10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week

Happy Saturday! It's been a very busy week, and I'm so glad that it's the weekend. Today, we went to visit my mami and got to see my nieces. Tomorrow is Father's Day, so we'll be spending the day celebrating John. 

1. I finally got a notification from my local library about a book I've had on hold for months. I was so excited to pick it up.

2. This unpublished speech by Andrea Gibson. Simply one of the best commencement speeches I've ever heard.

3. The absolute accuracy. #CardinalSigns

4. On Repeat: Jessie Murph's album, Sex Hysteria (Deluxe)

5. Inspired by: Karen Liz's pumpkin card. And Carlotta Klee's landscape drawing hack.

6. On the wishlist: I'm on the hunt for a new pair of black flats. If you have any recommendations, please share them.

7. John and I went on a date and also celebrated Father's Day a day early. We went to the Corner Taqueria and enjoyed a nice late lunch/early dinner. 

8. Currently Reading: Coffee + Crumb's 2026 Summer Collection. I always enjoy reading the seasonal essays, poetry, and other works by the various writers. I've been slowly reading through the collection. 

9. Some wonderful life advice: "Do what you have to do until you're able to do what you want to do."

10. As you may already know, my local Barnes & Noble is closing, so they are having a massive sale. A week ago, I had my eye on a study guide and decided to not buy it. Fast forward to this weekend, and I was delighted to see it was still in stock, so I quickly purchased it.

What made you happy this week?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Photo by Kateryna Hliznitsova on Unsplash

Atlanta Mom Blog

Happy Wednesday! I'm over at Atlanta Mom with a new post. I'm sharing a list of summer family-friendly movies. Feel free to check out my post and tell me what you think. You can check out my previous posts here. 

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

10 Things That Made Me Happy Last Week

Happy Monday! I meant to share this post over the weekend, but unfortunately, we were dealing with some internet outage. Right when I was about to hit publish on this post...the internet went out, and it's been off and on for the entire weekend. This also made me realize how much we rely on the internet. On the bright side, my screen time decreased, so I'm counting that as a win. 

1. My sleep cycle has been off, but it's been nice being able to sleep in. Just one of summer break's perks. 

2. I'm not a basketball fan, but I've been enjoying seeing how excited New Yorkers are for the Knicks. Also, congratulations to the Knicks! 

3. Inspired by: Michelle Rial's chaotic Overthinking Children's Book Venn diagram

4. On Repeat: A mix of Fleetwood Mac, Lord Huron, Sufjan Stevens, SYML, and Lana Del Rey

5. I've been on the hunt for new-to-me recipes, and this one-pan cheesy pasta bolognese might be one I make in the next week or so.

6. This made me laugh. Also incredibly accurate for the weekend, especially on Saturday. The high temperature was 91 degrees, but it felt like it was 95.

7. This is such a beautiful short film of Oliver Jeffers sharing the story behind TIME AND SPACE. The watch is stunning, but expensive. However, it's still on the wishlist.

8. Currently Reading: My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout

9. I was finally able to go to the salon to get my hair done. My hair definitely needed some TLC. I got my ends trimmed too. It was also great to catch up with my hairstylist.

10. I'm close to completing my local library's summer book challenge!

What made you happy this week?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Photo by Kateryna Hliznitsova on Unsplash

10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week

Happy Sunday! It's finally June! May really flew by. I can't believe it's been a week since June's arrival! So far, we are enjoying our summer break. It may not be officially summer, but it definitely feels like it. This week was a bit of a slow week, but I absolutely loved it. I'm really looking forward to slower days in June and all the adventures we plan to go on. 

1. I recently learned about The Strangers Project and think it's such a cool project. The Strangers Project was founded by Brandon Doman. Brandon collects handwritten stories by strangers. None of the stories is submitted online or via mail; they are written in person and are anonymous. Although the Strangers Project is based in New York City, I would love for there to be a pop-up in my city soon. Check out the Strangers Project Instagram page here.

2. Unfortunately, our local Barnes & Noble is closing. This particular bookstore's architecture and design are gorgeous, so it's a bit sad that they are going to tear it down to make way for a gas station. John and I stopped by since they are currently having amazing deals. We found some great Father's Day gifts and birthday gifts for my father-in-law. We also bought a few books for the boys, a really cool planetarium projector for Raphael, and I stocked up on greeting cards for upcoming holidays and birthdays.

3. I recently learned I won a copy of What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson from a Goodreads Giveaway. I'm so excited to get my copy. 

4. On Repeat: Petit Génie (Italian Remix) by Jungeli feat. Imen Es, Lossa, Rhove, and Germo67

5. I received Katie Licht's latest analog newsletter, and it was so incredibly relatable.

6. On the wishlist: Rowan Semi-Precious Custom Layered Bracelet by BaubleBar

7. On the Summer Bucket List: Visit the High Museum of Art to see Amy Sherald's exhibition, American Sublime and Los Porfiados (The Stubborns) by the Chilean creative studio, gt2P.

8. Currently Reading: Love Poems by Rupi Kaur

9. Inspired by: Yin Goh's journal flip through and Elyssa's drawings of people

10. I've been participating in my local library's summer book challenge, and learning so much about the many resources my library offers. It seems like almost every day since the challenge started, I have learned something new. I'm blown away by all the things available. I'm especially excited about the different library databases offered. From education to career to genealogy and so much more, there is such a wealth of information to be learned from the resources offered.

What made you happy this week?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Photo by Heather Ford on Unsplash

June 2026 Goals

Happy Thursday! Can you believe it's already June? We're halfway through 2026, which is wild. Honestly, I'm glad May is over. May was an absolute whirlwind of a month. It was a fun month, but there were some really stressful days mixed in, along with some tears. Some happy tears, some sad tears. Such is life. 

In May, we celebrated Michael's birthday. We also celebrated Mother's Day and started celebrating a bit earlier. We went to Mami's the day before Mother's Day and spent time with her. Then John and the boys spoiled me on Mother's Day. The boys also had their award ceremonies, and we are so proud of all they have accomplished this school year. 

I also had a big decision to make related to my career, and I feel so much better now. I have a few plans set in place, and whichever option I choose, I feel so much more at ease. A not-so-great moment was having to deal with car maintenance. We had to get both our SUV and car serviced in May, and the amount we had to pay was unexpected, but we got it done. I'm glad it was taken care of, and we won't have to worry about it in the long run. We are also getting a few home things taken care of, which was and is still a bit annoying, but we're hopeful it'll all get finished in a few weeks.

This month, I'm hoping for a slower month. With the boys and me on summer break, I'm looking forward to not having to stick to a routine. I'm looking forward to going on adventures with my family. I'm looking forward to eating all the summer fruit and treats. I'm looking forward to working on a few creative projects. 

This month (actually, this summer), I plan to take it easy on my monthly goals. Although I should have plenty of time to work on goals, I just want to have a more carefree summer. I was a bit disappointed that I didn't get most of my goals done in May, but I need to remember that May is an extremely busy month for me. Of course, since I mentioned goals and it's a new month, let's have a quick recap of last month's goals. Then let's check out my goals for June.

Recap of May Goals

• Read 1 book I borrowed from the library: I read The Greatest Sentence Ever Written by Walter Isaacson. Raphael and I have been on Mo Willems kick. We read It's My Bird-Day!, The Pigeon Has to Go to School, and Will the Pigeon Graduate? by Mo Willems. We also read Kwesi and Nana Ruby Learn to Swim by Kobina Commeh.

• Read 2 books I received from NetGalley: I read Notes on Love: Poems and Photography by F.S. Yousaf, Words to Love a Planet by Ella Frances Sanders, This Is Terrible, This Is Wonderful by Rani Ban, and The Best Dog in the World: Essays edited by Alice Hoffman.

• Make 1 scrapbook/Project Life layout: So this did not happen. I was way too busy in May. This time, I can really say that there just simply wasn't enough time to work on many of my creative projects. 

• Work in my sketchbook/journal: This also did not happen. Again, see the explanation above.

• Try 1 Introverted Drawing Club prompt: Ugh. This also did not happen, and I'm a bit disappointed I didn't work on any prompts. This was probably the main creative project I was hoping to work on, but I didn't get to it.

June Goals

• Read 2 books I borrowed from the library

• Read 2 books I received from NetGalley

• Make 1 scrapbook/Project Life layout

• Try 1 new-to-me recipe

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

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash