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

 

These past few months have felt like I've been in catch up mode in all areas of my life (anyone else feel this way too?) Some things have been out of my control, other things not so much 😅 Then I blinked and all of a sudden it was June! 

While it might seem stressful realizing half the year is over, this halfway mark is actually giving me energy to reset and refocus, revisit goals, and check in with myself. I started out by organizing my calendar and adding all the musts (driving, day job, Creative Spark Newsletter, etc.) so I can see where I have time to allot to everything else (art, blog posts, YouTube videos, etc.) I definitely feel like I have a better grasp on things and hopefully this means I can accomplish the things that are most important to me!

 

With that said, one lesson that has been showing up for me lately is WE CAN'T DO EVERYTHING! There's only so much time in the day and so much we can do--we also need to eat, sleep, socialize, etc. Go, go, go is impossible to keep up with long term! I have so many ideas and things I want to do and this is a reminder for me to FOCUS and really narrow things down to the main goal so I can make progress instead of getting stuck in a hamster wheel of busywork. 

 

To wrap this up, I wanted to share one of the 4 Agreements from Don Miguel Ruiz. We might not be able to do everything but we can:

I‘m going into the next half of the year with renewed motivation and focus (which will ebb and flow!), trying my best, and also remembering not to be so hard on myself. 

 

I wish you good energy, health, many forms of love, inspiration, and grace in your weeks and months ahead :)

 

To wrap up May, below are shares for the month, road trip reflections, and what's next!

 

Did you discover something you loved, made you laugh or found useful recently?

Hit reply and let me know--I'd love to hear!

I'm looking back on my time in San Antonio and documenting it over on my blog! I spent over a month there and have so many photos and experiences I want to share that it's taking some time to post them all. I decided to split them up and have finished the first 3. I would love for you to take a peek at them if you're curious how Texas was :) Scroll through and check out the photos (Valentine makes lots of appearances!) or read the posts in their entirety:

 

 

Since my last newsletter I've gotten a chance to live in Atlanta, drive through Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, spend time in North Carolina, and I've been in West Virginia for the past week. 

 

People continue to be friendly (and fans of Val :)) and I was really surprised by how green the South is! There are huge trees everywhere and so many birds singing. 

 

The greenest of all so far has been West Virginia! Val and I checked out New River Gorge National Park the other day and it's so beautiful. The lush mountainous landscape seems to go on forever and it's like this outside the park too!

Thank you for being here and take good care! Talk to you soon,

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