Just like that, the year is halfway gone!
I feel like I blinked and missed June – it’s been a busy month full of working, reading, attempting to organize my life, and working some more. Oh, and did I mention working?
Work updates
In May, I started working regularly in the specialty cheese department of the grocery store I work in. Normally I’m just a barista in the coffee bar, but I had cross-trained to work in cheese last year to help cover a few shifts. The manager just went on maternity leave {congrats Maureen!!!} and they really needed help producing mozzarella.
That’s the awesome thing about this store – they actually make as much as possible in the store itself, including mozzarella!
Since it’s a bit of a process to learn, not just anyone can do it, and there were only two people in the store who regularly made it – one being the manager who left. Mozzarella gets insanely popular in the summer {Caprese salad anyone? nom} sooooo they were in a bit of a tight spot. I was asked to help and said yes, and started learning last month. It was a delicious, delicious learning curve.
Buuuut I wasn’t quite planning on the time commitment it would add. I work full days when I’m producing, and I work almost every evening at the library. So 2-3 days every week, I end up working 11 or 12 hours between the two.
Cue the general exhaustion and inability to get just about anything done around the house, let alone the blog!!
Still, I thought I should get SOMETHING put up here so people don’t forget that I exist. And everyone loves posts about favorite things, right??
six things I’ve been Loving in June
one – books in all shapes & forms
Library books, e-books, hardcover books, audiobooks, kid lit – you name it, I’ve been reading it this month!
In my Ink & Volt planner, there’s a space that allows you to set a challenge for each month. In June, my challenge was to read every single day. Well, I got pretty darn close! I read three books, which is more than usual, and started like four more, ha. I use Goodreads to track my reading – follow along here!
two – cheeeeeeeese
Seeing as I’ve worked way more often than usual in the specialty cheese department this month, it’s needless to say that cheese is on my brain. One of my fave parts of working in cheese is getting to try all of the delicious and wildly different varieties that we offer. It’s the tastiest learning process ever.
Although I’m not quite loving the hours, it’s been really fascinating to learn how mozzarella is made. Our process is pretty similar to this. There’s really almost nothing better than freshly made mozzarella!!
three – Pure Barre, yet again
Self care comes in many different forms – lately I’ve been trying to make exercise one of them. Since I’m working two jobs {three if you count the cheese as separate!} I thought I’d treat myself to a class package at Pure Barre, and I have been loooooooving it.
It feels so great to get my butt kicked a few times a week. Barre is the only thing I’ve found that consistently gives me a full body workout that I don’t hate!
four – cutting down my wardrobe
Like many people, I was inspired to do some research into minimalism after watching that Minimalist documentary on Netflix! It sounds so simple and freeing to just get rid of all of your stuff, and I’m sure it works for some people, but I think I have the clutter gene & it’s just not for me. But I pushed myself back in April to try the Project 333 capsule wardrobe.
Let me tell you, it’s been kind of wonderful.
I stayed true to the 33 items for about a month & a half, and have slowly been adding things to my wardrobe, but I ended up getting rid of a lot of clothing items that had definitely been cluttering up my closet. I’m planning a more detailed post about the capsule wardrobe dealio! Yay for less stuff!
five – making coffee at home
Although I was attempting to cut down on my caffeine intake a few months ago, it’s been creeping back up, for better or for worse.
The thing I like about that, though, is that I’m making more coffee for myself at home and experimenting with new things!
As the weather gets warmer, I really love a good cup of iced coffee, and my fave way to make it for myself is an iced pour over. You get really intense flavor notes by brewing it fresh over ice – I like it way more than cold brew. There are tons of resources out on the interwebs that walk you through it, but the one I follow most often is Counter Culture’s iced coffee recipe. They’ve also got amazing coffee – I’m still working on a bag that I picked up when I was last in Arlington.
I love my Hario pour over brewer and my Baratza grinder. They make the coffee process so quick & simple!
six – writing
I’ve been doing a bit of journaling this month, which always makes me feel lovely and more in touch with myself & my emotions. I’ve also been working on a few more blog post drafts, and have finally jotted down some good concrete plans for this lil’ blog o mine. I know I always say it, but I think you’ll be seeing a little more of me than usual in the coming months.
Plus, I finally found a new blog theme that I think I love. Stay tuned for a possible re-design!!!
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Summer can go by wildly quickly, so I really suggest taking a second to think about some positive things in your life at the moment. What have you been looooooving this month? Tell me in the comments below!
