Tag: blog

crownandcoffee reads. vol. 8

“We lose ourselves in books. We find ourselves there too.” – Anonymous

The Measure | Nikki Erlick
This book was so good. It was only right to take my time in reading this one. One of the lessons are to cherish and savor any and everything that matters to you, after all. It was such an interesting read because we live this plot everyday and especially during the pandemic. We were faced with our own versions of short strings and long strings and we had to sit back and really think about how we will live this life and what footprint will we leave behind. Will we be remembered (lovingly or even at all)? Did we love ferociously? Will our lives have meant anything? Will we breathe our last breath knowing we LIVED?
This book brought tears to my eyes and I will feel this book for many days after while reminding myself to make sure I walk this life with purpose and love. A definite must read!

The Last Thing He Told Me | Laura Dave
This started out pretty good for me. I was along for the investigation for sure. I wanted to find the answers and the writing did keep me engaged. But as I was reading along and as Hannah and Bailey got closer to getting those answers, I felt the story line fell a little flat. I’m not a professional writer by any means, but I did feel the ending could’ve gone a different direction. Which direction? I don’t know, but definitely a different one to change my rating from 4 stars to 5.

This Could Be Us | Kennedy Ryan
Ever since I read Before I Let Go last year and found out this book was coming out March 2024, I have been counting the days, weeks, and months to be able to get lost in Soledad’s story. What a perfect read during a month we celebrate International Women’s day! It’s a story of resilience. If a man tears a woman down, watch her rebuild and rise 10x higher. This series is a pleasure to read since it also highlights the strength of a friendship between women. Women who gas each other up, leave no room for jealousy, and will ride or die no matter the situation. One of my favorite quotes from the book is:

” There aren’t enough sonnets for friendship. Not enough songs for the kind of love not born of blood or body but of time and care. They are the ones we choose to laugh and cry and live with. When lovers come and go, friends are the ones who remain. “

This is quite the love story! As much as I loved every word of Soledad and Judah’s love story, my favorite words were about the love she found and had for herself. Soledad hermosa.
MUST. READ.

November 9 | Colleen Hoover
I was in a reading slump after reading This Could Be Us and had left a couple books unfinished because I just couldn’t get myself through them. What better way to get out of a slump than to go out and grab a new CoHo book and boy I was NOT disappointed. I am a sucker for a movie or book premise where two strangers meet and attraction and love comes out of a first and only meeting or where the two lovers meet on a special day. This gave me that and I loved every word. As I read the progression of Ben and Fallon’s relationship, I felt all the heartaches and longing as they did each time they met.

“When you find love you take it. You grab it with both hands and you do everything in your power not to let it go.”

This took me one sitting to read and I regret no minutes I dedicated to the book. If you are willing to feel all the feels, this is a great pick up.

From Scratch | Tembi Locke
Listen, I really did want to like this book. A friend of my mind had nothing but great things to say about the book but, unfortunately, I just couldn’t connect with it. I found myself just pushing through so I can reach the end so I can say I read it cover to cover. Don’t get me wrong, the love she found with Saro, his family, and Sicily was absolutely beautiful, but I just felt like the book fell a little flat for me. I usually do like a book better than when I see a movie or show derived from those stories but I am quite curious if the Netflix show will be grab a tighter hold on my attention.

The Good Part | Sophie Cousens
This is my first pick up from Sophie Cousens and I was NOT disappointed. What a story! Love, family, time travel and a little bit of magic. I mean who doesn’t want to skip to the good part of their life? But what defines the “the good part”? Our life is mixture of a million little things that can make it beautiful. Good, bad, happy, and sad little things. It can all add up to amazing. What good is anything if we don’t get to live through the those little things. It was such a treat to go through this journey with Lucy and read along as she chooses the path that she was meant to follow. This was a great read!

Just For The Summer | Abby Jimenez
First off, EVERYONE should have a friend like Maddy. A homie that knows your goods and your bads and sticks by you no matter what. That protects and champions for you when you can’t see the dangers yourself.
Emma and Justin were too cute. Abby Jimenez has a great way in telling a cute little rom com and throw in some real life shit as curve balls. It isn’t always an ex boyfriend who threatens the happy ever after. It’s the deeper stuff, the inner struggles, the past family traumas, the triggers. Abby Jimenez books are ones I can never put down and this has just been added to that list!

The Things We Leave Unfinished | Rebecca Yarros
Jumping from a love story of the past to one of the present. What a journey! Love stories from back in the day are just so damn romantic. The way the author wrote about Scarlett and Jameson, you can just feel how rare and deep their affection was for one another. It was such a beautiful story.
Let me tell you I laughed, swooned, blushed and fucking cried!! Hard. This is and absolute MUST READ!

Bridesmaid For Hire| Meghan Quinn
This is my first Meghan Quinn read and I thought it was laugh out loud hilarious. The crush and flirtation between Maggie and Brody was fun to read and the spice in the book was hawt! 🥵😏 The bromance part of the book was just as good as the romance part. IYKYK.
If you are looking for a book to brighten up your spirits and to encourage your nasty sexy side, this a good pick up!

The Silent Patient | Alex Michaelides
Boy was this a psychological thriller! I know I could have read it faster than I did but I felt like I needed breaks. Digging into someone else’s thoughts and how it works after it’s been through some trauma can be a bit heavy. The plot twists got me eyes wide and gasping out loud.

Happy Reading!

* Commission links listed above.

Funny Story | @emilyhenrywrites Moments. Lately. A Game of Fate | Scarlett St. Clair Bay side. A Touch of Darkness | Scarlett St. Clair

Four Decades and a Deuce.

Falling in love with who I am.
I don’t have time for anything that’s gonna harm me.


Lyrics: Hello | Aqyila

This past December I celebrated my 42nd birthday. It’s been so long since I wanted to do anything in celebration of my birthday. I struggled hard with depression and anxiety for the past few years and the last thing I wanted to do was to celebrate my life. A morbid thought but a brutally honest truth. I was more than comfortable laying around in the dark, under the covers, with no one around and could feel that was the party of the century for me. But during the summer of 2023, I looked into therapy because I finally came to a point where I no longer wanted to be content in my sadness. I truly believe that helped my mindset once my birthday rolled around.

Once it got closer to my birthday, it was the first time in such a long time I planned ahead. I made a list of people and reviewed potential restaurants with my sister. That in itself shocked the hell out of me. That told me I was committed to do this and it genuinely brought me joy.

Like I mentioned before, my path to brighter days and a brighter mindset started in the summer. I had reached a point where I could no longer hide my sadness and depression. I was more irritable than normal and cried all the time. My soul hurt and it hurt bad. I was also letting negative people take over my thoughts and my space which added on to my dark cloud. Close friends heard and felt the sadness that emitted from my aura no matter how hard I hid behind smiles that I thought, with my whole heart, were pretty convincing. They were, in fact, not convincing at all. They saw through it and one friend in particular told me that they saw the dim in my light and they knew that was not who I was. As she said it with a crack in her voice, I heard it loud and clear behind the tears welling up in my eyes.

And with that, I sought out the help I knew I needed but was too afraid to ask for. After some sessions and a deep reflection of who I am and who I want to be and the impact of the positive people in my life, the dark cloud was lifting. Slowly but surely. I put myself first and weeded out the negative people and pushed away the negative thoughts. I no longer was giving them permission to invade my space. I was able to see and feel that I was deserving of good things and good people. My life deserves to be celebrated. I have been through a lot of shit and have always fought my way out of it to make sure I am there for the people I love. And I realized, I should also be there for the person I should love the most, myself.

So, as I jotted down the names of people I wanted to break bread with on my birthday. I wrote all those names down thoughtfully and with much care. Each stroke of a letter empowered me with deep love. The people who helped me celebrate my life, gave me life in one way or another. They were a mixture of people that I know genuinely want all good things for me and nothing less. Some have been in my life for 20+ years, seen the different versions of me and have stuck by me with no judgement and only loved me harder as the years added on to our friendship. Some have been acquaintances for years and have become family to me in a short period of time. I have a special feeling of gratitude for them. They loved me at a time I was feeling my worst and chose to not let me figure it all out on my own. They encouraged me to find my light. They chose to cry with me and continued to lift me up. They absolutely gave me a strong sense of women supporting women. What an amazing feeling that is!

No matter how much I express it to these special humans, they may never really know how deep my love and appreciation runs for them. But no matter where life ever leads us, they will always hold a special place in my heart because, at this stage of my life, they helped me see that I was worth celebrating. I am worth the effort. And I always have been.

Cheers to many more years of self love and happy adventures with amazing people.

crownandcoffeereads. vol. 7

“A book is a device to ignite the imagination.” – Alan Bennett

None Of This Is True | Lisa Jewell
The characters are quite interesting. The storytelling! I felt frustrated and uneasy as hell! I found myself saying out loud “WTF…this is crazy!” Lol!! As I started off the book I was so confused but also drawn in to piecing the puzzle together. I was definitely invested from the beginning but once I got to part two, I just couldn’t put it down.

Part Of Your World | Abby Jimenez
Talk about a ton of amount of toxic people and relationships in this story! For a person who is in her healing journey, it was tough to read without me yelling out, “Boundaries!!” “Speak and stand up for yourself!!” “Girl, just do you and fuck ’em all!” Lol. Daniel is such a good guy and would have stood out anyway but amongst this pool of toxic characters he was A1.
To the core, this book was sweet. A story that reminds you to know your worth and stand for love.
*Side note: I love how even going into a whole new series you get a little Easter egg that came from her previous series. Cute connections!

Yours Truly | Abby Jimenez
I really connected with the themes that the author touched on in this story. The characters dealt with anxiety and depression which really hit home for me. I definitely felt connected when I read what the character was dealing with when they were anxious and what tools they learned to work through it. And because I do have anxiety, it made me quite anxious reading through that thought process. Uh, what a cycle!!
On to the love story. The beauty of a pair that have to tell white lies to keep up appearances for whatever reason and in the process of faking love, they fall in love will never get old for me. My heart will always flutter thinking of how Bri knows Jacob’s quiets and how Jacob will always show up. *sigh*

Every Summer After | Carley Fortune (re-read)
This is Carely Fortune’s debut novel and it was SO GOOD! I loved it so much I wish there was more story to read. It has all the things that would make you read it in one sitting, as I did! First crush. First love. Beautiful messy relationships that you can never let go of. You will absolutely fall in love with Sam, Percy, and even Charlie. This is an absolute MUST READ!!!!!!!

Arsenic and Adobo | Mia P. Manansala
If you are part of the generation that knows about the shows Murder She Wrote and Monk, this book was giving that.  A vanilla mystery read.  I loved the Filipino aspects of the book and was absolutely proud to have the traditions and foods of my people described in those pages.  The story line could have been a bit better.  There were some parts of the mystery that just didn’t make sense to me.  I give this book 3 stars because I was happy to read a book by a Filipina author with a Filipina protagonist but I think the story line could of had a little more…flavor.

First Lie Wins | Ashley Elston
OH. MY. GOD. I loved this book.  I was madly addicted.  The twists and turns we worth the ride.  There are no honor amongst thieves.  Trust and honesty were hard to come by in this book and I loved every word laid down on the pages.  This was Ashley Elston’s first book going from YA literature into the adult market and it was an absolute homerun!  Can’t wait to read more from her.  10/10 recommend!!

The Worst Best Man | Lucy Score
Good gah!  This book was sweet and spicy as hell.  It took me a day and half to read.  The book was giving me Hallmark, Fifty Shades of Grey, Twilight, and….porn vibes. Lol.  If you are not comfortable with spice, this book is not for you.  Me on the other hand, this book was ABSOLUTELY for me.  I fell in love with Frankie (love that she is fierce and fiesty) first and was head over heels for Aiden.  I loved reading them bicker and loved reading when they made up. *wink wink*  Pick this one up and you won’t be able to put it down!

Mr. Fixer Upper | Lucy Score
A spicy Lucy Score romance has been a go to for me lately. I get my fix of love and some smut but I just wasn’t vibin’ with this book as much as I have with her other books that I’ve read. The leading man, Gannon, was hella intense. At times, too much. Gannon and leading lady, Paige, were extremely dependent on each other. Yes, there were cute, sweet and romantic parts but the vibe was just a little aggressive and rough. I felt it took me a little longer to finish this book off because I just couldn’t quite connect to it.

Happy Reading!

* Commission links listed above.

Funny Story | @emilyhenrywrites Moments. Lately. A Game of Fate | Scarlett St. Clair Bay side. A Touch of Darkness | Scarlett St. Clair

crownandcoffeereads. vol. 6

“Reading forces you to be quiet in a world that no longer makes a place for that.” – John Green

It All Comes Back to You | Melissa Wiesner
Oh. My. God. This book was just so good. An absolute page turner. You’ll quickly fall in love with the characters especially each member of the Weatherall family. Anna is smart and witty as hell and Gabe, the protector, has the biggest heart. This book made me laugh. It made me cry. It broke my heart and mended it back together again. The story was so well written, I felt the emotions so deeply. The yearning, the grief, and especially the love. You have to get your hands on this one!

Life’s Too Short | Abby Jimenez
This book had me laughing from the get! It’s light hearted and so funny and beautifully mixed in with hard and heavy topics. I felt the painful parts as described and was still able to gracefully transition to laughing out loud!
I fell in love with Vanessa right away! I hella want to be her friend. lol. She’s witty and full of life. She’s someone we ALL can take pointers from. As for Adrian, who wouldn’t fall for “Jesus’s Abs” at first sight?! Ha! But as the pages kept turning, the more swooning for him I did. It wasn’t only just how much he cared, it was how he showed it. I couldn’t help but bring my hand to my heart and just sigh every time he graced the pages. I loved this book and I think you would too!

Someone I Used To Know | Paige Toon
I thought I would like this book more. I like Paige Toon’s books but I don’t think this one was for me. It wasn’t a terrible book, I just didn’t connect to it very much. There seemed to be a lot going on and because there were quite a few characters and time jumps it didn’t help the chaos. Although it may not have been my favorite book, the core of the book was about healing traumas to create meaningful connections and that your first love will always be a special one. Those stories will always warm my heart.

Just Another Missing Person | Gillian McAllister
3 stars. I’ve seen other reviews on this book and I do agree with the consensus. It definitely is a slow burn. It took me quite a bit of time to finish the book. The core of the book is about loyalty and family. The moral lines get blurred and doing the “right things AND the wrong things” are a theme throughout for most of the characters. There were some shockers that drew me back in when I felt the drag but not enough for me to give it an extra star.

The Friend Zone | Abby Jimenez
Gah this book hooked me in from the beginning. It was clever and funny. I fell in love with all the characters immediately. Especially Josh! What. A. Man. (In all the ways). I felt all the characters’ longing and definitely felt their love. I laughed out loud a lot. (And cried out loud a lot.) I gasped in shock quite a bit. And I blushed just enough. I was on the edge of my seat for many reasons during the book. My heart broke and mended throughout. If I wasn’t working on last minute knitting orders I would have read this in one sitting. I definitely can’t wait to re-read this again! I loved this story so much, no matter the emotional rollercoaster. It was all “worth it”.

The Happy Ever After Playlist | Abby Jimenez
This book is the second in The Friend Zone series and it started off just as good as The Friend Zone. You feel a bit more connected to the characters since you know them a little from the first book. My heart goes out to Sloan and I can’t imagine the feelings she was feeling at the beginning of this book. But once the conversations were had between her and Jason, I was soaking in their flirtatious and playful back and forth. It was cute as shit! And just like the leading men in most rom com books, Jason is romantic and sweet as hell. His romantic gestures truly made me root for him and gasp “awwwwwws” out loud.

Happy Reading!

* Commission links listed above.

Funny Story | @emilyhenrywrites Moments. Lately. A Game of Fate | Scarlett St. Clair Bay side. A Touch of Darkness | Scarlett St. Clair

My Favorite Moments. – October ’23

Man was life life-ing this month. This post is way passed due but the first half of the school year is usually pretty busy for us PTA officers. I finally got a chance to sort out the month and pick a few of my favorite moments that brought on my happy in October!

Girl Cousin Dinner | My cousins and I never really go out alone together. We have gone out for certain occasions for each other and of course huddle together during family parties. But this month was actually the first time we went out to dinner together, just us three. We went to a Korean restaurant called Daeho Kalbijjim & Beef Soup and it was so good! We broke bread and broke down together. Lol. It gave us space to catch each other up with our lives, shed some tears while we shared some struggles, and made each other laugh out loud. I talk a lot about being grateful to look at my friends and cherish my friendships with them because they are my chosen family. When I look at my two amazing cousins, I’m happy to say even if we weren’t bound by blood, I would still choose them as my family every time.

Field Trip | I was able to chaperone for Monroe’s class trip this fall at a farm in the Bay Area and it was so fun. When Kole was in 3rd grade, he visited the same farm and we were able to bring Monroe as a toddler with Kole’s class. Just another thing to show how quickly time is passing that Monroe got to enjoy this adventure with his own class. *quick pause while I cry a bit*
They did a little 15 minute hike and they got to explore the garden and help pick out veggies. The kids got to cut up the veggies and assemble their own veggie taco. My little foodie loved it! Of course that was his favorite part of the field trip. It was a beautiful day for this trip to the farm. A great time was had for sure!

Halloween | This year Kole was Spider-Man and Monroe was Superman. Although, Halloween is my least favorite event of the year, I was happy the boys still had the spirit and wanted to dress up and trick or treat. Not only that, but Kole went to his first dance and I heard he had a blast. Getting details from him or his cousin about the dance was like pulling teeth AND I STILL didn’t get the low down but I’m just happy he got out of his shell and went!
The kids never really minded if they went trick or treating or not, but for some reason, this year it was top on their list. We went trick or treating with our favorite people and had the best time. The adventure in the damn darkest of nights (Pacifica, you need more street lights!) and all the laughs were worth it after a long day of hosting Monroe’s school Trunk or Treat!

Best Friends | My favorite part of this month is that we got a sweet surprise visit from our best friends. We haven’t seen each other in person in such a long time and it was so nice and refreshing to finally be in the same space with them. Even though it was a quick visit, we crammed in some tea, some laughs, and I got to listen to a mini concert like the good old days. Any time with them I consider quality time for sure. Looking forward to many more times like that soon. Life’s too short! Be with your people! I freaking love them. Endlessly.

The month was so damn busy, I’m grateful I was able to stop and reflect on these beautiful and happy moments!
What brought on your happy this month?

Funny Story | @emilyhenrywrites Moments. Lately. A Game of Fate | Scarlett St. Clair Bay side. A Touch of Darkness | Scarlett St. Clair

Amazon Favorites – 2023. vol. 1

Levoit Air Purifier : This is perfect to store in all the rooms in our house to keep the air clean and cut our allergies down to a minimum.

Coway Air Purifier : This is a bigger purifier that we place in our living room. It helps eliminate the allergens along with odor. Perfect for when you are cooking!

McCulloch Steam Cleaner : This is the best thing we use to deep clean our home. Since covid was introduced into the world we made sure we have as much cleaning and sanitizing products in our house. We use this steam sanitize everything in the home from our couches, to floors, to stove, to all the kids’ toys! We will not give ANY germs any chance of survival!

Carote Pots and Pans : These pieces of cookware have been one of the best affordable pots and pans we have ever used!

Monster Rocker 270 Sport Portable Indoor/Outdoor Wireless Speaker : A great speaker to use around the house while cleaning or to bring along to a picnic at the park.

Running Belt : I love this thing! It’s perfect when you are out for a run or a walk with a friend. Even great when you’re running a quick errand. I was able to put my phone, ID, a credit card, and my key to the house and my car in the belt and it was still comfortable and not bulky at all!

Tripod with Bluetooth Remote : This is great to bring with you on vacations or any occasion. The tripod is lightweight and is extendable and the best thing about this is the bluetooth remote. Pretty useful when you want to get those group photos and to make sure everyone is included.

Magnetic Spice Racks : These babies are heavy duty as hell. They hold everything we need perfectly without a worry!

* Commission links listed above. If you purchase anything by clicking and shopping through any of the links above, I am eligible to receive a small commission through the Amazon Affiliates Program. Thank you in advance for your support for me and my little family!

Funny Story | @emilyhenrywrites Moments. Lately. A Game of Fate | Scarlett St. Clair Bay side. A Touch of Darkness | Scarlett St. Clair

crownandcoffee reads. vol. 5

“I have lived a thousand lives & I’ve loved a thousand loves. I’ve walked on distant worlds & seen the end of time, because I read.” – George R.R. Martin

The Unhoneymooners | Christina Lauren
I have to admit, I didn’t connect to the story immediately. Although I am definitely a fan of playful arguing back and forth as a form of flirting, a technique my husband and I favored before we got together *wink*, there were times I felt it was a little too much. But once we went past the surface level flirting and into Olive’s and Ethan’s story, it was all the way up from there! A sweet chaotic rom com that ended up pretty fun to read!

Before I Let Go | Kennedy Ryan
This book is an emotional, real, and raw look into the struggles a marriage can face while trying to deal with their own individual struggles. Is love enough? Can you find love beneath so much pain? I love how this book took a dive into mental health and the difficulties we face trying to stay above water. How can we love and truly care about others, if we can’t do that for ourselves? I loved this book so much! It was not hard to fall in love with the characters and get lost in the story of Yasmen and Josiah! It is a definite MUST READ!

White Lines | Tracy Brown (re-read)
I first read this book back in maybe 2009 or 2010. I loved it then and I still love it now. Let me tell you this one is for the streets, about the streets, and from the streets. The characters are gully. For the youngins’, think Power (Ghost and Tommy) vibes set in the 90s. It has tons of serious topics that can be triggering for people so keep that in mind. Deep down to the core of the book, it truly is about the strength of love (of any kind), struggle and triumph. Even a hard core thug can have a big ass heart and a desperate addict can not only want a better life but can have it too.

A Flicker In The Dark | Stacy Willingham
Oooowweee! If you are in the psychological thriller mood, this book is for you. I trusted NO ONE off the bat. Lots of gasping in shock! Hella twists. Hella turns. I did enjoy reading about the characters and their backstories because I did feel empathy for them all at some points. Well, for most of them. Definitely a great read!

The Minute I Saw You | Paige Toon
This was an interesting read. I definitely love reading a slow burn flirtatious love story. Reading about Hannah and Sony’s flirtatious banter even gave me butterflies. I did like this book and I did root for the main characters together and individually, but I also felt there was a lot going on. Can two broken people find love with each other? It’s worth the pick up to find out!

The Housemaid’s Secret | Freida McFadden
This book started off a little a slow but once it got to the jaw dropping moments, oh, I could NOT put it down. I felt so many feelings while reading. I felt empathy, annoyed, angry and hella shocked! There were twists, then turns, then more twists, and more turns. A perfect book to read during the spooky season.

Happy Reading!

* Commission links listed above.

Funny Story | @emilyhenrywrites Moments. Lately. A Game of Fate | Scarlett St. Clair Bay side. A Touch of Darkness | Scarlett St. Clair

My Favorite Moments – September ’23

Since the school year has started back up, this half introvert had to channel my half extrovert and go off and socialize as a good PTA officer does. I felt this month being full of meeting new parents, smiling all through Back To School Night introductions, and having PTA meetings has drowned the hell out of me. Even though I’m really good at meeting new people, meeting new people still brings up a strong dose of anxiety. But even with that taking a huge toll on me, I’m thankful I was able to find some joy this month.

Girlfriend Coffee/Dinner Dates | I was able to grab some coffee and dinner with different girlfriends this month. That is so rare to be able to do that! With our busy ass schedules, I appreciate any time I’m able to get with these wonderful women. In our conversations we were able to make each other laugh so damn hard and believe me, we ALL NEEDED THAT. We also sat there and had deep conversations about ourselves, our mental health, struggles with our kids and families, and shed some tears. We also all hella needed THAT. The quality time I had this month with these bad ass women rejuvenated me. They made me feel loved and extremely grateful for the safe space they always offer to me.
It’s the beautiful moments with these beautiful women for me!

My Dad’s Birthday | It was my dad’s birthday this month and the family gathered together after not seeing each other for a quite some time. I was really happy we were able to come together to celebrate my dad’s many years of life and celebrate the woman you gave birth to him. No, it wasn’t her birthday too but it was her LABOR day! It’s damn special to be able to celebrate my dad turning 70 and my grandma being there to celebrate with him as well. I cherish the hell out of that moment. Happy Birthday, dad!

9/20/2023 | Ryan and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary! Look at us! We made it here! Our journey to get here was not smooth or easy. We’ve gone through some rough shit as a couple throughout the years but we still choose to look beyond ourselves, beyond our egos and choose US. Partnerships, relationships, friendships are all hard work. Sometimes giving up is easier when things get tough. He still thinks I’m beautiful no matter how I’ve changed since we first started our lives together. I still cry when he goes out of town for work. He keeps me safe. I keep him wild. “If you think this is as good as it gets, I swear you haven’t seen nothing yet.”

Farewell, Athena | I’ve been pretty involved in my kids’ elementary school for about 7 years now. In the course of my time in the PTA, I’ve formed relationships with quite a bit of teachers and staff members. There is this one teacher who wasn’t a teacher for either of my boys but she definitely holds a special place in my heart. This month she is retiring from her teaching position and she is off to enjoy every moment of her new adventures. I was so grateful to be invited to her retirement party to celebrate her many years of service in education and giving cheers to all the new amazing things she will do outside of the classroom. I will miss your amazing energy and beautiful presence onsite, Athena. Farewell, my Queen.
Schools out.
Love, Fairy Kat.

What a month! So many small and big things that made my heart full. What’s on your list of beautiful moments this September?

Funny Story | @emilyhenrywrites Moments. Lately. A Game of Fate | Scarlett St. Clair Bay side. A Touch of Darkness | Scarlett St. Clair

Be Well. – 2023. vol. 1

The beginning of this year has been particularly rough for me. I’ve had some changes in relationships that have had me really turn focus back to me. I really had to look deeper into myself to find ways to heal and remove myself from chaos. Along with great therapy sessions, I’ve learned to implement some things to keep myself in good spirits and be well.

Facial Steamer : When I’m in the mood to just pamper myself and do a timely and extensive nighttime skin care routine, I add this facial steamer in the mix. Just sit back relax and let the steam bring your mindset to a relaxing spa.

Jade Stone Gua Sha : I definitely try to use this on my face every morning and night. It’s so nice to be able to put on your favorite face oil and use the gua sha to gently massage your face. Helps keep the blood flowing and helps with lymphatic drainage.

Silk Eye Pillow : When I’m dealing with a lot of anxiety, it’s hard for me to get any good sleep. This silk eye pillow with lavender along with a good Peloton sleep meditation on in the background definitely helps me catch some good relaxing zzzzs.

Bloom Dot Journal Planner & Plant Therapy Oil Diffuser : Every year I like to use a different type of planner and I came across this fully blank one. It was really helpful for me this year because I was able to express my creativity by designing it my own way and still stay organized all in one notebook. When I was really in a funk I turn on the diffuser and diffuse some lavender and eucalyptus oil and really just zone out in creativity.

Water Jug : Hydration, hydration, hydration! I have such a hard time drinking water. I know I’m not the only one! When I need assistance in that department, this is a perfect jug to keep me on track.

READ! : That is one hobby I picked up this year and I ran with it. Last year I read 7 book in total. I set a goal for myself to read at least 10 this year and so far I have far surpassed that goal. At this point, I am at 24 total books read this year! It’s a great way to put the phone down and keep the social media scrolling to a minimum. Reading has absolutely aided in my well being this year!

Sunny Health & Fitness Mini Stepper : Keep your body moving! I have a Peloton and I love it. But if I want to stay consistent in keeping my body moving, I need to have variety. I barely have space for the Peloton so getting another workout machine in the house is not an option. I came across this stepper and I fell in love. It looks tiny but it is mighty. It really gets the heart rate up and the sweat DRIPPING! (Bonus sweat drip when you are holding on to weights!)

I hope you are finding something the helps you be well.

* Commission links listed above.

Funny Story | @emilyhenrywrites Moments. Lately. A Game of Fate | Scarlett St. Clair Bay side. A Touch of Darkness | Scarlett St. Clair

There Can Be Peace.

There is a person in my life who I could not stand. Whenever I was around her, I only felt negative energy, anxiety, and stress. She is not a soft, sweet soul. Everyone who has met her has always had at least one negative thing to say about her. I’ll tell you right now, everyone is telling the truth. She is just fine knowing people don’t like her and she moves around the world not liking most people around her. I’m not sure what traumas she has faced in her lifetime but she has opened up about some which explains her demeanor very clearly.

Usually, I’m one to seperate myself from people like this immediately but unfortunately, I have to partner with her for the community and I have to look at the bigger picture. We tolerate each other for the kids in the community. Although, I have to work side by side with this person at times, I never ever have hesitated to let her hear my mouth or bounce back her bad energy x 10. We have actually been able to collaborate with each other for about 6 years or so without huge confrontation until October 2022.

She’s not very good at communicating with people. Her go to approach is to speak to everyone as if she is the highest ranking officer in the military. Ok, maybe I’m being a tad bit dramatic (a TAD!). She just uses the same authoritative tone she uses with the children with the adults but adds a hint of attitude.
No thank you ma’am. That is not how you speak to us.
Anyway, since I am not the one, I gave her a taste of her own medicine and since then we both let our displeasures about each other fester within us the entire school year.

Fast forward to the last day of school, I had initiated a conversation with this person to give us a time and place to air out our grievances to each other and we did just that. We didn’t need a whole day or even an hour. She’s an associate that I just needed to be civil with. We only needed 10 minutes. I let her know about herself, because she would never admit to any wrongdoing. She also would never believe her ACTIONS triggered MY REACTIONS. I’m in my healing era, I wouldn’t pop off all willy nilly if it wasn’t warranted. (lol.) But I also didn’t leave the conversation without admitting my faults in the situation we were in. I didn’t need to always react in the ways that I did (although, again, she started it!! lol – healing is a journey not a destination, I’m still human!)
In the end we agreed to make the rest of the time we need to collaborate together to be a more pleasant one and she actually wanted to hug it out. She is not a hugger by any means so she either wanted me to get the hell out of the room and be done with this or she was actually overly consumed with peace in that moment. I’m going to go with more of the first with just a tiny spec of the second.

Via @wetheurban Instagram.

When I get into a disagreement with someone and a conversation is had, apologies have been swapped and better actions have been promised, I keep my word. I will never talk about the past again. We will continue to move forward with our promises of better actions and reactions. Well, at least I will, since I can’t speak for her. But as the new school year has begun it looks to be going well. I don’t look at her and see red anymore. (Ha!)
Do I think she is a better person? No.
Do I think she is fake during our interactions? Yes.
But the better question is, have I changed? Hella.
I walked into that room at the end of the last school year mentally exhausted, a negative fog surrounding me, and ready for battle. And with great friends and therapy sessions (we’ll get into more of that in a later post), I walked into the new school year a slightly different person. I’ve learned she, or anyone else that isn’t down for me for that matter, doesn’t deserve any of my extra energy. I learned not to feed a negative situation because it will only bring me down into darkness. I learned to let a lot of things go, take a step back and breath because not everything is as big of a monstrosity as I make it out to be.

There can be peace if you want it. And I NEEDED it.

Peace.

Funny Story | @emilyhenrywrites Moments. Lately. A Game of Fate | Scarlett St. Clair Bay side. A Touch of Darkness | Scarlett St. Clair