How was your literate life this week? As always, I’m here to celebrate our literate lives with a sneak peek into my own. Here’s what I’ve been reading, writing, learning and loving this week:

What I’m Reading:

This past weekend, I was sharing book recommendations with others and the question I’ve come to expect after recommending children’s literature to adults was asked: Why in the world do you read so many kids books? Well, this book is exactly why. 

Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds is one of those books that adults need to read just as much as children do. Why? It makes us think. The book is told in ten chapters, from the perspective of ten different groups of children, across ten blocks of a city as they walk home from school. While each chapter beautifully tells the story of each child or children, as you continue to read, you start to envision the connections between them. The stories are heartfelt glimpses into the realities of children that might go unseen, yet also celebrate the beauty of family, friendship and connection. I found myself personally impacted by each chapter and may have had to wipe a tear of two away as the book came to an end. This is a must read.

What I’m Writing:

I’m writing about worth. I was listening to Marie Forleo’s podcast and she said something that made me stop in my tracks, to literally need to pull over and ponder her words. A listener called in with a business question, wondering how much to charge for her online course. She asked: How do you figure out what your offering is worth? And Marie’s response? Here it is. Get ready: Your worth is what you say it is. Oh, my. Just say that little phrase to yourself. And then start writing. If we determine our own worth, what messages are we sending to ourselves at this very moment? And how might we rewrite them, if we need to? I’ll be notebooking on this for a while. Join me.

What I’m Learning:

This week, I tackled the topic of habits. I read Better Than Before: What I Learned About Making and Breaking Habits–to Sleep More, Quit Sugar, Procrastinate Less, and Generally Build a Happier Life by Gretchen Rubin and my habit-loving heart is ON FIRE. Really. I’m thinking through some new habits I want to cultivate, some old habits I need to get rid of and loving every minute of her writing voice.

What I’m Loving:

I’ve got a few things I loved this week. Here they are:

This mold for creating hot chocolate bombs. I’ve learned the key to making excellent hot chocolate bombs is in the mold. Our new bombs were pretty great, if I do say so myself. Next, learning how to decorating them. =)

This color palette site. It’s soothing, fun to use to visualize new colors in your home, perfect for choosing outfit colors (if we can ever go anywhere!) and could even launch some notebook writing around tone and mood! The snail-paced soft pink, unsealed mahogany and lousy watermelon palette is going to spark some Valentine’s writing for me. =)

This reminder from Cleo Wade. (Beware…there is naughty language!)

There you have it! I hope this inspires you to make space for more reading and writing in your own life. What are the highlights from your literate life this week?