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Found Offline — a list of things that have caught my eye, been inspiring, and/or have made me stop to think about x y or z. These finds, true to the chapter’s name, didn’t take place on the internet. Sharing them with you as I think you might enjoy them too. A mini Home Update — a list of current project and links to where you can see more of completed ones! And Musings as of Late — an assortment of books, music, food, etc that have been mini joys (or all consuming) that you might relate to as well (would love to know your Musings in the comments if you feel called to share); delivered to you in a “speed round” format. Enjoy!

I’ve been trying to look offline more and more for inspiration and education. Sometimes it’s lovely to dive deep down a rabbit hole on Substack or Pinterest, however sometimes I find that the classics (magazines, a coffee table book, objects around you, a walk in the park) will truly hold the biggest spark of inspiration, thought, memory, or joy.

Workshops: This is a semi online one as the prompts take place on an app, but primarily offline for the meat of the work. I’ve just finished up the Be Seen challenge with To Be Magnetic (if you’ve listened to the Expanded Podcast these are the same folks!). I signed up for their pathway membership last year to do the Inner Child Workshop, but did not complete it as my world got flipped upside-down and life was really hard for a few months (still is, still catching my breath, but functioning). These challenges make you face a lot head on as you really “do the work” and dive deep into confrontation with parts of yourself that you maybe wouldn’t have done otherwise. They also just take time to literally do. You listen to DI’s (guided somatic meditations), journal, and follow other aligned actions throughout the month (yes, partially woo woo, but also everything they do is science backed). To me it feels like the right amount of work (10-30 minutes for 4-5 times/week), but it does require commitment so if you’re thinking about joining for the next one make sure you have (or make) time to commit.

This Be Seen challenge was fantastic IMO. It was about facing parts of you that might have been holding you back from, well, being seen; whether it’s with friends, family, career, personal goals, etc.. The workshop is set up in a way that helps you confront any past traumas or insecurities that might be hindering you from where you want to actually be in life. The goal is to release what’s holding you back and allow yourself to move forward feeling unblocked and more magnetic to the energies and life you want to attract with aligned action and tangible steps to do this. If you claim to have no woo woo in you then this probably is flying over your head (and honestly maybe my page isn’t the right one for you lol) but if any bit of this has made you think “oof girl I need to do that” then at minimum I’d recommend listening to their podcast, Expanded (free). I did that for a few months at first and then signed up for a year long membership. You don’t have to agree with everything they say or believe, but if even a small percentage or a quote or two can make a positive impact on you I think that’s what their ultimate goal is. Jess (podcast host) is incredibly relatable and truthfully vulnerable (also just a great host and interviewer). On the small chance you see this Jess, thank you for all you do!

Walks around the creek: When I move in somewhere new I love to go on a daily walk to explore the neighborhood, so between unpacking boxes at this new spot I did just that. I went in every direction except one and felt like I knew the lay of the land and started repeating a route that I enjoyed. My landlord came by to fix something one day and asked if I had walked by the creek yet. I had not, I didn’t know it existed! It was the one direction I hadn’t yet explored. So the next morning I ventured down the neglected (by me) path and came to find the most magical wonderful welcoming little creek loop! It’s about a mile long and loops around a creek surrounded by trees, a community “rock snake,” a community garden, a playground, and lots of happy pups out for walks.

I couldn’t believe I almost missed this wonderful spot, but am so glad to have found it. I walk or run (trying to be better about exercise again) it almost every day now and it really is a highlight of my day. So take this as a sign to explore your neighborhoods even more, or neighborhoods around yours, and try to carve out a little oasis nearby. Might be a park, a walkway, a river or stream, maybe its a beach path, or a hidden trail in the forest, maybe it’s even a couple of blocks in your favorite part of the city you live in! Whatever makes you so happy to be surrounded by is worth finding.

Gardening: Dirt under my nails has become a very welcome sight. Taking time out in the garden or putzing around a nursery has really turned into an offline activity that I don’t take for granted. I find it to be one of the parts of my day that I am most present and least anxious. Phone away, laptop shut, nothin but me and some plants. Might not be doing much, but it’s doing much for me.

Even if you don’t have yard, but can grow a few seeds on a windowsill, it’s really is wonderful to see a little sprout turn into something green.

So much has been done, and yet there is still so much to do. I don’t even know where to start with this update so I’m going to go about this section in a bullet list format:

Bookshelf update!
I found a TV cabinet! I love having my TV not on display for aesthetic reasons, but I also love that I’m more intentional about when I choose to tune in for a show or movie rather than just having it on out of habit.
Bathroom update!
Slowly finding pieces via marketplace, antique shops, thrifts, and flea markets.
Kitchen updates!

What other projects are to be done?

Find lots of chairs: armchairs, dining chairs, and a desk chair.
Add some curtains to the bottom few shelves of my bookshelves, similar to this.
I’m looking for a huge piece of art for my living room. I would love to find or make a canvas that feels like my Art Pinterest board:
I would love to get some cafe curtains over my kitchen sink window. I did a temporary makeshift curtain to test it out and I love the privacy it adds while still letting light in, so I’m on the hunt for fabric for this project (thrift shops tend to have such good cotton fabric scraps in their craft sections as well as old pillowcases/sheets that could be turned into curtains) or I’m open to buying something if I can find something I like that’s already out there!
Finding and adding an entryway storage/credenza, would love to find something antique or secondhand for this!
Hanging up entryway coat hooks and mirror (found the mirror at a flea market, but need to get some heavy duty mirror hangers for this).

Ooof so many more little projects to be done, but this is my main list for now!

What a journey this garden has been (and still is)!! So many updates have happened in the past month including, but not limited to: 2 veg beds, 3 shrubs in the ground, 3 bags of soil from the soil farm, 1 horrible sunburn, and many afternoons just starring at the yard trying to figure out what to do.

If you want to go down a deep dive on the garden update, you can catch up on everything in this post, but if you’re only mildly curious here’s my mini update.

There is a LOT to think about when planning a garden, where the sun will hit (and where it won’t), the flow of the space, what style you’re going for (English, cottage, Mediterranean, etc), how much time you can give to upkeep (pruning, watering, feeding, etc), what your goal is (flowers, veggies, herbs, etc), and much more. When starting my garden I was eager for both flowers and veggies which lead me to dive in quicker than I should have, but it was the end of Spring when I moved and I wanted to catch the season before it was over.

I ended up planting some veggies in a raised bed, and then later more in a half wine barrel, along with finally transplanting my potted shrubs from my last place into the ground (so grateful I can plant in the ground even though I rent). We’ll see how the transplants do, but so far the veggie beds are freaking lovinggggg lifeeeeee. I have pole beans, lettuce, carrots from seed, basil from seed, two varieties of tomatoes, and nasturtiums from seed as well. I also have some florals going like petunias, roses, lavender, pansies, and salvia. Tip: if you’re new to gardening choose something that’s suited to your zone, hard to kill, and that you see thriving in other peoples yards — its a good sign it’ll grow well for you too!

My next garden goals are to transplant one of my rose bushes to a larger terracotta pot, get the lavender in the ground, add an herb barrel bed (rosemary, lavender, and other “dry climate” herbs) to the opposite side of my other barrel (this will “ground the space” more), and get my garden furniture in (I found a table/chairs at an estate sale, but they need them there while staging to sell the house, hoping to get them sometime before the end of July). If you’re a pro or a newbie, how’s your summer gardening going?? Any discoveries or happy moments so far??

Monthly Musings; June

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