Hi Reader!

On July 1, I turned 35. The Big 3 - 5. Not sure if anybody else refers to 35 that way, but I certainly did. My birthday was delightful. Vasya and I cleared our schedules for the day and I got in an early morning bike ride, I played with my new iPhone that Vasya got me (I'm SO excited for all of the painting filming and photographing in my future), then we checked out a new-to-us restaurant Acreage by STEM Ciders (10/10 if you are ever in Colorado), and then watched too much X-Files (we are on season four in case you are wondering). It was just the best.

My birthday weekend was also the start of a mini vacation for me while summer camp was on a break. I had six glorious days in a row to do whatever I wanted. As an overfunctioner, I had big plans of all the things I was going to accomplish! (If you have not heard the term overfunctioner, I would like to point you to this episode of the We Can Do Hard Things Podcast by Glennon Doyle, enjoy.)

I'm not going to lie and say I wasn't productive. I played with my website, I planned out my blog and newsletter schedule through the end of the year, I finished up a couple paintings, and started to plan some more. Despite my productivity, I wasn't expecting how tired I was coming off of a busy couple months of work. So, while I'm pretty excited about some of the art - work I got done, I'm most proud of the fact that I:

• Spent a lot of time outside;
• Took a few naps (seriously why did we ever give up napping);
• Did a lot of yoga;
• Read A LOT, three books;
• Made time for some friends I had not seen in a while;
• Enjoyed the silence of no children being needy.

It was really nice to just pause and reflect on the year so far. This year, more than most, feels like an important moment of transition, even if I am not entirely sure what I am transitioning to. I wrote about this feeling in my most recent blog Happy Birthday to Me. Having a birthday in July is a perfect time to do a little reflecting on the year so far and think about what I want to accomplish in the rest of the year. Do you every do a mid-year check in with yourself? If you do, let me know how your year is going.

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Happy Birthday to Me | 35 Read article

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Photo Inspiration

As I mentioned earlier, I got a new phone as a birthday present. While, I'm currently paranoid about dropping it or scratching it, the camera is AMAZING. I had one camera on my old phone, but my new iPhone has THREE. Do I really know what those three cameras are each doing, not really, but three has to be better than one, right? 😂

What I'm Reading

This recommendation is a bit in line with the one from last newsletter. My latest read by Simone St. James is The Book of Cold Cases. (Can we also take a moment to pause at how awesome her name is?) This book combines the theme of true crime, gothic noir, and of course ghosts. It is the perfect balance of thriller and spooky. I also thoroughly enjoyed her book, The Sun Down Motel.

What I'm Listening Too

The Professional Creative Podcast
​with Bonnie Christine

I talk a little bit about Bonnie Christine in my post recent blog post Happy Birthday to Me. I started listening to this podcast on the heels of finishing a free online mini course that Christine taught about surface pattern design where I actually designed my own fabric. Her podcast is only in it's first year, but I really enjoy the accessibility of her episodes and also their brevity, usually less than 30 minutes, sometimes as short as 10. If you are interested in creative entrepreneurship, give it a listen.

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Until next time!

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