taking notes: april (and a smidge of may) 2025
welcome back to my blog
Welcome back to Claire From Online, by me, Claire, from online. This post contains some affiliate links because can’t a girl get her money up????? Also, I’m not exaggerating when I say that I’ve been trying to get this posted for daaaaays. It’s JUST a monthly wrap-up, but it’s taken everything in me not to become a D1 crash-out1 these past few weeks due to Several Reasons. I am truly hanging by a thread (I just box dyed my hair the other night), and I accidentally got a second job. Third job? Every day in May I get to cross off in my calendar brings new things to talk about (the Pope has been to Aurelio’s in Homewood!!!!) so SALLY, WHEN THE COFFEE RUNS OUT, this will be POSTED!!!!! - Editing Claire
HELLO TAURUS SEASON!!!! Hello hikes and loud thunderstorms and organizing the journaling desk and making sure my clothes are folded nicely in my dresser! Hello new birthday skincare and manicures at home and keeping the windows open (as long as it’s not raining sideways). Hello new Hobonichi Spring Start, playing with watercolors, severe weather livestreams and long walks with Cookie to find the very best sticks left on the ground2. Hello to a lot of reasons to say “HUUUULLLOOO?” like my students do, including but not limited to starting a new job, turning 33, hitting 5000 readers on here, and an ENGAGEMENT?!?!?!
COOKIE’S PARENTS ARE GETTING MARRIED!!!
Eric and I got a cabin in Ponca through the Buffalo Outdoor Center to celebrate our birthdays. All three of us — yes, even the dog — were born the last week in April. We’ve always made a point to go to a fancy dinner at some point during that last week, but now with the addition of Cookie, we’re turning it into a Whole Thing, lol. The weekend was perfect: hot tub time, reading my book with some hot coffee as the fog rises over the valley, a nice long hike, good food, and turning Cookie into a Frisbee dog.
E and I have been dating since January 2018, pretty serious since that summer, and have lived together since 2019. We’ve known for a while that getting married was the next step for us, but we were in no rush. I did in fact help pick the ring, and I knew that it had made it to the apartment, and I figured he was going to ask over our birthday getaway… but I was still very surprised! I got engaged in overalls and Chacos, we were both crying, Talking Heads were playing, Cookie was soooooo excited, the sun was shining so brightly over the Ozark mountain wilderness. My ring is beautiful and perfect, I spam texted my friends and got quite a few “BEZELLLLLLLL!!!”s in return. We FaceTimed my mom. We drank champagne. I went inside to put on just a little blush to take a few pics because I was previously on CABIN RAT MODE. Pinch me, the whole thing was so great. We initially went to look at rings last Christmas in Chicago. I thought my finger was a certain size… that was after nearly a week of tavern cut pizza, burgers and fries, Chicago dogs, pastries, and more. That doesn’t even include the dumplings we devoured in Chinatown a few hours later. CHAT, my finger is actually a solid half size plus smaller than what it was that day in December, LOL. I’m glad I was able to fully enjoy all of the high-sodium delicacies my fine hometown has to offer ;) I’ve been wearing the ring on my middle finger the past week, and it’s been hard to think of parting with it, but writing this is the boost I need to send it off to get it resized.
As for wedding planning, we haven’t done a thing yet, and are just enjoying this season! I’d like to say I’m sure I’ll share the process along the way, but I don’t want to lie to you. I have received so many messages telling me what to do that end with “…and don’t let anyone tell you what to do!” AND I KNOW WE ALL JUST CAN’T HELP IT!!!! I have a lot of thoughts on Celebration Culture that three years ago I’d be HOT to share, but everyone gets to do what works for them. What works for me — If I know what’s good for me, that is — is probably shutting the hell up. I am confident that whatever Eric and I choose to do down the road will be reflective of our love, our values, and our budget. I have three smart, beautiful, funny, cool Gen X cousins on my mom’s side, and I got a front-row seat to their wedding planning and my mom/aunts’ shower-throwing in the late 90s/early 2000s. Even though many of each of their choices were still pretty traditional, it was just… different back then. In a great way!!! I want to channel that energy. I have appointed them as my advisors. Garden party sounds fun! Fayetteville would make sense. Some type of celebration in Chicago, in some capacity, for sure. I either won’t have a bachelorette party or I’ll just text any gal pal I’ve ever had that we’re going out on Dickson for one night only and we’re wearing wigs. Don’t be surprised if next year you see a pic of the two of us on some courthouse steps with some calla lilies and a baby bump or something (I DON’T KNOW, I’M JUST WORKSHOPPING, DON’T @ ME).
Some favorites this month:
Watching: Yellowjackets, Survivor, and Ryan Hall Y’all’s livestreams. It’s storm season in Arkansas. Porch Goose Holly (my cousin up in Illinois if you’re new) is wanting to become a real-live storm spotter which I think is super cool. Sometimes we keep the livestreams on through the evenings where neither of our areas are even impacted. It’s white noise for those of us who have a weather hyper-interest. I let videos play in the background while I tidy, scrap magazines for collages, write evals, or cuddle Cookie on the couch. I'll start a video that shows up on my YouTube home page, and algorithmically am led back to some of my longtime fav journal content creators: Lindsey Scribbles, Tori on Paper, and Rachelle in Theory. It’s also the perfect time of year to watch Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, which, in my head, happens during the first week of May.
Books: Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green, Poverty, By America by Matthew Desmond, Ordinary Time by Annie B. Jones. All fantastic. I haven’t felt drawn to fiction in awhile, which is honestly whatever, and bothers me none3.
Music: new Superheaven & Turnstile!!!!! (Editing Claire: AND THE CIVIL WARS SEEM TO BE COOKING SOMETHING UP???? PLEASE HOLD MY HAND AND ALSO RESPECT MY PRIVACY AT THIS TIME).
Also, here’s a playlist with songs that remind me of May, as we head into May, because I love you, you’ve asked, and yes I accept any/all compliments on my all-over-the-place music taste!!
Clothes: I bought a cute green eyelet coordinating set from the J. Crew factory store, and got a really solid nuuly box this month, but didn’t end up buying anything. I did however wear these overalls ten times and sooooo regret not getting them. Might still.
Repurchased: Chacos. Cookie ate mine — how could she resist? They look like some of her favorite rope toys, and are sturdier, too. She told me she was very sorry and that she just got carried away. I originally purchased them in May 2016 the day after I moved to Arkansas, and they’ve gone on many adventures with me - I even got engaged in them! Yes, it was an exciting week for these shoes. My new ones are en route. I loved them, so I just repurchased the exact same style & color I had (picked ‘em up as an open-box return from DSW; similar here).
Editing Claire here. Oh my FORKING God, she ate the strap on my new ones after two days. She wasn’t quite as thorough as she was on the first offense — this time, it’s just one strap on one shoe — so I’m sending them off to be ReChaco’ed.
Empties: Still going strong with my Project Pan in 2025. Dial bar soap, a few little travel hand sanitizers, L’Occitane almond hand cream, L’Oreal Elvive Shampoo (my favorite drugstore shampoo this year!), L’Ohmygod I’m actually lowkey kinda good at this, I’ve realized!!! I’ve also been a little more thoughtful about things I simply don’t like using: a small hand cream from Trader Joe’s from literally two Christmases ago? Old and too oily, pass. A Bath & Body Works spray that just isn’t my favorite? Straight to my office at school to be enjoyed by my students. Face masks and serums that are years old and therefore expired? Goodbye!! Which brings me to my next section:
My birthday present to myself this year was PRODUCT. Well, and brows & a facial by Lil’ Saucie in Fay. I let Lilly revamp my entire skincare regimen. It’s only been a few weeks, but I am really loving what she picked out specifically for my concerns & needs. I’ll post more about the products in a few weeks. If you’re local, go see her!!!! You will not regret it.
I have not purchased anything related to journaling supplies or stationery and GET USED TO IT, BUB, I HAVE TOO MUCH STUFF! I mentioned this in last month’s Taking Notes, but I NEED to chill out, especially because I want to enjoy and use what I have, and I’m about to be in a season of Lite Employment. At the same time, with tariffs and all, it’s important to support local/small businesses, which I still plan to do through gifting and maybe a few thoughtful purchases/re-stocks down the road. Once I finish the school year, I am planning to film an updated journaling supply/stationery collection/storage update and plan to make an accompanying written Substack post with links. Plenty of these things are still available and I will be sure to link similar products if not.
Some inspiration:
From the archives:
TikToks in my saved folder:
Understanding proportions is so chic!! I am learning. | I already sent an invite to some of my coworkers so we could film one of these on the last day of school | Anne Geddes alert!!! | Virality Compression Effect! It’s a performanceeee omg I could make one of these about journaltok too | Boston Marathon with Viva La Vida in the background, ofc I cried | Sandylion origin story | Bro ordered a Whimsy-colada
Oops, I accidentally have a second job!!
I picked up a PRN position at a skilled nursing facility. I have really enjoyed it so far, and at the same time, I don’t think that this is what I was meant to do until I retire. I’ve mentioned this here, but I’m leaving my current district as a high school speech language pathologist at the end of May, and I’m currently having an identity crisis.
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