grace & gratitude | summer 2024

“September came in with golden days and silver nights.”

— J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

Hi. 👋 It’s been a minute. cough Three months. cough In a last-ditch effort to complete my current work-in-progress, Where the Sky Meets the Sea, in a timely manner, I quietly decided to take a break from blogging and email-sending for July and August. I’d scheduled a few blog posts ahead, so I settled in to work on writing. The goal was to finish my novella by the end of August…well, life happened in a very unexpected way, so I still have a couple chapters left. We’ll see how it turns out.

As for life, I got a “real” job last month. Since I finished school, I’d been running my grandmother’s gift shop whenever she was out sick, on vacation, etc. That amounted to a part-time job itself, but now that I’m Officially Grown, I needed something more consistent so (1) I can actually budget my income and (2) buy my sister’s half of our car and pay for ✨health insurance✨. What fun.

I actually really adore this job. It’s at a cafe (more like a cross between a burger joint and a sandwich shop, really) that just opened up in town, and I work in the kitchen assembling sandwiches and salads, patting out burgers and chopping veggies, and cleaning. (Basically, I get paid to do the same chores I did at home. 🤭) Right now, I’m only working every other weekday, but my off days are still so jam-packed (still got those chores) that I haven’t quite worked out a steady routine or schedule yet. One of these days, I’ll get things figured out and be able to dedicate time to my online work. (Such as finally publicly launching Sky’s the Limit Press.)

Until then, we’re taking things one day at a time! 😊

scripture

The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart

and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

1 Timothy 1:5 ESV

gratitude

a new year of life

my new job + my lovely coworkers

my typewriter (best birthday present ever, perhaps?)

homemade shrimp scampi

French cuisine (including homemade eclairs)

fresh flowers wrapped in foil

driving on my own at long last

coffee dates with my sister

Jesus jazz

that one cool morning we had

strawberry matcha

rose lemonade tea (the drink of the summer)

grace

Even though August was mostly work, I still got in a decent amount of writing! Nowhere near my 2019-2020 standard of 12k-14k a month (how???), but so much better than the last couple years.

Between July and August (I didn’t write at all in June 😭), I wrote a grand total of 11,368 words exactly in Where the Sky Meets the Sea. 🥳

I also…

• finished one editing project

• read a manuscript for the press

• was interviewed by Shira J. Rodriguez, host of Her Reading Life podcast

• wrote/published six blog posts (remember those days when I’d post six in one week?)

• finished all the legal and financial stuff for STLP

• had lunch with some friends (first!)

• got a real job (another first!)

• went to see Twisters with the fam

• celebrated my birthday (+ three of my siblings’ birthdays)

goals

The obvious: finish Where the Sky Meets the Sea and publicly launch STLP + open for submissions.

Otherwise: finish my read-through of Don’t Let Me Go (one of the novel’s on the press’ lineup) and get back into the swing of posting and whatnot. I should also have a project to critique sometime this month.

And that’s about it, really. 🤷‍♀️

summer playlist + autumn bucket list

Even though I’m wrapping up three months, this post is pretty short. So I thought I’d share a little playlist I put together that captured a bit of summer!

sound of summer

And, to herald the coming of fall, a mini autumn bucket list to inspire you to enjoy every moment in this new season!

• Make a fall playlist

• Make a non-pumpkin spice latte (try apple cinnamon, ginger, chai, cinnamon roll, pecan pie, or another classic flavor to break up the nonstop flow of PSL)

• Undertake a fall-themed arts and crafts project (like a wreath or table arrangement)

• Read a fall book (either something with autumn vibes like Lord of the Rings or something set in fall like Jane Eyre)

• Make a simmer pot (use the juices for cider when you’re done!)

• Buy/wear a new sweater (unless it’s 90 degrees for you too)

• Pick apples, pumpkins, or another autumn crop

• Roast fall veggies (sweet potatoes + cayenne & cinnamon, carrots + cumin, pumpkin + ginger)

• Brew tea out of a seasonal herb, flower, or spice

• Make a fall-themed charcuterie board to share

• Watch an autumn movie with family or friends (e.g., Remember the Titans, You’ve Got Mail, It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, etc.)

I hope y’all had a lovely summer! I’d love to know what the highlight of the season was! Let me know down below!

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