How was your literate life this week? Here’s what I’ve been reading, writing, learning and loving this week:

What I’m Reading:

I’m attacking my reading goal to read outside of my typical realistic fiction happy place and read Don’t Overthink It: Make Easier Decisions, Stop Second-Guessing and Bring More Joy to Your Life by Anne Bogel. I am plagued by decision fatigue by the end of each day and it has really taken a toll on my physical and mental well-being. I overthink EVERYTHING. But Anne finally made me realize I can actually do something about that. Filled with important information, compelling quotes and vignettes that instantly reminded me of my own life, this book was a breath of fresh air. Sure, it was focused on a pretty intense topic, overthinking, but rather than shame and correct, Anne sympathized and encouraged. I’m leaving this book armed with the tools I need to tackle my overthinking and am eager to get started.  I’ll start by shifting my routines to rituals and embracing simple abundance. So, while Anne started as a mentor for my reading life, she is now a mentor for living a life well lived. And the best news? Right now, it’s only a $1.59 when you download it to your Kindle app!

What I’m Writing:

You know I LOVE lists and I’ve written a few of them this week. But my favorite is a list inspired by my favorite bookish blog Modern Mrs. Darcy. Each year, Anne creates a list of things saving her and giving her life during the downcast winter months and this year, we have even more reason to create our own. So that’s exactly what I did. What’s saving me? Good, clean coffee. More time at home with my family. Baking new gluten-free recipes with my daughter. Lots of reading. Walks with our new puppy. Movie night. Daily yoga. What’s on your list? Creating this might only take a few minutes, but the impact is long lasting.

What I’m Learning:

My husband and I watched The Post this past week, an incredibly interesting account of the attempts by journalists at The Washington Post to publish the infamous “Pentagon Papers”. One particular scene fascinated me: setting up the daily paper using letterpress printing. Given my love of hand lettering, I was instantly drawn to the process and of course, spent some time on YouTube to get a first-hand glimpse of the process. But I wanted more, so I headed to The Kid Should see this and spent 7 minutes completely enthralled in how the letterpress works. I really need to try this in person!

What I’m Loving:

Oh, could you only imagine if everyone, everywhere, started creating these miniature scenes to beautify our world? The miniature dollhouse-lover in me just adores this. I can still picture my Sylvanian House dollhouse with all of it’s beautiful miniatures and this satisfies the adult craving I still have for it!

I’m also loving the homemade peanut butter cups my daughter makes using our cocoa bomb mold. Oh, these are good.

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?