Notes 04.

My first read of the year, dressing in winter, and hosting my first journal event

Welcome to Notes, my biweekly round-up of the books on my nightstand, the outfits I’m styling, musings from my journal, and snippets of my adventures around the city.

Before we dive in, I wanted to share this incredible post that Traci put together with resources for helping those affected by the LA fires. Please check it out and consider donating if you are able 💛

Last time we talked, I was between JAMES and IMMORTAL DARK for my first read of the year, but I ended up going in a totally different direction! I read SO LET THEM BURN, a Black fantasy YA novel about two sisters who are trying to protect their home island and save it from being conquered. I’d been craving something with dragons in it and this book had Black girls and dragons. Check check. It ends on a cliffhanger and thank goodness the sequel comes out next month, so I don’t have to wait long! I’d had this book for a while, so I’m proud of myself for reading something off my TBR shelf, for once (lol).

Now I’m reading THE FAVORITES which came out yesterday! It’s a juicy and fast-moving drama about a pair of ice dance skaters and the incident that tore them apart 10 years ago. I’ve been having a great time switching back and forth between the physical copy and the audiobook.

Even though I’m already over winter (how many more months of this do we have left??), I’m still going to dress cute.

Abercrombie sweater and skort, Nine West boots (linked below), and Target bow earrings

I realized I was missing a pair of tall flat boots, so I got some new boots last week and immediately put them to the test. I’ve only worn them once, but so far, so good! I like the way they look IRL and they were fairly comfortable for the first wear. I’ve been loving the look of having socks peeking out of tall boots, so that’s how I styled them here.

I wore this outfit to my junk journal vision board workshop (more on that down below!!) and a friend asked me where my skort was from. I had to laugh because I realized I was wearing nearly head to toe Abercrombie. What can I say? They really rebranded themselves from my teenage years. I started shopping there again a few years ago when I realized their clothes were stylish and decently priced.

I’m still behind on my journal (nothing new there, lol), but I did finally start my 2025 journal! I decorated the cover and I’m obsessed. I really went for it with the stickers this year and it makes me happy every time I look at her. I made a list of 2025 spreads that I want to do at the beginning of this new journal, so I’m slowly going to be chipping away at those this month.

I am still riding the high of hosting my first NYC Craft Club event! It was a junk journal vision boarding workshop and I’m so happy with how it went. I think we had a great turnout and I loved seeing everyone’s different styles of creative expression.

At one point I looked around and saw everyone crafting away to their heart’s content and making new friends. It made me SO happy 🥹 I’m very much hoping to do another event in the near future so make sure you’re subscribed to my newsletter and/or following me on socials to stay in the loop about future events!

And that’s the report! How have the first couple weeks of January been for you? Let me know in the comments!

Also, keep an eye out for my top 10 books of 2024 post, coming later this week!