-
Beautiful Books That Make Perfect Gifts
Sometimes the best part of a book is the pictures.
Today I’m sharing a collection of some of my favorite beautiful books that I love to look through. I find myself pulling them from the shelves to flip through again and again.
So if you’re looking for cozy, lovely books for yourself or someone else, here is a list of some of my favorites to get you started!
-
14 Ways I’m Saving Money With Chronic Illness
Today I’m sharing 14 ways I’m saving money, which is especially important for those of us with chronic illness or disability.
Most if not all of these tips could be used by anybody who is looking to save a few dollars.
Several of these tips are based on preventative measures to make sure you’re taking advantage of savings and not losing money.
-
Choosing a Focus for Each Month + Free Printables
Throughout this year, I’ve been trying an experiment choosing a focus for each month. I love setting and achieving goals, and lately I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about how to make goals more attainable. So I’m changing the way I set goals and sharing what I learned with you all!
I really love the idea of setting multiple big goals at the beginning of a new year, but this year that felt really out of reach, and honestly self-defeating, as the last couple years my chronic illnesses and new health issues have prevented me from reaching goals.
So I decided to choose a focus for each month—not a set number of to-do’s or things I had to complete by a certain time. To me, a focus is flexible and helps guide where I put my energy and what I work on.
-
50 Things About Me As A Reader
I love when people share what they love about books, their reading habits, and memories around reading.
Back in 2020, I read a blog post from Modern Mrs Darcy called 100 Things About Me As A Reader. I loved the idea of compiling a list like this, and I asked a friend if she would like to start creating one too. So over the next several months, we jotted down our thoughts on reading.
I had fun capturing my stories about reading and some of my quirks as a reader. Once my list reached 50, it felt like I had a good portrait of who I am as a reader.
I found my list the other day and enjoyed reading through it, and thought it would be fun to polish and update for my blog.
-
Snapshot Journal: Spring Is Here
I love that recording just a brief snapshot of what I’ve been up to has been an attainable, rewarding goal. I’ve enjoyed looking back at my previous snapshot posts.
This practice seems especially helpful for those of us with chronic illness who enjoy journaling. I’m finally recovering from a bad ME/CFS flare that sent me to bed for most of five days and then lingered for over two weeks longer, so I wanted to spend some time reflecting on good things.
I hope this post inspires you to create a snapshot journal of your own. Feel free to adjust it to fit your own interests and energy levels.
-
My Favorite Natural Makeup Products
I’m sharing some of my favorite natural makeup products that are free from many ingredients that can cause allergic reactions or health concerns. Plus, they’re my favorites because they look great and wear well!
I’ll share resources for checking the safety of makeup products, and more about why I’m so passionate about makeup free of toxins, especially as someone with multiple chronic illnesses.
It can be quite the time investment to find out which makeup is safest for your skin and health.
I’m hoping this post will save you a lot of trial and error, and ultimately both time and money as you find healthier products.
-
Snapshot Journal: What I’m Doing Currently
I’m back with recommendations of books, shows, and more that I’ve been enjoying, along with an update on me.
I took a blogging break for a few months because I received new medical diagnoses and had to have surgery in July. I also went through a time where there was concern that my cancer had recurred, but results from my surgery came back clear, praise God.
I didn’t feel like writing about these challenges at the time. And I also didn’t feel like blogging without addressing them because it felt like I would be denying my reality and the affect it was having on me.
I share this as a reminder that if you have a chronic illness or blog about chronic illness, we don’t have to share things right away. And we don’t have to share everything if it doesn’t feel helpful.
-
Snapshot Journal: What I’m Doing Currently
I wanted to try a new kind of blog post where I create a list showing a snapshot of what I’ve been doing lately. I’m recording what I’ve been enjoying to celebrate the little things and practice gratitude.
This list is partly drawn from this blog post by Gillian Parlane about documenting and remembering the little things. I’ve been reading her blog after enjoying her TED Talk: Change Your Closet, Change Your Life.
My snapshot journal is also partly inspired by what I’m learning about neuroplasticity and health.
