January 2022 // A List

January was a month full of celebrating.

January was a month for embracing the stillness.

January was a mixture of hoping and dreaming and being optimistic.

January was full of surprises.

January was a month of reflecting on turning 31 and how I want this year to go.

January was also a month of reflecting on the past year. Chapter 30 was truly a wild ride.

January was a month full of planning.

I finally used a planner after not using one for most of last year.

January was a month full of making new goals and looking at what I want to accomplish this year.

January was a good month for reading.

I gave myself a lot of grace this month.

January was a month full of creating and writing.

January felt like the longest month, but also the shortest.

Goodbye January. We are off to a good start.

Hello February. I welcome you with open arms.

10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week

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

1. Finally receiving my lost package

2. Warm blankets

3. Randomly remembering hilarious conversations

4. Reading new books

5. Working on my Project Life/Studio Calico album

6. Journaling

7. Getting new ideas for projects

8. Going through my memory-keeping album from 2021

9. These words by Angela Larsen

10. Quiet mornings

What made you happy this week?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time... 

A Late Recap on Last Week

I've been reading Meera Lee Patel's newsletter and was inspired by her documenting five things she wants to remember every week. I decided to write my own list of good things that happened each day of the week. It's similar to my weekly happy and grateful list, but I think I may just pick a random week to document every month. Although this recap is a happy one, I plan to share the bad days because I think it's ok to document both the good and the bad.

Monday, January 17

I know it's well past Christmas, but I just finished reading Snowed Inn for Christmas: A Christmas Anthology by Elle Christensen and eight romance authors. The book featured nine couples, and each story is set in Winter Falls. It was such a great read. 

I am determined to finish reading all of my holiday books that I didn't finish reading in December, and so far, I'm almost done. I only have one more book to read, and that one is also an anthology.

Tuesday, January 18

Pack Darling Part Two was finally released today after the release date was pushed back a couple of times. This is one of the books that I have been so excited to get to read. I read the book in just two days. It was so good. 

Wednesday, January 19

I'm still celebrating my birthday and decided to do one of my favorite birthday traditions: visit the Love Street gift shop and get something for myself. I found a cute fanny pack by Kavu. I have the Purple Storm fanny pack, and I think it'll be helpful for when I go for walks on the Silver Comet Trail or around my neighborhood.

Thursday, January 20

John had some overtime, so he took a long lunch break, and we went to the mall. We bought some new chargers for our phones and then got lunch and Starbucks.

Friday, January 21

Ah, Friday! My favorite day of the week! I ran some errands with John. Then we got some smoothies from Smoothie King for the first time in months, and it felt like a hello from Summer. 

Later in the day, I had a bit of an accident. I'm not even sure how in the world to explain, but the short story is that our baby/toddler gate almost killed me. After falling down, I had two big scrapes/cuts on my knee and arm. The next day, a bruise formed. I'm ok but was really annoyed when it happened.

The best part of my day was when I visited my little sister and nephew. Jaileny gave me the best gift...she asked me to be Amir's godmother! I'm so excited. I love the gift that she gave and how she surprised me. *See photo above.*

How was your week?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Atlanta Mom Blog

Happy Monday! Today I'm over at Atlanta Mom with a new post. I'm sharing how I'm embracing the stillness of winter. Feel free to check out my post and tell me what you think. You can also check out my previous posts here.

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 happy and grateful list link up.

1. Familiar by Agnes Obel

2. Pack Darling by Lola Rock

3. Still celebrating my birthday month

4. New fanny pack by Kavu (I have the Purple Storm design)

5. Me Time

6. The Book of Boba Fett

7. Amy Turn Sharp's newsletter

8. Journal pages by @besottment (This page looks so cool.)

9. The Cleaning Lady 

10. Buffalo Chicken Pizza

What made you happy this week?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time... 

Target Finds

Happy Monday! It's time for another Target Finds! I still can't believe it's 2022, and we're already halfway through the month! The past few weeks have been a bit slow, and that's just fine by me. The busyness of the holidays really makes me appreciate the calmness of this time of year. I also love that I haven't had to buy much except the essentials, but I guess we could also blame the shortages that so many stores are going through. Even though there is a shortage of a lot of things right now, I was able to find a few new things at Target and some of my old favorites.

Let's check out some of my favorite Target finds.

Valentine's Raspberry Chocolate Heart Hot Cocoa Bomb

I'm still on a hot chocolate kick, especially when trying new seasonal hot cocoa or hot cocoa bombs. I was so excited to find these hot cocoa bombs. I'm sure that Target had these last year, but I never got a chance to buy one. They sold out very quickly. As soon as I saw that these were in stock, I immediately made a curbside order. 

Extra Firm Down Alternative Pillow

We needed to replace our pillows and decided to get these. We love extra firm pillows, and these are amazing. The quality is fantastic, and it's reasonably priced.

Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Swiss Almond Ice Cream

I bought this to celebrate an upcoming book release. One of the characters loves almond ice cream, and this was the closest thing that I could find. I'm going to take it as a good sign that there were only two left and that everyone must love this flavor. I love Häagen Dazs' ice cream but haven't tried this particular flavor, so I'm excited to find out if it's good. 

M&Ms Valentine's Black Forest Cake Candy

I love trying M&Ms seasonal candies. These were pretty good. I wouldn't say that they are my favorite, but it was a nice treat. I would definitely repurchase them, especially during this time of year. 

Overall, I found some great things at Target. I usually save on my Target Finds by using the app, buying items on sale, and price-matching.

What are some of your favorite Target finds?

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 happy and grateful list link up.

1. Haunted by Emorie

2. Valentine's Raspberry Hot Chocolate Bomb

3. Getting stuff done ahead of time

4. Working on my Project Life album

5. Shipping notifications

6. Chicken noodle soup

7. Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

8. My boys

9. Writing

10. Embracing the stillness of winter

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 at a local coffee shop. I'm currently on a hot chocolate kick, so I'd probably try a seasonal flavored one. We'd also get some pastries and breakfast sandwiches. We'd definitely stay indoors because it's a bit cold to go for a walk. 

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you all about the books I'm excited to read this month. I'm reading Sleepwalk by Anna Fury and just finished reading Lies by A.L. Woods. Lies was such a good book, and it's one that I usually wouldn't read because I usually avoid books that involve infidelity or lies. I was happy that I read it and honestly think that this is a book that everyone should read. I'll definitely post a full review on the blog about it soon. I'm also looking forward to reading Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman. I'm still reading holiday and winter-themed books, too. Hopefully, I can get through them all by the end of the month.

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you that I really enjoyed celebrating my 31st birthday. John took me out on a date, and we went to Lucky's. Their food was excellent. We plan on going back soon. We also had some ice cream cake and celebrated with our boys at my mami's house. It was a low-key birthday celebration, but it was perfect. I'm still planning to celebrate my birthday all month long. I also found myself reflecting on my 30th year. It's crazy that I turned 30 during a pandemic, and now I just celebrated another birthday during a pandemic. 

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you that I'm currently working on several creative projects. I'm still working on a few Project Life layouts from 2021, and I'm also working on a few layouts for this month. I'm also working on my new sketchbook/journal, and it's been so great. I'm still trying to decide how to document my One Little Word for the year. I also started a new traveler's notebook. I'm using a Studio Calico traveler's notebook to document January. I think I'm going to use a traveler's notebook each month in addition to using my Project Life album. 

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you that I'm currently working on a few essays that I hope to submit to some magazines and blogs. I really want to publish more work, and I think this will be a significant goal for me this year. 

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you that I'm so glad that we were able to catch up. I'd say that I hope you have a happy new year. I hope this year is a good one for you. 

What would you tell me?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Photo by Stephen Kidd on Unsplash

10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week

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

1. Encanto

2. Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate with whipped cream and a candy cane

3. Naptime

4. Reading so many good books!

5. Receiving an arc for a book that I really want to read

6. New scrapbooking and memory keeping supplies

7. Celebrating my 31st birthday

8. Date night at Lucky's

9. Getting my booster shot

10. Using my planner

What made you happy this week?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time... 

January Goals

Happy New Year! 2021 felt like an even longer year than 2020, so I'm thrilled that it's 2022. 2021 was a bit of a challenging year, but there were some really great moments in there. For me, 2021 was a much more trying year than 2020. However, I am so proud and amazed at the amount of growth that I have shown. I promise that I'm not trying to be vain or brag; I'm just honestly surprised at some of my reactions. I really made sure to take care of myself last year. I made sure that I practiced self-care and took care of my health. 

As I reflect on the previous year, I realize that my word for 2021 really stuck with me. My word was Seek, and I definitely did that. I sought to try new things like going for much longer walks on the Silver Comet and trying new recipes. I may not have tried a lot of new recipes, but there were a few that were great. I tried new art techniques, took art courses, and got out of my comfort zone. I read a few books in genres that I don't usually read. I have gotten more serious regarding writing essays and hope to submit more pieces soon. I completed One Little Word 2021, and it was such a comfort for me. 2021 was probably the first year I actually finished One Little Word. 

I had so many monthly goals in 2021, and it was always so good to check those goals off. Sure, there were goals that I didn't accomplish every month, but it was great to challenge myself. I don't plan to make resolutions this year, but I plan to make some monthly goals. There are also a few things that I would like to finish by the end of the year, but I am not going to pressure myself to make everything happen. 

With all that being said, it's a new month and a new year so let's check out my new goals for the month and have a little recap of my goals from December.

Recap of December Goals

• Read 5 books: December was a great month for reading. I read so many Christmas and winter-themed romance books. There were a few non-holiday-themed books that I read as well. 

• Read 2 books that I should have finished a while ago: I read several books that I should have finished reading some time ago, but I still have so many to finish.

• Read 3 books that I need to review soon: I read and reviewed three books that I received from Netgalley and loved each one. In December, my favorite book that I read and reviewed was Mom Milestones by Grace Farris. I actually plan to buy a physical copy of the book. 

• Try 1 new recipe: I can't even remember if I did or didn't try a new recipe. I'm sure that I did, but I just can't remember what I made. 

• Finish my Autumn Moments travelers notebook: I'm calling this traveler's notebook complete even though I need to add some journaling in a couple of spots. This was such a fun travelers notebook to work in. I loved trying new things in this notebook. I used new-to-me sketches, and I just realized that this may be one of the first traveler's notebooks (that I used specifically for memory keeping) that I have completed. 

• Finish my 2020 Christmas traveler's notebook: I did not finish my 2020 Christmas traveler's notebook, but I am so determined to complete it this month. Honestly, I do not have an excuse for not working on this notebook. I simply forgot to work on it since I was busy working on my 2021 Christmas mini-album.

• Work on my 2021 Christmas mini-album: I did work on my 2021 Christmas mini-album, and I am almost done with this project. I just need to print a couple of photos and add some journaling in a few spots, and it will be complete.

• Complete my One Little Word album: I completed this project on New Year's Eve. It was such a joy to work on this project. My mini-album is so chunky, and I loved going through the pages. I am ready to work on my One Littel Word album this year. I'm unsure which format I want to go with this year, but I can't wait to dive in.

• Catch up on my Project Life album: I worked on my Project Life album, but I still need to catch up on it. I'm glad that I only have a couple of layouts to finish. 

January Goals

• Read 5 books

• Read 3 books that I need to review soon

• Finish reading at least 3 books that I didn't finish reading in 2021

• Finish December Daily 2020 traveler's notebook

• Catch up on my Project Life album

• Try 1 new recipe

• Drink more water

• Work in my new sketchbook/journal

What are your goals for January? How did you do in December? Have you set any yearly goals?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Photo by STIL on Unsplash