Elysa Rae

I spent this Second Saturday working on getting together a collection of fictional writing. 😅 At the end of last year, I started taking some creative writing courses through Coursera. I selected some of my favorite works from the classes and will be sharing them now!

In honor of Valentine’s Day, I posted my first work. It was inspired by Jane Austen’s “Pride & Prejudice,” one of my favorite love stories. This was also one of the first pieces I sat back and actually loved!

I hope you enjoy this exploration into fiction. The story is now available on elysarae.com!

♥️

I’ve been practicing yoga for almost 10 years now. It is such an important part of my life that I had to write about it for this month’s musing!

✨ Have a read at elysarae.com

✨ A Shiny Moment ✨

“Cowboy Carter, Time to strike a match, And light up this juke joint” 🔥

One of my favorite Beyoncé songs is “Daddy Lessons” from her “Lemonade” album. When she announced a country album, I knew if it was anything like “Daddy Lessons” I would love it, and spoiler alert, I did!

“Cowboy Carter” was on repeat for most of 2024 and 2025. It got me through some really hard times. After seeing the Beyoncé Bowl on Netflix during one of the worst times of 2024, I *knew* I had to see it live and in person. And I did!

Night 1 in Chicago (weather delay and all) was AMAZING! 🤩 Beyoncé, her babies, the music, the vibes, was everything I needed to keep finding light in the darkness in 2025.

✨ A 2025 Shiny Moment

I wanted to visit a place in 2025 that I’ve never been before. While there were a few new spots I got to see last year, none was more emotional or amazing as *finally* seeing The Grand Canyon! 🤩

I shed tears as soon as I stepped off the shuttle bus and took in the view for the very first time. 😍

I already have another trip planned! And I cannot wait.

✨ A 2025 Shiny Moment

After YEARS of contemplation, and planning that never came of anything, I *finally* launched my writing website in February. A new personal essay (that I call a musing) posts the first Saturday of every month!

✨ One year of musings can be found on elysarae.com, including January’s post about my new year tradition of choosing a word of the year.

✨2025 Shiny Moments ✨ I’m sharing the moments from last year that embodied my 2025 word of the year (Shine) each week this month! 🤩

First up: January yoga complete! 🙌

I *finally* finished Yoga With Adriene’s 2024 “Flow” 30 days of yoga AND her 2025 “Prana” 7 day series!

I did one right after the other since my 2024 30 day attempt was cut short by a January tumble down stairs that ended w me on crutches till March and in a boot till April. 😬

January yoga is one of my favorite new year traditions! I was SO happy to get back on the mat early last year. And I’m even more excited for this year’s “Return” monthly theme and weekend series. ✨

Read more about my word of the year tradition in this month’s musing at elysarae.com!

Happy 2026! 🪩 It’s the first musing of the year and this month I wrote about new year’s resolutions and why I prefer to choose a “word of the year” instead. Have a read at elysarae.com!