In December I’m always really excited for the fresh start that January brings, and then the year changes and I’m hit with the January scaries. I felt like it was particularly bad this year - even though I knew logically not a lot was going to change overnight, I guess I subconsciously really bought into the new year, new outlook, new me… and then everything was the same except I didn’t have an excuse to eat Christmas cookies every day and night. I’ve been feeling pretty blah, and at first I was like what is wrong with me?! And then I remembered that this happened last year too! So I guess it’s something I can just go ahead and expect at this point. If you’re like me and feel like you’re just now finally pulling out of a weeks long funk, I have a few ideas for getting through it a little better next year.

I’ve been reading a ton lately, and it’s been super fun! I’m finally getting better at reserving books ahead of time at the library, so I’ve always had a book when I wanted one. I am not a book reviewer, but I love finding book recommendations through people I know, so I thought it might be fun to check in occasionally and give you very brief reviews! You can see these written out on my blog with links to the books.

Finding inspiration in a life that feels like all the spontaneity’s been sucked out of it (aka pandemic life) is a challenge, but it’s nice to know that it’s not a challenge unique to just me - I’m sure a lot of people have been dealing with that over the past year. I’ve been seeking inspiration like crazy over the last couple of weeks, so I have a few ideas:

I don’t know about you, but when I find someone on IG I always wonder like what happened in their life to lead them to where they are today. I follow a ton of beautiful accounts and I guess I’m nosy because I’m always like… where did you come from? What do you actually do in your day to day life? So, I thought I’d share how I got here in front of you today!

I originally wrote this caption for Instagram, and then proceeded to write a LOOONG post about my journey.. Way too long for Instagram. I am not good at TLDR; So I put it up here, click through to read it all!

I've been thinking a lot recently about how I structure my days. We all have external factors that create boundaries in how we schedule our time, but it's easy for me at least to forget that I have so much more control than I feel like I do sometimes… I read 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think in 2018, and although I don't think I've kept up any of the habits the author recommends in the book, I think about the book all the time. It's easy for me to let appointments or commitments loom large, forgetting that might only be 3 hours out of my day, and I have another 21 that I shouldn't write off.

I don’t actually know how to focus. If I did, I probably wouldn’t be thinking about how to focus so much. That being said, I’ve come to a few conclusions that I think are helpful in my quest to stop being so distracted, all the time.

Today I was going to write about what I learned in 2020, but it turns out I have no idea what I learned because I’m still processing it, so uh, stay tuned I guess! Instead, I thought I would share a short list of things that made me happy/that I’m thankful for in 2020.⁠

\ It's so important to me to create art that resonates with you. I feel like if you're going to be looking at it in your home every day, I want what I've created to feel like it reflects your sensibilities, and contribute to a feeling of joy in your space. ⁠\ ⁠

This month and season has had a lot of ups and downs. For me, things are never as clearcut as 'it's bad', or 'it's good' - I'll be feeling sad and missing my favorite traditions one day, and ready to find the bright side the next, but I definitely have not been as firmly entrenched in the holiday spirit as I usually am around this time. ⁠

My family’s Jewish traditions are a big part of my life, and history, but we also observed a lot of my mom’s traditions and holidays. We would have latkes and play dreidl, and have a Christmas dinner, and decorate the house for both holidays. ⠀