JULIA BLAKE ART – Julia’s bright, bold works of art are some of my favorites in my Instagram feed. Her work is full of texture, and I love the way she paints poppies (pictured above)! Julia is also a co-founder of the WICKED COOL Artist Common in Belchertown, MA. Her and her team renovated an old church and now artists can rent it out for artist retreats! I’m planning a fall visit to see the space and do some painting!

EVENINGS ON THE PORCH – Nate and I bought a patio set and we’re totally enjoying being outside so often this summer! I do my work out there during the day, and we eat, chat and read outside in the evenings. I honestly think our living space doubled in size. We always light a few candles on the table (no tiki torches yet) and most weeknights we grill chicken or fish and a yummy veggie. Besides our neighbors constantly using power tools, it’s pretty perfect out there. 😉

OLD SCHOOL MAROON 5 – Maybe it’s hipster of me to say this, but no Maroon 5 album will be quite as epic as their Songs About Jane album. I’ve been feeling nostalgic, so lately that’s all I’ve been listening to! P.S. This album came out when I was in 7th grade… I’m so old.

THE WILD DIET – I listen to a slew of podcasts and one of my favorites is called Fat Burning Man with Abel James. Abel recently published a cookbook called the Wild Diet, and besides having great recipes (I’ve only tried a couple, but they’ve all been on point), it also includes a WEALTH of knowledge about clean eating, the food industry, and other nerdy healthy stuff that I’m really interested in. So! Check it out both the podcast and the cookbook if you’re into natural health and wellness stuff!

Happy Friday!

(If you’d like to be featured in weekly obsessions, email me at lettersfromrita@gmail.com for more info. FYI: I won’t feature anything that I am not COMPLETELY obsessed with. So. Good luck.)