June 2024 // A List

1. June felt like the longest month ever, and for that, I am thankful. June is one of my favorite months because of how slowly time passes. Sure, January (another one of my favorite months and my birthday month) also seems to pass by slowly, but I love the slow passage of time in June. 

2. June was an absolute dream. Our days were filled with adventure and trying new things. My heart is full just thinking about it.

3. We took the boys to Funbox and had a blast bouncing around in the inflatable park. It was so much fun. Despite it being a hot day, everyone had a great time. We cooled down with some Italian ice and lots of water.

4. John and I went on a date to the Atlanta Botanical Garden. It's weird that it was our first time going there since it's not too far from us. We loved the Alice in Wonderland floral sculptures. However, my favorite exhibit is the Earth Goddess.

5. I visited our local Farmer's Market almost every Sunday and absolutely loved it. I'm currently obsessed with the authentic French pastries and bread that one of the vendors, Bonnin's Bakery, sells.

6. We went to a new-to-us restaurant, The Corner Taqueria. It's now our go-to spot, and I was delighted to find that they have fried ice cream on their dessert menu.

7. Speaking of fried ice cream, so much of it was consumed in June.

8. We took the boys to play at the newly renovated downtown square. I love that they added a playground and a splash pad. There's also a large amount of green space that's perfect for picnics.

9. I visited a new-to-me local coffee shop, Cafe Lucia, and really liked it. Their sandwiches are great, and I love their seasonal menu. Their Paradise coffee is pure perfection.

10. I attended an Atlanta Mom event for tacos and margaritas at Bartaco. I had a blast hanging out with some of the Atlanta Mom contributors. 

11. We had a few doctor's appointments throughout June. However, I'm glad I finally made my appointments and went to them. I always procrastinate when it comes to making my own appointments. It's a habit I'm trying to break.

12. Pool season is one of my favorite things about summer. We spent a lot of our time at the pool. John and the boys usually dive right in, but I tend to take my time. 

13. We tried Chiptole for the first time. It was alright, but it also wasn't my favorite. 

14. Raphael's pea plant is growing! We had to buy a bigger pot and a trellis for it. I think I'm more excited about this plant than John and the boys.

15. I won a Taylor Swift cake from Smallcakes! I was honestly surprised that I won, but so very excited. 

16. We finally got the entire downstairs of our home painted, and I'm so happy with how it looks. The day before the painters came, we did a deep cleaning and tossed out a lot of stuff. Thankfully, we were also able to donate some stuff. 

17. While the painters did their job, we took the boys to see Inside Out 2. 10/10 highly recommend. On another note, it felt strange going to the movies. I hadn't gone to the movies since Covid first happened in 2020. 

18. I redecorated our dining room and love how it looks. I can't stop going to the dining room and admiring how it looks.

19. Although it's summer, I love that Michaels has their Halloween collection out. I'm so excited for autumn.

20. June was such an eventful month, and I'm sad it's over. Here's to July, and I hope it's just as fun-filled as June.

10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week

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

1. On Monday, we had painters come and paint the entire downstairs area and the walls of the staircase of our home. It's amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do to a home. It looks great, and the rooms look so much more spacious.

2. Since our home was being painted, John and I took the boys to see Inside Out 2. Just like the first movie, this one was absolutely amazing. There were tons of funny moments and a couple of moments that had me tearing up. 

3. The night before the painters arrived, John and I tossed out some stuff before the painters came. Cleaning up made me want to go on a decluttering spree. So, the day after the painting was done, I went through all of my craft supplies so that I could either donate or toss out many things. I was so excited to clear up space and a little disgusted at how much stuff I had. I decided that anything I've had for several years would get donated or thrown out. I was able to donate three giant boxes of craft supplies that I no longer used, and I threw out at least two huge bags of things. 

4. We also reorganized our kitchen and love how it looks. I don't know why we took so long to do this.

5. We went to our current favorite restaurant, The Corner Taqueria, for dinner and had a lovely time. While waiting for a table to clear up, we went for a little walk and took the boys to a nearby playground. For dessert, we got fried ice cream (my current favorite treat).

6. I got my order of art supplies from Get Messy. I can't wait to use the stencils, paint set, and brush pen. Random note: I'm really impressed with their customer service. They forgot to include an item I purchased, and within an hour or two of sending an email regarding the issue, they immediately shipped me the item that day.

7. Going through my old craft supplies inspired me to look at some older creative team galleries from Studio Calico's website. I have a ridiculous amount of kits and other supplies that I need to use, so I'm grateful for the inspiration.

8. I went to Michaels and was so excited to see they already started putting up Halloween decorations and supplies. Now, I want to put up a Halloween tree. 

9. Raphael's pea plant is still growing, and there's a pod! We had to buy a bigger pot and a trellis. I'm not sure why I'm so excited, but I am. 

10. We hung up some new curtains in our bay window, and I love how it looks! It's so cozy and makes me want to read there all the time.

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. Shipping notification (I can't wait to get my new art supplies from Get Messy)

2. Finding a lima bean pod on our plant

3. Winning a Taylor Swift cake from Smallcakes

4. Picking up new books at the library

5. Celebrating the first day of summer with a Starbucks Summer Berry Lemonade and an orange cream cake pop

6. Looking up new home decor stuff (Can't wait to redecorate)

7. Photos of deer that John sent me (I'm so jealous that he got to see a family of deer)

8. These words by Cara Stolen 

9. It's officially summer

10. Going into Town: A Love Letter to New York by Roz Chast

What made you happy this week?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Summer 2024 Bucket List

Happy First Day of Summer! It's the official start of summer although it's felt like summer for weeks now. As usual, I've made my annual summer bucket list. It's a tradition that I absolutely love. Some things on the bucket list are activities that we normally do every summer, but there are a few new things that I'd like to try to do or visit this summer. Check out my list below.

• Read 5 books

• Make 2 new recipes

• Go to 2 new or new-to-me restaurants

• Publish 3 personal essays

• Drink more water

• Drink less soda

• Finish 1 half-completed project

• Go to the pool

• Go to the Farmer's Market

• Watch 2 movies

• Finish watching the Dead Boy Detectives

• Visit a new park

• Go somewhere new

• Make s'mores

• Go to our local splash pad

• Create a photo essay

• Participate in Exhale's blog hops

• Journal more

• Visit the library twice a month

What's on your summer bucket list?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Photo by Fachry Zella Devandra on Unsplash

10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week

Happy Sunday and Happy Father's Day to all the dads especially my husband, John! Today, I'm linking up with Charlotte, Lindsay, and Beth for their weekly grateful and happy list link-up.

1. Date night at the Atlanta Botanical Garden

2. Finding out that there's going to be a Practical Magic 2

3. Trying Chipotle for the first time

4. Going to the pool

5. Buying John's gifts for Father's Day

6. Celebrating Father's Day

7. Finally going to my doctor's appointments (and it went well!)

8. Decluttering my inbox (I still have some more work to do, but I got rid of a significant amount of emails)

9.  Pain au chocolat (and other baked treats) from Bonnin's Bakery

10. Trying out my new Cricut mug press

What made you happy this week?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

And so I'll linger

1. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the definition of Linger is as follows:

• To be slow in parting or in quitting something: Tarry
• To remain existent, although often waning in strength, importance, or influence
• To remain alive although gradually dying
• To be slow to act: Procrastinate
• To move slowly: Saunter

2. Another school year down. This school year was a big one for all three of my sons. The school year marked a lot of milestones for my sons. It was my oldest son, Michael, last year in middle school, my middle son, Gabriel, first year in middle school, and my youngest son, Raphael, started kindergarten. My heart felt full, but it also felt like it was breaking because it really started to hit me that my boys were getting older. I found (and still find) myself wishing time would just slow down.

3. I found myself almost panicking at my oldest son's school open house. The school year had just started and teachers and admin were already talking about SATs and careers. They mentioned that the eighth graders could take the PSATs and that we should talk about what kind of careers our kids may want. I won't even try to pretend to say that I immediately looked through all the flyers and paperwork the school gave us to look over. I definitely procrastinated a little, but we did eventually have a talk about his class options and careers.

4. My two older sons are starting to show signs of wanting more independence, especially my oldest son. He's already talked about where he would like to work for his first job. How strange it is that sometimes out of nowhere, I'm hit with the realization that I have a teenager. A teenager! Even typing those words blew my mind a little. In just a few years, I will have an adult child. I'm sure every parent says this, but my sons will always be my babies, no matter how old they are.  

5. The other day, Raphael asked to see some of his baby photos. I happily obliged but was curious as to why my six-year-old suddenly wanted to see baby photos of himself and his brothers. When I asked him why he wanted to see their baby photos, he told me, "I want to see how little I was. I'm big now." As I pulled up some baby photos, I nodded while smiling down at him and said, "You guys got big so fast; time flew by". Raphael laughed and smiled while he continued to look at the photos. He seemed to be in awe of the photos of when I was pregnant which amused me and gave me so much joy. Looking at those photos brought back so many great memories. It is so true that the days are long, but the years are short. 

6. One afternoon, the boys were unusually quiet. I crept along the hallway and peeked into the living room. My heart nearly burst at the sight before me. There on our large round chaise lounge, the boys were reading a book together. I lingered by the hallway for a bit, committing the sight to memory. And then, of course, I took a photo because I wanted something tangible, something that I could include in my memory book.

7. They say, "Time waits for no one." While that is true, I'm sure there will be times where I'll want to linger while savoring and holding on to these precious moments with my sons for just a bit longer. And so, I'll linger.

This post is part of a blog hop with Exhale - an online community of women pursuing creativity alongside motherhood, led by the writing team Coffee + Crumbs. Click here to view the post in the series "Linger".

Photo by Aron Visuals on Unsplash

If You and I Had Coffee

If you and I had coffee...

We'd stop at my favorite, new-to-me coffee shop, Café Lucia. I'd order a seasonal coffee, a BLT sandwich, and a pastry. Of course, we'll probably order something to take home as well. 

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you that last week (and the start of June) was such an amazing, fun-filled week. We took the boys to FUNBOX and had a blast. I think the parents had just as much fun as the kids. We also went to a new-to-us restaurant, The Corner Taqueria, for Taco Tuesday. We absolutely loved it! The fried ice cream was my favorite. I can't believe we've lived so close to this restaurant and haven't gone until now. After dinner, we took the boys to a playground and went for an evening walk. I also decided to go to a new-to-me coffee shop, Café Lucia, which I liked. I was able to study and enjoy some delicious coffee.

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you that this past weekend was also great. I took the boys to the farmer's market on Saturday and bought some amazing treats. I bought some beignets, a strawberry croissant, a pain au chocolat, and madeleines from an authentic French bakery. I also bought some pepperoni rolls, which we had for lunch, a strawberry shortcake muffin, and a bag of granola. On Sunday, I had a girls' night at Bartaco with some ladies from the Atlanta Mom team. The tacos, chorizo bowls, and margaritas were delicious. 

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you that I recently read a pretty good book by Matthew Eicheldinger called Sticky Notes: Memorable Lessons from Ordinary Moments. In the book, Eicheldinger shares stories from his years of teaching and the lessons he's learned from his students. It was a quick read, but the short stories were great. 

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you that I'm enjoying working on creative projects like the latest Here: 5 Things course. I've been using my Neocolors II crayons to work on the prompts. This is my latest favorite art supply, and I love how versatile they are. I've been dipping them in water or I'll draw and then use a watercolor brush over the marks. Another project I'm working on is my Project Life album. I finally got a big batch of photos from Persnickety Prints, and I've already put two months' worth of pictures into layouts. Now, I have to get the journaling done.

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you that I'm focusing on my health this summer. I've made my doctor's appointments to get my annual checkup/physical. I've been drinking as much water as possible and limiting my caffeine intake. I've neglected my well-being for a while, but I feel much better now that I'm making some changes. I'm doing my best to rest and relax while also making sure to do the things that I want to do. I'm focusing on spending time with my family and going to different places with John and the boys. 

If you and I had coffee...

I'd tell you that I'm looking forward to the rest of the summer. I'm glad we were able to catch up. I hope the rest of the month goes well for you. I hope you have the best summer ever. I can't wait to meet up again.

What would you tell me? 

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Photo by Natanja Grün on Unsplash