Atiliay | Notes
 
Atiliay noun, a play off the French word “atelier”; a workshop/studio, esp of an artist or designer; my creative space
Notes plural noun, a brief record of facts, topics, thoughts written down as an aid to memory; a short informal letter
 

Happy April and National Letter Writing Month! I wanted to start off with a big thank you to everyone who signed up for the 2024 Snail Mail Swap! This is the biggest swap I've gotten to host with participants from Canada, Indonesia, The UK, Germany, Italy, Australia, Slovakia, The Netherlands, New Zealand, and the US! Matches have been sent out and I can't wait for everyone to start sending and receiving postcards! If you missed this one, I definitely want to host another and will keep you in the loop!
 
Below are March shares and road trip reflections from the rest of my time in Santa Fe to exploring Lubbock, TX!

Image item

MARCH SHARES

 Some things I've enjoyed in the past weeks that I wanted to share with you! I hope there's something here that you find fun, inspiring, or helpful!
  • Postcrossing Send and receive postcards to and from random people from around the world! I've done this a few times and it's so fun!
  • Need some letter writing prompts? Here are some of my talented friend Wileen's favorites, shown in a super cute lettered sketchbook spread!
  • Manatee Stamps PSA new cute USPS postage stamp design!
  • The Big Year is a personal challenge / competition where birders try to identify as many birds as possible by sight/sound within a year! It's also a movie with Jack Black, Steve Martin, and Owen Wilson that I loved! I'm officially a wannabe birder!
  • Blueberry Diplomacy Listen to this lovely story about an introvert, his extroverted girlfriend, and picking blueberries at a stranger's house. A lot of what he said made me laugh (I would totally do what his gf did lol).
  • Physical 100 Season 2 This show gets so intense but I'm obsessed! I enjoyed watching them do a bunch of tough challenges that tested their physical and mental strength from the comfort of my couch while eating ice cream and cookies lol I think what I love about the show is that as competitive and rough as it gets, there's so much respect and sportsmanship. And it does inspire me to work out a little bit lol. Watch the trailer here.
  • And if you want something a little more relaxing, I love these videos by Rosie where she shares what she eats in a week at her Nonna's house in Italy.  
  • New music from Zayn and I am here for it. Wasn't expecting this sound which makes me like it more, also love the look of the lyrics video.
  • I'm currently on day 44 of my 100 Day Project! Here's what it's looking like, the embroidery and tire section might be my favorite so far, and here's a 25 day recap!

ROAD TRIP REFLECTIONS & RECENT ADVENTURES

I finally finished recapping February! You can find them on my blog:
 
 
These posts are like a digital scrapbook / journal for me so they can get pretty long, especially since I take a ton of pictures! Feel free to read part of it, scroll through for the pics, or check out the entire thing. After looking back on my time in NM, here are some final thoughts…
 
The people are so friendly and nice, the landscape and nature here is beautiful, I had the best horchata here, and it snows the perfect amount--enough to enjoy but not make driving hard.
 
On the flip side it's possible to get altitude sickness, the ant & bug situation was annoying, and there wasn't a 99 Ranch Market of HMart in town. (See the full pros/cons list in the part 2 recap!) 
 
My expectations prior to arriving were completely wrong (I thought it was going to be just like AZ) and I was pleasantly surprised by so many things! Both Valentine and I enjoyed the snow so much (before this I had only seen snow fall from the sky twice) and learned we are OK living in 30-40 degree weather. I'm so glad we stayed here and really enjoyed what New Mexico has to offer! 
 
So far we've been to 6 states, OR, WA, ID, UT, AZ, & NM. My top 3 would WA, OR, & NM, with WA being my #1 still and where I can see Val & I  settling down most. As we continue to make our way thought the south and to the east coast, I wonder if that will change! 
 
February's recaps brings us to the last week of the month. I decided to put all of San Antonio's recaps together so that's where I'll pick up, when we arrive in SATX from Lubbock! 

Have a good start to your month and the beginnings of a new quarter! Take good care and talk to you soon,

Image item

PS: Some recent snapshots from Boerne & San Antonio--I can't believe my time here is wrapping up! Just 4 more days until I head to Austin--and see the eclipse at Pedernales! Anyone else checking out the eclipse?

You've received this note because you've provided your email address. You can expect 2-3 notes in your inbox per month.
If you're using Gmail and this email ended up under the “Promotions” tab/folder, drag it to your “Primary” inbox then click “Yes" when asked “Do this for future messages?" If this email was sent to your spam folder, please mark this email address, hello@atiliay.com, as “not spam” and add to your contacts.