Ahhhhh 2020...

 

This year...I had the most grand plans. I was going to take trips, I was going to go hard in my businesses, I was going to be more creative...quite frankly I was going to do it all. This was going to be the year I got my life together and just went for it. I think that was everyone's plan, am I right? I feel that collectively this year we had all made this plan to get out lives on the right track or at least try.

And then the waves hit.

One thing after another just kept coming and it was all we could do to keep our heads above water, to not drown under what feels like an onslaught of situations and problems and concerns. Magnified by feeling helpless and trapped.

Ok, was the dramatic enough for you?

But honestly, things feel heavy right now and it's okay to not be okay. It okay to be upset that plans have changed or been cancelled. To be sad that trips are restricted and school is not what you thought it would be. It is good to mourn these things and experiences that we had long for with a passion that can not be turned off.  All of this is okay.

I will keep trudging along with the plans that do work, go to the places that I can get to. My daughter starts preschool in September and I long for what it was supposed to be like, the utter normalcy of it, only to be replaced by something different and strange. I'll get through this, mostly because I have no choice. I'm on this ride and there is no getting off. But also because my daughter is none the wiser of what "should have been". She has no idea what 1st days of schools are supposed to be and I'm going to keep it that way.

We are still going to travel, just safer than before. More aware of what we come in contact with and who. I want my daughter to see the world, more than I ever got to, which is still a lot. I want to see all these places through her eyes, seeing wonders for the first time. I'm not going to let much stop me in my tracks.

How are you going to handle the new "norm"? What plans did you have to put on hold? Did you have any plans for 2020? 

Leave a comment so we can talk

A Quick List of Stationery Needs

 

Have I ever told you how much i love stationary? Like I really LOVE stationary. In the past few years I have developed what some might call an obsession with it and all that it entails. Planners, pencils, papers, stickers...the list just goes on and one. I think my favorite of them all is pens. I am the person who will take your pen if you are not watching. Not always on purpose, but I am never sorry if you call me out on it. If anything, I'll be upset that you called me out on it. *lol*

So today, in honor of that unhealthy love, I thought i would share with you some of my top stationary loves. I would say in no particular order, but that honestly would be a lie. 

• Pens...make my heart sing. I can not explain the sheer pleasure that i get when an order comes in from Amazon or JetPens or PenGems or really anywhere and there is a pen in it. I like to savor opening the package, let it marinate a day before i take it out and admire it. I know...i sound crazy and that's okay. I freely admit it.

• Planners - WHOOO BOY! that's all i can really say. This is like my second love right here. I will buy a planner knowing full well that I have six more at home i have to use. Right now I'm trying to talk myself out of buying a B6 planner. I have no use for it. None at all, but why should that stop me from being happy?

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• Highlighters - one can never have to many. Does it matter than i drawers full of them? That i'm not in school and have no real need for them? That I collect different brands? NO. All that matters is they are pretty and I can look at them whenever I want to.

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• Washi - I need to be honest here. I do not use washi like you would think. Not really. when i scrapbook I try to use the washi but it just does not work. I forget I have it, I can't figure out how to place it, I don't like tearing off the ends. And I still keep my subscription box to Simply Gilded because every month is a new surprise. This newest box is Paris themed and I was like "Welp, can't cancel now. Maybe next month" *lol*
  

• Paper clips - let me clarify though. Not the basic ones with no pizzaz. I need the ones with pom poms on top or pretty felt characters or something. They gotta stand out.
  
  
  
  

• Planner Pads - I like to use these for pre planning my week and making notes on to dos for my day. Easy to toss in the bag and go and they have cute designs. 
  

• Charms for planners - This comes and goes depending on the planner. When i was hardcore into my TN and A5 size planner, I really wanted a lot. But the Happy Planner is a bit harder to put charms on, so i had to put a bit of a hold on them, curate a collection that made sense for the planners I was into. 
  

• Notebooks - Need i say more.

Travel Bucket List

Traveling is in my blood. As a military brat, I’m used to going to different places and seeing new countries. I’ve grown up with a passport and only recently did it expire. (It’s giving me anxiety just thinking about it.) With all the traveling I’ve done, you would think that I had seen it all.  Not even close. I have a travel bucket list that is nearly a mile long. Some places I’ve been to and would love to go back to and some places I have dreamed about. 

Maybe my list will give you some ideas.

In no particular order:

Italy

Japan

Costa Rica

Spain

France

Ireland

Scotland

India

Australia

Bali

Fiji

Thailand

Morocco

Cyprus

Africa 

(I am well aware that Africa is the continent, not a country. But there are so many countries that I want to see I just lump it all into one. If I could get to just one I would be happy.)

What's on your travel bucket list?

Favorite Season

If you can’t tell by the picture…I am a fall baby. Not that I was born in the fall, but it does have my heart. There is something about the crisp chill in the air and the leaves turning colors that just makes me happy. Every fall, when I pull out the tub of winter clothes and put away summer, it just feels as if a fresh start is happening. 

All of a sudden, it’s appropriate to drink hots things again and to eat hearty soups. 

Baking becomes a thing again and cranking up the oven to cook food is no longer a chore.  

The sound of leaves crunching under your feet and the hush that seems to fall over the city as night falls because it’s too cold to hang out for long. All of this just fills me with a sense of calm that is hard to describe.

I love that fall signals all the coming holidays. For me, this means family and cards and pictures of relatives you don’t get to see as often as you like. The Nightmare before Christmas starts to run on a constant basis (this is my HIGHLIGHT). Pulling out cardigans and gloves and snow boots just makes me giddy.

Pumpkin pie is everywhere and I happily partake in eating it. In my house, I'm the only one so this just means more for me.

Tell me…what is your favorite season and why?