february '26 postcard

live laugh LOVE FEBRUARY

Hey guys aha hey, it’s the february recap <3

February is indeed the shortest month but this felt like the longest? As I went through all the things I did this month, I was shocked. I kept thinking, no way that was this month! But it was…it was. Time is an enigma! **~*~*~~*~~***~*

Yet, we persist. Anyway, this month was a big improvement from last month. I’ve really been relishing in this comment that I got on Tik Tok. Chill gal with cool-girl Dakota Johnson hair????!!!!!!!!!!!!! (She is the blueprint for my bangs so this is huge for me). What more could u ask for in life?? Time is an enigma, but you can always have cool hair <3.

This month was all about house hangouts, friends, heart shaped pizza, cooking at home, Lady Bird Lake, Super Bowl jello shots, LOVE, dungeons and dragons, arts n crafts, teaching classes, Noble Joe coffee, trying new things, journaling (always n 4ever), hosting, sushi, matcha, exploring austin, and great and amazing food!!!! WOOO <3.

a couple of february standouts:

1. My blog, give me a minute, turned 1 on February 9. YAY :) I’m having so much fun. I am proud of myself for putting myself out there AND for keeping all of this up. Thanks for being here!

2. I taught a Linocut carving class (technically on Jan 31, but didn’t get to include it last time) !!! Hannah, who runs The Tiny Farmer’s Market here in Austin, asked me to teach it. I was nervous about it, but I did it! And it was great :’)

   

3. We hosted a super bowl party which was really all about Bad Bunny and friends. I didn’t watch an ad or really any of the game, and I’m glad about it. <3

   

4. I hosted a crafty galentines! We had heart shaped pizza, wine, slutty brownies, and one of the girls read our Tarot! It was so much fun and I am always reminded of how lucky I am to live in the same city as my closest friends. <3

   

   

   u know me, in my twilight tee, etc

5. Celebrated Valentine’s with my fiance with SUSHI :) I love him and I love that valentine’s is fun. It was also our first vday as fiances, woo!

   

   

6. DOING THINGS LIKE:

   1. Joining a Dungeons&Dragons campaign (YIPPEE) with some friends and my fiance for my first ever campaign!!

   2. Walks around Lady Bird Lake with my bff !!

   3. Exploring around Austin and lugging my (probably) 15 lb bag around with me bc you never know what you’ll need <3 I also did get a new journal (in this v pretty natural leather…surprise…and I got to use my code which felt special)

      

7. I have 1200+ subscribers on substack now which is pretty wild. It was wild when I hit like 500 cause I was skeptical that people wanna read what I have to say. But now? 1200+ people get this as an email. It’s insane to think about giving a presentation to 1200 people. And for that, I am thankful for the barrier of the computer screen. I don’t know. I appreciate you guys so much, forehead kisses for all (my official slogan). :,)

   

8. I was gifted some ceramic matcha bowls by a v cool artist! I bought some of her mugs last year for my birthday and we have kept in touch. Her matcha bowls will be out in mid march, keep an eye out: jellybean ceramics website :)

   

   

   last pic is a matcha I made in one of the bowls :)

9. BUT SPEAKING OF MATCHA, I HAD THE BEST MATCHA OF MY LIFE FR FR. It deserves its own spot <3. I mean, wow, look at that color. Love u noble joe coffee, and I mean that!

   

10. And the yummy food of the month, like yeah okkkaaaay:

    

    

    

song of the month:

This month was filled with soooo many good songs. I really loved Funny Papers by Mac Miller. I was also obsessed with Searows new album. So can we do 2 songs of the month?? (YEAH, because this is my blog and the rules I make for myself are arbitrary)(PERFECT).

SO, my songs of the month:

• Funny Papers - Mac Miller (the music video for this looks soo cool, it’s so my style)

• Hunter - Searows

I know I tend to pick sadder songs, but don’t worry, I’m okay. I just love sad music <3.

As always here is the Apple Music playlist and Spotify:

rose, thorn, bud:

Rose: I mentioned this already, but I TAUGHT A CLASS. I tend to see myself as someone who is more quiet, not wanting to take center stage. I prefer sitting in the back, free to slip in and out as I want. BUT I SAID YES. I taught a class, on a skill that I have recently learned myself, and it was FUN. I met a bunch of other people who were cool & kind & wanted to learn. CHEERS TO PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE EVEN WHEN IT’S SO HARD. :)

Thorn: Since having the flu, my stomach has been Not Right. Anything and everything I ate had me running to the bathroom, praying for forgiveness. (TMI HAHA SORRY GUYS IT’S OK NOW THOUGH). I was on an all plain diet for like a month, and most of that was the beginning of this month. Nevertheless, she persisted and I am Back and Better. Thank God.

Bud: My fiance and I have a few fun trips and stuff coming up. One of my/our goals for this year is to travel a bit more. I’m excited about it !

books, poems, etc:

This month I read ✨4✨ books !!

• Writers & Lovers - Lily King

• The Handmaid’s Secret - Freida McFadden

• Parable of the Sower - Octavia Butler

• Wreck - Catherine Newman

For some reason, this month was a bit hard to get into books. I really struggled to get through Parable of the Sower, not because it was bad, but because I kept having nightmares about how vivid and too real it was. Still, an incredible book and I got to do a buddy read with my friend, Subha !

affirmation/quote of the month:

art by Michaela Angemeer, @michaelapoetry on instagram, click the picture to go to her insta!

Scrolling through Pinterest, I came across my favorite Mary Oliver poem: Wild Geese. You do not have to be good. Powerful opening lines. I’ve actually printed out this exact picture and I have it in my sketchbook, as a reminder, that not everything has to be perfect. That I can create art just for the sake of doing something I enjoy. I can exist, loving what I love, doing what I do. How beautiful and freeing is that?

I know this poem speaks to many people, and I am no different. I think it’s special that we can all read these words and feel so deeply moved to our core. Forever thankful for Mary Oliver and her amazing work.

recipe of the month:

During Valentine’s week, my fiance made us baked potato, steaks, and asparagus. IT WAS DIVINE. I didn’t get a full pic of everything because I inhaled it. Phone didn’t eat first. But I did get a pic of the gorgeous steak as we let it rest. :)

Here is how my fiance made it:

1. Pat the steak dry

2. Season it with salt and pepper

3. Leave it out until steak is at room temp

4. Put the steak in the oven at 250 until meat is 115 degrees

   1. These steaks were about 1.5 thick so it took about 25 minutes

   2. How did my fiance know that the steak was at 115 degrees? I think he has a meat thermometer but I forgot to ask haha <3 anyway

5. Get a cast iron pan hot over medium heat

6. Sear both sides of the steak for 45 seconds

7. Turn down heat, bring steaks to the side to rest (well deserved rest tbh) for 2 min

8. Melt some garlic & butter then pour over steaks. Add a sprig of thyme (A SPRIG OF THYME IS SUCH A SICK COMBO OF WORDS)

   1. This is called reverse searing, if you care :) I am learning so much.

9. Tada ! <3

10. Enjoy ! (Or not)

Well here we are at the end. It was another busy month but I’m happy to be amongst friends and family. And healthy, the flu last month was no joke.

Hope ur living, hope ur laughing, hope ur loving <3

Sam