i’m introducing a brand new monthly column today! my friend amy started doing a monthly highlights post and i loved the idea so i’m copying it. it’ll be a good way for me to inject some personal updates as well as for me to personally reflect. can you believe how fast april flew by?!

palm springs

i started april by going to palm springs with a whole bunch of blogger friends. we stayed at the saguaro and just ate, drank, gossiped — it was super fun and really nice to connect with girls in real life that i’ve only known on the internet.

craftcation

that same week, i went briefly to ventura to talk on a panel with rachel about how to make money from your blog. i’m not the best public speaker, so i said yes because it’s good practice. we did well and people thanked us afterwards!

pottery class

amy, natalie and i signed up for a pottery class and it has been so much fun. we’ve all made more than we were expecting on the wheel, and next week we’ll get our first glazed pieces back… i’m keeping my expectations low. but it’s been really nice to get out of the house and do something creative that isn’t for the blog.

house progress

we made over our closet, which i am so excited to show you guys. i’ll do a full before and after post soon, but it’s something i thought was so unnecessary that has made me so happy.

we’re also still on track with our backyard. we had our AC moved which was a bigger deal than you’d think, we’ve planned out what we’re going to do with cement, and we’ve just finished having it graded, something i’d have no idea about if it weren’t for my stepdad helping us through all this.

my dad’s birthday

my dad came into town from boston for his birthday, and we surprised him with his own chocolate tour of LA. it was a really fun idea and a really fun day and he loved it — i’m going to a blog post on it so you can do it yourself.

new kitty

like i said last week, while my dad was here, we just happened to walk by an adoption center… and i naively walked in. i met the cutest little girl there that i ended up applying for right away, and a few days later she came to live with us. it was not in our plans to get a third cat, but she’s so adorable and i love her so much — it just made this week and the next a bit stressful. was planning on getting more work done, but instead i’m working on making her comfortable and introducing her to the cats properly.