The March Files

Things I love, with love — from me to you

Welcome to The Files. My monthly roundup of everything from the Scripture I’m loving to the shows I’m binging. Think of it as a coffee date with a friend, chatting through it all. Per usual: definitely pretty, mostly prompt, and always worth the read.

Hi sweet friends, happy April! Time for some showers, and flowers! I am indeed a gal who loves a thunderstorm, and am excited for the season.

For some reason, I’ve always thought of March as the Wednesday of the year. May feels like Thursday, and by July we’re fully in Friday territory. So we’re almost there, but maybe in…limbo? Still, I can smell the dew in the grass and feel the warmer days somewhere on the horizon. Little by little, things are thawing. We are defrosting!

Much of this season has been spent catching up on what I lovingly call “adulting” —the sort of things that, if I’m being honest, had been procrastinated for far too long. Rotting a bit more than I’d like to admit. I can’t be the only one who, when overwhelmed, simply shuts down. The ideas keep swirling, yet actually executing them feels impossible.

In the middle of that, I realized I needed to return to the basics. I was incredibly excited to launch With Great Love, an online female Bible study group, but the truth I had to sit with was that I wouldn’t be able to give it my whole heart right now. Letting that go was difficult, but if I am not honest, I know I would’ve burnout over something that at the core, means a ton to me. It's oddly refreshing, and embarrassing to admit this.

Often times in the past, when I felt like my writings or projects didn’t align, I ‘rebranded’ or archived everything to begin anew. Yet, as I grow, I realize maybe we don’t need to rebrand. Maybe we just evolve, and allow ourselves to be honest about the season we’re in. Surrendering is not weak.

So lately I’ve been returning to the foundations I know to be true: quiet time with the Lord, church, time with my husband, playing with our dogs, caring for our home, and being present with family. And…writing about all the in between.

the monthly report, and mood

A recurring monthly section stamped with love. From moments to reads, products, and more worth remembering. It’s earned its place in my spotlight.

• Scripture: a few weeks ago, I found a devotional at our local Christian bookstore Letters of Paul in 30 Days, which includes a morning, afternoon, and evening devotional reading. It peaked my interest with the structure of prayer, and intentional conversation with the Lord, and started it this month. It has been an incredible way to refocus my sight on what matters in moments of chaos

• Learning: new vocabulary!! I’m a vocab freak, and grammar (spelling at least, clearly when I write you can tell it can be perfected, or chaotic). So a goal of mine this year was to learn a new word daily. Needless to say, I spent the first 2 months dilly dallying, and my husband found me a book at Barnes and Nobles that I’ve been utilizing alongside my journal daily

• Habit: if you’ve read my writings, you know I am no stranger to discussing intentional screen time. I’ve acknowledged it’s hard to completely dismiss social/tech from your life, especially dependent on your job — yet, I’ve found the if you are intentional about using it, you’re choosing a happier more intentional life. I’ve seen people creating: hang up the phone (see below photo) and while I work on crafting a little spot in my phone for this, in the meantime, I’ve utilized my Brick¹ like crazy

• Grateful For: one wonderful technology curation will always be FaceTime. Moving states has of course made it that being intentional about checking in on loved ones. I love scheduling FaceTime dates, and checking in just because. My cousin often calls on her way home from work, I check in with my mom, and aunt daily. My friends in other states and I are having cocktails via phone calls, and not missing a beat. It’s something so wonderful, and I’m thankful

• Reading: I’ve read quite a bit this month, but by far my favorite has been being apart of marie angèle ‘Thoughts & Prayers’ book club, reading through C.S Lewis’ Mere Christianity. Lewis’ writing has always intrigued me, but I never took a dive into his books, despite D buying me the set for Christmas. Marie’s group was perfectly aligned for me to read this

• Thinking About: with Spring around the corner, I get giddy thinking about patio season. We are fortunate to have a patio off our apartment. Last year was my first year of gardening, so I definitely learned some pros, and errors, and I’m excited to take that into this upcoming season. I also just love making it a calm little outdoor area I’m able to sit, have quiet time, read, have coffee, and of course utilize my Merlin app

• Watching: this past month I spent quite a bit of time on watches, guilty! My favorite being Love & Death on Netflix, mainly because it felt like insanity, and acting was truly stellar. It also really made me want to read The Mad Wife, by Meagan Church

• Drinking: in an effort to focus on hydration more — club soda has become my go to. Topo Chico, and La Croix specifically. Another thing my hubs + I have loved as a water additive is LMNT

• Favorite Product: I love it so much it’s discussed twice in this post…my bed/home caddy. As a pro rot spot gal, I love having all my essentials within reach, and having a tote to bring from the bedroom to living room in early hours without having to gather all the necessities is beyond convenient

I’ve started keeping all of my favorites in one place on my Beacons page if you ever want to browse — links may be affiliate, which I always appreciate

• Monthly Moment: D and I’s Barnes and Nobles dates. We absolutely love nothing more than going to Barnes and Nobles, grabbing a coffee, + a salted caramel cookie from the cafe, and wandering. I typically take photos of all the books I’m interested in, coming home later to update my Goodreads, and my Kindle accordingly. We’ll sit at the cafe, and wander the isles laughing with smiles on our faces like little kids

2 Corinthians 12:9 (CSB) "But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.”

The top products that have made its way into my favorites, and why you need to look into them asap.

• The NYT Tuesday Crossword: on a recent Barnes and Nobles run, I was on a search to find something way more simple than Sudoku to take my time away from blue light in the mornings, and evenings. I googled what the easiest NYT crossword was, which seemingly was deemed Monday, and embarked on my new hobby — along with word searches as well

• Leather bound lobster journal: I’ve always gone back and forth on wanting to keep a physical journal, but just not finding one that suited me. Go figure my husband did, and it’s perfect. I’m enjoying doodling everything from deep dives, lists, and recipes. I cannot wait to look back on all the memories to be jotted

• Bedside Caddy: the 'caddy I have is the Floral Bedside Caddy from Barnes and Noble (B&N again, surprised?), but I could not find a photo of it, so linked a cheaper one from Amazon. Either which way, both do the trick, and I am unsure of how I lived without one. I also refer to it as my house purse. I have loaded mine: cuticle oil, hand cream, pens, highlighter, crossword, journal, Kindle, clip, recently, meds since I’ve been sick. Literally anything I need, to tote from room to room. Such a small addition to my home essentials

• 7 Brew, specifically the Banana Bread Mocha: if you’re lucky, you’ve visited 7 Brew. I say it’s the Trader Joe’s of coffee shops. Everyone is so kind, with wonderful recommendations. I have truly never had a bad experience, I also now collect all their little goodies (key chains, ornaments, etc). I just wish they made an app?! I highly recommend the Banana Bread Mocha, it’s 11/10

• Brick: as gushed above, I love the Brick, stand by it, and would recommend it. I think we lack self control. Even when we try, it’s not fully there, or maybe let me just speak for myself. I know you’ve probably been riddled with similar positive reviews through Substack, but if it means anything from me, I do truly love mine

• 1200 Words You Should Know, by Robert Bly: in my above section, I spoke about how I was looking to expand my vocabulary. Again, I swear I am not sponsored by Barnes and Nobles, but on a date night run, D found this book when pursuing the isles, knowing my desire to learn new vocab. He squeezed it in the cart — I now choose a word daily, and use it when journaling. Habit stack!

Instead of scrolling and debating on what to watch for over an hour, let me be the one to give you some recommendations.

• Age of Attraction: I’m always looking to rope D into a reality television show that he has no business watching, and this month it was Age of Attraction (aside from Love is Blind of course). These shows never fail to be relationship topic convos. I also enjoyed Nick Viall and Natalie hosting

• Love & Death: I said it above, but this was a twisted series, based on a true story in 1980. The main character, Candy Montgomery, is played by Elizabeth Olsen (who looks absolutely amazing), and the whole series is beautifully filmed? Though graphic. I am surprised I had not heard of it sooner

• The Thing About Pam: another true crime series, that was a Dateline podcast turned series. Beautifully done, and a wild ride. I love Renee Zellweger

• Her Three Lives & Tampa were two of my thriller books of the month, which were both good. Tampa was insanely dark, but it was good (way more graphic than I indulge in), and Her Three Lives I listened to — both excellent!

• Mere Christianity is part of marie angèle’s book club through her Fable group which has been such a delight to be a part of, and definitely a refresh in between my typical thriller reads (I’m excited to see where Marie takes it!)

• Kenzie Elizabeth is such a loved comfort creator of mine, along with Sophie Rissman, both radiate such whole hearted loving energy, and provide content that feels at home

• My husband and I love Luke Combs, in fact we are going to see him again on May 2 @ Neyland. So his new episode with Jay Shetty was an immediate watch in our household: LUKE COMBS on Living with OCD, His Marriage & the Moment That Changed His Life Forever

• Lastly, I’m a huge law nerd. Somewhere in another life, I am a criminal prosecutor, thriving! Until then, I follow Emily D Baker, and enjoy watching court live streams. Yes, a total oddity of mine. But then again, I’m the girl who loves Jesus and thriller novels. Both can intermingle!

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Chapter three of twelve written for the year. We can only hope that our Friday, aka July comes soon enough. I can taste the bonfires, farmer’s markets, and endless patio reading sessions right around the corner.

Take care of your home. Take care of your heart. Take care of the small things.

I’ll see you in May.

1. Brick affiliate code! If you use, you’re able to get 10% off your order, and I get a tiny piece of commission. As always, thank you for supporting.