A reflection on what I learned this year about social media, saturation, and learning to create without performing.
Somewhere between social comparison and over-giving, creativity slowly began to ask for more than I meant to give.
A feather in motion, holding everything I’m learning about letting go of the pressure to perform and trusting what is meant to be.
I wrote this blog post in my spiral notebook last night. Writing my thoughts on paper made the experience feel more real and personal. It felt nostalgic…almost like writing in a diary again. There might be a few grammatical errors, but it’s totally okay. That is the beauty of doing things the old-fashioned way. Writing by hand instead of typing reminded me that sometimes the simplest things bring the most peace within.
I had buttered pecan ice cream a few hours ago, and it was fantastic. The kind of simple delight that made me pause and think, “Ah, this is the vibe I’ve been missing.”
This post was originally shared on my Substack, The Cafecito Diaries, but I wanted to post it here too for anyone who prefers reading on my site. Thanks for being here!
Dear readers,
It’s been a little quiet around here between work, school, and life. I needed to take a break and let the silence stretch for a bit. I missed writing, but the pause was necessary. Like totally!
I’m talking about the good kind of pause, the kind that lets things simmer, settle, and fall into place. Now that I’ve returned (writing this post), I’ve been thinking a lot about the direction I’d like to take The Cafecito Diaries, both as a space for self-reflection and all things creativity.
Lately, I’ve been working more intentionally on the sticker & art shop, Clari Loves Cafecito. To maintain a healthy balance between work and play, I’ve decided to simplify the shop’s operations by opening only once a week on Saturdays from 9 am to midnight central time, which gives me time to enjoy it and protect my energy.
This particular shift made me realize: The Cafecito Diaries newsletter doesn’t have to be either personal or creative. It can be both!
So here’s what you can expect from me moving forward:
If you’re into art or stickers, welcome to the creative side of The Cafecito Diaries.
Thank you for being here, whether you’ve read one post or all of them. Have a wonderful weekend! ♡
Until next time,
Clari♡ from The Cafecito Diaries ☕️📝 | 💌 hello@claribotello.com
The sticker shop Clari Loves Cafecito will be open this Saturday from 9 am until midnight central time with some of our favorite designs including sparkling cats, motivational stickers, and past designs. The plan is to keep it simple: open one day a week, and that’s it. Teehee!
You can check out our shop at https://clarilovescafecito.com/.
Disclaimer: This post is provided for educational and informational purposes only. This post does not constitute providing medical advice or professional services.
If you’ve been following along, you might already know about The Cat Bean, my little side project that’s been slowly growing into something really special. What you may not know is that our beautiful black cat, Bittyna, is the inspiration behind it.
Bittyna isn’t just a cat. Her tiny paws and big attitude sparked an idea: what if I turned all her cute, quirky moments into something more tangible? This is how The Cat Bean was born.
I’ve been working on some Cat Bean goodies that I’m excited to write about. There are some goodies available on the Etsy shop that includes a greeting card. A fresh set of cat-themed stickers are on their way in doodle form. These stickers will be available in our online little shop very soon.
I’m also still working on finding the perfect design for a Cat Bean tote bag to carry books, groceries, or other items such as your digital camera. I recently designed a tote bag, but I’m considering using a different design where our adorable cat’s eyes are open.
Overall, it has been so much fun bringing The Cat Bean to life, and I love that I get to share a little piece of our furry baby Bittyna with you all.
That’s right! Hobonichi planners are the absolute best! What I like about them is both their functionality and style. Their adorable, cute designs and attention to detail make journaling, doodling, and planning a total blast. Like totally rad!
But guess what? I’ve been cutting back on social media. I realized I was spending way too much time posting about my daily routine, and it felt like I was stuck in a never-ending loop. So, I decided to make a change and spend more time doing the things that really bring me joy, like art!
Hey, let’s talk more about why Hobonichi planners are my jam! My Hobonichi planners make me feel super creative and help me stay calm and focused. I started with the cute cat-themed A6 planner with three cats flying on a slice of bread, but then I decided to upgrade to the bigger A5 version.
They’re both great in their own way, but I’m leaning towards the smaller one for a vision book or to jot down summaries of my favorite books. The Hobonichi cousin will be my go-to planner for everything else. Oh, and I got a super cute cat-themed cover for it designed by Yumi Kitagishi!
I’ve been thinking about getting an affordable instant camera to use for journaling. I’ve actually never owned an instant camera before, so I’m pretty much excited about this! So yea…this is pretty much what I’ve been up to lately in my 40s, since I haven’t been posting much on social media. I made my social media online presence fade out, so other areas in my life can blossom.
I’ve started a new Instagram account called totally.meow and have been running The Cat Bean since December on IG. My husband follows me in addition to other cats around the world. This account is dedicated to our cat Bittyna and the love for all nekos! Totally Meow is my new account that I’m starting from scratch and just posting the things that I find totally rad. Alright, it’s Hobonichi time!
Welcome to my cozy corner of the internet dedicated to all things that bring out the creative side of me! This website marks a fresh start for me as I step back from most of the social media platforms I would spend a lot of time on and re-focus my energy on the things that I like. Here, I will share my thoughts through art, writing, music, and other creative ways. To be more specific, this will be my place to share about what I’m up to similar to what was doing on social media platform stories and posts. I’ll probably post about the music that I am into, books that I am reading, life updates, and other cool things like whenever I have a quesabirra. I will also write about the activities that I participate in whenever I procrastinate. Just kidding! I never procrastinate.
The photo included in this post represents the day when I realized I needed to detach myself from social media platforms. Let me be a bit more specific on what exactly happened on this day. I remember recording myself making a wallpaper for my phone on my desktop computer and uploaded it to a specific social media platform. I didn’t like the way I felt after uploading it and only getting like 40 something views. All the hard work that went into making this wallpaper, and it didn’t get the recognition it deserved. By detaching myself from social media platforms this year, I aim to focus more on developing my website, writing and artistic skills, and other aspects of my life that went ignored when I spent too much time on these social media platforms.
My life will definitely change, and I’m excited that I won’t be thinking about what to post on my stories or what “content to create” so I can have a chance to go viral. I enjoy writing about what is on my mind and reflecting on my life experiences overall. I will be doing more of that on here, and I also plan to work on my newsletter The Cafecito Diaries. Woo!
I will definitely be paying more attention to my surroundings since I will be holding my phone a lot less than in previous years. For instance, today I went to Ross with my husband, and I left my phone inside my tote bag because I wanted to enjoy shopping without having to take any pictures and record what I was doing. It felt great! I also plan to use my digital camera a bit more than before to document with a purpose and develop my craft; taking photos will be more meaningful to me.
Hello,
Welcome to my lil’ corner of the internet where creativity meets life, art, writing, music, and other things that are totally rad.
The Cafecito Diaries ☕️📝
Clari Botello 