How was your literate life this week? As always, I’m here in your Inbox to celebrate our literate lives with a sneak peek into my own, but this week was a bit different because my family and I celebrated Thanksgiving together. This meant a bit less notebooking and learning….but a lot more baking and conversation.


What I’m Reading:
I’ve recently been obsessed with hand lettering and have filled many pages of my notebook with carefully lettered quotes to save for later inspiration. So, when I happened to spot Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn on a quick stop for errands, I HAD to have it, even though I typically prefer to read children’s literature. I devoured this book and loved every minute of it. It not only brought my new passion project to life, it prompted me to stop and REALLY think about how I bring that passion into my daily life and work. Meg and Reid were some of the most enjoyable and relatable characters that I have ‘met’, each incredibly different but connected together through the signs that are literally changing the course of their lives. I had to sit for a moment once I closed the final page to just be still. Their lessons on honesty, on STAYING and becoming more than your circumstances will certainly stay with me for a long time.

What I’m Writing:

I was hand lettering A LOT! I was so inspired by my reading this week that I decided to take my cue from Kate and Reid in Love Lettering and explore my usual surroundings in a new way. Armed with a coffee and my cell phone, I paid attention to the literal signs and lettering around me as I went through my normal day. I took pictures of the signs and letters that spoke to me and then recreated them in my notebook, often writing about the significance of them, too. At the end of the week, I had a fun collection of the beauty of the commonplace as I went about my daily tasks. I highly recommend you do the same!

What I’m Learning:

If you’ve read my earlier emails, you know I’ve been working on my cooking skills, especially this week. And here’s what I’ve learned from the cookbooks I paged through and food blogs I’ve scrolled: cookbooks are a specialized genre with much more to them than I ever imagined. Sure, there are recipes, but there’s often so much more, like notes to the chef, snippets of family memories, the backstory of where the recipe originated and more.

What I’m Exploring:

You may know what I’m going to say next if you saw my recent blog post celebrating the gifts perfect to give to devoted readers….including yourself. This week, I explored all things holiday gift-giving. I dove into the newspaper ads, scoured online shops (especially Etsy!) and have my eye on finding gifts that truly celebrate the people that matter most to me. So, if you know of a small business or gift website that’s off the beaten path or creative and unique, then send links my way!

There you have it! I hope this inspires you to make space for more reading and writing in your own life. What are the highlights from your literate life this week?