I’m linking up once again this month with Anne of In Residence to share what I’m up to right now. The photo above is from an LA bookstagram meet up I went to over the weekend. It was my first time going to a book swap, and if I’d known people were going to bring stacks and stacks of books, I would’ve brought way more to share! I’m looking forward to the next one.

Tomorrow marks my 18 month anniversary of living in Los Angeles. It’s hard to believe! It’s also been six months since I published this post, and I just reread it. I stand by every word I wrote then, and I can see how I’ve grown even since then. Here’s to the second half of year two! 

wearing | my sneakers a lot more! As I mentioned in my post on Monday, I started marathon training, which involve 4-6 workouts a week! My new-ish sneakers (I guess two months isn’t that new) and I are getting very well acquainted with each other after a month of little exercise.

collecting | books! As I mentioned above, I went to a book swap with fellow readers I went on Instagram. I had my first day of marathon training that morning and had to rush home and jump in the shower, so I was a bit late to the actual meet up and only had time to bring one book. That said, I still managed to walk away with six new-to-me books and I look forward to reading them.

making | all my meals! I’m on my fourth week of eating meals I’ve prepped on the weekend ahead of time, and it’s been great and brought my food spending way down. I spent $140 less on eating out in September than I did in August, and I feel great about it.

taking | advantage of the weather! If I can’t wear scarves and cute sweaters like all my friends in the Northeast, I’m going to enjoy the sunshine as best I can.

planning | an editorial calendar for the blog! I’m suddenly full of post ideas and doing my best to get them written as quickly as I can. On this note, if there’s anything specific you want me to write about, please let me know! I definitely want to write about finances, the adventure day I had last month, and things to do in Los Angeles. That’s not even counting catching up from various adventures I had over the summer. Anyway, let me know!

What are you up to this month?

Happy Independence Day! I’m linking up with Anne at In Residence for her monthly Currently link up. I missed last month, but I’m back! I’ll have to do a more complete post at some point, but a lot has changed in recent weeks, mostly for the better. There’s also been a lot of stress and I’ve found that sticking to a regular schedule kind of sucks sometimes, but it does make me feel so much mentally clearer and better overall.

I’ve learned that I really need to commit to a 3x a week workout schedule at the least, as well as taking time offline and reading for a bit every day. Yesterday I ran 2 miles and did some reading, and it felt good to do both of those things for myself. Sometimes the things that are helpful for us are things we don’t want to do, but it’s for the best.

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celebrating the fact that it’s the second half of the year! Today marks 15 months since I’ve moved to LA, which is bananas. I still love it here so much.

visiting Santa Barbara! I took a trip up there over the weekend to visit an old friend who’s in school. We had so much fun and I want to write a post all about it. It was just a one-night visit, but I had a great time. I’ll be going home to Boston in a few weeks and visiting Philadelphia on the way, and hoping to get to Martha’s Vineyard as well.

baking nothing! I’ve been trying to get back into cooking regularly after finding myself far too reliant on microwave meals, and it takes up more time, but it will be worth it. I made a big batch of muffins last month and froze some of them; I think I have just one left so I may make some more in the next week or so. I’d love to start baking more but I feel like so often 1) the ingredients are expensive and 2) the foods I want to bake are delicious but not the best healthy choice. Avoiding baking removes the temptation, for the most part. But I do find baking really fun.

wearing real clothes to work for the longest period in a while. My work is pretty casual, and in April or so I realized that I was wearing leggings and sweatshirts every day. I’m happy to say I’ve broken out of that cycle since then and I’ve been wearing “real clothes” all the time to work now!

loving summer weather, the fact that my Harry Styles concerts are just 10 days away, and that I’m going back to the East Coast at the end of the month!

What are you up to this month?

I’m a day late linking up with Anne of In Residence, due to forgetting yesterday was the first Wednesday of the month! I took off work on Monday so it’s set me back a few days.

celebrating | 13 months in LA (tomorrow – and at what point do I stop counting those like I’m the mom of a toddler?) and moving in with my friends last weekend! i moved to a different area of town (one that I already know well thanks to spending so much time with them already) and I’m really happy about it. I’m also celebrating a year at my job next week.

creating | a new routine and new habits to come with it, as well as Project Life layouts for March.

wearing | a sweatshirt or jacket in the office every day – it’s so cold in there. also this New Balance hoodie – it’s so soft and cozy! it’s sized really big, so i had to return it for a smaller size. now that it’s finally here i might wear it every day.

sharing | a bedroom! i moved in with two of my closest friends into a two-bedroom, so i’m sharing a room for the next couple months! it’s a little like college but more fun because we were close friends already.

going | hopefully nowhere this weekend! the past couple of weeks have been really busy, so i’m ready to lay low and get some rest.

Anne from the blog In Residence does a monthly link up on the first Wednesday of every month where people share what they’re up to. I’m sharing mine a day early because I have an important post scheduled for tomorrow.

showering | myself in appreciation, which is something i don’t do enough. it’s been a full year tomorrow since i moved to los angeles. i did a really hard thing and i’m making it work.

cultivating | a spirit of rest and self-care. last month, i turned 25, worked a multi-day work conference, ran a marathon, went to boston and worked a film festival. it was a LOT, and i’m excited to chill at home for the most part this month.

expecting | good things to happen this month. not ready to say more at the moment, but i’m hopeful that some things will work out.

buying | hopefully very little! after last month, when i went a little crazy with spending, i’m working on sticking to my budget. i use a (lifesaving) program called You Need A Budget, where you put all your $ into categories. after a few months of heavy credit card spending after my move, i started using this program and it’s been great. i don’t spend money i don’t have anymore. but i tapped into the emergency fund last month for a couple things that were definitely not emergencies, and i would like to stick to the budget this month. willpower is hard.

cooking | real food for myself after a few months of crazy eating. i made all my lunches (a kale and farro salad that i really like) on sunday, which made me feel good about the week ahead.

I’m linking up with Anne of In Residence for her Currently link up, which happens the first Wednesday of every month.

Currently…

planning | a trip home at the end of the month, a podcast I’m starting with my friend Bri, what to wear for the marathon I’m running in 10 days!!!

seeing | a lot of good in the world. I’ve found myself in a negative and complaining mood lately, and I am trying very hard to find the good things.

making | not much of anything at the moment, but planning to make these superhero muffins soon from Shalane Flanagan’s cookbook, Run Fast, Eat Slow. I add chocolate chips and raisins, and the combination is great.

pretending | that it’s still my birthday. it’s only been 3 days since I turned 25, so maybe birthday week can be a thing? I’m hoping to write a post about it this week. it was so fun.

wearing | I’ll tell you what I’m not wearing: a winter coat, because I moved out of the East Coast in order to avoid storms like the one hitting the region today!

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See prior Currently posts here!

Anne at In Residence hosts a linkup on the first Wednesday of every month and invites readers to share a few things they’re up to currently, so I’m joining in!

finishing | marathon training. or starting to finish it, really. The marathon is March 18 so we’re really at the tail end of the training plan. I wish I’d kept a weekly or even monthly log of training recaps on the blog, though I guess it’s never too late to start now. I sprained my ankle 2 weeks ago so that’s thrown a wrench into things, but that’s a whole other story.

subscribing | to all the podcasts! I tend to listen in binges. Favorites right now are Happier in Hollywood, By the Book, and The Popcast.

wishlisting | this tote (in the black and white geo pattern) that I am hoping to buy one of these days. Budgeting is hard (but worth it).

watching | The Good Place! I’m thinking of starting This is Us but I’ve never watched it so I’d need to start from the beginning and I’m not sure I’m ready for that kind of commitment right now.

hearting | that (non-filtered) view above from this morning’s workout. Love it so much.

It would appear that I am not super good at blogging “some of the time.” I am either good at doing it regularly, or very rarely. I’d like blogging to be in the first category in 2018, so we’ll see what happens.

I have posts about goals and books and vacations to share, but I’m going to start by linking up with Anne at In Residence for her ‘currently’ series.

Currently…

starting | to ramp up marathon training. to document in a brand new bullet journal. to figure out how I want to approach One Little Word this year. to write out my 2018 powersheets goals.

hoping | that I can wake up early for my workout tomorrow. that I’ll get everything in my apartment cleaned and put away tomorrow evening after a whole bunch of days of it being a mess. that 2018 will bring good things.

scheduling | plans with friends. an appointment to get my eyebrows done. consistent workouts in my bullet journal.

reading | White Fur by Jardine Libaire, which I just started.

playing | albums on my record player. a game with myself of “how much can I save this month?”

Anne will be hosting Currently again on  February 7, and we’ll be discussing what we’re currently finishing, subscribing, wishlisting, watching, and hearting.