There is a particular kind of tired that only happens when you are doing approximately everything at once and someone asks you what you what’s for dinner.
That has been my week.
Full-time architecture job with three projects folded inside of it. Gymnastics pickup. The eternal domestic to-do list (which this week included tracking down the correct battery type for the garage door opener — not dramatic, just weirdly time-consuming). A new art collection being painted in every spare margin of the day. An art course I enrolled in because I cannot stop wanting to learn things. And the whole time, that small persistent voice asking if there's enough basmati rice in our backstock.
Therapy has genuinely helped me recognize when I'm burning the candle at both ends.
This week, the candle had five ends.
A few weeks ago though, something came through my Etsy inbox that made all of it feel worth it: a message from a client asking if I had woodland creatures in my shop….
…I didn't.
But here's where it got interesting.
Inside My Studio
Woodland creatures had been living in my sketchbook for a long time. On my task planner. In the back of my head in that specific way where you know it's coming, just not yet.
So when this client asked, it wasn't the idea that stopped me in my tracks.
It was recognizing myself in her shoes.
I created the safari jungle collection because I couldn't find what I wanted for Bonnie's nursery.
Most prints felt too babyish (and listen — I was going to be the one in the rocking chair at 3 AM, staring at these paintings for stretches of time that should not be legal).
I wanted to love the art on my daughter’s walls as much as she would. I was pinning these gorgeous, bold abstract pieces but they were a little too much for a nursery.
Like any completely rational person, I decided to make my own.
It just flowed — the colors, the vibe, the whole thing. And eventually I started selling Bonnie’s nursery art as prints because I wanted other people to have that same feeling.
When this client reached out, she was me four years ago.
Searching for something fun, playful, sophisticated — and not finding it. That's such a specific kind of frustration, the one where you know what you want but it just doesn't exist yet. And something about being on the other side of that, being able to step into her shoes and make the thing that she was looking for? It made it a very easy, immediate yes.
I've been over here painting in every spare minute, editing out paper fibers from scans, checking colors until my eyes go a little funny...
The Woodland Creatures Collection is launching June 3rd.
As a Studio Vibes subscriber, you get first access and an exclusive little discount just for being here. I cannot wait to show you what's been taking shape.
What I'm Cooking
I reached a level of meal-planning desperation this week where I actually built a Claude skill to do it for me. I outlined my favorite recipes, my schedule, my budget, the requirement that at least one meal must be ready to ladle into a bowl the second we walk in from gymnastics.
I cook nearly every night, I told my skill creator. Please plan for 7 meals each week.
To which, Claude told me to plan for five meals and plan on two nights of eating out.
Even my AI thinks I'm a lot.
Here's what's been saving me: Pinch of Yum's beef stew in the Instant Pot in the morning, potatoes in the toaster oven an hour before we leave so everything finishes at exactly the right time. Walk in the door. Ladle. Done.
And Caro Chambers' pork and cabbage — technically the recipe calls for brussels sprouts but a friend told me to sub cabbage and honestly she deserves some kind of recognition for this. Ten minutes, Bonnie walks in, dinner is ready. It's almost suspiciously easy.
What I'm Reading
Just finished Into the Blue and I am not okay. Five stars. Emotional wreck. Do not read in a public setting unless you are prepared to explain yourself to strangers.
Now reading Yesteryear, which I'm about 20% into and genuinely cannot tell you what's happening yet. Holding steady.
Strangers is about to pop up on my Libby holds, which I'm excited about, and Rites of the Starling has been sitting on my nightstand ready to read (the second book in the Shield of Sparrows series, which was one of my favorite reads last year).
I'm also about ten weeks out on Carley Fortune's latest on Libby (oh my goodness she’s the queen of pining romance), which by the time it’s my turn, it’s going to be up against all the romantasy releases and I have absolutely zero complaints about this.
What's Inspiring Me
A really, really good cup of coffee at 5 AM.
I'm not a true morning bird. I’m also not a night owl. Simply, I’m an average sparrow(?). I don't spring out of bed, but I do set an alarm for 5am every day.
My hack: knowing that there is already an excellent cup of coffee waiting — programmed the night before, getting cold if you snooze, so don't snooze — gets me up every single time.
It’s the perfect excuse to grab beans from your favorite shop. Your favorite mug from a maker whose work you love. That one small, specific, reliable thing that makes the whole impossible to-do list feel like it might actually be possible.
When everything has five burning ends, sometimes the answer is just a really good cup of coffee and a prioritized list.
Coming Up...
The woodland creatures are almost here. I'll be sharing more soon — sneak peeks, details, all of it.
If you want first access when they drop on June 3rd, you're already in the right place. Stay on the list and I'll see you then.
— Katie
P.S. What's getting you through your busy season right now? I'm always looking for new additions to the "surviving everything" toolkit — hit reply and tell me.
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