Thank you for your patience, everyone! I know it's been a *hot minute* since I got one of these classes out, but I had some technology/hardware issues that took a while to resolve. I've finally handled those issues and am up + running again so can happily say that I'm back in the audio class game!
And another piece of good news: due to lots of requests for shorter classes, the next few audio classes will be 1 hour long (or less). Hooray! You can learn more about this month's class below... Class Description: In this 55-minute audio yoga class we focus on twisting, cleansing, and releasing. We work with a number of wider twists, but build up to a tighter twist with an option for side crow (or parsva bakasana) near the end of class. This class is not for beginners; experienced practitioners only (Level 2-3 class). Recorded live. *Note: it might be handy to have 2 blocks available for this class! But you can definitely do it without them if you don't have access to blocks. How to Listen: You can listen directly from this website (player below) or on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher (search "Starr Struck Yoga: Live Yoga Classes"). If you subscribe to this "podcast" wherever you listen to podcasts, you will automatically get each new class that I post in your podcast feed on your phone. A Note About the Audio Quality: These classes are not professional recordings, so you will hear me mess up, you'll hear students sneeze, you'll hear me whisper a specific instruction to a specific student, and at times, the audio quality might not be the best. Apologies, but hey, they're free and as authentic as you can get without being in the actual class! ;) You can stream the class here: Enjoy! And as always, thanks for practicing with me from afar :) 
It's Friday again! They just keep on coming, don't they!? Oh, life.
No time for messing around today so lets get right down to biznass; here's what brought me joy this week... HEAR: I Don't Want: The Gold Fire Sessions by Santigold My brother sent me a text about this album a few weeks ago saying that Santigold is one of his favorite new artists he's come across in a long time; I immediately started listening--because he's a music snob but he has good taste--and I was hooked. She's so great! Listen to one of my faves from this album below: SEE: This video [of an amazing lady killing it at Missy Elliot karaoke] Some people just have it, ya know? And this woman, she does. This video made my week and maybe my month. I feel like she is basically me in another 10-15 years. Scroll down on this article to view the full video. It's SO good! The sound effects are the best. {Shout-out to my friend Jessica for sharing it with me!} TASTE: All of the summer fruits. We've had the following fruit in the house this week: strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and watermelon. We're living the summer fruit dream over here and it's making m really happy. Well actually, I would have been happier if I didn't feel the pressure to save most of the berries for Charlie Mae, but still, SO good. SMELL: Charlie Mae's hair while I breastfed her for the last time I'm sure you already read the post about it, but in case you didn't, it's here. So yeah, nuzzling Charlie Mae's hair and smelling her amazing scent while trying to soak up our last breastfeeding "session" was pretty special. And sad (but in a good, love-filled way). TOUCH: My new yoga tanks--they're in! I am so happy with how my new yoga tanks turned out. They're super comfy, stretchy, soft, and roomy. Just how I like my yoga tops ;) Hopefully you've already received yours + you agree (if you pre-ordered)...and to those who didn't pre-order but want one, there are only a handful of smalls + mediums left so buy quickly! Also, a huge thanks to everyone who joined me for my AM Yoga Challenge this week! It's been *SO* fun and a total #SJOTW. Oh, and the beach last weekend--that was another great simple joy (but you can only list the beach every Friday of the summer for so long, you know!?!?). Have a great weekend! 
 I breastfed Charlie Mae for the very last time on Sunday, just about 3 weeks shy of her second birthday. Prior to becoming a mother, I had hoped to breastfeed her until she was at least one, but I obviously had no idea what that meant or if breastfeeding would even work for us. Clearly, it did. In fact, I'd say that of all of the possible challenges that a new mother can face, breastfeeding was one of the *very few* that I never had to struggle with. Sure, there were some small hiccups: the bleb (ugh I hate that word!) that made it painful for a few weeks, learning how to get into the "laid-back" position so that she wouldn't choke on my crazy milk flow when she was tiny, etc., but for the most part, it was really smooth. To those who struggled with breastfeeding, I hope I don't come across like I'm bragging or think I'm better than anyone else--Charlie Mae put us through the wringer in almost every other way possible in her first 14 months of life, so I feel like I've earned the right to celebrate this one small victory from her early days. [She also never took a bottle. Ever. So we had no choice but to lean into breastfeeding with everything we had. The no bottle thing was NOT easy). And as my friend Jessica so aptly put it (and as I like to quote over and over again), when it comes to parenting, "everybody gets theirs sooner or later." Breastfeeding was just one of the very few things that didn't blow up in my face as soon as I thought I'd gotten the hang of it. But now we're done. Just like that. To be clear, we've been almost done for a while. For the past 6 months-ish, Charlie Mae has only been breastfeeding in the mornings when she wakes up. We eliminated her other feeding (the one before bed) quite a while ago so that other people would be able to put her to sleep [for once in her ENTIRE life], and for a while there has been very little left for her to actually "drink." But, she has loved her "mommy milk" with a vengeance since Day 1 and I never felt the need to stop until recently. I won't go into all of the reasons that I felt it was time, but suffice it to say, it was. And Charlie Mae has been a rockstar about weaning. I prepared her for the change for the entire week leading up to her last morning of breastfeeding, and I reminded her on the last morning that this was the last time. I took the fuzzy, emotional selfie above in the 6:30am light and gave her lots of kisses on her head while she enjoyed her last few drops of breastmilk. I'm tearing up just writing this post about it, but as always, she's taken it like a little champ. For me, this is one of the craziest parts of being a mother (and when I say craziest, I mean it literally makes you feel like a crazy person): you can want to be done with a stage or a routine or even an entire week SO badly, and at the exact same time, be heartbroken about that stage or routine or week being over and miss it as soon as it's done. In other words, I can cry while thinking about how I'll never breastfeed Charlie Mae again and I can also be simultaneously relieved to be done breastfeeding and to finally have my body back [as much as you can "have" your body when you also have a toddler, haha]. Oh, and in case you thought I wasn't going to say it in this post, let me mention (one. more. time.) that motherhood is all of the emotions all of the time forever and ever amen. It's love and boredom and excitement and energy and exhaustion and joy and frustration and elation and misery and laughter and tears and anger and courage and perfection and the biggest mess possible all rolled up into a child-sized burrito full of stuffed animals and food and tantrums and kisses. Wow, it's something!! But back to breastfeeding: I just can't believe that this era of my life with Charlie Mae is over and I want to say, right here and now, how grateful I am that this one small part of her early years came so naturally to both of us. We mamas gotta celebrate the small victories, no matter what they are (!!!). And maybe now that we're done with breastfeeding, I'll [eventually] spend my first night away from her...and years from now, when she's a teenager, I'll try not to gross her out by telling her how much she loved my boobs when she was a baby... But I can't make any promises ;)   Boom: here we are. First Friday in August. This is Charlie Mae's birthday month (she'll be 2 on the 24th!) and I can't believe we're here already. Also, happy International Breastfeeding Week! I started a post about my breastfeeding experience (we're still going but it's coming to an end) and had hoped to get it up this week, but alas, it will be coming next week instead. Stay tuned for that (for those of you who care about BF, haha). In the meantime, lets talk simple, sensory joys! Here's what made me smile over the past week.... HEAR: Amy Schumer Presents: 3 Girls, 1 Keith Podcast I love Amy Schumer so it's no surprise that I also love her new podcast. Not sure why it took me so long to find out about it (it came out in late June) but I'm glad I finally did! If you like her humor, you'll really enjoy this one. SEE: Charlie Mae with her "Mingo" float Charlie Mae's Great Aunt (shout-out Ninny!) gave her a flamingo float at the lake last weekend and it basically made her life. It also made mine to see how much she LOVED riding in this thing and floating in the water. She even tried to ride it at home and was kissing it all afternoon. We're headed back to the lake with Mingo today; I can't wait to watch her fall in love all over again. TASTE: Plum tomatoes from our very own tomato plant :) I don't have a green thumb and would never pretend that I do. I love the idea of being a person who has a veggie garden in the backyard, but at this point in my life I'm just not there. Maybe in a few years...(a girl can dream!)? However, my mother-in-law planted a few tomato plants in pots for us at the beginning of the summer and they've now been producing ripe tomatoes and it's so fun! They're really tasty--like little pieces of healthy candy. SMELL: Rodan + Fields Lash Boost To be fair, I don't know if this has a scent or not, but I'm going to pretend it does so that I can give it a shout-out. If you've seen me in-person lately, you might have noticed that my lashes are WAY longer than they've ever been in my life. That's because of this little product that I've been using. It's like clear eyeliner that you just swipe onto your top lash line at night...a few weeks later, voila! Your lashes are super long and lush! Huge fan. If you need a R+F rep/contact shoot me an email and I'll connect you with mine :) TOUCH: Cleaning out my studio (!!!) I'm sure you saw on Instagram (and the blog post about my original art sale), but in case you didn't, let me tell you that I spent a few hours cleaning out my workspace this week (it had become almost unworkable + super overwhelming) and it feels AMAZING. There's nothing like a big cleaning to make you feel refreshed + more clearheaded, ya know? And there you go; another week in the books. I hope you have a lovely weekend and can find the time to reflect on your simple, sensory joys of the week today, too. Also: my Juice + Loose AM Yoga Challenge is happening next week at Centerville Yoga! There aren't many spaces left but you can still sign up through Saturday. Learn more + reserve your space here. Have a great weekend!    I did a big studio clean-up yesterday and realized that I have quite a few paintings that have just been gathering dust in boxes in the corner of my studio. I also have a lot of *almost* finished summery paintings that I hope to be adding to my Etsy shop soon, but am not quiiiitttteee ready to put out there yet... SO, in the meantime, I thought I'd create some much-needed space in my studio by having a Summer Original Art Sale, now through Labor Day. I've created a special section in my Etsy shop for these original paintings that are available at *super reduced prices,* and will be adding more paintings as I continue to clean out my studio and organize over the next few weeks. But for now, you can check out the available paintings at the link below: If you're local and want to save on shipping, just enter the code LOCALPICKUP at checkout and we can message about a time for you to pick-up your painting. Happy shopping!  
The last full week in July has come + gone...I hope you guys are mentally ready for August because I'm certainly not! Charlie Mae will be 2 next month (?!!?).
But how was your week? As usual, mine was crazy fast, crazy full, and totally enhanced by all of the simple joys that I was able to experience. Here are some of my faves... HEAR: "Boys" by Lizzo Once again, Lizzo FTW! But seriously, this artist is killing it! Listen to this song that she just put out and tell me it isn't one of the catchiest things you've ever heard: SEE: Charlie Mae's first 95% independent outfit You may have seen it in my Instagram story, but in case you missed it, please look at the pic above. This outfit is the first outfit Charlie Mae has picked out completely on her own and then put on [mostly] by herself (I helped her pull up her pants + attach the velcro on the turkey bib). The girl's got style, huh? The best part is that she wore this outfit for the majority of the day on Sunday. Ben and I were dying. TASTE: Broccoli + Kale Slaw Kit from Trader Joes Have you had TJ's Broccoli + Kale Slaw before? Oh wow, is it tasty. Hot tip from my dad's GF: don't use all of the dressing included in the kit. Use just a tiny bit of that dressing and mix it with rice vinegar. Then pour that mixture over the salad and toss. SO good! I ate two full bags on my own over the past 7 days. SMELL: Dr. Praegers California Veggie Burgers I love these veggie burgers so much! I add cheddar cheese and eat them on toasted bread and find them to be divine for a *FROZEN* veggie patty. I don't actually know if they smell amazing while cooking or not, but I do think they're delicious and make them in the Toaster Oven so I know there is a scent associated with them ;) TOUCH: Lake-lounging with Charlie Mae We went to a local lake with some family last Friday and it was just the perfect spot to spend time with a toddler on a hot day. The water was warm, gentle, and shallow, the sun was perfectly intense, and there was no one there but us. I loved just sitting in the water with Charlie Mae while she played. #sweetsummertime And there you go! I hope you can find some time to reflect on the simple joys from your past week today, too. Have a great weekend! 
 Oh man, it's been a while since I've posted one of these logo design roundups, but that's because I've just been too busy WERKING!!! I'm not complaining--I love what I do--but wowee, has this summer been chock full of client projects. As you all know, logo design is one of my *very favorite* services that we provide over at Starr Struck Design Studio, and that's because every logo project is so unique and often brings a new aesthetic, color palette, and/or challenge to the table. Thus, without further ado, here are some of the logos that I've created in the past few months. I've included a few sentences about each of the brands/people behind the logos below... Logo Above: Root to Bloom Wellness (+ secondary/social media version of the logo below) Sarah Chrosniak, the fabulous woman behind Root to Bloom Wellness, is a mama, yoga teacher, Ayurvedic Health Counselor, and life coach. She wanted a logo that reflected her new brand + services, and it was SO much fun creating this one for her.  Logo Below: Quinta Oceana (+ 1-color version, also included below) My friend, hair stylist, and client Kate Scott is opening an Air B+B (and eventual retreat center) in the Azores and this is the logo that we created for this incredible spot (website coming soon!). The pics of this place = to die for. I can't wait to visit someday!   Logo Below: Built on Cape Cod I've already told you all about my newest podcast collaboration (coming in September) with the fabulous ladies from LoveLiveLocal, but what I didn't mention is that I {obviously} made the logo for the new brand, too ;)  Logo Below: Wedding Logo for my brother + his fiance, Caitlin :) My little brother and his longtime girlfriend-turned-fiance, Caitlin, are getting married in January!!! It was an honor to create their wedding logo for them and I'm excited to create the rest of their wedding materials, too.  Logo Below: Petals & Roots Petals & Roots is a new Essential Oil-infused body product brand (so new that their site isn't up yet!), and they hired me to create this earthy-yet-glam logo for the company. Next project? Their website! This will be a fun one...  By the way, isn't it weird that I had two very different companies with the word "Root" in their brand names reach out to me in the past few months? I think so. Anyway, those are just a few of the things that I've been up to! Will share our most recent website designs sometime soon, too... Thanks SO much to all of our amazing clients for your business + for being SO fun to work with. Need a logo for your business or next venture? Learn more here.   This week = exhausting. Emotionally, because of the Sayde post and all of the time spent processing, discussing, and working on finding her a new home, and physically, because my days with Charlie Mae have been starting much earlier. As she's gotten older and the summer has continued, Charlie Mae has slowly been moving up her wake-up time...she used to sleep until 7 or 7:30am every day, but over the past month she's moved to 6:30, then 6, and now, this week, she's settled at about 5:45. NO!!!! I think every parent reading this knows just how I feel. Anyway, even though this week was a tiring one, I was still able to identify lots of simple, sensory joys when I reflected back on the past 7 days. What brought you happiness this week? My #SJOTW are below... HEAR: Music + podcasts from my phone via my car speakers (aka I got an Aux Cord) This is embarrassing, but I had absolutely NO idea that there was a thing called an "aux" outlet in my car and assumed that because I don't have a tape deck (haha) and my car cigarette lighter is broken (also haha) that I had no way to connect my phone to my car speakers. WRONG! My friend Olivia showed me that for the price of a $5 aux cord, I now have in-car iPhone listening capabilities. Welcome to the future, Mary Catherine. SEE: The outpouring of love + support re: Sayde I have seriously been blown away by the response to Monday's post about Sayde. Thank you all so much for the support, messages of love and understanding, and interest in helping us find her a new home. Many of you have asked me to keep you updated and I promise I will; at this point we still don't have any promising leads but we're going to continue making calls and sending emails on our end and in the meantime, hope that some of the shares from all of you will reach the right person. TASTE: Ice Cream on National Ice Cream Day Duh. But also, every day is National Ice Cream day in our family. Charlie Mae loves ice cream just as much as (or more than?) Ben and I do, and that's saying A LOT. Nothing gets our girl more excited than the words, "Want to go get ice cream?" We can't even keep it in the house because if she sees it, she wants it for every single meal. And I get it, I really do. [Also, the addictive quality of sugar is scary.] SMELL: Neuro Style Protect HeatCTRL Iron Hairspray Since I got my hair cut short, I've been straightening it a lot more after blow drying. When I told my stylist this, she recommended this product to protect my hair from the heat. I don't know if it's saving my hair or not (lets hope so!), but I will tell you that it's one of the best smelling products I've ever used. I smell it in my hair for at least 24 hours after using it and it's divine. TOUCH: Being pain-free after dealing with a *very minor* injury I always forget how much it sucks to be injured until I get injured. I just ALWAYS take my health for granted until something goes wrong, and this past week's minor injury was no different. I had a weird wrist sprain that flared up late last week and lasted through Tuesday; it was so painful that I went to that place in my mind where I thought it was possible that I would never be able to practice yoga in the same way again. Then after a little rest it just went away and man, am I thankful to have a working wrist again. I love this old body of mine--weird aches + pains and all. Other SJOTW? An impromptu family trip to the beach yesterday (SO lovely), a butt-kicking Barre class that left me super sore (in a good way), the perfect weather we've been having, a much-needed therapy session, and of course, lots of amazing snuggles from both of my girls. There's just so much to be grateful for in this life. Also, a reminder that my new yoga tanks are available for pre-order through Monday! Here's a blog post with the scoop and here's where you can purchase yours. Thanks to all of you who have purchased already! Have a wonderful weekend and I'll see you back here next week.   Your votes have been counted and although it was a close race, the above color combo--Berry Red + Bright Sky Blue--is the winning color combo! Thanks for your excitement over this tank and for sharing your opinion. I'm excited to change things up + print such a bright, summery top! ;) Details about the tank are below... Description: Super soft and comfy Berry Red racerback tank top with a hand-drawn floral OM symbol printed on the front in bright blue ink. Small "Starr Struck" logo on the upper back of the tank in the same bright blue ink. The tank is 100% cotton ("Satin Jersey") and has a high-low shirttail hemline. It's a perfect tank for keeping cool on a warm day (or in a warm yoga class!), and is also great for layering under warmer pieces. Sizing: Available in SM, MED, LG, and XL. Sizing (measurements) listed in product images on Etsy. Price: $28 + shipping {Note: if you're local and want to save on shipping, just enter the code LOCALPICKUP at checkout and we can arrange pick-up via message or email} Ordering Info: The tanks are now available for pre-order in my Etsy shop and will be shipping out in a few weeks. Pre-orders will be available until through Monday, July 23rd. Thanks again + happy shopping! ;)   Before you read this post I need you to read the following: This post is not a request for advice or judgment. I don't want your ideas on how to "fix" the situation because it is not fixable and we have literally done *everything* we possibly can to avoid this situation. Everything. I wouldn't even be sharing this information at this time (or in this way) except for the fact that after trying to handle it on our own in a quiet way and with local resources, we are desperate for help from the collective internet community and this is the only way that I know how to get it. If you cannot comply with my request for ONLY helpful, tangible re-homing ideas and no other advice or judgment, please don't comment on this post on social media or email me. You can, of course, express empathy + love. We all could always use more of that ;) So, here goes... In early June, our beloved dog of 4.5 years, Sayde, attacked our 2-year old daughter, Charlie Mae. It was a very, very, very scary attack that I watched happen right in front of my eyes, and without going into detail about the incident, suffice it to say that it landed Charlie Mae in the ER with multiple deep wounds on her face and left us all VERY shaken up. For the first 48-hours or so after the attack, I was just focused on Charlie Mae and taking care of her, relieved that she wasn't hurt more but heartbroken that she was hurt as badly as she was. As her wounds started to heal and I came out of the fog caused by my fear for her safety, I started to realize what I didn't want to admit: we could no longer keep Sayde. I spoke with multiple dog experts, our trainer, our vet, trusted family members, + fellow dog-loving parents, and everyone continued to tell me what I didn't want to hear--the attack was bad enough that it would no longer be safe to keep Sayde in a house with children. For those who want to look for someone to blame (and believe me, I understand that urge), let me tell you that we did everything we could to avoid this scenario. While she had never done anything like this before, we did know that Sayde had food aggression issues around people and that she is aggressive with other dogs and strangers coming to our house. Because of her aggression issues we've trained her multiple times over the years, including our most recent 3-week Boot Camp Training with a renowned local trainer. We had also stopped feeding her human food, we never let her in the kitchen when food was being prepared, and we never let Charlie Mae eat food around her. We never left Charlie Mae and Sayde in a room together (ever). We never let them near each other without one of us in between them or monitoring the situation. We were very conscientious dog owners and parents. We were on high alert when it came to our dog and our child. But even when you're careful, all it takes is one split second and something like this can happen. In Sayde's defense, she wasn't trying to hurt Charlie Mae--she is an animal who saw food out and believed, in a moment when both she and Charlie Mae were running into the house from outside, that she was competing with Charlie Mae for that food. She was out of her mind and I know without a doubt that she didn't mean to hurt Charlie Mae the way she did. But she did. Although I know she sounds vicious after this recent incident, if you've been following my blog, social media, or podcast over the years, you'll know that most of the time Sayde is anything but. She is SUCH a snugglebug; she sits in my lap or at my feet almost all day long as I work. She sleeps in our bed, under the covers, often curled up against my belly. If there is someone on the couch, she is in their lap or cuddling with them, licking their face, asking for rubs, etc. She loves to play tug-of-war and ball, loves long walks (on a leash, of course) and NEVER tires. Plus, she is extremely devoted and loyal to her family. She has been an amazing dog and we are beyond devastated that we cannot keep her. So, I am asking for your help: we need to find a new home for Sayde. All of the rescues that I've called won't work with us in helping find her a new home because she is a liability risk. They don't feel comfortable placing her and I understand that. BUT, I know in my heart of hearts that there is a perfect home out there for Sayde and that she could make someone else just as happy as she's made us. If this hadn't happened, we wouldn't have given Sayde up in 1 million years. Thus, if you know of anyone who might be looking for a lap dog that will become his or her BFF in no time, here is some more information about Sayde and what she needs: Sayde is about 5.5 or 6 years old and weighs around 12 lbs. We believe she is a Dacshund/Miniature Pinscher/Russell Terrier mix. She's up-to-date on her shots and dental cleanings (haha) and is a wonderful little companion and lover. Here's what she needs in her next forever home: -No other pets -No children -Minimal strangers coming and going Because of her anxiety, Sayde is not great in public places with other dogs or tons of people. She does obey the commands she learned in her most recent training (sit, down, stay, heel, place, come), but we are still training her and would encourage her new owner(s) to do so, as well. We will be doing screenings and if possible, home visits, for anyone who is interested in adopting her, and of course we would want any adoptees to be fully aware of her history and needs in order to keep both Sayde and all humans (and dogs) who come into contact with her safe. Please help me spread the word by sharing this blog post, asking around, contacting any dog rescue peeps you know, etc. If you come across any leads you can email me with ideas, message me on social media, or comment on this post on social media (comments are intentionally turned off here on the blog). Again, please do not send ideas for a solution that would help us keep Sayde. If there was any way that we could do that or any solution that would fix the safety issue in our home, we would have already come to it. Thank you for reading and for understanding how hard this is for our family.   Happy Friday! I hope you had a wonderful week. Mine was so quick it's silly, but we won't go there because I'm sick of that sentiment... ;) Thanks for all of the feedback you've sent my way regarding my new yoga tank design! So glad you guys like it :) The voting is fairly neck-in-neck between your 2-3 top favorites, so if you haven't voted yet please do so before the end of the day today so that it's easier for me to decide which shirt to print!!! I'm quite torn on my favorite, too. But enough admin, lets talk about our simple, sensory joys of the week! What made you smile over the past 7 days? My favorite simple pleasures are below... HEAR: Drake's new album, Scorpion There are many reasons that I love Spotify, but one of the main ones is that I get to hear albums like this one--albums that I might not have bought before but am curious to listen to--right when they come out. And guess what? I'm really loving Scorpion so I'm glad that I got the chance to listen! Drake is seriously just too cool for school and I'm starting to think that I'm a bigger fan than I realized. SEE: Tell Me Lies: A Novel by Carola Loverling I starting reading this book (from my Summer Reading List) late last week and it has been keeping me up every night reading because it just feels so real and it's so heart-wrenching. It's about this on-and-off again, unhealthy relationship that starts in college and continues after. It's a really interesting story about the power of chemistry and why so many people return to toxic relationships (over and over again) despite knowing that they're toxic. I highly recommend it! TASTE: Watermelon watermelon watermelon! We have been eating SO much watermelon around here. We just can't get enough! It's the best. I might even go out on a limb and say it's my favorite summer fruit... SMELL: Hydrangeas in bloom!!!! Hydrangeas don't really have a scent per se, but I had to include them here anyway because the hydrangeas on Cape Cod are all in full bloom and it is GLORIOUS. Every year I forget how beautiful they really are and then they bloom and I'm just in awe. We have one monster plant in our front yard (pictured above; our others are growing slowly) and every time I look at it I feel happier. TOUCH: Charlie Mae's "new" house Our sweet daycare provider had a neighbor giving away an outdoor playhouse and when it was offered to her, thought of us instead because she knows how much Charlie Mae loves outdoor play structures (and we didn't have any! #momfail). We picked it up on Wednesday night and Charlie Mae has basically been living in this thing. It's so sweet to play house with her and although it might not seem like it would be, it's a very tactile experience. We do a lot of "cooking" + "eating" with grass, rocks, dirt, flowers, etc. It's great. And there you go! I hope you can find the time to reflect on your #SJOTW today, too. Have a wonderful weekend! 
Once again, I need your help! I'm finally getting my summer tank design ordered but I can't decide which color combo I like best. What do you think?
Help me decide by casting your vote below (vote for your 2 favorites!):
Which color combo is your favorite?
Created with PollMaker
Voting will be open through Friday, 7/13 and I'll pick a design over the weekend. Stay tuned next week for the final design and a chance to pre-order the chosen color combo... Thanks for your input! 
 {Images above: the adorable little reason for the following...} Last week, I did laundry on Monday. I carried the basket of clean clothes upstairs in between things and dumped it out on the bed so I could fold it later. At bedtime, I went upstairs and found our bed covered with clean clothes. So I scooped them up and put them all back in the basket, put the basket on the floor, and got into bed. The next day after hastily pulling the comforter over the bed to make a "clean" flat surface, I dumped all of the clothes back on the bed to be folded. That night, when I went to get into bed, I once again scooped up the unfolded clothes and shoved them back into the basket. You would think I would learn, but this happened on Wednesday, too. I finally folded the clothes on Thursday. -- In late December, I ran out of contact lenses. The first appointment I could get that would be covered by my insurance was in early March, so I decided I would go without contacts until March and then get new ones. When the day of my March appointment rolled around, we had a huge snowstorm and the Eye Doctor's office called to tell me that they were closed and would call me back to reschedule after the storm. I missed their follow-up call the next week and still haven't called them back to reschedule. I've been without contacts for over 7 months. The other day I looked out the window at the fuzzy leaves on the tree across the street and remembered my missed appointment and the fact that I used to wear contacts. Then I thought, hmmmm...maybe I don't need contacts, after all!? -- A few months ago, Charlie Mae was having a blast sitting in the driver's seat of my car, pushing all of the buttons on the dashboard (as you do). The next time that I turned my car on, I found that the radio settings had somehow been changed so that sound only comes out of the back speakers. I have no idea how to fix this and no time to look up how to fix it so for weeks now, when driving around, I have to decide if I want to listen to music that is just a tiny buzzing from the backseat or drive in silence. I mostly drive in silence [for longer rides I put on my headphones and listen to a podcast. Duh.] -- The debris in our garage--the Elephant Graveyard of our household for the past two years--has been building and building. This past weekend I finally couldn't take it anymore so I started cleaning it out with about 15 minutes until the lunchtime/naptime routine and while in charge of Charlie Mae (not my most productive time of the day). We don't really drink beer around here, so every time we've hosted a cookout and had leftover beer, we've stowed the unused cans in the garage, leaving us with a garage floor littered with little clusters of half-used 12-packs (again, #ElephantGraveyard). As a part of my quick cleaning job, I decided to start rounding up the beers, stacking them all up on a shelf. When Charlie Mae saw what I was doing she was overjoyed to see a job she could help me with. One by one she would bring me a dirty, spiderweb and who-know-what-else-covered beer can and say, "'Nother seltzer mommy???" -- During a snowstorm in February or March, the rubber padding on my back windshield wiper came off, rendering my back windshield wiper unusable. I've been without a back windshield wiper ever since. -- It's really easy to let the burden of all of these little things (and there are OH SO MANY more where these come from) get me down. But every time that my mind starts to go down the "undone" rabbithole (which I've talked about here before), I just have to remind myself that I am raising a special little human being right now; that every unfixed windshield wiper, dusty garage floor "seltzer," and silent car ride is worth it. Charlie Mae won't remember whether or not the clothes went unfolded for a week or whether or not I could see with my eyes (HAHAHA), but she will remember the quality time we spent together dancing to Hokey Pokey in the kitchen (actually, she probably won't remember that because she's so young but you understand the sentiment). And as annoying as all of these undone tasks are, in a weird way, they're also a reminder that my priorities are in the right place right now. And that we're not "failing at life," as Ben keeps saying when he remembers something we've let fall through the cracks (Ben...), but that we're doing our very best and that's all we can do. At least that's what I keep telling myself. Over and over again. But I should probably get my eyes checked and contacts reordered, huh?   What a weird week, huh? So strange when a holiday falls on a Wednesday....especially when you live in a summer vacation spot and it's like the whole world descends on your stomping grounds out of nowhere! It's been 2 weeks since my last SJOTW and I have to say, I missed writing it last week while on vacation (not enough to pull out my laptop and write, of course, but I was aware of the loss, hahaha). That being said, I won't dwell on Nantucket here (I said enough about it on social media last week), but suffice it to say that the trip was AMAZING. It really is one of my favorite places to spend time. Especially since it's so easy to get to but truly feels like a removed island, away from it all. How was your week? Wonderful and relaxing, I hope? Here are a few of the sensory, simple joys that brought me happiness over the past week. I hope you find some time to reflect on your SJOTW today, too... HEAR: "Sri Gurvastakam" by The Polish Ambassador Yogis and yoga teachers: put this song on your class playlists! It's on my new July playlist and I'm loving it. It's perfect for those parts of class when you want to build energy and kick things up a notch. Find all of my playlists here or by following me on Spotify. SEE: Charlie Mae + the "Baa Boys" Yesterday, me, Charlie Mae, and her Great Aunt Nancy went to a local farm called "Saturday Farm" to meet two sheep (one of Charlie Mae's favorite animals). Charlie Mae was head-over-heels for these sheep and I loved watching her watch them (and touch/chase/talk to them). Kids + farm animals are just the cutest together. *One more huge visual SJOTW this week: when Charlie Mae wanted to wear her "packpack" to daycare on Monday to show all of her friends. I almost started crying when I saw the image shown above. I MEAN...!!!!!! TASTE: Ice Cream from The Juice Bar One of my very favorite things about Nantucket? The Juice Bar! Deceiving name, I know, but their ice cream is INCREDIBLE. We had it multiple times on our trip last week, including on our last night (Friday) as a final hoorah. So good. SMELL: July 4th grilling/cookouts (cliche but true) We enjoyed two 4th of July get-togethers this week and both were FULL of delicious food made on the grill (and off of it). It was really hot and I may have been sweating while eating (not my favorite thing), but there's something about eating outside in July that just feels right. TOUCH: Swimming in the ocean As mentioned above, it was SUPER hot here this week and thus, the ocean felt really good. We went swimming multiple times when we were at the beach on Wednesday and it was heavenly. I love the ocean so much and still cannot believe I live right by it...will I ever get over this fact?! And there you have it. I hope you had a lovely week, too. Enjoy the weekend and I'll see you back here next week!   Oh you guys, last week's trip to Nantucket was so dreamy! As you probably saw on Instagram (where all the Starr Struck action is happening these days), the trip included 6 adults and 1 toddler [who took long daily naps] and I actually got to read on the beach twice. TWICE!!! As a #todlermom, I seriously felt like I was living my best possible "vacation" life on this trip. Plus, doing that tiny bit of beach reading got me thinking about how much I want to do lots more beach reading this summer (a fantasy that might be possible given that we live 5 mins from the beach...), and reminded me to pull together my summer reading list to share with you. Thus, today's post! Here are some of the fun, beachy, *mostly* light-hearted fiction books that are on my 2018 Summer Reading List:
Happy July, happy warm weather, happy reading, + happy Independence Day to you!  |
HELLO!I'm Mary Catherine, a Cape Cod-based yoga teacher, painter, designer, writer, mom, and list-maker extraordinaire. My goal is to inspire you to start living a more creative, simple, joyful, + purposeful life.
{Learn more + read my story} 
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