I’m very excited to share that this week, new editions of my 52 Lists journals were released worldwide! I was craving a more minimal cover that still flowed well with the interior illustrations. Here’s what the team at Sasquatch Books and I came up with. It feels really soothing on my exhausted eyes. The entire cover is now one color and ever so slightly metallic, just enough shine to catch your eye. I’m so excited to share these journals with you just as we are entering the holiday gifting season as I’m sure you know someone who could do with a little realignment, encouragement, comfort and happiness in the new year. Maybe that’s even you :)
Shop the new 52 Lists Project | Shop the new 52 Lists for Happiness
The magic of these journals is that you can use them over and over again, rarely repeating what you’ve written before, and with each new entry, new growth, self discovery and healing is formed. So if you or a loved one has already tried one of the journals before, it’s more than ok to try again. You’re a different you than the last time you filled out one of these beautiful journals. And if you’ve never tried list making for mental health support, now is your time. So many of us are still processing grief, loss and heightened stress because of the never ending pandemic. The world just isn’t what it used to be. And by gifting one of these new edition 52 Lists journals to someone you love, you are gifting them a resource to finally move on from loss and move forward with their precious life.
Shop the new 52 Lists Project | Shop the new 52 Lists for Happiness
Here are a few people that might really appreciate these New Edition journals this holiday season:
Mamas, Grandmas + parents of all kinds: 52 Lists for Happiness
Students ages 14 - college age: 52 Lists Project
Anyone who struggles with their mental health: 52 Lists for Happiness
People questioning their Identity: 52 Lists Project
Literally anyone in your family + close community: 52 Lists for Happiness
Speaking of family and close community…
This week has felt huge. My girlfriend and I are planning on moving in together and we just submitted an application to our dream house. (Still renting, not buying. Ps, if you purchase any of my new journals please know WE THANK YOU. You’re helping to sustain my life as a writer and build a life with the person I love. THANK YOU. ok, back to it…) The nervous energy is high! The big discussions about how we can show up as our best selves, to one another and ourselves, amidst starting a life together in shared space are happening. I take this stuff seriously and am 1000% willing to have any hard or exhausting conversation to make sure that combining our lives feels good and right. I’ve been married before, not sure if I’ll ever make that choice again though. I was young, I was naive, people pleasing and had yet to wake up to a lot of who I am at my core. I am a divorcee, I was partnered with someone for 10 years, and have a lot of experience under my belt of what does and doesn’t work for me in melding a life with another. I’ve over compromised in the past and didn’t speak up when I should have. I’ve held expectations without communicating them. I’ve ignored my own needs while seeking to please someone else. And after being with my ex for 10 years, that stuff built up and burst. We’re still co-parents of a dog and see each other weekly. And though he moved on super quick (within a few months of our split) I decided to be alone with myself for a year, and then only casually date for another year after that with the intention of dating myself and learning to love myself above all else. It worked. It was worth it. And as of this last year, I’ve fallen in love with someone I truly align with at my core and any steps forward with her come with so much more depth of understanding because of my history in relationships and commitment.
I have a much clearer understanding now of what did and didn’t work in my past life shared with another and I want with my whole heart to be better and do better for my person and for myself, this time around. Life is cyclical, we repeat patterns daily that we don’t even realize are patterns. So with full awareness of my own unbreakable habits and habits that can and will be transformed with time, I’m stepping into a new world of seeking to blend my life with my girlfriend in shared space. There’s no rush for this house that we applied to, to work out. If it falls through, we are happy to keep waiting a few months for a perfect spot to pop up. I’m not interested in rushing life. I’m in love, no matter what. I am interested in making slow, thoughtful choices and commitments with a lot of feelings and thoughts, contemplations and considerations to back those commitments up.
I am committed to the practice of looking within, committed to using lists to help manage my thoughts and feelings, committed to rebuilding a career that I had to step back from while healing my soul from big losses over the last few years. I’m in a space where I can use my logic and emotions together to make sound decisions. And I’m choosing to deepen and ever growing love with my partner in a big way. I’ve been meditating on the fact that you only move in with your person once, that fact makes me teary-eyed and profoundly grateful, hungry to savor each second before, during and after that big move.
And as Fall brings darker days, more time spent indoors, and a general sense of quiet that is rare in the summer, I’m savoring each moment in stillness as well. It’s a season of contemplation that will soon lead to action in so many ways. We may be moving, may be not. Either way, I’ll be hustling to shed stuff I no longer need or want this winter for sure. We’re visiting family in two different states for the holidays and I’m starting to dream and scheme on how I can show them my love through gift giving in its many forms. Speaking of gifts, my youngest sister gave birth to her second child yesterday and I got to watch it all happen via the magic of facetime! I need to get scheming on how I can support her and show her love this holiday season. If you know a mama who needs a gift, nudge nudge hint hint, I’d recommend my journal 52 Lists for Happiness. Let’s scheme on some other sorts of gifts we can give loved ones this season too…
52 Lists for Happiness
List #44: List the gifts you want to give to others through actions, words, and what you can make.
I hope that journaling alongside me through these emails feels like a gift, a gift you are giving yourself. Please consider gifting one or a few of my journals to those you love this holiday season. They’re available wherever books are sold :) I wish I could sell them to ya directly. Once I’ve moved, I hope to set up an online shop again where I can sign copies, put sweet little notes inside each copy and send them off to you. Without my old store and staff, marketing my work sometimes feels pretty isolating and awkward, in all honesty. But I believe in these journals, I believe in people’s ability to learn how to love themselves better and accept themselves as they are through simple list making. What makes each of these journals truly valuable is not so much what I write through the prompts and actionable suggestions, its your words that matter. Seeing who you are on a page is a powerful tool for positive change and personal empowerment. And I’m eager to keep sharing my thoughts, my words, my art, lists and more so that you feel even the littlest boost in your self care. Thank you for purchasing copies of my journals so that I too can care for me and those I love on a practical level. Marketing is weird. But I’m real, and so are you. And I hope you feel the humanity in all I share. <3