The year has been off to a weird start, right? It’s like 2025 is grabbing us by the collar and yelling in our faces, “I will make sure you do NOT forget me — ever!”
Seemingly everyone around me is sick with respiratory and sinus issues that linger for weeks. My friend is dealing with three consecutive snow days and an oil leak in her home while her husband is on a work trip. Others are anxiously waiting for updates from friends and family affected by the California wild fires. The south is experiencing unusually frigid temperatures, while friends in Michigan and Minnesota are scratching their heads over the lack of snow. I, myself, am writing this in a Starbucks in Connecticut (where I grew up), waiting to visit my grandmother, whose dementia is progressing rapidly. This will likely be the last time I see her, and I’m overwhelmed with feelings that I can’t articulate, or even process, right now. And at the time I write this, it’s only nine days into the New Year.
I’m not pessimistic about the year; in fact, I’m considering the strangeness of 2025 to be an opportunity to finally start publishing here on Substack. Everything feels a little off balance, so why not throw caution to the wind and fully embrace the unknown?
With that, hello, reader. I’m thrilled you’re here.
A little about me
I live in the Charlotte, North Carolina area and am a mother to eight-year-old twins (a boy and girl) and three feisty rescue pups; wife to my longtime-friend-turned-major-crush; editor and writer; and semi-recovering shoe addict.
I’ve been writing since early childhood, beginning with poems and short stories, then expanding in my tween years to a neighborhood magazine with must-read news such as “Neon is trending for summer” and “Brian built a new tree fort in the woods.” A journalism major, I penned numerous articles in my twenties and thirties, only to come full circle back to creative writing in my forties. My work has appeared in publications and sites such as Glamour, Connecticut magazine, Gawker, Coffee + Crumbs, PR Daily, and Scary Mommy.
When I’m not writing, I’m either focused on my full-time job as an editor and content strategist, doing all the mom things, watching true crime documentaries with my husband, curled up with a book, sweating it out at the local Pure Barre studio, or buying notebooks, pens, or books (Q: How many are too many? A: The limit does not exist. The limit does not exist!).
A little about “Like a Writer”
If you’re still reading, you may be curious about the focus of this blog. I named it “Like a Writer” because I struggled with calling myself a writer for a long time. It’s not my full-time job, I haven’t published a book, and so on and so on — so can I really say I’m a writer? It took me a while to accept that if you regularly write, you’re a writer. Period. In this space, I plan to:
1. Create (Like a Writer — see what I did there?) — I’ll share pieces of my writing that have been published elsewhere as well as those that haven’t been, but I’ve tinkered with them for far too long and they need to see the light of day and breathe.
2. Process (Like a Writer) — Like many writers, I often make sense of my feelings through writing. Occasionally, these written-word, solo therapy sessions result in an essay or creative non-fiction piece that I want to share in case it can help anyone else.
3. Read (Like a Writer) — In addition to journalism, I majored in English literature in college and love to dig deep into other people’s words, both to get more out of the work as a reader and to glean craft lessons as a writer. I’ll share the interesting choices writers make and takeaways for improving our work. (Shout-out to Callie Feyen for the idea!)
4. Inspire (Like a Writer) — Whether it’s a gorgeous sunrise, a particularly engaging Artist’s Date, the perfect sweater, or a blog post inspired by a fun prompt, I’ll share it here with the hope of inspiring you, too.
I’ll close with a few of my recent favorite finds:
This planner has officially ended my years-long search for one that can accommodate both my work and personal life needs. This three-month planner is undated, so you can group months together in a way that makes sense for you (by season, by quarter, etc.). For each week, the planner contains a vertical weekly spread so you can plot your days in half-hour increments; a weekly overview spread where you can track habits, set your weekly intention, jot down reminders and to-do’s, create a grocery list, and more; weekly spread similar to what you find in most planners (this is the one I use to plan the work I’ll tackle each day); and notes pages.
As soon as temperatures start dropping, my skin gets tight and itchy. This body oil soaks right in and dries quickly so that you’re not left slick — and it smells incredible!
These socks are incredibly cozy and warm, but won’t cause your feet to overheat. In fact, they’re thin enough to be worn with shoes.
Anyone else struggle with how bare your home feels after the holiday decorations are packed away? I kept these lighted branches out and put them in a vase on my coffee table to maintain a warm glow in my living room.
Hiiii friend! Thrilled to see you on Substack!
So glad you’re here, friend! I can’t wait to see what you create!