Happy Friday Reader

Welcome back to The 5 Things Friday Coffee Break! This is my weekly roundup of fun, creative, and personal growth-inspired finds that I think you’ll love.

In Each Issue:

☕ The Weekly Brew: A more personal note from me each week
​📝 Journaling prompts inspired by my weekly brew
🎨 Five creative, thought-provoking, or just fun things I’m loving
🖼️ A spotlight on one of my artworks (often with a special discount!)
📅 Upcoming events and offerings
✨ And who knows—maybe some surprises!

Painting Inspiration I gathered on a walk.

Quote from the Children's Book La Corona and the Tin Frog that felt important.

Happy Friday Reader
This morning while painting, I was thinking about freedom.
Not the fireworks-and-flag kind—but the real kind. The kind that’s rooted in wholeness, interconnection, and justice.

This week, as so many people celebrate the 4th of July, I’ve felt a growing discomfort. And after the passing of a deeply harmful bill—one that will do the most damage to those who already have the least—I find myself returning to the words of Civil Rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer:

I don’t feel like this country deserves a birthday party right now.
But I do believe in the radical act of continuing to create.
Of choosing to honor my own values.
Of naming what matters and living in alignment with it—even (especially) when it’s uncomfortable.

The greatest lie we’ve ever been told is that we are separate from each other.
But the truth?
​My freedom depends on yours.​
Your liberation is bound to mine.

That’s why core values matter—not as a branding exercise or a “get to know yourself” worksheet—but as a compass. When the world feels heavy, confusing, or cruel, our values can be the thing that keeps us rooted. They guide our choices, our relationships, our art, our activism, and how we care for one another.

This week, I’m asking myself:
Am I still living my values when no one is watching?
Am I speaking up—even quietly—when something needs to be said?
Am I creating a life, a body of work, and a way of being that helps weave us closer together instead of pulling us further apart?

Because I want my freedom to mean something.
And I want yours to mean something too.
​
Together We Float,

• What are your core values—and are you living them out loud?​
  Take a moment to name your top 3–5 values. Then ask: where in your life are you honoring them fully? Where might you be compromising them—out of fear, fatigue, or habit? What would it look like to realign?
• Where have you unconsciously bought into the illusion of separation?​
  Have there been moments where you’ve seen yourself as “other” or disconnected—from a group, a cause, a person? What might it feel like to soften that boundary and see yourself as part of the whole?
• What does true freedom mean to you—and who else must be free for you to truly feel it?​
  Explore your personal definition of freedom—not the one handed to you by a country, culture, or system. What does liberation look like in your body, your community, your creative life? Who’s included in that vision?

1) This weekend I'm planning on reading Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid I decided I should read the book conscious uncoupling This year, I’m keeping a running list of every book I read and what I thought — You can access it here, there are already lots of goodies on it and all of the books I read while I was away are listed!
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2) I found an awesome container that will keep your acrylic paints wet, allowing you to mix colors and let them sit without worrying about wasting paint. It's called The Sta-Wet Premier Palette. I'm loving it!

3) I'm getting ready to launch my latest painting collection into the world in August. I'm putting finishing touches on pieces like sealing, varnishing, and signing them! I love signing my pieces with a special calligraphy marker that I got years ago, but I only had it in black and that just wasn't going to be the right color for a few of these new pieces so I got a set of them in all sorts of colors and thought you might like them too.

4) This Heal with Kelly podcast where she interviewed Vishen Lakhiani was the best podcast I listened to this week.
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5) The FREE week of Journaling July 7th -11th Starts Monday! Have you registered yet? If not, now is the time! You can sign up here. ​

Together We Float,
-Alisha

Semi-Private In-Person Watercolor Class 1 spot available for the upcoming July/August watercolor class. Learn More and Claim Your Spot!