My mom recently sent me this poem, after I was complaining to her about the mental and emotional energy I’ve been spending on some life things that are out of the norm or usual routine. I was chatting with her about when life doesn’t go as planned, and just how frustrating that can be. How I wanted/expected/hoped/thought aspects of life would go a certain way and it…hasn’t. I found the poem comforting and thought you might too. 💛
Someone has altered the script.
My lines have been changed.The other actors are shifting roles.
They don’t come on when they’re expected to,
and they don’t say the lines I’ve written
and I’m being upstaged.I thought I was writing this play
with a rather nice role for myself,
small, but juicy
and some excellent lines.But nobody gives my cues
and the scenery has been replaced.
I don’t recognize the new sets.
This isn’t the script I was writing.
I don’t understand this plot at all.To grow up
is to find
the small part you are playing
in this extraordinary drama
written by somebody else.- Madeleine L’Engle, "Act III, Scene II” from The Weather of the Heart
LIFE UPDATES
UPCOMING TRAVEL - next month we go to California (!!) for my best friend Aimee’s wedding! The girls will stay with my in-laws, and E and I are spending a few days in Carmel Valley before heading up to San Francisco. I am SO excited to see so many good friends from college and SF and just to be back in the Bay Area! We also just booked a trip to Boston, MA and Maine for early September. I’ve never been to the Northeast area of the country ever!
CAR ACCIDENT - I don’t even know where to begin. You may have been following along on my car journey but long story short, we bought a new car (Kia Telluride) at the beginning of June and at the end of June (literally…four weeks on the dot after it was in my possession) I got in a car accident. Someone ran a stop sign and slammed into me a few blocks from our house. The car still had temporary tags on it…it was that new. Thankfully, I was alone and without the girls. THANKFULLY THANKFULLY THANKFULLY. I shared some of the story here. The last few weeks have been spent dealing with the aftermath of that — lots of calls with insurance, ordering new carseats, going to chiropractor appointments for neck and shoulder pain, dealing with my big feelings around the experience, dropping off the car to get fixed (it’ll be a month+) and much more. Not a very exciting ‘life update’ but…definitely an experience that is very top-of-mind right now. Sigh.
ISR SWIM LESSONS: DONE! ✔️ The girls wrapped up their ISR lessons! This feels like a huge deal because the lessons were every day for 10 minutes, for 6 weeks, so obviously this was a big part of our routine/schedule for the last month and a half. I share more about our ISR experience in this blog post.
WAYS TO HELP OTHERS
This feels like the most important thing to share, because there’s little else I’ve been thinking about. I’ve shared about my friend Lindsay and her daughter Luna before, but unfortunately my update about their family is a really devastating and heartbreaking one. The Mains family lost sweet and brave Luna earlier last week. Here is the family's GoFundMe to help with medical expenses, funeral costs, and anything else the family may need during this devastating time. There is also a Mealtrain to help with food, as well as other ways to support below and here. 🌙
RECENT BLOG POSTS
Step-by-Step of Building Built-In Shelves (good job, E!)
My Favorite Comfy ‘Underthings’ (bras, undies, etc. that I own and are COMFORTABLE!)
REFLECTIONS (a few things I’ve shared on my blog and/or Instagram lately)
My mom sent me this message when I was locked out of my IG account a few months ago. In case you needed a gentle reminder: who we are is bigger than our social media presence. Social media doesn't "make us" because we mattered and had intrinsic value and worth before its existence. Social media won’t “break you” because we are bigger than anything that happens in this digital space. Regardless of whatever success or shortcomings that happen in our digital lives, we are ENOUGH. We are more valuable than our biggest social media success and we are worthy despite our biggest social media failures.
Let's not measure our success around how fast our Instagram followers grow or whether a video we create goes viral. Let's not let the glitz and short-term satisfaction from likes and social media affirmations distract us from the beauty right in front of our eyes. Let's not get lost scrolling, but instead sit with ourselves. Let's not prioritize social media connection over real-life, real-world connections. Let's not allow the online world to have more value than the physical world and our ordinary, beautiful lives right here.
With or without a social media account, you're wonderful and interesting and important. You mattered before social media and you'll matter after or without social media. Let's build and invest in and strengthen our regular, offline selves and not just polish and tweak our online selves. Instagram didn't make you, and it will never undo you. 💛
THINGS I RECENTLY BOUGHT
I’ve had my ‘regular’ leather Birkenstocks since Christmas, but recently got this white ‘Eva’ pair — they feel like a mix of Crocs and Birks and are SOOO comfy, plus ~$50!
Just bought this SKIMS bandeau bra after many recommendations!
I’ve been using period undies for a few months now, but just ordered these Period Sleep Shorts and wow - I LOVE. I hate having to deal with period things in the middle of the night and these are comfortable and super absorbent. 10/10.
This $25 puff sleeve dress is in weekly rotation lately!
We’ve gotten a ton of use out of this splash pad this summer.
RECENTLY READ
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid - couldn’t put this one down! Really good, easy read.
American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins - okay, I’m still reading this one, but it’s so good that it’s hard to put down! It’s a story about an immigrant mother and her son trying to flee Mexico to America
The Boy, The Horse, The Fox and The Mole by Charlie Mackesy - my sister told me about this and I’m so glad she did. It’s a sweet, simple story of four friends with lots of life lessons and encouragement. It’s great for kids (Lucy loves reading it!) but also makes a beautiful gift for a grown-up and looks cute sitting out on your coffee table. Highly recommend!
All Along You Were Blooming: Thoughts for Boundless Living by Morgan Harper Nichols - I’ve been following MHN for years, and this book of her poetry and artwork is just the absolute best thing. I have it on my bedside table and it’s brought so much comfort, encouragement, and inspiration to me.
CODES & DISCOUNTS
LUCKYANDI for 10% off everything in my Moroccan textile shop!
ANDI25 - Get 25% off Eizzy Baby - we love their collapsible silicone snack cups
LUCKYANDI- Get 10% Chelsea & West Pop-Up Play Tents
Get 20% off everything from Kitsch at this link; they sell my favorite (cute, comfy, affordable) face masks and also great hair accessories
LUCKY10 for 10% off Little Colorado - we recently bought a kids picnic table and it’s the best!
LUCKY5OFF for $5 off your first Vellabox candle subscription order
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I read "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" recently too. It was a good read.