Quick Takes on a Friday (v. 4)

It feels like it’s been ages since I’ve sat down and updated you guys on my life! Let’s get into it:

1) Thanks to a mistake from my apartment’s leasing office, I know that my rent is increasing this year. My rent didn’t increase last year so I was hopeful the same would hold true this year, but no dice. It’s not going up by too much (around $40 per month) and it still makes this place the cheapest than any other one-bedroom in the area, so I’ll be sticking around for another year, most likely.

2) Speaking of apartments, my mom and stepdad just moved to a new place last weekend! Instead of being 10 minutes away, they’ll be five minutes away. Ha! Their apartment is beautiful with these gorgeous built-in bookshelves and a totally luxurious bathtub, and now I’m coveting the day I can move out of my tiny apartment and into something better. Soon!

3) June is always a really hard month for me. My dad’s birthday is on the 5th and it always makes me so sad to not celebrate it with him. I always spend the day wondering what he’s doing. And then there’s the holiday I dread every year: Father’s Day. It’s even worse this year because I could usually use Father’s Day as my excuse to spoil Pops but I can’t this year. I’m feeling anxious just writing about this, ugh. Thankfully, I have a therapy appointment this afternoon and hopefully, we can implement a plan of action to help me get through it.

4) Onto something happier: my little ladies! I’m planning on writing a post soon about what it’s been like to have two cats but the Sparknotes version is that it’s literally the best thing ever and I am completely obsessed with them. A few weeks ago, Lila finally found her voice and she has the sweetest, squeaky meow. It just melts my heart every time I hear it! It’s so tiny yet high-pitched. They are both pretty vocal, meowing at me in the morning and when I get home from work. I love it so much! My friend who watched my cats while I was gone told me that my cats are literal angels on earth, which made me so happy. I tend to think they are, but it’s nice when someone else (who is very familiar with cats and their mannerisms!) points it out.

5) Y’all. It’s officially summer in Florida and I don’t know if I’m going to make it. It’s already SO DAMN HOT that I just never want to go outside. We’re already seeing temps in the mid-90s with heat indexes in the triple digits. It’s not even June! This is going to be a very long summer. Please pray for my electricity bills.

6) I have a hair appointment tomorrow and I’m considering a semi-drastic cut. I love making crazy changes to my hair and it’s been a while since I’ve done something like that. I may even see if she can dye it purple like I’ve been wanting to do! It’s summer – it’s time for a fun change. 🙂 Here’s what I’m thinking for the color, and this one for the style. Stay tuned to my Instagram to find out what happens!

7) I haven’t worked on my novel for… a very long time. I think I only wrote 3,000 words total in April and none at all in May. I picked up a new freelancing client right before I left for my trip, so I spent my weekends either a) recuperating from Ireland or b) freelancing. I hope I can get back to my novel in June because that’s my #1 priority this year. Maybe I’ll challenge myself to write 4,000 words a week to catch up. Or maybe not. We’ll see.

8) It’s most definitely time for new bookshelves. Right now, I have too many books for my shelves so I’ve taken to stacking books on top of one of them. I’ve had my eye on these gorgeous Hemnes bookshelves, and I just need to buy them already. I think I’m a bit intimidated by the assembly process, which is why I keep letting weeks go by without purchasing them.

9) Things I’m looking forward to this summer: a friend’s pool party in mid-June, the Fourth of July holiday, my mom’s birthday, going to a silent reading party, seeing the Backstreet Boys in concert (!), and hopefully spending many summer afternoons at the pool.

Tell me something you’re looking forward to this summer!