☕️ Coffee Catchup: February Came in Hot and Full of Love
+ all of my current favorite things, books, Substacks, and more.
Hello, fabulous!
February came in like a LOVE BOMB and I am not complaining one bit.
Family reunions that made me ugly cry. A Valentine’s surprise that turned into an accidental extended vacation. My son showing up at my bedside with flowers. A washing machine that almost cost us $600… but didn’t. Whew!
This month had everything — and I mean everything. Love in every single form it comes in.
I’m also running a little late on the February Popstar Kit because life was just THAT full — but it’s coming next week, I promise. Good things take time.
For now? Pull up a chair. Let’s catch up. ☕
P.S. Sometimes, your email provider likes to play hide and seek with my newsletters by cutting them off. To catch all the juicy bits, read it in the browser or in the app! 🌟
These last few weeks love was literally EVERYWHERE! The fun and flirty Valentine’s Day kind AND the real, full, messy, beautiful kind that sneaks up on you when you’re not looking. It showed up in so many forms this month and I’m sooooooo grateful!
It was in Puerto Rico, where I met up with my uncle Eduardo and my aunt Gloria — my dad’s side of the family — for the first time in decades. My uncle hadn’t seen me since I was a cute little baby, and the last time I saw my aunt was 30 years ago! My dad passed in 2006, and getting to introduce them to Speed and Max felt like something I didn’t even know I needed until it was happening. You ever felt like that?!
It was in a bouquet of gorgeous, colorful flowers. Max sneakily came home for a surprise extra week at the end of January — Speed flew him out without telling me — and I woke up to my son standing at my bedside with flowers in his hand. I cried and squealed and woke right the hell up! Obviously. Seriously, everyone needs to be surprised this way at least once in their lives.
It was in a beautiful beach cottage in Melbourne, Florida laughing the weekend away with our amazing friends who just moved from Germany to Florida. We “relived our youth” in a Taco Bell drive thru, watched the Super Bowl and Bad Bunny’s amazing performance celebrating our Puerto Rican culture, and drank delish coffee with a side of UFO. The guys would say accidentally stumbling into a beer fest was the best part!
It was at the South Florida Fair, eating funnel cakes and petting zoo animals while creating memories with my awesome family. We shopped from local vendors, snuck in tequila to enhance the fair offerings, marveled at how we could no longer ride anything that spins, and just had the greatest time wandering through the stalls and laughing to our hearts content.
It was in Bimini, Bahamas, where Speed whisked me away for a romantic and relaxing Valentine’s getaway. It was supposed to be a weekend trip but a ferry cancellation turned into three extra days of pure magic! (Full post coming soon — it deserves its own story.) Spending time together, just the two of us, in the most incredible clear turquoise waters was HEAVEN. Speed planned the entire trip himself and I must say… he gets the green light to plan more weekend trips in the future!
Love in all its forms. That's been my February — messy and magical and more than I could have planned. It just happened. One moment at a time, one person at a time. That's the thing about love though — it doesn't wait for the perfect conditions. It just shows up. So I'm asking… how has love been showing up in your life lately? The big stuff, the small stuff, all of it. Drop it in the comments. 💖
These are the things I’ve been loving this month! I may earn commissions from sales via the links below, at no extra cost to you. 😘
1// Great Women of Art Ruler* 2// Pink Festival Party Hat 3// The Mud Fair Blooming Hearts Stonewear Mug 4// CUPSHE One Piece Swimsuit 5// Stanley Quencher H2.0 Tumbler 6// Aiwa Retro Boombox CD Player w/Cassette Recorder
So after I published my 🖤 7 Paranormal Romance Worlds To Binge Right Now, I did what any responsible paranormal romance lover does — I immediately checked for new releases. And of course there was one. Kresley Cole did not disappoint with The Witch Queen of Halloween and I devoured it. Obviously.
I also read Failure to Match by Kyra Parsi and Love You, Love You Not by Jo Watson — both super cute, both very much worth your time if you need something fun and swoony.
And then there’s my current read, The 50 Greatest Love Letters of All Time by David Lowenherz — which I found for $4 at a thrift store last week and immediately knew it had to come home with me. I mean… who DOESN’T want to peek into the hearts of people in love? It’s the most intimate thing. Real people, real feelings, real words written when they thought no one else was watching. I’m obsessed.
Fitting for February, don’t you think? ❤️
This month’s playlist is giving me ALL the feelings — and not by accident. 💿
Speed and I used to make each other CDs back when that was the most romantic thing a person could do. We’re talking late 90s, early 2000s — carefully chosen songs, handwritten track lists, the whole thing. So this month, in honor of February and all the love that’s been floating around, I’ve been on a total nostalgia trip.
I found this 1999 playlist on Spotify and honestly? It should come with a warning label. Backstreet Boys, Eminem, Joe, 112, Cher, Blink 182 — it’s ALL there. Every song is a core memory. Put it on during a drive and just try not to belt out every single word. I dare you.
Can we talk about how good the content has been lately?! 🍿
First, I finished season one of The Burbs and it was so stinking cute. It follows an interracial couple navigating life in the suburbs and all the adventures (and misadventures) that come with it. Keke Palmer is in it and I absolutely LOVE her — she is hilarious and so much fun! Mostly wholesome, totally charming, and exactly the kind of show you want to curl up with on the couch.
Then there’s Eternity. Elizabeth Olsen is SO talented — I cannot say that enough — and Miles Teller never disappoints. This one sparked some really great conversations between Speed and me about what we’d do in her situation. But honestly, there’s ZERO doubt who I’d choose to spend eternity with. Watch it and you’ll understand exactly what I mean.
💛 YouTube University, we are not worthy. Our washing machine decided to give up on life and when we called for a repair quote… $600. To fix a washing machine. I immediately went into researcher mode, found the video, ordered the part for under $40, and handed it all over to Speed. Thirty minutes later + a little elbow grease = washing machine is working like new. Speed is the hero of this story and I am happily giving him all the credit. But YouTube? YouTube is the real MVP.
💛 My mother-in-law is an absolute gem. She works from home, which means when we travel she steps in to dog sit Leo and Lexi — and not just watch them, but genuinely LOVE on them. We get to leave knowing our babies are happy and in good hands, and she gets a quiet house with a pool and a hot tub all to herself. We love this arrangement!
💛 Reading glasses. That’s it. That’s the gratitude. Thank God I live in a time where I can grab a cute pair for a few dollars and actually see things again. A true miracle of modern life.
⤞ Substack Faves:
✍️ Home-ish by Imani. Imani is that friend who makes you feel like you can actually decorate your home without losing your mind or your wallet. She’s confident, full of great home hacks, and sounds like a real person doing real things in real life. No pretension, just good stuff. Love her.
✍️ Jenna Kutcher. I’ve been really loving her essays lately. She is vulnerable, articulate, and not afraid to say the thing other people are tiptoeing around. This one especially stopped me in my tracks.
✍️ Things That Make Me Happy by Sara H. The name says it all and she absolutely delivers. Start with her broke girl’s guide to TV streaming — it’s fun, practical, and exactly the kind of content that reminds you why you love Substack. 📺
⤞ Substack to Watch:
👀 Orange Tree Square Photography by Jennifer Sulla. Jennifer is a film photographer based in coastal Virginia and her work is gorgeous! Check out this post on Paris. Each photo is beautiful on its own, but together they tell a whole story. Like chapters in a book and I love that so much.
How has love been showing up in your life lately — romantic, family, friendship, all of it?
If you made it this far…
Consider yourself hugged and caffeinated from sunny Florida. I'll be honest — February was a LOT. In the best possible way, but still a lot. Between family, travel, and unexpected home repairs, my February Popstar Kit is running a little late. But late is not canceled! It's dropping next week and I think you're going to love it. Stay tuned. ✨
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Awww, so much love and light in this Catchup! Your son surprising you with flowers.... that is the SWEETEST! 🥹 And I'm SO glad you didn't have to pay $600 to fix your washing machine! Thank God for YouTube... my boo recently replaced the radiator and alternator in my car after watching a 20-min YouTube video... which saved me more than $1500 😅😆
Love in my life...what a question;
I met a girl named Sally, who lived in an alley...and nothing was going her way, but the girl had a lot to say...she gave me that wink. We went for a drink, one became five...this girl was alive, in so many ways...we danced in a haze....This was our February Valentine! Next day we're flying Air Swiss, with a one-way ticket to a life of bliss...