What inspired me in May
Themed workouts, a new morning routine, cooking apps, and website updates
Inspired in May? More like inspired by May. This time of year is my favorite. I’m energized by the flowers, the rain, the extra light. Whatever frequency late spring is on is the one in which I want to stay tuned, always.
Just being was enough…but here are the things that brought me extra joy during this lovely month of May.
What inspired me in May
🏋🏻♀️ Themed Workouts
I often joke that I take the Mary Poppins “spoonful of sugar” directive very seriously and am always looking for ways to infuse fun into the things we dread doing. While I love the effects of exercise, I’m rarely motivated to actually start.
It’s the reason I almost always listen to Broadway music when I’m working out, but this month, I kicked it up a notch, scheduling my fitness sessions for the week and assigning a theme to each day so I’d have something to look forward to.
🎀 One of my favorites was “Mean Girls Mashup Monday,” where I created a playlist combining songs from the Mean Girls Original Broadway Cast Recording and the movie soundtrack. And of course, I wore pink!
🔥 We had a week when our air conditioning was out and it was over 80 degrees in the house. I didn’t want to skip, so I planned a “Too Darn Hot” workout, pairing strength training with the Kiss Me Kate soundtrack.
🕵🏻♀️ Themed workouts don’t require a lot of prep work and can be done on the fly! This past week, we were in Orlando for work and it was in the 90s, so I planned on going to the hotel’s gym. But the minute I stepped outside I wanted to stay in the fresh air. So I zagged and took a “Shady Girl Walk,” challenging myself to stay in the shade. Since most of the resort’s buildings are open-air, I went up and down a lot of staircases, snuck down corridors, and sprinted to stay out of the direct rays of the sun.
☀️ Pinterest Mornings
Earlier this month, I heard Jay Shetty share this about first-thing-in-the-morning phone use:
Would you invite the people in your feed to stand over you in bed before you’ve gotten yourself ready for the day?
😳 I could think of nothing more horrifying, and it has prompted me to be more mindful about how I use my phone — specifically social media — in the mornings.
Last month, I talked about my love of watching aspirational TikToks and how they motivate me to make everything more beautiful by making it all look so doable. Pinterest gives me that same surge of motivation.
Like themed workouts, I’ve tried to make Pinterest mornings into a thing: scrolling through beautiful things while I drink my coffee and eat my yogurt parfaits.
🙅🏻♀️ Bad: a random stream of people hover over you upon waking, jerking you from stressing about world issues to wondering if you need that serum that’s on sale for a limited time.
💆🏻♀️ Lovely: get up, get dressed, feed yourself with nourishing food…and imagery.
👩🏻🍳 NYT Cooking App
After realizing how reliant I’d become on ordering groceries, I finally sprung for an Instacart+ subscription, which came with a year of access to the NYT Cooking app.
While I don’t think it’s something I’ll pay for once it expires, I’ve enjoyed poking around, saving, and experimenting with new recipes. My favorite so far was this Tuna Tostadas recipe.
Honorable mention to the S’mores Marshmallow Squares, though I need to give a warning that my marshmallows caught on fire within 10 seconds of being under the broiler. So if you try it, please be careful, unless you’re into high drama.
As much as I love cooking and creativity, I feel like I never know what to make. So this is more of a prompt to peruse a new site (Pinch of Yum is a forever fave) if you’re needing a burst of inspiration.
👩🏻💻 Showit
I usually go months (or longer) without looking into the platform where my website is built and hosted, but this month, I’ve been perpetually logged in.
The plan was to create a one-page site for Film to Table, but once I was in there, I realized that my site could use some updating—and that Showit makes it so easy to make changes.
Most website builders say they are drag-and-drop, but Showit is here for the control freaks who care about placing things exactly where they want them, down to the pixel. While I probably spent far too many hours tinkering, there was something about the experience that reminded me of people world-building, playing games like The Sims.
I’ve loved “decorating” my little online home. It was also incredibly fun to design a new space, which feels like a new wing on the house for Film to Table.
Best of all, I worked off the Tonic Site Shop theme I purchased a few years ago instead of buying a new one. If you’ve been wanting to update or build your own site, take a peruse at their gorgeous options, and if you see something you like, use my code MICHELLE15 to take 15% off.
I cannot wait to share these with you in their entirety, but at the time I’m publishing this, I’m still waiting on some back-end domain name magic to happen. I promise once they are live, you will hear about them. In the meantime, enjoy these peeks!
✍️ Creative Exercises/Journal Prompts
What’s a daily task you dread, and how can you “theme” it to make it fun?
Make one small tweak to your morning routine to make it lovelier!
Peruse some cooking websites and flag a few recipes to try this summer.
☀️ Five good things
When we can recognize the things that bring us the most joy, we invite more of them into our lives. Here are five things that made me happy this week. Share yours below!
Five good things that happened this week:
I was reminded of how much fun coffee shop work sessions can be with this fun morning at the counter of Foxtail, (we are lucky to have so many in Florida). Creative friend/subscriber Anjali, this little scene in the photo made me think of you!
Our writing group was extra fun this month! We had a literary agent join us, and we all got to practice pitching our stories to her!
I’m sad that I’m not going to make it to Cape Cod this summer, so I ordered a case of my favorite vodka sodas from Triple Eight Distillery. I’m keeping my fingers crossed to get there in September, but until then, I’ll be there in spirit(s)!
I enjoyed another fun watercoloring session with my mom over FaceTime.
My husband and I kicked off MDW with a round of dirty martinis and got caught up on Jeopardy! Masters.
💬 Share your intention
Whether it’s a giant leap, a tiny to-do list item, a habit change, or something else, there is power in accountability, and this is a safe space to share your aim. Some weeks, we’ll fail, others we’ll soar, but with support, we’ll always keep going together.
Until next week, get out there and make something beautiful.
Michelle
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The month of May sounds lovely in your corner. My favourite sentence in this post: Just being is enough.
*Love* your adorable friend at Foxtail! 🦊❤️🥺