it has been a long and rough week and while i could whine about all of the reasons why, instead, i’m going to give this whole “gratitude” thing a shot and tell you all about some things i have been adoring.

the scintilla project is live for its second year and i. am. so. excited. first of all, i’m excited to read your stories. we (and by we i mean my friends onyi and kim, and myself, clearly) believe that your stories make up who you are, and when a group of friends or strangers gets together and starts sharing, incredible bonds can form. of course you want to learn more and sign up, so i’ll give you a moment to do that. second, i am once again humbled, honored, and thrilled to be doing this with two amazing women that i am lucky enough to call friends. really, i am. they are my favorites.

i am obsessed with the julep maven box. basically, it’s birchbox for nail polish but BETTER. it’s $20 a month for either three high quality polishes or two polishes and a product, and there is always a special little treat in your box. the polishes are half the size of a standard essie polish, but i don’t care because a) super high quality and b) the shape of the bottle (a tall, skinny rectangle) ensures you can actually use the whole thing. every month you get an email with a preview of your box and you can either select a different box for the month, skip your box, or send it to a friend. as a maven, you also get the option to add on other polishes and products for really low prices when you opt in to your box each month (think $5 for polishes that retail for $14). ALSO, i got access to a secret store for the month of march where i bought four new purple polishes (BECAUSE PURPLE, AMIRITE) and a matte top coat for $18! the polish is fantastic, the deals are fun, and it’s so, so nice to get a little treat in the mail every month. love.

*note: this is not at all sponsored, but that is a referral link that will earn me points in the julep store. moar nail polish plz.

house of cards sucked away a week’s worth of evenings for me. i will confess to you, denizens of the internet, that i’ve never seen the princess bride (i am sorry) but robin wright is completely incredible and the plot of the show is so thick and twisty and wonderful. a big high five to netflix for pulling this one off and i’m hoping hard that this distribution model for premium television sticks around. cannot wait for season 2.

my life is a little insanely busy lately, with my regular day job, starting up scintilla, and taking on some freelance online marketing work. it’s been absolutely essential for me to keep my little duckies in a row and i’ve been using any.do to keep all my tasks straight. it lives on my phone, my tablet, and has a handy chrome extension for when i’m on a computer. i have my tasks organized into folders and times to get done, and every morning it runs me through a process whereby i assign a time to each task for completion. i would not have been nearly as productive lately without it.

what little bright lights have been shining for you lately, friends?