If We Were Having Coffee

It’s been a while since my last ‘If We Were Having Coffee’ update. I like doing these virtual coffee dates from time to time as a way to update you on life and such the way we would do over coffee in real life. So take a moment to go pour a cup of coffee, make some tea, even pop the cork on a bottle of wine, then join me back here. All set? Great! 

If we were having coffee, here’s what I would tell you: 

• I feel like I’m in transition. I don’t mean to be vague, but I feel vague myself. I know this feeling. It’s anticipatory, like something deep inside me knows change is brewing well before my conscious self knows it. I associate this feeling with good things, even if the middle is messy. I definitely feel like I’m in the messy middle now, all things considered. I’m leaning into this feeling, waiting to see what opportunity reveals itself and where it might take me. All I have to go on right now is *vibes* but these vibes have led me my whole life. We’ll stay tuned together to see where they lead me this time.
  
• I’m in the homestretch of edits for my next book. Delaying the release was the best thing I could have done. The revisions I’ve made since pulling the plug on my March release made it a much better book. I’ll be announcing a new (for real) update soon! I’m also reading through my Political Gain series and working on a new WIP I’m excited about. I have a lot going on in the writing world. I’m so excited to share it all with you!
  
• May has been a great reading month so far. We’re halfway through the month and I’ve finished three books: The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah, Phantasma by Kaylie Smith, and The Air Raid Book Club by Annie Lyons. The Great Alone was my book club’s pick for the month. I know many of you have loved The Great Alone, but it was a tough hang for me for me until around the two-thirds mark. Once it picked up, it really picked up and I ended up rating it four stars. Phantasma, the first book in the Wicked Games series, was a good time. I enjoyed the FMC Ophelia, the MMC Blackwell was such a genuine phantom, and the magic system and trials were unique. The Air Raid Book Club was the book picked out of the TBR jar for the Pure Barre book club I lead. I wasn’t especially excited about a second historical fiction book for the month, but this book was a surprising delight. It’s a beautiful story about grief, resiliency, family, and community. It’s my favorite book of May so far.
  
• I’m hoping to read three more books in May: Enchantra, the second book in the Wicked Games series, Two Twisted Crowns to finish up The Shepherd King duology (I absolutely loved One Dark Window!), and Red Rising by Pierce Brown which was very very low on my TBR until I realized he may well be the man of my dreams. Smart, funny, AND an author? Goodness.
  
• Fridays are for cooking. Lately, at least. I enjoy being in the kitchen and have started making new recipes on Friday evenings as a way to transition from work mode to “weekend” mode. It’s quickly become something I look forward to. I’m going to be launching a ‘What’s Cooking?’ section of my website soon so I can share recipes I love with you. I made a lemon chicken orzo a couple of weeks ago that was *chef’s kiss* and I have a chocolate chip zucchini bread recipe you will want to make ASAP.
  
• I am very much a Dime skincare hype girl now. I’ve seen it all over social media and spotted a display in Ulta a few weeks ago. I was already in Ulta to buy a new cleanser, so I decided to buy Dime’s The Works Discovery Kit which included sample sizes of their cleanser, toner, glow serum (vitamin c), hyaluronic acid, day cream, and night cream. Within two days, my skin was glowing. I bought the full size when they had a 30% off sale recently, and picked up The Body Discovery Kit, too, as well as their Wonderscreen. 12/10 recommend all of it. This is not an ad, I’m not an affiliate, but I do have great skin thanks to Dime. I’m telling everyone I know. 

• I’ve been listening to The Mel Robbins podcast lately after a friend recommended an episode on how to handle not being where we thought we would be at this point in our lives. The research she shared was thought-provoking, so I decided to listen to a few more. This one on decision-making rocked my world. I’ve been reminding myself of how small decisions – like deciding not to workout despite scheduling a class or reaching for a cookie despite it not being gluten-free – have larger impacts on my future self.  

• I have Irish hair. I got curious about why my hair is curly underneath and straight as straight can be on the top and started googling. I found a few TikToks that said I probably actually have wavy to curly hair, so I followed their advice, only to end up with curly hair underneath and straight on the top, just bigger and stickier from the product. A few Instagram followers told me about Irish hair and that is exactly what I have. Now I’m down the rabbit hole of trying to figure out how to bring the wave out more. My hair always looks fantastic when I’m by the ocean, so maybe I simply need to move to the coast and let the salty air take care of it? 

I’ll wrap up this coffee date here. I have a manuscript to edit, after all, and several books to read. I’d love for you to share what you’d tell me if we were having coffee, though! Leave a comment, or send me an email!