If You And I Had Coffee

If you and I had coffee...

We'd meet up at our favorite Starbucks shop. Not only would we meet at a Starbucks, but we'd also meet at the one that's located inside Target and order some seasonal drinks. Of course, I will order a pumpkin spice latte and maybe a pastry or two. 

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you that this month has been brutal, and I've been so stressed. To help combat this stress, I've been making it a point to treat myself on Fridays. I've also been trying to only have to do a little on the weekends. 

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you that I have been on a Crumbl Cookies kick. I've ordered a 4-pack box of cookies for the past two weeks. Thankfully, I've used gift cards and rewards because they can be pricey. However, they are so worth the price. Some of my favorite Crumbl Cookies are the Red Velvet, Strawberry Crumb Cake, and Cookies & Cream cookies. 

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you that I haven't been journaling or making anything creative, and it's starting to bother me. I've been so busy and tired. Once I get near my craft supplies, I don't have the energy to make anything. I really need to figure out a way to make time to create because it's one of my forms of self-care. 

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you that I have a feeling that I will have some big decisions to make soon. I'm kind of anxious and excited about it...I'm definitely feeling all the feels. 

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you that I'm so glad we were able to meet. It's a bit later than I hoped, but I'm still happy we could catch up this month. These little coffee chats are always fun and a highlight of my month. I hope you enjoy the rest of your month. I hope to catch up with you again soon.

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

1. Reading The New Yorker humor section (Love the articles, cartoons, comics, and daily shouts.)

2. Elise Kennedy's Small-Town Romance Shorts series (I just finished reading Hot Cocoa and Mistletoe. I'm currently reading Pumpkin Spice and Pour-Overs. Now I'm dreaming of Halloween and Christmas.)

3. Swig Life's Pumpkin Spice collection. Yes, I did order a travel mug and a matching straw set. 

4. My first Pumpkin Spice latte of the season. That first sip was glorious.

5. Words by Molly Buford.  I love that her poems and prose are in list form.

6. The A/C. This heatwave needs to go away. 

7. Encouraging words from family and friends. This month has been absolutely brutal, so it's been great having people close to me help lift me up. I'm so grateful for my village.

8. Early morning trips to buy fruits from Whole Foods and giant cookies from Crumbl Cookies. Keyword: Balance.

9. I bought a new Jack Skellington graphic t-shirt from Target. Lately, Target has had some really great graphic t-shirts in the men's and boys' departments, which is annoying because I wish they offered more for girls and women. 

10. Seeing photos of my Abuela (my mami's mami). I really wish I could have met her. 

What made you happy this week?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week

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

1. I finally tried the frozen strawberry açaí lemonade refresher from Starbucks, and I'm so glad I did. An employee from my local grocery store recommended it to me after she saw me with my usual Strawberry Açaí (with water, of course) refresher. This may just be my new favorite drink.

2. I read my job's weekly staff newsletter and was surprised to have received a shout-out. I did something that I think was simple, and I'm sure anyone would have jumped in and helped, but it was nice that my coworker felt the need to have me recognized for my help. This has made me realize how something so simple can mean so much to someone.

3. I'm currently reading several books, but I just received an arc of Cleo Wade's upcoming book, Remember Love, and I'm loving it so much. 

4. I only have a little to do this weekend since I did most of the things during the week. It feels so good to not be behind on chores, errands, etc. Work has worn me out, and that has caused me to be behind on a lot of things. So now that I'm caught up on everything, it's nice to finally have a little me time and more time to spend with my family.

5. I finally went to Crumbl Cookies and treated myself to some goodies. It's a drive to get there, but it was lovely to go for an impromptu drive on Friday evening to get some cookies. I highly recommend the Caramel Shortbread and Red Velvet cookies. So good! 

Also, thanks to Studio Calico for the gift card that I won.

6. I've been going on many evening walks during the week, and it's been such a great way to wind down after a long day. I've been too tired to go to the Silver Comet Trail, but going for evening walks around my neighborhood has been so good for me. 

7. All the fall and Halloween decor stuff I'm finding on Instagram. I'm on the hunt for a new Fall/Halloween mug. I see a trip to Marshalls, T.J. Maxx, and Burlington in the near future. Maybe I'll even stop by Michaels or Joann. 

8. Pumpkin Spice Glazed Donuts from Krispy Kreme. I repeat! Pumpkin. Spice. Glazed. Donuts! I made a couple of trips this week for donuts. Thank goodness for my rewards. Also, shout out to the kind employee who slipped an extra donut in my order for free. 

9. Before stopping by Crumbl Cookies, I quickly stopped at Whole Foods to buy some bananas. I ended up quickly browsing the store and found that they carry a lot of goods from local shops and companies. This has inspired me to try one new (or new-to-me) product made by a small local business monthly. I'm still determining what I want to try first, but I may also stop at the Gifting Tree shop to buy some jam made by a local small business since I know this shop carries many local products.

10. Catching up on a couple of shows. I'm slowly going through the last(?) season of Roswell, New Mexico. John and I are also catching up on The Witcher. We have a bunch of other shows to finish, but we're trying to watch one series at a time.

What made you happy this week?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Target Finds

Happy Monday! It's been a few months since I've shared a Target Finds post, so I decided to finally share one. Trust me, I've been to Target a lot, especially in the last few weeks, but I've been so busy that I forgot to share my favorite finds. But I finally remembered, and here we are. Before I continue to ramble, let's check out my favorite Target finds from the past few weeks.

Bentgo Kids' Lunch Box

I was tired of sending multiple containers and snack bags in Raphael's lunchbox, so I tried this Bentgo lunch box. I am happy that I did! I love that the lunch box has 5 compartments. It's really durable and comes with a warranty. I haven't tried to put any liquid in the compartment (sauces, yogurt, etc.), so I can't say if it's leakproof, but so far, it's worked for us.

Muddy Bites Milk Chocolate Waffle Cone

This was absolutely an impulse buy, and I don't regret it. Muddy Bites are basically the bottom of a sundae cone (aka the best part). These were really good, but it was a little pricey. I used a Target offer which helped, but I would only buy these occasionally.

Method Men's Body Wash (Glacier + Granite)

This was a random buy. While I'm familiar with some of Method's products, I have never bought their body wash. I saw a Target offer for their body washes, so I got John a couple to try out. We love the Glacier + Granite and Sea +Surf scents.  The scents were not overpowering, which was a plus. 

Earth's Best Baked Mini Beef Meatballs

Raphael is such a picky eater, so anytime I find something that he loves, I have to share it. I've been trying to get Raphael to try different foods and came across these mini meatballs. He loves them, which made me so excited and happy. I tried them as well, and they were pretty good. These are also a little expensive but worth it. I love that it's quick to heat up. It's perfect for lunch, dinner, or even a quick snack.

What are some of your favorite Target Finds?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

August Goals

Happy Tuesday! I can't believe we're in the second week of August! I'm about a week late with this post, but it's been incredibly busy in my world. 

Last month was a busy month. We enjoyed the last few weeks of summer break, we celebrated mami's birthday, John and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary, and we did a lot of school shopping. The last two weeks of the month was incredibly stressful and my emotions were all over the place. Things seem to have settled down for the most part and for that, I am so grateful.

This month started out with a bang. School is in session and I still can't believe how much my sons have grown. I'm back at work and it's been...busy. This month, I'm looking forward to getting back to our usual routine, consuming an alarming amount of Starbucks pumpkin spice lattes (which will most likely be back in late August), relaxing over the weekends, continuing to write mini essays, work on some craft projects, but most importantly, taking the time to just rest. I don't want to overwork myself or get burnt out...and honestly, I'm starting to feel burnt out already and it's only the beginning of August. 

Recap of July Goals

• Read and review 2 books I received from NetGalley: I read and reviewed 5 books I received from NetGalley. I was so happy to be able to see my list of books to read on Netgalley get lower. I still have a long way to go, but it's a start. The books I read are: Plantains and Our Becoming: Poems by Melania Luisa Marte, Cruel Mate by Sam Crescent, Why Fathers Cry At Night by Kwame Alexander, Feel Something, Make Something by Caitlin Metz, and Persephone Made Me Do It by Trista Mateer. 

• Read 1 book I borrowed from the library: I have several books that I borrowed from the library, but haven't had a chance to read yet. I'll have to remember to renew them. However, I did borrow The Penelopiad and I'm excited to read that this month.

• Try 1 new recipe: We have been on a banana and chocolate chip combo kick so I made a loaf of banana chocolate chip bread and it was delicioius.

• Complete 1 One Little Word lesson: I didn't get a chance to work on any of my One Little Word lessons in July so I didn't complete a lesson. I'm hoping to work on a few lessons this month.

• Complete at least 1 month in my 2023 Project Life album: I didn't complete at least a month's worth of layouts in my album, but I did work on it. I'm really hoping that I can complete this goal in August.

• Work on one of my incomplete December Daily journals: This goal completely slipped my mind. I would say that it was because I was busy, but honestly, I just simply forgot about this goal. 

August Goals

• Read and review 1 book I received from NetGalley

• Read 1 book I borrowed from the library

• Complete 1 One Little Word lesson

• Complete at least 1 month in my 2023 Project Life album

• Complete Side by Side e-course

• Work on my Little Summer Joy mini accordion album

What are your goals for August? How did you do in July?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Photo by Marissa Grootes on Unsplash

10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week

Happy Sunday! It's been a few weeks since I've shared a Happy List. It's been super busy, and honestly, I wasn't going to make a post this week because this week was absolutely terrible...a dumpster fire of a week. However, in an attempt to make myself feel better, I decided to think of a few things that made me grateful or happy this week. So today, I'm linking up with Charlotte, Lindsay, and Beth for their weekly grateful and happy list link-up.

1. Curbside pickup (My legs and back are so grateful I didn't have to walk in any stores.)

2. Heating pads and pain medication (My legs and back are also grateful for this and modern medicine.)

3. Coworkers and friends who offered me encouraging words

4. Oreo cheesecake

5. My husband (Thank you for letting me vent.)

6. Having the weekends off

7. Liz's newest e-course, Side by Side (This class started at the perfect time for me.)

8. Happy mail

9. Finally having a cup of coffee after not having one all week!!!!!!! That first sip was pure perfection.

10. This month's One Little Word prompt (Seriously, it also came at the perfect time.)

What made you happy this week?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...