanted to share them with you all. This month has a mix of things I needed and wanted. Let's get to the good part and check out what I found and loved at Target.

Women's Bookworm Low Cut Socks

This was an impulse buy. As soon as I saw the book design, I knew I had to buy these socks. I absolutely love them! They are so soft and thin, fit well, and have an adorable design. They're perfect for any book lover. 

Cookie Dough Trail Mix

I love the Favorite Day trail mixes and was so excited to try these. This trail mix is delicious. The cookie dough bites and cookies and cream bites are so good. The boys have been including these in their school snacks. I wish they had a larger container, but I'll have to buy several bags of these for now.

Cotton Flower Printed Fused Placemat

I needed to buy some new placemats for our new dining table and loved this flower-printed placemat. With spring in full force and summer just around the corner, I wanted something that could represent both seasons and brighten up our dining room table. Yellow isn't my favorite color, but I wanted to try something new, and for some reason, the yellow color grabbed my attention. Now I'm on the hunt for a nice table runner.

S'mores Mini Bites

These s'mores mini bites are delicious! The marshmallows had the perfect texture and consistency. I highly recommend warming these up in the microwave—they were even better warmed up.

What are some of your favorite Target Finds?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

May Goals

Happy Wednesday! I'm so excited that it's May! April flew by and it was so exciting to count down the days to May. Now I'm counting down the final days of school. I can't believe the last day of school will be in just 15 days, but I'm so excited. 

Last month, was a very busy and fun month. We got to experience the solar eclipse, celebrated Raphael's birthday, visited my in-laws, and went to the Smyrna Jonquil Festival. Spring is in full swing, but there have been hints of summer too. I read a bunch of great books, tried a new-to-me coffee truck, tried a Cherry Berry Sunjoy, and consumed so many different s'mores treats. I went on a field trip to the zoo which was fun. I took and passed an important assessment. I'm also incredibly close to making a decision regarding my career. Overall, April was a great month. Sure there were some minor hiccups, but the good definitely outweighed the bad.

This month, I'm looking forward to celebrating Michael's birthday, Mother's Day, and the end of the school year. I'm looking forward to reading so many good books and working on creative projects. I know it's going to be a very busy month full of my sons' school events as well as family and personal events, but I'm really excited. 

Since it's a new month, I have some new goals. So let's have a quick recap of my April goals and check out my new goals for May.  

Recap of April Goals

• Read 5 books: I read 23 books in April. My favorite book of the month was I'll Just Be Five More Minutes: And Other tales from My ADHD Brain by Emily Farris. I also enjoyed reading What's the Point of Art? by D.K. Publishing and A Bit Much: Poems by Lyndsay Rush.

• Participate in Exhale's April blog hop: Unfortunately, I didn't participate in this month's blog hop, but I hope to work on May's blog hop. I also plan to work on the previous blog hop prompts that I didn't participate in.

• Complete one month's worth of Project Life layouts: So I didn't complete a month's worth of Project Life layouts, but I did work on a few layouts. I even started working on setting up a few layouts for May. I also worked on a few layouts for the Awesome Ladies Project.

• Work in my traveler's notebook: Sadly, I didn't work in my traveler's notebook and I have mixed feelings about it. I'm a little sad because I really wanted to make a few layouts. I felt stuck everytime I opened a page. I think I just have too much to say, but don't really know how to put it all down. I'm giving myself grace because although April was a good and mostly fun month, it was also a busy month. However, I have a few ideas and hope to start working in my traveler's notebook(s) in May. 

• Try 1 new recipe: I made chicken alfredo for the first time. I've had it before, but surprisingly, never made it myself until this month. It was so simple to make and was delicious. This is definitely going to be one of my go-to quick meals/recipes.

• Watch a new (or new-to-me) movie or series: I just started watching the Dead Boy Detectives and I'm really enjoying this new series. There's only eight episodes so I'm going to try to watch only one every few days.

May Goals

• Read 5 books

• Read 2 books I borrowed from the library

• Catch up on reading Substack newsletters

• Participate in Exhale's May blog hop

• Work in my traveler's notebook

• Try 2 new recipes

• Work in my sketchbook/journal

• Participate in Get Messy's Messy May

What are your goals for May? How did you do in April?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Photo by Iryna Ogarkova on Unsplash

April 2024 // A List

1. April was such a busy but exciting month. Sure, there were some lows, but there were mostly highs, and I'm so grateful for that.

2. We celebrated Raphael's sixth birthday. I still can't believe that my baby is six years old. It's been amazing watching Raphael grow. Raphael has grown so much this past year, and watching him pass milestones has been amazing and somewhat bittersweet. Time really is flying by, and it's been making me feel so emotional...in fact, I still am.

3. Speaking of birthdays. I'm currently staring at the dinosaur decorative banner that is still hanging from Raphael's birthday celebration. For some reason, I can't bear to take it down yet. Maybe I'm still holding onto my youngest son's birthday, but perhaps it's because I'm currently loving dinosaurs as much as Raphael does. Is it odd that I'm an adult that is very much loving all things dinosaurs? I've even looked up dinosaur graphic t-shirts and skirts. I've also looked up fun dinosaur art drawings.

4. The solar eclipse was really exciting. We didn't buy any of the solar eclipse glasses, but I really enjoyed noticing the differences in my environment and taking photos of shadows (as pictured above). 

5. My current favorite drink is Starbucks' Strawberry Açaí Refresher with 3 scoops of lavender powder. I'm also loving Chick-fil-A's Cherry Berry Sunjoy. I'm not a fan of iced tea, but this drink is so good.

6. I went on a school field trip to the zoo and loved it. It had been a long time since I had been, so it was a treat to be able to go. 

7. John and I visited my in-laws. It had been a really long time since we saw John's dad, brothers, sisters-in-law, nephews, and niece. We met the newest member of the family. It was a pleasant visit, and the boys loved spending time with their cousins and grandpa. 

8. We went to the Smyrna Jonquil Festival and had a blast. We bought some granola and little treats. The kids enjoyed the bounce houses. John and I tried coffee from a new-to-us coffee truck, Travelin Tom's Coffee Truck.

9. I've been enjoying flowers this spring. I even received free flowers twice this month; each time, they came at the perfect time. I also got a free mountain mint plant that is growing, which has been exciting.

10. I passed an important career-related assessment and am so excited. I have a couple more that I need to take, so I've been trying to study for those.

11. Meera Lee Patel's latest newsletter post, Dear Somebody: A Birthday Wish, really hit home, especially her words for Monday. Her words on baking and it being an act of care reminded me of Mami and her love of cooking. Cooking is definitely one of Mami's ways of showing care and love. As for me, it reminded me of my love of making banana chocolate chip waffles for my boys on the weekends.

12. April was truly a dream. I'm so grateful that this month was full of celebrations, family visits, trying new things, and going to fun events. I'm thankful I'm starting to get out of this little creative block, and I hope to continue working on some creative projects. I'm looking forward to May and hope it's a good month.

10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week

Happy Friday! Today, I'm linking up with Charlotte, Lindsay, and Beth for their weekly happy and grateful list link-up.

1. Lemon Blueberry Bundtlet from Nothing Bundt Cakes

2. Free flower bouquet

3. Skip Tracer by Jive Poetic

4. New scrapbooking and memory-keeping ideas

5. An empty laundry basket 

6. Mind maps

7. Getting important answers to important questions (I felt really anxious about the unknown and unanswered questions, but now that I have answers, the anxiety has moved to what comes next. Such is life...I guess.)

8. The first sip of coffee in the morning

9. Summer Break is so close! As of today, only 18 more days!

10. It's finally Friday!

What made you happy this week?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week

Happy Friday! Today, I'm linking up with Charlotte, Lindsay, and Beth for their weekly happy and grateful list link-up.

1. I passed an assessment that I took this week!

2. Using my planner again

3. Making lists

4. These words on @writers Instagram page

5. Getting new arcs from NetGalley

6. Iced coffee

7. Peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwiches

8. Seeing an empty laundry basket

9. Field trip at the zoo

10. It's finally the weekend.

What made you happy this week?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

If You And I Had Coffee

If you and I had coffee...

We'd meet up at our favorite small coffee shop since it's been a while since our last visit. We'd stay indoors and check out the books and mugs. I'd probably order a mocha frappuccino and some pastries. Maybe even a grilled cheese sandwich since I've been really into grilled cheese sandwiches lately.

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you that we had a blast celebrating Raphael's birthday. It was very low-key since his birthday was on a weekday, but it was perfect. He loved his dinosaur-themed decorations and his gifts. I found some of his gifts at my favorite little gift shop. We got Raphael a stuffed dinosaur toy and dinosaur bath bombs, which he absolutely loved. I also got Raphael a HEXBUG nanotopia set, and he loves it. We also visited Mami, and she made dinner to celebrate Raphael's birthday. We still have a few weeks left in the month and plan to continue celebrating Raphael's birthday.

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you that we just bought a new dining room table set, and I absolutely love it. It's simple, sturdy, and the perfect size for our family. We had our old dining room set for over 10 years, and it was definitely time to upgrade... especially the chairs. I don't think I've ever been as excited about furniture...well, actually, yes, I have. The last time I got excited about furniture was when we bought our new living room set a few months ago. We replaced our living room set after having our old one for well over 10 years. Is this what being an adult is supposed to be like? Getting excited about new furniture and appliances? If so, this is great.

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you that I'm dreaming of summer break. I have already started counting down the weeks until it arrives. There are only 28 (school) days to go! I'm not sure what we will do for summer break, but I'm hoping we can have a staycation and go somewhere a few hours away from home. I'd love to go to Helen, Georgia, again. I really want to go to the Anna Ruby Falls again. Or maybe we'll go to the beach.

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you I'm glad we were able to meet up. I hope the rest of the month goes well for you. May you have good days, get all green lights on your way to work, and have some strong and delicious coffee to start the day. I can't wait to meet up again.

What would you tell me?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week

Happy Friday! Today, I'm linking up with Charlotte, Lindsay, and Beth for their weekly happy and grateful list link-up.

1. Celebrating Raphael's birthday

2. Kit Kat donuts at Krispy Kreme

3. Target Circle Week

4. My Happy Marriage 

5. My Get Messy Art Bundle finally arrived!

6. Free Starbucks drinks...two days in one week! Shout out to the sweet baristas! I highly recommend trying a Strawberry Açaí Refresher with three scoops of Lavender Powder.

7. New art ideas

8. Finally seeing the sun (I still love the rainy weather, but it got old after almost an entire week of dreary, rainy weather.)

9. Picking up new books to read from the library

10. Favorite Day S'mores Cookies 

What made you happy this week?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...