Hi Reader,,

I keep going back and forth on which is a better format for you: this one, where I share something from each category (craft, dance, read, repeat) OR shorter more focused emails about one thing. If you've got an opinion, hit reply and let me know. For now, please enjoy my crafty mishaps, thoughts on hate-reading, and a new recipe I tried!

Craft

I just finished knitting a Unicorn sweater for my 5 year old and let me tell you… mistakes were made.

At one point I realized I hadn’t been increasing in the right spot, which normally would have meant ripping back. But I had already ripped out the colorwork once and started over, and I simply did not have it in me to do that again.

Lucky for me, my daughter is thrilled with the accidental cone-shaped neck because apparently she wants her sweater to keep her neck EXTRA warm. Problem solved.

Then I ran out of purple yarn while making the sleeves because I was working from stash yarn and fully believed I had enough. I did not. So the sleeves became pink instead and honestly? Happy accident. I actually love how it turned out.

I assumed we’d fold this sweater away until fall, but Chicago gifted us a couple chilly May days and she’s already gotten to wear it a few times.

Honestly, nothing beats seeing something handmade become part of someone’s real life immediately.

Dance

I have a recital this weekend.

I KNOW. Wild.

I’ve been taking a tap class through the park district and a few months ago we had to decide whether or not we wanted to participate in the performance.

And… I said yes.

Which surprised me, honestly. I thought I'd hung up my recital hat forever.

If you know me as a teacher, you know my philosophy leans heavily toward creating “informances” and celebrations that are definitely not recitals. So agreeing to perform myself has been a weird emotional roller coaster of:
“this will be fun!”
followed immediately by:
“oh no what have I done and why?"

I am having LOTS of fond memories of being a kid and having a close family friend in the adult classes performing in all the same shows as me growing up. It's giving me warm and fuzzy feelings about being in the "adult class" and reminding me that dance at all levels should be accessible to all ages.

Anyway. We’ll see how it goes.

Ask me next week if I'm retiring from performance for good.

Read

I’m coming off a one-star read and wowwww did I hate this book.

Which raises the question:
Why didn’t I just DNF it?

I find it genuinely hard to intentionally abandon a book. To decide “nope” and walk away. Especially when it’s an acclaimed book by an author I’ve liked before.

Instead, I hate-read the entire thing while getting progressively more annoyed.

The main character was incredibly unlikeable. He was also the main character so I was stuck in his head the WHOLE TIME. And the ending felt like a complete cop out.

Do you finish every book you start or do you DNF (if you DNF please tell me how you do it?!)

The good news is I’m now flying through Rainbow Rowell’s new book and it's amazing. 10/10 highly recommend if you like an emotional read with relatable characters, hilarious/frustraing sibling dynamics, the occasional laugh out loud moment and some spice 🌶️.

Repeat​
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It is rare for me to try new recipes, but I made these chicken enchiladas the other night and they were GOOD good. I even made the enchilada sauce from scratch (look at me - so fancy).

Even better: they were excellent leftovers, which is always a bonus.

I also made Mexican rice and had a major parenting win when both of my kids silently picked the peas out and set them aside without a single complaint, negotiation, or dramatic speech about vegetables.

#progress

Well that's it for now.

Talk soon,

Jen

P.S. I've added these geometric rainbow gradient earrings to the shop 🌈

They’d make such a fun end-of-year gift for your favorite preschool teacher OR the perfect colorful addition to your PRIDE outfit next month.

​Check them out here.​
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