Plot Points #36 ๐
Living local, uniforms, writing for publication, and the life you were meant for
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Hi there and happy Friday!
Iโve 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, โLetโs just move there already.โ
Putting your home on the market when you have no idea where youโll 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 youโre reading this I hope youโre 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, Iโm 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 donโt 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 inโฆand just wore those? Honestly, I kind of love it.
Point #2: โAnd our eyes, oh, how they do wanderโฆโ
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 offers a gentle correction for our belief that โthe grass is always greenerโ somewhere else. If youโre looking for ways to fall in love with where you are, and why it matters, youโll 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 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: โ[I]t was stinking hard. But it didn't make it not where I was supposed to be.โ
Word of the Week
Liberosis: (n.) The desire to care less about things.
No-Buy Year Receipts
If youโre new to these parts, hello! ๐ Iโm 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 oneโs 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
Iโve 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, Iโve 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 Iโm 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, Iโll just use it up anyway and try another brand later.
Books: $0
Iโve made zero book purchases! We are at the library at least four days a week now ๐คฃ. They love us.
I did get this nifty financial update on my check-out receipt the other day, so Iโm pretty pleased with myself. Youโre welcome, trees! (Except for the receipt itself, I suppose.)
I have noticed that Iโm 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 Iโm 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 Tรถrzs and I just know itโs going to be one of my favorite books of the year. So, so good!
Iโm still working on
โs memoir Sorry Iโm Late, I Didnโt Want to Come and itโs hilarious and tender and wonderful. I wish I wouldโve had this book as a young introvert who didnโt understand why I loved people so much but also didnโt like them.Up next on my list is the YA dark fantasy novel The Luminaries by Susan Dennard which Iโm very much looking forward to as itโs been far too long since Iโve enjoyed a supernatural romance.
What are you reading right now? ๐๐ผ
(All book links are affiliates.)
โNormality is a paved road. Itโs comfortable to walk, but no flowers grow.โ
โVincent Van Goghโ
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I keep meaning to pick up that memoir, itโs such a brilliant title!
Ah! Thank you for your kind words Wendi! And that is the first time my writing has been called gorgeous :)