june '25 postcard

it's the june recap babyyyyy!

WELCOME TO ANOTHER MONTHLY RECAP ~*~~*~* !!!!

Remember when I said at the end of the last recap that I couldn’t wait to get in to the summer months so I could really start sweating? Well, we are in it now!! Be careful what you wish for because you could enter a heat wave and the weathermen will call it a heat dome. Yeahhhh (!!!!!). It is that time of year where one shower is Not Enough. This is your reminder to check in on your friends with bangs because sweating and hair touching your forehead is brutal.

In all seriousness, June was so much fun. It was full of a lot of new food, homemade salsa, Blueberry beer, DIY fountain pens, hanging with friends & family, doodles in my sketch book, exploring, journaling, snail mail, and spending as much time as possible near a body of water (thank god). Oh, and I’m still running outside. SUMMER I’LL ALWAYS LOVE U <3.

these colors are one of my all time favorite color combos btwwww

a couple of june standouts:

1. We had some friends out on a boat !!!!!! We have been wanting to have a house warming party but our house is still…not ready….so we got together to hang up and hang out !!!

   

2. You never know what you’re gonna find when you walk into a stationery store. I went to my first one here in Austin and I was able to DIY my first Kaweco fountain pen?! Super cool experience and as a sentimental lady (<3) this made my first pen special.
   
   They also had a “send more snail mail” sign which I was a big fan of!!!

   

   

3. I’ve been trying to explore Austin and I checked out a new bookstore/cafe. It would be my dream to open a place like this, I wish dreams were real </3.

   

   

4. I had a solo pool day which was really relaxing. The food you have after spending the whole day in the sun is truly unmatched. I got chicken tenders and fries. 5 stars. They even gave me ranch??? It was a true full circle moment for all the poolside chicken tenders I’ve had over the years.

   

5. This month I also sent out over 60 letters for my snail mail club. Y’all. I made over 60 friendship bracelets and wrote over 60 Mary Oliver poems. And Mary Oliver poems are not short, okay. But I loved it. People have been messaging me about how much they liked this round and it makes me so happy!!! I really appreciate people signing up and being a part of this. <3
   
   If you wanna sign up, you can click here :)

   

   

6. I AM RUNNIN’ !!!! What am I training for? Nothing. I’m just (literally) out here running. <3

   

7. My friend James and I started a book club!!!! It’s been something on my summer bucket list that has been on my radar since I left nyc.
   

   I was in a book club when I lived in nyc with my friends Julia & Kait. It was so fun because we hung out in different parts of nyc/brooklyn and talked books but it was very lowkey. Moving to a new place is veryyyy hard but they offered friendship and a way to see more of the city. I miss them!!!! And I’ve missed having a group that wants to talk about books.
   

   So, James and I checked out one of my favorite spots here in Austin (yes, it’s the same bookstore I mentioned in number 3…don’t mind that) and picked out our first book: Babel by R.F. Kuang. I also got The Brothers Karamazov because I’ve been wanting to read this for so long. An ideal summer activity tbh!!!

   

   

8. A moment for some of the good food of the month:
   This is also a special shout out to my number one chef, Sean.

   

   

   

song of the month:

The song of the month is: It’s in My Head by Provoker !!!!!

There is something about 80s synth beats that just get me going. Big fan of this song.

Here is my updated Apple Music playlist (click here for Apple Music) and Spotify one:

rose, thorn, bud:

Rose: I got to do some fun stuff this month like: make s’mores, get some cute flowers for our WIP kitchen, start a book club, and explore new austin spots. Even making all the friendship bracelets for my snail mail club was great. So my rose is: focusing on the small things has helped the big things feel more manageable.

Also, it’s been helpful to have the summer bucket list as a guide! I keep adding/changing things and it reminds me I have other options than just scrolling on my phone. Here’s an update:

Thorn: This month I felt a lot of anxiety and though I generally am an anxious gal, I felt more anxiety than normal. Could this be related to more social activities, the state of the world, and our house that’s still under construction?? The world may never know.

Bud: I am going on vacation with my partner’s family soon and I’m really excited to have fun and take a break from the usual routine. And by usual routine I mean the what seems like never ending house construction <3. We are going sailing and it’s something I’ve never done, but I’m excited to explore and be at the beach.

books, poems, etc:

This month I read 3 books:

• Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb

• A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost

• Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb

I finally started the Farseer trilogy by Robin Hobb and I love them. Fantasy is a hard genre to make work and these do an excellent job. The first book (Assassin’s Apprentice) was a slow burn for sure, but wow, it got good. I need to get the third!

affirmation/quote of the month:

I want to share one of my favorite quotes about summer & the art I made in my sketchbook.

quote is by Martha Gellhorn

For me, this quote really captures the yearning, nostalgia, missed opportunities, and even wasted time that I associate with summer. Growing up, summers were the time for rest and hanging out with friends. It was for crafting and swimming and s’mores nights. It was the only time where sleeping in and taking a break was encouraged.

In an effort to reclaim some of that, I created my summer bucket list (as I mentioned earlier) and it has helped me be more intentional with my time.

recipe of the month:

The recipe this month is gonna be super simple because wow!! We didn’t have access to our kitchen for a bit. It’s okay, we are surviving, but I can’t wait to actually cook with an oven. (lol <3)

Okay!! Here is my favorite oatmeal recipe that I haven’t made in so long bc our kitchen isn’t ready ha hAhahAH!!!

• Cook the oatmeal - can use oatmeal or rolled oats, whatever ur preference is but it’s best if you prepare it on the stovetop tbhhh (but no hate to instant oatmeal bc it’s better to work with what you have)

• Then add toppings:

  • like chocolate chips (my favorite)

  • and a fruit!! Bananas, strawberries, and frozen blueberries (love the crunch) are my go to, but most fruits can work

  • and peanut butter <33333

  • andddd cinnamon if you’d like

  • also a little salt, truly the tiniest bit

  • I don’t always add these, but you can add: granola, walnuts, cereal, dried fruit, chia seeds, or anything u want because this is your food!

• I like to give it a good mix after, but that’s it. You’re good to go.

I like this breakfast before I go workout because being hungry while exercising is not the move.

I can’t wait to have a kitchen and make oatmeal again. Soon…

Well, time sure is flying!!! It’s already been half of the year??? Goodbye June and hellllloooo July. July is going to be really fun :).

See ya next month,

Sam <3