Springtime Favorites

Walks in my favorite park.

Long time, no blog! It’s nearly summer now, but I wanted to share a mini-recap of some of the things I’ve enjoyed this spring. I even made aesthetic vision boards for this season:

None of these photos were taken by me.

I don’t own any of these photos.

These images sum up the kind of woman I want to be as I walk through spring and into summer: active in my community and nature; living a slow-paced life; reading lots; rejoicing in and being grateful for the simple joys; nurturing my plants; listening to tons of music; playing instruments; connecting to Christ; having a healthy lifestyle overall.

Current Favorite Songs

• “Doubt (Demo)” by Twenty One Pilots • “Alesis” by Mk.gee • “One More Day” by Sons of Sunday • “What Was That” by Lorde • “I Lied to You” by Miles Caton (and the rest of the “Sinners” soundtrack) • “Sunset Blvd” by Selena Gomez & Benny Blanco

• “Traitor” by Olivia Rodrigo • “Famous Last Words” by My Chemical Romance

I’m also super stoked for new records coming soon from Yungblud (June 20), Lorde (June 27), and both Twenty One Pilots and Tom Odell (Sept. 5, my birthday 🥺💜).

My Reading List

The amount of books I’m in the middle of reading right now is ungodly. I have had to fetch and/or make an insane amount of bookmarks because I’ve been reading so much. The above titles are some of the ones I’m working through. I’m also looking forward to reading the newest Hunger Games prequel, the latest book in the Court of Roses series and more. My full 2025 reading list can be found here.

Other Obsessions

• “Sinners” (which I’ve seen twice now) • “Schitt’s Creek” (which I finished for the first time recently, so good!) • Park walks • Running • Reading poetry to heal the soul • Taking care of plants • Video games • Choosing to be the healthiest version of myself • “Stranger Things” • Family • Green juice

What about you? What favorite things have you enjoyed this spring?

You wanna sink, so I’m gonna let you,

2025 Ins & Outs

The view outside my window.

Welcome to the first blog post of the year! I’m a little bit late to the party, but as we’re only a few weeks into 2025, I want to detail my Ins & Outs for this year. Goodbye, online shopping. Hello, park walks!

In

• Frequent trips to the local library • Blogging • Healing • Therapy

• Steven Furtick sermons • Sticking to a balanced budget • Spending time with family

• Writing • Going on park walks • Rebuilding my community • Taking care of plants

• Beanies • Throw blankets • Listening to podcasts in the car • Prayer • Setting goals

• Hope • Logging off • Working out • Magazines • Comfortable clothes • Reading

Out

• Overspending • Neglecting self-care • Being afraid to try • Isolation • Impatience

• Reading books I don’t enjoy just to say I finished them • Excessive consumption

• Being too busy or stressed to write • Neglecting to spend time with God

• Not listening to others as attentively as I should • Social media • Online shopping

• Self-doubt • Anxiety • Bad self-talk • Negativity • Trends • Distraction

One of my words for this year is “heal.” I think 2025 is going to be a big year for healing myself after a difficult 2024, and prioritizing my self-care, creativity, and my walk with Christ in a myriad of ways.

What are your ins and outs for 2025?

On my way,

2024 in Favorites

Are we out of the woods yet, are we out of the woods yet, are we out of the woods?

2024 was *ahem* ... a year, but it did provide a lot of little joys in the form of books, films, music, and my own fun obsessions and discoveries. 

Without further ado, here are some of the small delights that caught my fancy this year (whether they were released in 2024 or not):

Favorite graphic novels: For me, 2024 was the year of the graphic novel. This was the first year in recent memory that I really started to get into these types of books. I have no idea what I was waiting for, as I have always loved comics and cartoonish art. My favorite graphic novel reads this year were two series I had never picked up before: the “Heartstopper” books at the start of the year, and the “Lore Olympus” series at the end of it. Both are about ✨luv.✨

More favorite reads: My favorite full-length fiction read this year was “A Court of Mist and Fury” by Sarah J. Maas (the second book in Maas’ “A Court of Thorns and Roses” series). That was a big surprise because I wasn’t a massive fan of the first book. Well, lo and behold, book two was a massive game changer. It held my attention and would not let go. Honorable mentions this year go to “Come & Get It” by Kiley Reid; “Woman, Eating” by Claire Kohda; and “My Body” by Emily Ratajkowski. I also bought several horror/thriller-type books, which is a genre I don’t often explore but am excited to get into. You can see all of the books I read this year here. Find my upcoming 2025 TBR list here.

Favorite records: If my Spotify Wrapped is to be believed, Twenty One Pilots was my favorite artist this year. I spent a good portion of 2024 listening to my favorite artists’ new releases, obsessively playing my favorite tracks again and again. I will give myself kudos for branching out and adding new-to-me artists Chappell Roan and Tory Lanez to my listening roster this year. I did, however, find myself in the habit of listening to the same tunes over and over and over. In 2025, I want to branch out and listen more to full albums and push more outside of my comfort zone to find new artists and sounds I might like.

Favorite songs: Most of my fave songs this year were on my favorite records:

“Hurts Me” and “The Color Violet” by Tory Lanez“Rich Girl” by Hall & Oates“Alesis” and “Candy” by Mk.gee“That’s Life” by Declan McKenna“We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)” by Ariana Grande“Snap Back” and “Oldies Station” by Twenty One Pilots“Femininomenon” by Chappell Roan“Black Friday” by Tom Odell“Fortnight” by Taylor Swift+ a lot of old NSYNC songs lol

Favorite movies: There’s nothing I love more than seeing a good movie in theatres. I can’t remember all the ones I saw this year, but I ADORED “Wicked” and would recommend the Netflix movie “It’s What’s Inside” for a trippy thriller that has an indie/small budget-type feel. The Bob Dylan film “A Complete Unknown” with Timothee Chalamet as the lead was also amazing.

Favorite shows: Somehow, I didn’t discover the magic of “The Umbrella Academy” until this year. That show got me through some tough times. I’m obsessed with all of the characters and with Gerard Way, of course. “Black Doves” was a fun new one. I also watched several Netflix documentaries, which is a new genre for me. “Pop Star Academy” and the DCC doc were both really gripping.

Other favorites: Girrlscout clothes; the color green.

What were your favorites this year? I’d love some recommendations!

Till next year,