Plot Points #36 💌

Living local, uniforms, writing for publication, and the life you were meant for

Jan 19, 2024

Plot Points is a weekly newsletter where I share my favorite books, links, words, and more. If you enjoy what you find here, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription.

Hi there and happy Friday!

I’ve spent most of my week searching way too many houses in way too many towns on every real estate site known to man, only to end up staring at cottages on the Isle of Skye or Prince Edward Island and thinking, “Let’s just move there already.”

Putting your home on the market when you have no idea where you’ll live once it sells is an exercise in patience, faith, and wishing your therapist would come back from her extended leave ANY MOMENT NOW. (M, if you’re reading this I hope you’re well and, wow, do we have a lot of to catch up on.)

We are in the winter season in every possible way. Instead of trying to force the days to feel like spring, I’m holding fast to the truth of what happens in winter: rest, which leads to unseen growth, which soon blooms with fragrant warmth into new life. I trust in this process. I pray for deep roots. I thank God for what comes next, whatever next may be.

Thank you for spending some of your time with me here. Have a lovely weekend!

Point #1: We all need a uniform.

We don’t have to do what this woman has done and wear the exact same outfit every single day, but imagine what kind of emotional energy (and time!) you could save if you picked a handful of outfits you feel great in…and just wore those? Honestly, I kind of love it.

Point #2: “And our eyes, oh, how they do wander…”

The idea of a strong local community has been on my heart daily as we seek direction for where we will move, and this gorgeous piece from

Over the Field

offers a gentle correction for our belief that “the grass is always greener” somewhere else. If you’re looking for ways to fall in love with where you are, and why it matters, you’ll appreciate his words.

Point #3: The list you need is right here.

Want to submit your work for publication? Have a story you think people will love? Look no further than this extensive list of literary magazines closing for submissions soon and get yours in now!

Point #4: The hard things are also the good things.

This essay from

Tsh Oxenreider

was a much-needed balm to my spirit this week. She writes so tenderly about welcoming difficult seasons as opportunities, and I was reminded to hold fast to this truth in my own life: “[I]t was stinking hard. But it didn't make it not where I was supposed to be.”

Word of the Week

Liberosis: (n.) The desire to care less about things.

No-Buy Year Receipts

If you’re new to these parts, hello! 👋 I’m doing a no-buy year for 2024 and sharing the journey with periodic updates via this newsletter and longer posts you can read here. Glad to have you!

As it turns out, the prospect of selling one’s home makes a person less concerned with everyday items and more concerned with, you know, houses. Our purchases have been more moving boxes than clothes or books these days, so my receipts for this third week of 2024 are pretty boring. (Hooray!)

Coffee: $9.94

I’ve managed to stay within my outside-coffee-buying budget every week except for Wednesday morning when I took Lucy to her well-check and treated us to a random Starbucks run. Otherwise, I’ve used points or enjoyed our weekly Sunday morning treat. I also had coffee with a friend, which is allowed, and purchased a new lavender syrup at TJMaxx because lavender lattes are my go-to coffee shop order and I’m hoping it will elevate my at-home drinks.

Hair Care: $7.06

I also purchased a new shampoo to help volumize my thin, fine hair and give me support for no-heat days. We have shampoo at home, but my husband buys cheap stuff, Lucy has super thick, wavy hair, and Theo still uses baby shampoo, so I put it in the necessary category. I did hold off until my current shampoo was out, at any rate. If it sucks, I’ll just use it up anyway and try another brand later.

Books: $0

I’ve made zero book purchases! We are at the library at least four days a week now 🤣. They love us.

I did get this nifty financial update on my check-out receipt the other day, so I’m pretty pleased with myself. You’re welcome, trees! (Except for the receipt itself, I suppose.)

I have noticed that I’m turning more and more to YouTube and Pinterest to satisfy the craving for happy hormones that a new item would have offered in the past. Some of that has to do with stress and all the what-ifs about the move, and I’m okay with it for now. My brain is at limited capacity these days.

Total Purchases: $17.00

Reading in The Nook

Speaking of books, I finished the marvelous Ink, Blood, Sister, Scribe by Emma Törzs and I just know it’s going to be one of my favorite books of the year. So, so good!

I’m still working on

Jess Pan

’s memoir Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want to Come and it’s hilarious and tender and wonderful. I wish I would’ve had this book as a young introvert who didn’t understand why I loved people so much but also didn’t like them.

Up next on my list is the YA dark fantasy novel The Luminaries by Susan Dennard which I’m very much looking forward to as it’s been far too long since I’ve enjoyed a supernatural romance.

What are you reading right now? 👇🏼

(All book links are affiliates.)