Summer Happys

Happy mid-summer, my friends. Can I be real for sec? The slower pace around this blog isn’t by accident. It’s been a difficult past few months, and often, writing a post just feels beyond my mental energy. So I’m trying to give myself the freedom right now to post less often. And if I’m honest, pulling away has been beneficial. It’s given me space to reflect and breathe. Plus, I’m now wanting to ease back in with more excitement about it. So before the sun sets on June, here are a few things that are making me happy. When circumstances get difficult, I’ve found it’s important to find the simple joys and graces. 

Peppy playlists
A good playlist has become a regular staple for me lately. There’s nothing like a good beat and occasional dance party while I’m baking, cleaning, or otherwise engaged. 

The freedom in abandoning a book I’m not enjoying 
It’s only recently that I’ve become okay with this. Last week I vacillated on this point for a little while, but it was so relieving once I’d closed the book. And not only that, but had picked up another one that I knew I’d like better. There are just too many good books to spend time reading bad ones. Right now, that good book for me is The Brontë Plot by Katherine Reay and it’s a winner. Fellow Anglophiles, don’t miss this one.

So incredibly glad I got lucky on this Internet giveaway! Signed copies give me lots of happys! :)

Scrapbooking
Over the past two weeks or so, I picked back up on a scrapbook project I started about three years ago. Yes, three; that’s not a joke. This is one area where I don’t consider myself too creatively gifted, so I’ve shied away from it for a while. Plus, scrapbooks just require a huge amount of time and work. But since I do have time for it at this point in my life, I decided to tackle it again, and I’m so pleased with the result. The process was also much more fun than I’d remembered. My playlists served me incredibly well, and I loved seeing so many good memories come together amidst all the cutting and taping.

Memories of Camp Marannook 
And naturally, the scrapbooking process brought so many memories to the surface. The book is of my summer as a counselor at Camp Marannook in 2012, so I’ve been thinking of little else over the last several days. It’s been so sweet to reminisce on that time, as it was incredibly influential on my growth as a person. Some of my best friends came out of there and I could never say enough good about it! I’m thankful for the way my scrapbook has brought it all back recently!

My counselor group from 2012. Oh, how the time has flown!

So what's making YOU happy right now?