In case you’re new around here, every month I share a random list of things I’m loving (either pop culture or window shopping). The title “I’ll Have What She’s Having” comes from the cult classic When Harry Met Sally— it’s what the lady at the opposite table of Meg Ryan says after Meg Ryan has a fake— well, if you know— you know.

I love these round ups and I would love to hear what shows your’e watching, what movies you’re loving, what songs you can’t stop playing, or what items you’re putting in your shopping cart!

One of the ways I choose to live healthy every day, is by reading a morning mantra that directly addresses the pitfalls and struggles of an Enneagram 9. My mantra is filled with truth about myself. It reminds me I am not the pitfalls of an Enneagram 9. I do not have to be a procrastinator. I do not have to wonder where the week went and get mad at myself for not getting anything done I was hoping to get done.

Before I dive into the three steps, you need to know, I took the enneagram dive about two years ago and ever since, have been significantly challenged and changed for the better. I was down on myself, feeling always stuck in a rut, always procrastinating, or feeling as if I was living a life I didn’t want to live— and so many questions about why I lived life so “frustratingly” were answered through the Enneagram.

I felt as if I was seeing myself in an entirely new (and helpful) light. Not only was the enneagram pointing out my many road bumps and struggles, it was helping me consider how I could positively respond to the very triggers and thoughts about myself that trip me up.

How to Make a Dr. Pepper latte from home! For me, this is an “only every now and then” dessert latte. A feel good latte. A bubbly carbonated latte that makes me feel like a million dollars. If an evil villain was allowed to drink a latte every day— I think a Dr. Pepper Latte would be their choice of pleasure. Dr. Pepper Lattes are just. so. devilishly. good.

I had so much fun putting together this outfit! If you didn’t know, this is not a costume, but is actually considered a bound.

This is my first time to bound. If you’re not sure what bounding is, I totally get it! I saw #disneybound on Instagram a few years ago and had to look it up because I’d never heard of it (that makes me feel like a social media grandma, admitting I had to look something up!). Bounding is when you wear your own clothing to create a costume-like outfit. Color Me Courtney is an absolutely boss at Disney Bounds. Here are all the bounds she came up with during quarantine).

Essential Apps for Creatives in 2020.

I’ve been on this earth for 31 years and I’ve only just figured out how to communicate what I want for Christmas + Birthdays. Throughout the year I keep a sticky note on my desktop and anytime I find something I want to buy, but can’t afford or want to save for later, I add the link to that item to my sticky note. I’ve heard there’s apps for this and Amazon even has “lists” I’ve participated in. But, as I try to shop small and try to not just shop on Amazon, I’ve found a simple “sticky on the desktop” works great!

So when my birthday rolled around this year, I rounded up the linked items and emailed them to my Brett, my husband! And I’m sharing my list with you too, just in case you need to shop around a bit or be inspired for your birthday list this year!

It’s time to get out your favorite mug and your trusty Mocha Pot, Coffee maker, Nespresso Machine (this one’s my personal go-to!), or French Press— because we’re making coffee (And sometimes, we’re making tea or cocktails in case you ever have a non-coffee drinker in your midst!).

Monsters, all of a sudden, had feelings, heart, sadness, and maternal instincts. They weren’t that different from me after all.

COVID has had me looking forward to any and every holiday this year— Maybe because I’m excited to have something to celebrate and I’m excited to wield my decor and outfit creativity? I just need SOMETHING creative to do!

So, with monsters and Halloween just around the corner, I decided to create a Monster Pop Up Card DIY to celebrate my love (and sometimes fear) of monsters. I thought you might enjoy making your own at home too! Whether it’s for yourself, your co-worker, your kids, or your long distance pen-pal!

You’ll hear me say it a bunch— I wear a lot of hats as a business owner, writer, and blogger. Wearing lots of hats can easily make me feel overwhelmed if I’m not on top of my schedule, projects, and busy seasons.

Disorganized is the last thing I want to feel when juggling all the things.

Especially when it comes to my desktop.

“Maybe that's part of what complicates our staying connected to another person. If it's hard to navigate ourselves or explain ourselves to ourselves, how can we expect to do it for another person? Or expect them to do it for us? Yet without that explanation, it's even more difficult to maintain connection, particularly in a world where there's so much stuff (temptation, distraction) creating disconnection.”

Let the wedding couple know you're celebrating them from afar, by gifting them your favorite snippet from your wedding speech (or heck, the entire thing!). This is a really sweet way to commemorate that speech you spent time writing for the couple you love so much. You worked hard on your speech, you spent time celebrating them with your words, now you can help them remember it forever.

This week I’ve been feeling like we need a bit of Gratitude. When I say “we”, I mean me.

Sometimes I need to write and document what it is I love or don’t love about certain seasons of life. This one, I think, I need to document what I have been grateful for— specifically in my marriage.

Because I have never felt more married than right now.

Staying mad at myself or walking around my home believing whatever I do I’ll ruin everything— that’s not a way to live. It brings me down and it brings Brett down too.

Today I’m sharing my pop culture and window shopping favorites from the glorious interwebs. Brett and I walked down the Upper West Side of Central Park a few weeks ago, so I thought I’d share some of our pictures from our adventure as well. What shows are you watching? What music are you listening to? What are you trying SO hard not to buy on the internet?

We need a challenge to encourage us to be patient with them. A challenge to encourage us to put their needs above our own. A challenge that encourages us to bravely love them.

This month, we will be saying our Wedding Vows to one another once a week.

Buying these mugs won’t solve your marital problems, but I do think there could be some serious marriage magic that happens when one of you gets out your matching mugs and tells your partner “Tonight, we’re calling marriage, I’ll make the tea”. Maybe these are your conflict resolving mugs. Maybe these are your grounding mugs. Maybe these are your, Lets connect together mugs.

We get what we pay for.

At The Vow Collective, I have always felt my prices reflected that statement. My clients get what they pay for.

My clients pay a good chunk of change, for a quality piece of REALLY meaningful art work as well as a positive experience with an experienced artist.

But I’ve been wanting to make my store more affordable for a wider variety of clients. Here’s what I’ve done…

Once I designed the sketch, I crafted the real headband using some of my pop up book skills for creating levels on the headband. I hot glued the bunnies and the painted chopsticks to the headband (SO MUCH HOT GLUE EVERYWHERE!), mourned with my Dad (who loves peeps) the loss of so many uneaten Peeps, had my photoshoot, then added in illustrations in post-editing. You can see the sketch and illustration process in the video in this post!

If you ever visit New York City in the spring or summer, I would add this to my list of places to visit or eat lunch at in a heart beat. Pack a lunch or grab some to go and enjoy the quiet and beauty of this Central Park garden. So many people go to Bethesda Fountain when they visit Central Park (and I totally get it, it’s pretty and iconic), but The Conservatory Garden is a breath of fresh air.