Although I intended to put Friday Finds on hiatus for the summer, this past month was simply too full of delightful discoveries and moments not to share.
I’ve realized this monthly ritual has become an easy way to force myself to pause and look back over the past four weeks.
It’s really just a bonus that I get to share it with you, and hopefully, in turn, inspire little moments in your life journey.
I absolutely love this painted flag I came across at an event I mentioned below. I wish I had one in my backyard!
Highlights from June include:
→ Discovered a coffee shop in a nearby city that makes French Canelés. We bought the molds when we were in France in 2023, but haven’t nailed the recipe yet.
→ Enjoyed a full day outing with my BBBS girl. It was a “Women in the Outdoors” event. We enjoyed classes on ceramics, outdoor cooking, and gun safety, but our favorite was dipping our toes into archery (which I’m now considering making a hobby!).
→ Catered Joy Morin’s Piano Teacher Retreat in Michigan. Always a blast!
→ Finally organized our bathroom drawers (needed it for years!)
→ Knocked out a huge brand new resource I’m trying out with my students this summer: “Famous Favorites: 6 pieces passed from player to player.”
→ Finished up a big transition from Quicken to Monarch Money.
→ Completely revamped my studio policies into a more modern, digestible document with a nice “Welcome Document” and a separate policies page, and am super pleased with how it turned out. This was long overdue.
Let’s be honest, the only reason I was able to knock out several of these big projects was that I ended up with 5 weeks with no students. I’m always closed the last two weeks of May. While I opened my calendar for summer lessons to begin the first week of June, no one really booked until the last week of June, hence, 5 weeks for me! Everyone will apparently be squeezing the 4 lessons into July! It honestly gave me the margin I needed for some of the deep work I mentioned above.
I’m declaring this my summer of “project catch-up,” and am pleased with where it’s at so far.
What’s your June been like? What are you declaring your summer as?
Pool time? Book time?
Making extra money with lots of summer camps and bonus class offerings time?
I love the idea of declaring an “aura” over your summer that will help you look back and be pleased with how you spent it. LMK in the comments!
Enjoy your Independence Day!
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Today is the last day for Prime Days! Be sure and check out my new Amazon Storefront and favorites page for items that might be useful to you in this moment and (hopefully) on sale!
A few items that made it into my Prime Shopping bag:
Di Oro Silicone Spoon Set. These are for our camper; the stocked utensils all need an upgrade. By-bye plastic, hello silicone.
Don’t Believe Everything You Think. A book that has helped my ruminating thoughts. I read it on Kindle through my library last year and liked it enough to buy the hard copy. I am already reading it again. It’s a small, easily digestible book.
Elta MD Tinted Facial Sunscreen. I have the regular sunscreen, but have never tried the tinted. I heard about this from the Lazy Genius podcast.
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Fons, a popular studio management software, has rebranded to MakeMusic Studio.
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We’ve been enjoying our CSA box and have gotten beets a couple of weeks in a row (love beets!) While I often just wrap them in foil and roast in the oven at 400°F for 45 minutes with EVOO and S&P, sometimes it’s nice to pickle them as well. I love sliced pickled beets on sandwiches of any kind, really, and burgers.
Quick Pickled Beets (A Farmgirl’s Dabbles)
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I really, really enjoyed this podcast conversation with Jason Sifford on The Fourforty (44) Podcast. In fact, I actually think I’m going to listen again. There were a couple of things he said that hit home, but I didn’t write them down in the moment.
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AP has updated their Style book on phone numbers – now recommending parentheses, so instead of (123) 456-7890, use 123-456-7890.
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The Battle Over AI in the Classroom (The Daily Podcast)
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Speaking of AI, I also appreciated Nicola’s thoughts on the topic in this podcast episode, “A Piano Teacher’s Perspective on AI.”
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Oh, and one more! How I used AI to bring my studio’s 2026 Wild West recital to life.
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I think about you all any time I hear this song:
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A keyboard shortcut I’m trying to commit to memory: How to type fractions on a keyboard.
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A Seasoned Piano Teacher’s First Experience with Guild Auditions (Joy Morin | Color in My Piano)
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From the archives that might be just right what you need in this moment:
2025 – That’s a Warp! A Peek Inside My 2025 Digital Organization Retreat
2024 – A Reading Guide for Piano Inspires KIDS Magazine
2023 – Tracking Student Repertoire: A Free Download
2022 – Favorite Quotes Desktop Backgrounds
2021 – Your Questions Answered: What Do You Use After Piano Safari 3?
2020 – 3 Ways to Look at Your Studio Website with Fresh Eyes
2016 – How One $0 Marketing Effort Yielded $5,000 in Tuition
One Response
Amy,
Your Friday Finds missive really hit the spot for me today! Could you share your new Studio Policies document? Mine needs an update. I tend to cram everything onto one page, thinking brevity encourages reading! Thanks for sharing.