Eligible ˗ˏˋ꒰ 🎨 ꒱ axolotl’s journal

[Xara]

Spoiler: tbt main page custom design 𐂂

credits to @Aronthaer!

in her vivid world of make-believe,
the spirited ghost’s soul is free
she flitters around fields of flowers bloom,
the pit in her stomach at last removed
she disguises her sadness with bright colours,
uses a palette of rainbow to hide her sick mother
and on the day that her saviour, her kitty, leaves
the world of her creation holds her while she weeps
in the days, weeks, months that follow
the ghost becomes acquainted with her soul of hollow
she shields her broken heart with tulips and leaves,
searches for specks of sunlight in her journey with grief
centuries pass, or maybe mere hours,
when the cracks in her heart begin to sprout flowers
she is not who she was, not ever again,
but on the soil of axolotl, she learns to live again
-

founded on march 20th 2020, the once deserted island of axolotl is a colourful, flower-filled, community-based island, named after the amphibians that bring me so much joy. while it is still a WIP, the end goal for axolotl is for it to reflect who i am, everything i love and that makes me happy, and everything good in my life. it is a sanctuary, my ideal world, a place i can escape to for a few hours when the real world feels like too much.

what axolotl lacks in decoration and terraforming, it makes up for in meaning and memories. i have made so many cherished memories on and because of this island over the past 3 years, and that means more to me than having a picture perfect island does. i’ll get there eventually, but until then... welcome to axolotl!

-

hello, friends! thanks for taking the time to check out my journal! my main island journal is still going to be where most of my daily axolotl happenings are documented, but this is a side journal i’ve created for tbt’s “new year, new horizons!” acnh blogging contest! but instead of just using this journal as a replacement for my main journal for 10 days, i’ve decided to turn this into a bit of a project for myself. : )

while i have been pretty consistent with playing new horizons daily again recently, all i’ve been doing is the same daily tasks every day, and then shutting my game off again. not super fun or interesting lol. between my lack of creativity, motivation and energy, and irl obligations, doing my daily tasks is pretty much all i have the energy for when i play. i don’t decorate because it feels too overwhelming, i’m not the best at coming up with scenes or lore, etc etc. but that’s where this project comes in!

for at least 10 days, i will be doing things in-game that i haven’t done before or in a long time, to try and further motivate me to play, and to make the game more fun and interesting again. i don’t mind just sticking to my daily tasks, but i think it’ll be good to switch things up! i’ve been wanting to for a while, and tbt’s new contest has motivated me to finally start! i already have a few ideas for things i’d like to do on this journey, and i can’t wait to document everything. <3

thanks for reading!​

​

 

[Xara]

-

my island rep has unlimited energy. there are no stamina or energy makers in her world, no health to preserve or maintain. she can catch and hold up sharks like they weigh nothing, can dig up trees and put them in her pocket without breaking a sweat, and still have it in her at the end of the day to socialize with her villager friends. she is me, but i am not her.

the past year and a half has been chaos, and i’ve spent that time trying to make playing new horizons the easiest part of my day. no decorating or planning because i don’t have the energy to or want to overwhelm myself. no river on the bottom-half of my island because the last boost of energy i had lasted long enough for me to get rid of it, but not long enough for me to decide how i wanted to put it back. playing has become me just doing my daily tasks, the bare minimum, just one more thing to add to my to-do list, instead of being a reprieve.

my mental health and lack of energy has robbed me of so many small joys, but i think it’s time to try and change that.

in my attempt to condense and simplify my playtime as much as possible, one of the things i’ve cut out is participating in events. its saddened me to do so since events are such a big part of what makes ac fun and gives it its charm, but since i’ve participated in every event at least once, won all the prizes and seen everything there is to see, i chose to conserve my energy for other things.

so, what better way for me to kick start this project than by participating in the 2023 winter fishing tourney?
-

i went into it tired and with little energy, but i know i’ll always stay like that if i don’t push myself, so i tried to channel my island rep’s energy... and off i went. i haven’t participated in a fishing tourney in 2 years, and it was honestly really nice to do so again. maybe next time i’ll have a friend or 2 to do it with. <3

the biggest goal i had for myself was to just participate and have fun, but i also wanted to be present in the experience by soaking up all of the little details i’ve been overlooking.

my personal favourite part of the fishing tourneys and bug-offs has always been seeing my villagers in their adorable event outfits, so of course the first thing i did was bug them while they were trying to fish mingle with them and take some photos of them! i’ve always loved how they usually fish in pairs/groups, rather than by themselves. c’: friendship!

i couldn’t resist talking to my girl before i made my way over to rs, and... oh, shino, bless your heart lol. the peppy fishing dialogue never fails to put a smile on my face, even 3 years later; perfect mix of funny, adorable, and a tad bit of insanity. <3

group stretching has become a part of my daily routine (at least until i complete the nm achievement for it lol), and i felt it was especially integral today... wouldn’t want to pull a muscle reeling in a big fish or anything haha. i wonder how c.j. dismantled his tent so quickly... and where did he put it?

my first catch of the day! the amount of horse mackerels i caught was unreal. or should i say... unreel? get it? no? okay.

first prize of the day! and it’s my favourite fishing tourney prize, too!

...uh oh! time for a quick crafting break! my least favourite part of fishing, but i still appreciate how your rod waits until after the fishing round is done to break lol.

i intended to participate until i won one of every prize and trophy, but i ended up calling it a day after 8 rounds — it was nearing 3:30am irl, and ya girl was tired lol. i forgot how long it takes to rack up points when you’re playing solo and without any bait, but i honestly had a lot more fun than i thought i would! it was kinda therapeutic to just chill and fish for a while. : ) 2023 winter fishing tourney was a success!

stats
rounds played: 8
total fish caught: 48 (13 horse mackerels, 9 sea basses, 8 dabs, 7 sea butterflies, 4 olive flounders, 3 squids, 2 red snappers, 1 anchovy, 1 black bass)
points earned: 65
total bells earned: 39,375
best round/s: 3, 5 and 8 (7 fish caught)
prizes earned: fishing rod stand x1, fish print x1, tackle bag x1, fish-drying rack x2, anchor statue x1

i’d like to think that shino could sense how drained i felt, as after the festivities concluded for the day, she gifted me her photo! what a lovely little bonus on an already exciting day! love love love her.

thanks for reading!​

​

 

[Xara]

-

meet juniper, my eminently neglected alt character fellow resident. she arrived on axolotl by sea plane the afternoon of march 30th 2020, mystique blanketing her every move and terse word. or at least that’s what isabelle’s told me about her. her and nook were the only ones to actually see her show up — to everyone else, it was like she appeared out of thin air.

i’ve never heard nook gossip more about someone before in my life. he said that she basically charmed his tail off from the moment they met, while somehow simultaneously seeming bored to be here, and antsy to venture out and explore on her own. but no matter how hard he tried to be, he found that he wasn’t frustrated with her disinterest at all.

“why not?” i had asked.

“i don’t know,” he replied, “there was just something about her. a comforting vibe, yes yes. like i was in the presence of warmth embodied.”

once they got through introductions, he offered to take her for a stroll around the island, show her around, and that’s when she seemed to really light up. he said even the island felt different in her presence; the gentle spring breeze stilled just to hear her absentminded hums in response to his ramblings, the birds perched on top of the bulletin board didn’t fly away when she approached.

for the next two weeks, the villagers and nook would stare in wonderment (from a distance) as juniper paid off her home loan quicker than i did. no one knew where she was getting all these bells from —she never stepped foot in nook’s cranny to sell anything—, and nook didn’t care as long as her bells went in his pockets. resident services and her house were the only places juniper seemed to go, for two weeks. she didn’t introduce herself to a single villager, never met any of their curious stares.

once her home reached its full size, juniper vanished as quickly as she had appeared; not entirely, but her regular trips to resident services turned into her only being spotted every few months. it was like she became a myth around here, a folklore creature rather than a resident.

it didn’t take long for rumours and theories to start circulating amongst the villagers.

“maybe she just went on vacation?”

“what if she’s secretly a bear, and she’s got the seasons all mixed up, and she’s hibernating?”

“i heard her parents are rich, i bet tom nook kidnapped her for ransom bells!”

juniper lives in my villagers’ minds rent free. i’ve had villagers who are practically fresh out the sea plane, who have never even seen her before, ask me about her. does she have any hobbies? what’s her favourite food? does she pay taxes?

i suppose i get why they expect me to know — we’re the only two humans on this island. we’re supposed to stick together, or something.

so, i got to work.
-

her home has become a sort of landmark on the island, like an abandoned haunted house that everyone wants to gawk at, but no one wants to enter. i decided to investigate it for the first time, starting with the outside. her mailbox was practically overflowing, and i had to resist the urge to snoop —i am no better than my villagers—. her house was surrounded by miraculously unwilted flowers, and a bunch of little dudes.

out of courtesy, i knocked before entering, though i felt kinda silly for doing so, knowing there’d be no answer. her main room was... astonishingly empty. you’re telling me miss ma’am rushed to pay for this house, and put no furniture in it? and there were cockroaches everywhere!

but us girls gotta stick together, so i did her a solid. i’m not sure if she even lives here, or if she’ll ever return, but at least her house won’t be infested with bugs if she does.

the rest of her rooms were empty and unremarkable, except for her upstairs room — it was filled with fake art. why? who knows!

aside from her upstairs art collection, there was no sign of life or habitation in juniper’s home —sorry cockroaches—, so i decided it wouldn’t hurt to hang up a missing person poster after all. just in case.

Spoiler: poster closeup 𐂂

turns out being a detective, bug murderer and concerned resident is taxing work, so i headed home to take a nap. xara go night night for a while.

-

...where am i

so... “taking a nap” turned into me sleeping until the next day. cool cool.

i started my day off by checking my mail like always. got letters and gifts from reneigh and whitney, and... huh? ​

as i read her note with a mixture of confusion and warmth, i realized that the envelope was still lofty; there was more inside. i tipped it over into my hand, and out came a few photos...

...well, alright. her note has provided me no clues as to who she is or where she’s been, but it seems my act of nosiness kindness has started something. friendship?

i’m not sure, but i have a feeling i’ll be hearing from her again soon.
-

Spoiler: me to me while writing this 𐂂

i initially created juniper solely for extra storage and an extra house to decorate (which is crazy considering hers is empty and i haven’t finished mine yet), but as i picked a name for her that i love, began playing around with her appearance, and even commissioned art of her, i realized that i liked her too much to just let her be an alt character. i’ve never been good at creating ocs, but i wanted to give it a shot.

i’ve had pieces of her personality puzzle pop into my head sporadically since i’ve created her, but never enough to start seeing the full picture. even when i started writing this entry, i had no idea what i’d be writing about. i let my fingertips (and ) decide what the start of her story would be, rather than my brain. my brain overthinks my creativity and writing attempts to the point that it deters me, so i put it away for the night. no thoughts, just write. <3

there’s still so much of her story and character that i want to flesh out, but i’m happy to settle for taking her out of my attic of ideas and dusting her off for now. : ) plus no more bugs in her house! (they will be back)

thanks for reading!

​

 

[Xara]

-

when i created this journal for “new years, new horizons!”, my biggest hope was that it would encourage me to finally start trying to work on my island again. it’s been nearly 2 years since i last worked on my island, for a magnitude of reasons. the main reason has been that after my almost-year-long hiatus, all of my play time revolved around trying to catch up to present time. i was playing day-by-day, so i was only doing my daily tasks so that i could move onto the next day as fast as possible. but the most pressing reason has been that even just thinking about working on my island overwhelms me.

before axolotl even existed yet, i would sit in class at school and daydream about it. i had so many ideas. i would write my dreamie list in my notebook over and over, like an excited mantra.

but once i actually arrived on the grounds of axolotl, i found that i had no idea where to start. i had so many ideas and things that i wanted to do, that they all got jumbled up in my head and i couldn’t separate them enough to do any of them. there was so much to figure out, so many items and customization options to choose from, that it was overwhelming. i struggled with how to make areas flow and look nice together, and how to design them in a way i’d be happy with. i’ve had lots of abandoned ideas, and incomplete areas, over the past 3 years as a result of my attempts.

i’m my own worst critic, and inevitably i started comparing my island to other people’s. there were so many cool islands and designs out there, and i couldn’t make a single basic decision for my own island, or design anything i was actually proud of — it was overwhelming and frustrating, and eventually i just gave up. i decided to just focus on aspects of the game that brought me joy and were easy, like completing nook mile achievements and obtaining villager photos, instead.
-

i woke up a few weeks ago with the terrifying, maybe impossible idea to finally begin trying to work on my island again. i had hoped this journal would be the motivation i needed, and it has been. only problem was, i still had no idea where to start, or what i wanted to do. i tried to plan things out again, but i knew that if i spent all my energy on planning and got overwhelmed, i’d never actually do anything — so, i got right to the doing.

there were a couple problems i needed to take care of first, though…

i decided to try and tackle the flower issue first. my original ideas for axolotl required lots and lots of flowers, so i participated in several of the flower giveaways everyone and their mothers hosted when the game first came out. it didn’t take long for me to scrap the ideas i had, but unfortunately by then my island was already covered in flowers, and pulling teeth sounded more fun than digging them all up did lmao.

since i’m unsure of how many flowers i’ll actually need for my island and which ones i want to use, i decided to start off by getting rid of all my common flowers, since i can easily reacquire those later. i also got rid of a bunch of pink hybrids, since i had an abundance of them.

856+ flowers, 9+ shovels and countless “oh god what am i doing”s later, and axolotl is much less flower overrun now. most of the flowers removed were from my cliffs, but the bottom half of my island was cleared of a lot, as well. i also picked up and put away all of the items that i had around.

-

i planned on only focusing on flower removal on this particular day, but i got a little bit overzealous and tried to tackle my layout as well. trying to figure out what to do with my island’s natural layout has honestly been my biggest struggle, and so i made the decision to completely flatten my island. i’ve heard countless stories of people who did the same thing and then lost all interest in the game, but it’s something i’ve been thinking about for a while, and i knew i wanted to do it.

i don’t have many pictures to share of my island flattening journey since i was so focused on doing it, but a lot has changed. in the past 3 weeks, i have:

• temporarily relocated my npc buildings, most of my villagers’ homes, and my own house. most of them are on the beach, but i pretty much just tried to put them somewhere they wouldn’t be in the way lol.
• got rid of my clifftop river.
• finally waterscaped a new river for the bottom half of my island, after getting rid of my natural one over a year ago (still have some tweaking to do, since it’s too straight for my liking).
• created a new, much smaller area for my campsite, that i have yet to decorate.
• completely flattened my island.

i only finished flattening my island yesterday, and while it has been an exhausting journey, and i probably bit off more than i can chew, i’m happy i did it. i feel like i have a clean slate to work with now, and my island doesn’t feel so small anymore. i was even able to sketch a general idea of what i want my island layout to be (not sharing since it’s so bad lmao), and that’s more than i could’ve hoped for. i’m not sure what’s next, but i’m more excited to work on my island than i‘ve ever been. <3

-

Spoiler: me for the past 17 days 𐂂

i meant to have this entry posted eons ago, but my brain just hasn’t been braining, and other stuff kept getting in the way. sorry that this entry isn’t super interesting, but i want to document as much of my island’s progress as i can, even if it’s kinda boring haha.

thanks for reading!​

​

 

[Xara]

Spoiler: 𐂂

adorable art by @ReeBear! i’d never had someone surprise me with artwork inspired by something i’d written before, and so this meant (and still means) the world to me.

-

sprinkle moved in about a month ago, which she‘s said was an impulsive decision. she hasn’t talked about the home she left behind much, but i can tell she’s anxious about starting a whole new life in an unfamiliar place. it’s taking her a while to unpack her belongings —she’s told me she’s a procrastinator—, but she seems to become more at ease the more her small, unfamiliar house fills with her familiar things.

she wandered around the island nonstop her first week here, trying to memorize every inch of it. she fished in the clifftop ponds and chased damselflies around, sat beneath palm trees and zoomed around resident services. she took photos of everything, posting them on nookgram for all her ‘fans’ to see.

simultaneously a shy homebody and a dazzling socialite, i didn’t think she could love anything more than her dream of becoming famous.

until she met whitney.
-

it didn’t take long for sprinkle and whitney’s paths to cross for the first time, and effervescent as always, sprinkle didn’t hesitate to introduce herself. as soon as she did, she was determined to make them the best of friends.

i thought that whitney would be annoyed, but with how much sprinkle talks, i don’t think she had much opportunity to think about it, anyways. within a week, whitney knew so much about sprinkle that she could write her autobiography if she wanted to.

sprinkle has a pet pill bug that she named after herself —to make it lovable, she said—. she wanted to be a professional figure skater when she was a kid, but now she secretly dreams of running her own café. she’s a pisces, and turns out pisces and virgos are supposed to have great compatibility (she winked when she said this).

seeing them together was like witnessing two planets collide. whitney has always been such a sophisticated lone wolf, i couldn’t believe that she was entertaining her new bubbly, talkative neighbour. and sprinkle… i thought that maybe she was rambling so much because she was still nervous and just trying to make a friend, but then i saw a gleam in both of their eyes that wasn’t there before, and suddenly i understood.
-

the holidays had just ended, and the process of taking down all the decorations had begun. isabelle insisted on doing everything herself, which meant there was broken glass everywhere by the time she was done, since she kept dropping the ornaments. the upbeat 11am music was replaced by curse words and the sound of things breaking that day.

this didn’t seem to bother whitney, though. it was almost like it calmed her, like she was used to it. i watched as she did her daily stretching in the plaza, her eyes closed in concentration. until-

“whitney!”

her eyes shot open, an unpleased frown forming on her face from being disturbed. we both look in time to see sprinkle waddling towards the plaza, something green clutched to her chest. i hear whitney mutter an “oh, god,” under her breath, right before sprinkle reaches her.

sprinkle stands in front of whitney, a smile on her face and a mischievous glint in her eyes. clutched in her flipper is a piece of mistletoe.

whitney raises an eyebrow. “christmas is over. what exactly do you think you’re doing with that?”

sprinkle’s smile widens, and she stands on her tippy toes so that the two of them are almost face-to-face, the mistletoe hanging above them.

“you know what the rule is.”

wearing a blank expression, whitney stares at the girl before her silently for a moment, and then glances up at the mistletoe that is barely above her head. her eyes shimmer, and for a second, i think that she might actually give in.

but even when whitney grabs the mistletoe and gently clunks sprinkle on the head with it, the penguin never stops smiling.
-

the first few weeks into the new year brought plenty of snowstorms with them, the temperatures low and the ground icy. one day in particular was so cold, it made even whitney shiver.

sprinkle notices, and she immediately rushes home, returning after a short while with a cup in flipper. she approaches whitney before she loses her nerve, and clumsily extends the cup towards her.

they stare at each other silently for a minute before sprinkle awkwardly explains, “it’s hot chocolate.”

a mixture of surprise and endearment flickers across her face, before she hesitatingly, carefully reaches to take the warm cup into her grasp. whitney would never admit this out loud, but she was pleased to see mini marshmallows floating on top of the chocolaty drink.

as if reading her thoughts, sprinkle adds, “i used the last of my marshmallows to make that.”

whitney takes a sip, and it is so warm, so delicious, that a smile immediately spreads across her face. she hasn’t had hot chocolate in so long, and the richness reminds her of simpler times.

the gratitude for the girl before her evokes a whole new warmth in her she’s never felt before. she can only imagine what her expression must look like, and she knows she’s been staring for too long when sprinkle starts to ramble.

”if you don’t like it, that’s cool! i just saw you out here shivering and thought-“

sprinkle cuts herself off when she sees whitney delicately fish a marshmallow out of her cup, and she’s rendered speechless when she beams it at her, hitting her right in the beak.

she feels her cheeks flush and her knees nearly buckle when whitney starts to giggle. sprinkle isn’t sure if she’s laughing at the silliness of what she just did, or the fact that she’s surely gawking at her, but she finds that she doesn’t care.

whitney’s laugh is the most melodious sound to ever exist, she thinks.
-

three days later, and sprinkle’s act of kindness is repaid with a cold. she insisted it’s nothing that a couple days rest won’t fix, but whitney still worried, taking it upon herself to nurse the penguin back to health. she brings over medicine and ingredients, and makes soup in her kitchen. sprinkle protests, but she can’t deny how nice it feels to be cared for.

once the soup was devoured and the dishes were done, the teasing began. “you’re a penguin. how on earth did you manage to catch a cold?”

sprinkle laughs, which brings on a cough. “i don’t know. i guess ‘m just special.”

whitney turns her head so that she doesn’t see her smile. “you definitely are,” she thinks.
-

sprinkle is back to her peppy, active self in no time. on the first day that her chest feels light again, she spends her morning running around the beach, her extended flippers making her feel like she could actually take flight. normally, whitney likes to just watch from a distance —she thinks sprinkle is great enough to be the first penguin to fly, if she wanted to be—, but today she has a mission.

paws behind her back and uncertainty in her steps, whitney makes her way towards sprinkle, who stills once she sees her.

“whatcha got there?” she questions.

whitney feels just about ready to faint or flee, but this is important, and so she presents sprinkle with what’s behind her back: a beautiful bouquet of hand-picked blue flowers. sprinkle’s eyes begin to water at the sight, which doesn’t go unnoticed by whitney.

“don’t get emotional. it’s not a big deal.”

the smile she gets in response is watery and bright, her chin wobbling. “it is, though.” sprinkle takes the bouquet then, and gently hugs it to her chest.

whitney has never been one for moments like this — they’re too vulnerable, too much, in a way that makes her heart palpitate. but the way sprinkle’s smile rivals all the diamonds she’s ever seen, the way she’s looking at her… she supposes moments like this aren’t too bad, after all.
-

the last snowstorm of the season has sprinkle dragging whitney out of her house to build a snowman. whitney tries her best to remind her of what happened the last time she frolicked around in cold weather, but sprinkle merely rolled her eyes and continued dragging her along.

sprinkle was giving instructions as if snowman-building was a professional sport — she would make the head, and whitney would make the body. sounds easy, right?

it wasn’t.

sprinkle accidentally rolled the snowball into a bush her first attempt, destroying it. she got distracted by a snowflake during her second attempt, giving a dung beetle time to roll the snowball into the river. the third attempt, whitney learned that sprinkle knew nothing about sizes.

their snowman looked ridiculous. he was not pleased.

“you have got to be kidding me,“ he deadpans.

whitney avoids eye contact, the perfectionist in her mortified. sprinkle, on the other hand, was laughing. laughing. whitney felt as though she had landed herself a role in a low-budget frosty the snowman movie.

ignoring the snowman’s continued complaints, the girls glance at each other, any lingering embarrassment washing away.

“i’m glad we met,” whitney confesses.

sprinkle’s eyes light up with surprise, and most of all, love. “i’m glad we met, too.”

”i’m not,” the snowman chimes in.

laughter fills the air, and in the midst of this silly, tender moment, whitney feels a warmth she thought would always be foreign to her. she’s spent her whole adolescence hiding from vulnerability, from lighthearted moments like this one. being with sprinkle now, she can’t remember why.

-

an edited version of the story i submitted for tbt’s winter short story contest back in 2021. when i first wrote this, i intended for whitney and sprinkle’s story to just be a contest entry. i’ve never been good at coming up with lore or creating stories for my villagers, so i didn’t expect to continue with this. however, seeing how often sprinkle and whitney interact in-game (they really are besties) quickly changed my mind. their dynamic is so interesting to me, and i’ve loved getting to explore and flesh out their own individual personalities along the way.

i’m not sure where i’ll end up taking their story, but i’m excited to expand on it — their story together, and their stories as individuals.

thanks for reading!
​

 

[Xara]

-

life has been unbelievable these past few years. i’ve been so tired and foggy-brained as a result, i feel like i’ve forgotten how to just have fun and be creative sometimes. i’m getting there, but i still don’t get to do it as often as i’d like. so today, i wanted to relax and do something i’ve been wanting to do for a while — play around with the camera feature!

photography is a huge interest of mine irl. i’m constantly taking pictures, whether they be of my cat, a pretty sunset i saw etc. i’m always finding things and sights to photograph, and i love it! taking a photo i’m proud of is one of the best feelings in the world.

Spoiler: 𐂂

the camera in-game has always fascinated me, especially since the 2.0 update. the graphics are so stunning, there’s a million wonderful photos you could take! i take photos of my life on axolotl frequently, but i haven’t really played around with different angles, modes etc yet. i’ve seen some gorgeous photos lately that have inspired me, so i wanted to try and take a few myself.

most of the photos i took are pretty silly (may or may not have partook in some beforehand), but i had fun taking them, and that’s all that really matters. ^_^ there isn’t really anything to take photos of on my island right now, so i ended up just annoying my villagers and npcs for an hour lol.

she is thinking! do not disturb her!

​

she sees u.

the girlies are chatting!

didn’t i do it for you? didn’t i do it for you? when all i do is for you, kermie...

-

had a busy day today, so please enjoy this short, silly entry haha. the photos aren’t anything special, but i like them and had a blast taking them! i can’t wait to take more photos as axolotl starts to become more decorated.

thanks for reading!​

​

 

[Xara]

-

i was feeling so sleepy and foggy today after being swamped with medical appointments and schoolwork all week, so i was delighted when wardell asked me if i wanted to meet him for a quick cup of coffee! ️ i haven’t had a chance to swing by paradise planning in a while with all the construction on axolotl and how busy i’ve been, so i was looking forward to catching up with my manatee friend!

another place i haven’t been to in a while is the roost. the delicious aroma of coffee hits me as soon as i walk through the door, and i inhale deeply, the knots in my stomach momentarily coming undone. i’d forgotten how comfortingly warm and relaxed it is here. the roost hosts the kind of quiet that is never awkward, but therapeutic. i should try to come by more often…

i end up arriving before wardell. i figure i’ll just grab a table and wait for him to get here, when i notice don resetti sitting at the counter! i haven’t seen the resetti brothers in so long, i couldn’t resist walking over to say hi.

he made me feel a lot better about taking a break. if a hardworking mole like him can rest, then so can i! i left him to enjoy his coffee after a quick chat, and then pulled up a chair to wait for my friend. he didn’t leave me waiting very long, thankfully, though he did surprise me by bringing along company!

i wasn’t planning to see all 3 of my paradise planning friends today, but i’m certainly not complaining! it was so nice to see them and spend time with them outside of work, i’m so glad they came. i definitely need to make a habit out of coming here with my friends! it’s just the pick-me-up i needed to get through the rest of this tiring week. <3

-

another shorter post today. the rest of my “new years, new horizons!” entries will probably be on the shorter side since i’m gonna be busy with school and other stuff for the foreseeable future, but i hope ya’ll will enjoy them anyways!

thanks for reading! ​

 

[Xara]

-

i’m admittedly not feeling super creative today, but i wanted to show off a few hhp vacation homes i’ve designed that i’m proud of! interior design and decorating have never been strong suits of mine, but i always try my best. :’) i also don’t do either very often since they’re overwhelming and tiring for me, hence why i’ve only designed 30 vacation homes so far lol.

these aren’t the best, and they’re mostly interiors since i don’t focus on exterior design much, but i’m pretty proud of them. i hope you guys like them as well! <3

camofrog’s natural getaway

dizzy’s fun yard for playing

dobie’s author’s retreat

caroline’s dreamy country-ranch home

aurora’s flower shop

thanks for reading!​

 

[Xara]

-

it’s been a long, exhausting past couple of weeks. i think my villagers can sense how burnt out i’ve been feeling lately, as i woke up to a letter from margie in my mailbox this morning, with a lovely surprise inside!

i can’t tell you how excited i was to read this! a trip to the spa! i’d never been to the spa before, and i was so touched that margie was offering to take me! it sounded like paradise after all the work i’ve done this week. i didn’t hesitate to get ready and swing by margie’s house to happily accept her invitation!

it didn’t take us long to get to the spa, and i was speechless when we did. the interior was absolutely stunning, and the atmosphere was so dulcifying! the employees there, wart jr. and frobert, were also very sweet!

margie and i had a wonderful time! we got pampered; face-masks, manicures and pedicures, the whole treatment! it was such a wonderful experience, it really helped me feel more relaxed and ready for the week ahead! it was nice to spend time with margie as well, i’m happy she invited me.

thanks for reading!​

 

[Xara]

-

the apparel shop is the last facility i’ve yet to build on my hhp island, so i decided to try and tackle that today! normally, i try to have a general idea of what i want my designs to look like before i get started on them, but i went into this one with nothing but determination and some gummies in my system.

it didn’t take long for me to decide on what i wanted to do. for the set-up, i took inspiration from shops i enjoy irl, graciegrace (r.i.p), and the able sisters. in fact, i took so much inspiration from the latter that i knew just who i wanted to theme my apparel shop around!

i of course had to talk to her about it first, though.

sable was delighted by my idea, and agreed to it heartily! i suggested that she be in charge of it since it’s inspired by her, but she declined; with how busy she is with the able sisters back home, she thought it best to leave it up to me. so, off to work i went!

it took me all afternoon and evening to finish decorating. by the time i was done, the sun was long gone. i was anticipating having a hard time with this since i went into it without many ideas, but once i had the set-up figured out, the decorating part was easy! it ended up not being heavily sable-themed, but i’m pleased with the few references to her i threw in (can you spot them all?). this is definitely the facility i’m most proud of, i’m happy with how it turned out!

as for the name… i had a lot of ideas lol, but seamstress sable’s is the one that stuck the most. i thought it was simple and cute, and a perfect name for sable’s shop! some of my other ideas included “gingham style”, “sable’s styles” and “hedgehog hemmings”. ^_^

-

seamstress sable’s was the last facility i needed to build, which meant the special event niko, wardell and lottie have been planning for ages could finally take place! i had no idea what to expect, aside from a special guest making an appearance, but i gotta say — it was so much more spectacular than i was expecting!

it was wonderful getting to see dj k.k. and listen to his awesome music again, i had no idea him and wardell were friends! it was also such a nice touch for photos of the vacation homes and facilities i’ve designed thus far to be displayed during his performance; i loved it!

the night concluded with lottie complaining about her back hurting from all the dancing she did —i love her lol—, and a couple other treats. what a great way to end the excitement of the past month!

-

and that concludes my “new year, new horizons!” entries!! thank you so, so much to everyone who took the time to read through and react to my silly little journal!

28 days ago, i started this journal with the hope that it would not only encourage me to finally start doing some of the things i’ve been avoiding, but also help make the world of axolotl fun for me again. …i’m not sure if it‘s done that or not lol, but i’m proud of what i’ve accomplished over the past month. i finally began planning out and working on the island’s layout, participated in an event that i’d normally ignore, created scenes and stories, and challenged myself to be more creative with and present in my time spent on axolotl. i am equally as proud of myself as i am exhausted.

i mentioned in my main post that i’d be abandoning this journal once “new year, new horizons!” was over, but i’ve actually decided to stick with it! my next post probably won’t be for a long while as i’m in desperate need of a break haha, but i can’t wait to continue sharing axolotl’s progress and stories with you all in the future! <3

thanks for reading! ​