Studio Sunday: 10 Things I’m Enjoying

Every Sunday I’ll be sharing a peek at what I made this week along with a list of ten things I’m enjoying. Longtime readers of my blog remember 10 Things Sundays posts beginning in 2008 (ish). For years saving little idea lists lived on a shelf in my mind and I’m excited to dust that off again.

Thank you for supporting The Lost Arts. I’m so excited to bring you this weekly newsletter!

Your inner child always knew who you were supposed to become and if you look back you’ll begin to see all the time they tried to tell you. I love trying to send messages back to my little self, mostly filled with gratitude. 

I spent this past year planning a home library and collecting novels (mostly from Thriftbooks). Huge stacks of books were growing in our living room, piled high. Finally, the shelves were completed and I was able to fill the shelves. I had no idea how much the books would fill (or not fill) the shelves and it got to about 40%, which means I have more used book shopping in my future for the next few years. What a gift! Now, time to reorganize them over and over.

I considered buying a Louise Carmen journal, but what stopped me was the sizing. I love A5 journals and already purchase them in bulk. So I found a similar option on Etsy that fit A5 and all is right in the world. It brings me immense joy every day.

I bought one for myself and one to give as a gift from this Etsy shop. Aren’t they charming?

I just started Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. It’s one of those books that’s been on my shelf waiting for such a long time and I have a feeling I’m going to love it.

I did not achieve my reading goal in 2025 and instead of beating myself up about it, I’m setting the same goal for the new year and moving on without guilt. I hope, if you have an unmet goal you’ll do the same thing. Onward!

The more years go by, the more obsessed I become with the concept of Little Free Library. It’s my personal beacon of hope that there is still good in the world. You can find me buying new release bestsellers and old favorites (again and again) for my pink Little Free Library. If you live in a neighborhood where people walk, consider adding one. In my neighborhood there are around ten that I can walk to from my home and that’s something really special.

I will always have an eBay obsession. It ebbs and flows. One year I an searching for vintage rings, the next antique paintings and the next, brass sculptures. My current watchlist includes brass candle sconces for the fireplace, a (miniature) deck of cards carrying case necklace, Penguin classics and the Lennox seaside spice jars (similar to the pastel house ones, but lighthouses).

Have you ever spent like three years working on a novel and then you get to visit all the place from your book? I’ve been slowly checking locations off since last year and this year I can’t wait to return to Paris and visit this iconic café as well as several other spots.

My next book is set on a New England island. Hoping to visit this summer. Here’s my secret…. If you write novels you can justify any trip, all over the world as research. If you’ve never felt star-struck by an oil painting or a historic home, I highly recommend it.

We got this nostalgic video camera for our ten-year-old for Christmas. She hasn’t stopped carrying it around making videos. I’m not going to lie, I’m excited to steal it and play with it too.

My entire adult life my grandmother has kept meticulous photo albums chronicling her entire life since she was a baby. The collection was around twenty volumes. Recently she divided up the albums and gave them away to the whole family. It broke my heart to see her albums divided, but when I got home and went through my book (plus an envelope full of random photographs) it was so incredibly special. I ended up making ornaments with some of the photos (like my grandmother in a bikini!) for my siblings and parents.

It inspired me to take photography more seriously this year and to start a box of photos for each of my children to have when they are adults. At the end of our lives, very little is as meaningful as the photos we take. When paired with stories, it’s the closest thing to time travel we’ve got.

Creative update: This week I am wrapping up my final edits on my novel and sending it out for copy edits. After that, my novel will be ready to query (which means pitch the novel to literary agents who, then, sell it to publishers). The process of learning to write was long and challenging, but the result of holding my completed novel in my arms is unlike any career experience I’ve had. I can’t wait to wake up every morning and work on it. That alone is worth celebrating.

I’m looking forward to taking you along on the process this year. I’ll be trying to sign with an agent and sell this novel, while also completing a second novel. That sounds like a lot when I say it out loud, but the daily routine of waking up and typing words on my laptop is peaceful and cozy. It’s so many things all at once. Big and little. Climbing a mountain one sentence at a time.

Thank you to everyone who joined my paid newsletter this past week. If you’re interested you can subscribe here. The first exclusive email will go out this Wednesday where I’m discussing an end of year goal audit.