Good morning, friends! Welcome to a new week.

How we are already halfway into November is beyond me. At this point, happy new year!

This year flew the hell by. How do you feel? Do you think this year went the way you expected it to go? Why or why not? Let me know in the comments!

This week was a pretty good week. There were a few days where my energy and mood dipped a bit — probably due to this retrograde going on — but I was able to do everything I wanted to do this week! I checked out some new books from the library, two of them being Toni Morrison books… she’s on my list of authors to learn about right now so I’m excited to dive into her work. I also started making breads from scratch and it has been sort of eye opening in a way.

Then Friday night my husband and I drove to New Orleans to see my in-laws to celebrate my mother-in-law’s birthday. I had a timeeeeeee!!!! Those people are the sweetest people I’ve ever met in my life. The most genuine, wholesome, caring, and giving family. I wouldn’t trade them for anything. Happy birthday again to my sweet queen of a mother-in-law! I truly hope she continues to live a fulfilling, soft and beautiful life. She deserves it <3.

So, grab your coffee or whatever makes you feel good and let’s chat!

📰 The Sunday Brew

I have had my sights set on making my own bread from scratch for a while now. I’d see recipes online and I knew it was a super simple process, but I just kept forgetting about it or pushing it off.

This week, I said no more of that! I was able to manage making muffins, a bread loaf, buttermilk pancakes, and pizza all from scratch this week! All I needed was flour, salt, sugar, buttermilk, baking soda, baking powder, yeast and my patience. Those few things and I was able to make meals for my family. It’s so crazy how great things taste when you make them yourself. I looked at the bread loaf that we had in the pantry and the amount of ingredients was insane. Granted, I knew that already — but to see it come together with such simple ingredients made me feel really good. I won’t be buying those things from the store anymore. I’ll just make them right here in my kitchen.

But the thing I learned most is that cooking these things requires a level of patience. It’s so easy to go in the store and grab store bought muffins in the bag for my kids or a loaf of bread and make a sandwich within 2 minutes. It’s so easy to grab a frozen pizza or pancakes and cook it really quick for the kids — however that comes at a cost. Not only is it more expensive, but it’s not as healthy. And then when you do go to the store and try to get all natural foods, snacks and pre-packaged food with little to no added preservatives and other things, they will charge you an arm and a leg for it. I am at a point in my life where I’m burned out on constantly paying for convenience. Even if it’s for bread!

Since I have more time on my hands now being a full-time homemaker and writer, I want to do everything I can to give back to my family and myself. Meaning, why not take the extra time to make it from scratch so that I know what they’re consuming? And why not take the extra time to make it from scratch so that I can practice patience? Patience is something that I’ve lacked in my life. I for the most part of my existence have not been a very patient person. Instant gratification feels great and I have more often than not chosen the instant gratification path instead of taking the scenic route. This has caused me to lose even more patience the older I’ve gotten — the little that I did have.

But needing to have more patience is more than just about me — it’s about my husband and kids, too. I won’t sit here and lie and say that I haven’t lost my shit on everyone in this house a few times because I was overwhelmed, overstimulated, and other things. However, this year alone has been so eye opening and my self-awareness is at a level that I’ve never seen it before. I am realizing that I could use more patience with the people I love. They deserve it. And I don’t like constantly feeling like I’m lacking the ability to slow down, take a breath, and think before I react.

So doing things that take more time, on purpose, slows me down in a way that brings me more peace and calm. Which is wild when I think about it because you’d think as someone who’s impatient, the act of doing these things would be a little irritating, lol. But honestly, every from-scratch session I had this week calmed something in my spirit. It forced me to slow down, take a breath, and wait. This may not seem like a lot to you, but it is for me. Because while I was making the pizza dough today, with the house on full blast — kids running around, jumping and wrestling, watching their shows, crying and tantrums — I was able to stand in the kitchen, calm and relaxed, focused on rolling out my dough. I didn’t get upset, or yell, or anything — I was just present. Focused. And being patient. Even though they kept asking when their pizza would be done because they are used to it being done within 20 minutes. I was still patient.

Let’s just say, this is only the beginning of my steps towards gaining the level of patience that I’m seeking — for myself and for my family. <3

☕️ The Sunday Sip: The Slow Pour Roast

This week’s cup is brewed low and slow.

It tastes a little like waiting for bread to rise… a little like caramelized onions softening in the pan… a little like hearing your kids wildin’ out in the background and choosing to breathe instead of having a breakdown. There’s something very grounding about taking the long way around and choosing the scenic route instead of the shortcut.
Something healing about building a life where things aren’t rushed. As I have been practicing creating a softer, slower life for myself and my family — I can assure you that it’s been healing me in ways that I didn’t know it could.

Maybe this is your week to practice patience in small ways:
letting a pot simmer, folding laundry slow, walking instead of scrolling, breathing before reacting.
Maybe the softness you’re craving is in the process of getting to where you’re going and not the outcome itself. Pour yourself something warm today. Taste how much better things are when you don’t force them to come together quickly.
Let this cup remind you that your pace is enough… and you are too.

Journal Prompt

Where in your life do you feel the urge to rush — and what would happen if you slowed that part down just a little?

Write about the spaces where you move too fast:
meals, mornings, emotions, conversations, expectations, outcomes…

Then ask yourself:
“What would this look like if I approached it with patience instead of pressure?”

📝 The Margin Notes

Jot these down in your planner, your notes app, or the back of a receipt you find in your pocket or the side of your car door later:

• Peace lives in the moments where I don’t rush.
• I deserve a life that doesn’t demand constant urgency.
• Slow is intentional and healing, not lazy.
• Patience is a soft skill and a survival skill.
• What I make with love will always taste better than what I make in a hurry.
• I can breathe before I react.

📅 What’s Coming Up

Since this week was a little quieter on the writing front (pausing and making sure I don’t burnout), here’s what’s brewing for you next:

✨ New Wives of Blue episode dropping this week — things are heating up and the girls are about to find themselves caught in the middle of something messy and bigger than the group.

✨ Midnight Beach continues — Norman is stepping deeper into the fog and the Watcher is playing dangerous games with his life. You don’t wanna miss this next one.

That’s all for now, folks. See you this week on the fiction side of my blog and in next week’s Sunday Chronicle.

I hope this week is intentional, healing, and soft for you.

With all my love,

Marie. <3