diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 853e905..f73db6d 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -4,11 +4,13 @@ kongruity employs Large Language Model ("LLM") semantic grouping functionality t
 
 (To learn more about this topic, see, e.g., [Kozlowski A., Boutyline A., Semantic Structure in Large Language Model Embeddings Aug. 2025, arXiv:2508.10003v1:04 Aug 2025](https://arxiv.org/html/2508.10003v1)).
 
-In the world of kongruity, these "to dos" are called "sticky notes."  kongruity's React/Vite UI views a board of seemingly chaotic "sticky notes".  But with one click, they are transformed into manageable, actionable groups, each with a header that explains the group semantic interrelation.
+In kongruity world, "to dos", action items, agile tickets... the myriad artifacts of the creative/engineering process, are "sticky notes."  
 
-The backend is an Express API that serves "sticky note" data and proxies semantic grouping requests to Antrhopic Claude.  
+kongruity's React/Vite UI displays a board of seemingly chaotic "sticky notes".  But with one click, they are transformed into manageable, actionable groups, each with a header that explains that group's semantic relation.
 
-Developers may feel free to install other LLM SDKs and alter the syntax at backend/services/clustering.service.js to experiment with any LLM model/platform they prefer.
+The backend is an Express API that serves "sticky note" data and proxies semantic grouping requests to Large Language Models.
+
+Developers may freeely swap in other LLM SDKs and/or APIs... and alter prompt syntax at backend/services/clustering.service.js to compliement their experimentation with any LLM model/platform they prefer.
 
 ## Prerequisites
 
diff --git a/backend/routes/notes.routes.js b/backend/routes/notes.routes.js
index 6d7df15..10d2c41 100644
--- a/backend/routes/notes.routes.js
+++ b/backend/routes/notes.routes.js
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import { readFile } from 'fs/promises';
 import { clusterNotes } from '../services/clustering.service.js';
 
 const router = Router();
-const DATA_PATH = '../data/notes.json';
+const DATA_PATH = new URL('../data/notes.json', import.meta.url);
 
 const loadNotes = async () => {
   const raw = await readFile(DATA_PATH, 'utf-8');
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/stickies.tsx b/frontend/src/components/stickies.tsx
index 7a5d3e0..009e91f 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/stickies.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/stickies.tsx
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ const Stickies = () => {
   const stickyMap = buildStickyMap();
 
   const renderStickies = (items: StickyType[]) =>
-    items.map((sticky) => <Sticky key={sticky.id} sticky={sticky} />);
+    items?.map((sticky) => <Sticky key={sticky.id} sticky={sticky} />);
 
   return (
     <div className="stickies-container">
@@ -36,8 +36,8 @@ const Stickies = () => {
               <h3 className="cluster-label">{group.label}</h3>
               <div className="stickies-grid">
                 {renderStickies(
-                  group.noteIds
-                    .map((id) => stickyMap.get(id))
+                  group?.noteIds
+                    .map((id) => stickyMap?.get(id))
                     .filter((s): s is StickyType => !!s)
                 )}
               </div>
diff --git a/frontend/src/pages/Home.tsx b/frontend/src/pages/Home.tsx
index e6f91ce..09032bd 100644
--- a/frontend/src/pages/Home.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/pages/Home.tsx
@@ -5,12 +5,12 @@ import '../styles/home.css'
 const Home = () => {
    return (
       <div>
-         <div>
+     
             <Navbar />
-         </div>
-         <div>
+        
+       
             <Stickies />
-         </div>
+        
       </div>
    );
 };
diff --git a/frontend/src/styles/home.css b/frontend/src/styles/home.css
index 1a988f6..1b6aa24 100644
--- a/frontend/src/styles/home.css
+++ b/frontend/src/styles/home.css
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 .main-head-box {
     border-radius: 8px;
     border: 1px solid #6dd6f4;
-    background-color: rgb(92, 0 91);
+    background-color: rgb(92, 0, 91);
     display: flex;
   }