Welcome to the Monthly R.E.P.O.R.T. โ October Edition!
Hereโs what weโve been up to:
Emily went to NYC this month, took a weekend trip to Northern MN, has been doing a LOT of yoga, and ran a 5k!!
Maria just came back from a week in Missouri at the Main Street Summit. Sheโs been booked and busy with fall festivities, cooking, and volunteering with Tutoring Chicago.
Catch us hanging out together in Chicago soon :)
Itโs almost election time, and Emily & I have both made our plans to vote in this yearโs election! ๐บ๐ธ ๐ฆ RAH!
Check out to vote.org to:
Register to vote
Check your registration status
Get your absentee ballot
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RESOURCES
Funding ๐ฐ
Podcasts, readings, and other fun things on the VC funding landscape
Good Reads ๐
A few of our favorite essays, short stories, and writings that we read this month
Your Career in VC ๐ฉ๐ฝโ๐ป
Check out these links on helpful tools, tips, and resources for starting or advancing your career in VC
The Monthly R.E.P.O.R.T
What Weโre Reading, Eating, Playing, Obsessing, Recommending, & Treating
READING ๐

Emilyโs Reading: The Year of the Witching
This is my spooky season read! I love all things witches/covens. ๐งน๐งโโ๏ธItโs a dark fantasy based in a puritanical society. So good! Still trying to finish this up by the end of the month.
Also In Progress: Loud by Drew Afualo

Mariaโs Reading: The Great Mental Models Volume 1
This book kinda blew my mind. As someone who loves advice that is tactical and applicable, The Great Mental Models was a fantastic weekend read (less than 150 pages). I am very much now obsessed with First Principles thinking. Looking forward to breaking into volumes 2, 3, and 4.
EATING ๐ด

Emilyโs Eating: NYC Dim Sum
I traveled to NYC for NYC Edtech Week by StartEd.
But I got sick on day 1 of the conference ๐ญ I found a dim sum spot with soup dumplings, pork buns, and more. I went here several times before heading back home early. The soup dumplings SAVED ME ๐คง

Mariaโs Eating: Fall Snacks
One of my good friends hosted a Pumpkin carving + Football party last weekend. (Shoutout Kristina!!)
It was so wonderful to spend a Saturday afternoon indulging in the best snacks Trader Joeโs has to offer (peanut butter pretzel bites, ghost bat chips, and fall leaf chips) ๐ป๐ and watching college football!
PLAYING ๐ฒ

Emilyโs Playing: Agatha All Along
This is a miniseries on Disney+ thatโs a spinoff of WandaVision, which comes from Marvel.
The show features talent like Kathryn Hahn, Patti LuPone, Aubrey Plaza, Ali Ahn, and more.
More witches and magic make it a perfect watch for the month of October. ๐๐ฆ

Mariaโs Playing: The Chicago Marathon!
No, I did not run the marathon, but I sure did cheer like crazy! ๐ฃ๐
Leave it to a marathon to restore your faith in humanity and make you cry more times in an hour than you thought you ever could. One of my best friends, Ridley, ran the marathon on behalf of Camp One Step, finished with a sub-4 hour time, and did it all on a hurt ankle. Can you say #girlboss ๐๐ฝโโ๏ธ
OBSESSING ๐คฉ

Emilyโs Obsessing: Minnesota fall foliage
Its peak fall season in MN!!! ๐๐Our neighborhoods are SO beautiful right now.
Photo creds to Keith ๐

Mariaโs Obsessing: brat and itโs completely different but also still brat
I donโt think I can get enough of this album. 365 Remix is what I wake up to (absolutely crazy). Charli said in an interview that she loves that thereโs not just one version of a song and that music is meant to be โreinventedโ at different times. I love the fact that sentiment is carried throughout the album. Very brat.
RECOMMENDING ๐จ๏ธ

Emilyโs Recommending: Run a 5k
I ran a 5k this month!!! ๐๐จ
I feel like running is having a moment with young people right now. I'm seeing a lot of races, Strava, running clubs, and content on my feeds lately.
This has been a fun journey because running is such a great way to see quick progress over just a few weeks of consistency.


I just finished my coffee table book of photos and paper scraps from my Euro summer! I used Canva to design the pages and uploaded the pdf to Mixam. I left a few pages in the back to tape all of my scraps from the trip so I could keep them in a safe + fun place. I think I want to do a photo/scrapbook for every year! I miss arts and crafts lol.
TREATING ๐ฆ

Emilyโs Treating: Yankees Game
Our team went to a NY Yankees vs KC Royals game this month. SO fun, and its a beautiful stadium.

Emily bought me that little pumpkin as a housewarming gift when I moved in September!
Mariaโs Treating: Weekly Flowers
As a WFH gal itโs tough to be in your apartment basically all day. Iโve been buying myself weekly flowers to help brighten up my space and just be a little gift to myself! ๐
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