Lately Archives - Inkwells & Images

A few weeks ago, I posted on Instagram about being in a “Middle Season.” Now, after the rush of launching The Chasing Creative Podcast and making a dozen decisions on our house, we’re back in a middle season with not a lot to report. Instead of trying to force out a witty blog post about a semi-relevant topic, I decided I would share what I’ve been up to in this Middle Season, because even when we feel like not a lot is happening, it often is.

So, lately I’ve been…

Listening

To my friends Jenna and Josiah Hazel. They recently released an album and I have it on repeat all the time. Their band is called Settling Houses and you can listen to their first album, Drive and Never Stop here.

Also, this Tiny Desk concert by Asgeir, again and again. Perfect for writing.

And podcasts, of course! I’m in love with The New Yorker Radio Hour. And recently, my friend Gracie got me back into listening to Freakonomics and I am hooked.

Reading

I’ve been reading a little more for fun lately, to wind down at the end of a day. I read Brooklyn and it was OK. Pretty, but not grand.

I just started The Paris Wife after hearing Paula McLain give a talk at the Madison Public Library last week. I fell in love with her words in person, and I hope to love them on the page as well.

I’m still slowly, slowly working my way through Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. Trying to take this one a chapter at a time and really think through some of the questions that it raises for myself and my creative life.

Watching

Scott and I recently watched Aziz Ansari’s Master of None on Netflix. While I enjoyed the social issues that the show addresses, issues like feminism and race in Hollywood, sometimes it was a bit too crude for me. The show did end on a bit of a cliffhanger, so I am excited to see where Season 2 goes. Even if the jokes don’t always hit home with me, I feel like it’s important enough to keep watching, and to support a show created by individuals of color in a world where a lot of comedy T.V. isn’t.

I’m still in Season 5 of Downton Abbey, so don’t spoil the ending for me! I’ve managed to avoid it so far and am 100% happy about this. At the rate we are able to watch the show, I will finish Season 6 sometime in 2018, I do believe.

Doing

We’ve been working on plans for the house. A few weeks ago we picked out flooring, and just a couple of weeks ago we chose kitchen cabinets and decided on what kind of trim we would like throughout the house. We’re still waiting to get a driveway in, but then the real fun begins, or so I hear. I’ve not built a house before, so I really, really have no idea what I am doing. Glad my contractor does.

I’m excited that I signed up for Brooks Editorial’s Content Challenge. I may be biased, as Ashley is my podcast co-host, but I really do think its going to be awesome. Anyone who can run a business and a blog while working from home and raising a toddler AND podcast on the side is someone I want to learn from, STAT.

Podcasting

Speaking of podcasting… Chasing Creative now has nine (!) episodes out in the world. Ashley and I have had such a great time chatting with our guests and learning from them as much as our audience is. We cannot believe how much love you have all shown us in just these nine short weeks, and we can’t wait to see where it goes next. We are trucking along behind the scenes, recording and editing more episodes every week to keep them rolling out to you. We hope you’ll join in the discussion over on Instagram and Twitter using #ChasingCreative.

So that’s what I’ve been up to lately. What about you? Reading, watching or listening to anything astonishing? I’d love to hear about it?

Life’s been a bit hectic lately.

Photos

I’ve been taking a lot of photos lately and am WAY behind on my editing. I usually try to post one or two on Instagram each week. Otherwise, I still have photos on my desktop from March – March! – that haven’t seen the light of day yet. What do they say about dentists’ kids’ teeth? They always have the most cavities. They could probably say it about the unedited photos of a photographer, too – except that they don’t have cavities, but that they get lost in the black hole of a cavity called “in progress,” found on a hard drive near you.

Words

Elsewhere on the internet I wrote a piece about budgeting with your significant other. There’s so much emotion wrapped up in how we spend our money, especially when we have to decide how to spend it “together.” I hope there’s some practical tips over at The Penny Hoarder for anyone who wants to tackle the topic this summer.

And after a brief hiatus, I’ve jumped back into writing and reviewing mode with my critique partners. I know the writing exercise will be good for me eventually, but right now its just painful. It always takes awhile for me to settle into the routine of writing and editing long-form stuff like my novel, but this last couple of weeks has been exceptionally painful. It’s a little bit like the rollerblading I’ve started doing this year: painful now, but hopefully fun and rewarding on down the road. In the meantime – Ouch!

June Dairy Month

Since we’re returned home from vacation, I’ve not had a day off of work. Our events for June Dairy Month are in full swing, and I’ve been chauffeuring this lovely lady around the state the past two weekends: meet June the Dairy Cow.

If you like dairy as much as I do, make sure to check out one of the farm breakfasts across the state at www.dairydaysofsummer.com. I had ice cream for breakfast on Sunday. :)

And that is what life looks like lately. What about you?

Life, Lately