Life Lately

Hi friends, we have some catching up to do. Lately life has been crazy, a bit all over the place with travel, school, work, and blogging. 
    
​So I thought I would dedicate this week’s blog post to just chatting with you. Sharing some thoughts, photos, writing updates, and my current favorite recipes, books, music and more. So make yourself a cup of tea, and let's get into it.

This Season of Life

The message of my little blog is that it's so important to slow down and enjoy the little things in life. But my goodness I’m so bad at it. I’m in a season of life full of change, and ever since coming back from England, I haven’t had many big plans to look forward to. I’ve been forced to take life day by day. And I don’t always like it. I like the certainty of knowing what's coming next.
    
But everything is changing, and even though it’s hard sometimes, it’s up to me to grow with it, and at the same time, to cherish what I do have. To enjoy my life, to live fully even when fears cloud my mind. 
    
​I don’t know what season of life you’re in right now, but let me remind you that it’s okay to not know everything. It’s okay to slow down and enjoy where you are right now.

Writing Update

Writing, like pretty much everything right now, has been all over the place. I’m currently doing the first round of edits on my novel (in September I’ll have worked on it for two years, yikes!) This round of edits is a lot of grammar corrections and leaving comments for my future self to consider. It’s slow going, but it’s also been a lot of fun to be immersed in this world I created again. As I’m editing I’m being reminded of how much I love this story and these characters. It is my hope and prayer that someday you will all be able to meet them. 
  
I’ve also been writing a lot of poetry lately. All different kinds of poetry, a lot of it is very emotional, but some I really love. I’ve been trying to make my poetry more sensory, making you feel, see and taste things, and it’s been a lot of fun.
    
Back in April I had the joy of participating in a Beta Read for an established young author. If you don’t know, beta reading is where an author will have a select group of people read through her story and leave comments about what they loved, hated, and other constructive feedback. It was so much fun doing this and hopefully I’ll have more to share about that project soon!
    
​A little blog update, this past month things have been a little different on the blog, this is due to me traveling twice, and having technical issues. Nothing is changing in the way I blog or the weekly schedule. I’m going to be getting back to my typical posts during June. We have another Little Women Face-Off post coming, and I’m planning a bunch of fun summer posts as well. 

A Word on Friendships

Last summer, my friend and I sat on a swing set at sunset, talking about life. We didn’t see each other often, so whenever we did we would have a good pour-our-entire-hearts-out conversation. One thing I remember saying to her was this, “I’ve spent so much time searching for the perfect friends, and I’m finally noticing that they’ve been with me all along.”
    
And those words, spoken a year ago still hold true. In the past year I’ve found that the truest, sweetest friends are people who are already around me. I’m finally realizing that I have what I’ve always wanted. I feel so full and happy when I’m sitting in church with a group of girls. What a blessing to have friends who want to worship God with me. When my friends and I have sleepovers and can’t stop laughing, or when we watch movies and can’t stop talking, I realize this is what I’ve been praying for. 
    
It’s not perfect;  sometimes I still feel lonely. I still wish for a girl who wants to go to Barnes and Noble with me (I’m not asking much), but regardless God has blessed me. 
    
​I don’t share this with you to brag, because I know the pain of feeling alone. I know what it’s like to see other people living full lives with friends and feeling let down. I share this with you to encourage you to ask God for friendships, and to trust that he’s going to bring the right people into your life, maybe they’re already there.

My Matcha Recipe

Now to change topics very quickly haha. I’ve always loved matcha, and recently started making my own. I’m obsessed and look forward to making it and adding fun spins. I have perfected my basic recipe and thought I’d share it with you.
    
    ¼ cup hot water
    1 tsp culinary grade matcha
    1-2 tsp brown sugar (sweetness is personal preference)
    Ice
    1 cup milk (you can use whatever you’d like, but I like doing half dairy, half oat milk because it has the best flavor and amount of creaminess.)

    
Whisk your matcha powder into your hot water with a matcha whisk or a milk frother until the powder has fully dissolved. 
    
Add in your sugar and mix well.
    
​In a glass add your ice, pour milk over the ice, then add the matcha shot.

Variations - here are my three favorite variations
    Vanilla - add a drop of vanilla extract to the matcha shot
    Lavender - Add in a small scoop of lavender flowers or a lavender tea bag to the hot water before adding in your matcha.
    Strawberry - cut and smash 2-4 strawberries and place them and their juice at the bottom of the glass.

What I've Been Listening To

Benson Boone - Benson is a newer pop artist, he recently released his first full album Fireworks and Rollerblades. I love a majority of his songs and would recommend his music for people who want some clean pop.

Oldies - If you know me, you know I love my oldies. I wasn’t listening to them for a while, but I’m hooked again. I’ve mainly been listening to my favorite album which is the Crosby-Clooney Radio Sessions, but I also have been listening to Frank Sinatra’s The Columbia Years (1943-1952): The Complete Recordings: Volume 11, what a horrible album title, but its full of great songs.

The Prodigal by Josiah Queen - Josiah is a new Christian artist who just released his first album. I love all of his songs. They all tell stories from scripture, but he sings as if he’s in the shoes of someone in the story. The songs are a little bit country, and a little bit pop.

On the theme of listening, I’ve been listening to the Bookmark’d Podcast with Sara Carolli and Destiny Sidwell. I love watching Sara and Destiny on YouTube, and their podcast brings both of their fun personalities together.

They talk about more than just books on their podcast and it’s always fun. A little content warning, the girls sometimes talk about books, shows, and music that isn’t always clean or God honoring, the podcast itself is clean and fun, but I would recommend using discretion with their recommendations.

A Bookish Update

​I feel like it’s been so long since I’ve talked about books on the blog, but I know that’s not true. I guess I just haven’t talked about my current reads. Here are some of my favorite reads from the past month.

The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry by Anna Rose Johnson

Middle-grade historical fiction
    
​This is a new release and it’s the sweetest story of a young orphan who is adopted by distant relatives who run a lighthouse on a small island. Lucy is very different from the members of the family and has an obsession with finding a treasure her father always talked about. I loved this sweet little book.

A Vicarage Family by Noel Streatfeild

Historical fiction
    
I have had mixed experiences with Noel Streatfeild’s writing, I have loved some of her books, and hated others. This was one I loved. 
    
The book is an autobiographical novel about growing up as the middle child of a vicar. The book was both quaint and relatable. The things the main character Victoria goes through feel so very real to me, and her experiences being a child of someone in ministry hit home. I cried reading this book. Hard. 
    
​I know this book won’t be a win for everyone, but I would definitely recommend it to pastors kids and missionary kids.

Adventures With Waffles ​by Maria Parr

Middle grade contemporary
    
I did not expect this book to be so charming. Maria Parr is a Norwegian author and a few  of her books have been translated into English. I read one of them before and it wasn’t my favorite, but this one was really sweet. It’s about a young boy named Trille who’s best friend is a girl named Lena. 

​The book covers their adventures, but it’s so much more than that. It deals with wondering if someone likes you as much as you like them (as friends), and with many aspects of grief. Some of the paragraphs hit me so hard that I was choked up.  I wished it wasn’t a library book so I could underline and annotate.  Don’t let the challenging themes discourage you from reading this book though, the book is so fun, full of beautiful Norwegian settings and lots of waffles. It’s a book that is perfect for the age group it’s written for. I wish I had read this book younger.

A Drop of Golden Sun​ by Kate Saunders

 Middle grade historical fiction
    
This book is everything. It’s perfection, I don’t even know how to express it. It’s a book I first picked up at Blackwells in Oxford but didn’t buy, then the day before I left I bought the only copy at a Waterstones in London. It’s about a little girl named Jenny who is cast in a movie musical with four other children (the movie is pretty much the sound of music). They spend a summer in a Chateau in France while they film. This book also deals with hard topics, but it does so very sensitively.
    
The book is set in the 1970’s, full of childish antics, Hollywood movie making drama and fun, so many bookish references (we’re talking Narina, Anne of Green Gables, Jane Eyre and more), a group of friends who become like family, amazing food, and to top it all off, a main character who wants to be a writer. 
    
Go read it.

Anne of Green Gables​ by L. M. Montgomery

You might be thinking to yourself “Belle, you’ve definitely read Anne before.” And you are correct, I have read this book many a time. This summer I have decided that I am going to re-read the entire eight book series. I often revisit favorite chapters of these books, but rarely re-read them all the way through. I’m currently re-reading the first book and annotating it. I’m reminded how much I love this book and Maud’s writing. 
    
But it also feels different from when I read it the first few times. There’s more weight in it, more depth than I remember. 
    
I’m having such a fun time, frolicking with Anne again. While reading, I keep realizing how big of a smile I have on my face. Ah Avonlea, how I’ve missed you.
    
If you haven’t read the AoGG series, you are sorely missing out.

I also dnfed and didn’t like some books, but there’s no fun in talking about those.

A little photo dump -
    
Here are some fun and cute photos I’ve taken over the last month, from flowers to my dog, to my family vacation to Washington D.C.

My dog, Toby.

I found this bust of Louisa May at The National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. and had a fangirl moment.

The Capitol at sunset <3

A Bagel.

Georgetown

Alright friends, that's all for today! I hope you enjoyed this random assortment of thoughts. 

What have you been up to lately? Read any good books? Have any favorite podcast recommendations for me?

Belle Thomas

​Belle is the writer and dreamer behind An Old Fashioned Girl. She is passionate about reminding girls of their identity in Christ, classic books, history, Louisa May Alcott, and earl grey tea.