Stephany Writes

Stephany Writes

Book Review: Unexpectedly Hers by Jamie Beck

Emma is a shy and reserved 30-something who manages her family’s bed-and-breakfast with her mom in a small town in Colorado. While she has a good group of friends, she’s held herself off from love, in part due to her father’s abandonment when she was young. Emma is content with her life, but she also wants more.

Enter: erotica.

Yeah, you didn’t think I was going to go there, did you? Emma has penned an erotic novel based on a one-night stand she had awhile ago, and it’s been picked up by a publisher. Emma, scared to reveal this to her family and friends, has used a pen name and is keeping the news of her writing success to herself.

As she begins to prepare for the release date of her novel, her mom goes out of town and leaves Emma in charge of a group of guests who are there to film a documentary of a professional snowboarder who is getting back into intense training to take on the competition circuit again after some time away.

That professional snowboarder? Emma’s one-night stand and the inspiration for the male lead in her erotic novel.

Wyatt doesn’t remember Emma because Emma wasn’t Emma when they had a one-night stand. She was Alexa, a sultry and sexy woman on the prowl. Emma in her day-to-day, managing a bed-and-breakfast life is understated and mousy, insecure in herself.

And yet, Wyatt can’t keep his eyes off Emma. There’s something about her that draws him in and he wants to know more about her. While she fights off his attention at every step and furiously tries to keep her erotic novel under wraps, he pursues her until she has no choice but to give in.

But when the truth of Emma’s novel comes to light, and he realizes he’s a character in her book, can their love stand a chance? Or is Emma just another person in a long line of groupies who wanted to use his fame for her good?

This was really a fun novel to read, and I truly felt a kinship with Emma. Like her, I’m an aspiring novelist and the novel I’m writing is a bit on the steamy side. It’s not erotica like Emma’s is, but it’s the kind of novel that makes me blush when I think about people who know me in my real life reading it. I could understand her hesitation of letting people know this secret of hers, but I was really sad that she didn’t feel like she could tell her closest girlfriends about it. I feel like that’s the benefit of close girlfriends, but Emma held herself off from fully trusting them with this secret.

I also felt for Wyatt, who is trying to get back to a competitive level after taking time away from his sport. When his younger brother, Ryder, was badly injured due to a snowboarding accident, his main concern was getting him healthy again. Ryder suffers from a traumatic brain injury, and his side plot was so interesting to me. I actually preferred his scenes to the scenes between Emma and Wyatt. There was something so authentic about them, and he tugged at my heartstrings.

There was surprising depth to this novel, between the internal conflict of the characters and the overarching conflict of the novel. It was well-paced and I found the dialogue to be pretty honest. Dialogue in romance novels can be hit or miss, but this one was way more hit.

But I can’t lie. As much as I enjoyed my time with this novel, there were some glaring problems. First, the romance. It just wasn’t believable to me. I didn’t feel the connection between Emma and Wyatt – it wasn’t strong enough. I wanted more from them as a couple, but there was a lack of sexual chemistry and that made it hard to root for them.

I also had a hard time with the relationship between Emma and her mother, especially considering Emma and her mom are supposed to have a close relationship. At one point, her mom calls to chastise her about kissing a guy in public, and Emma feels shame and guilt about it. That’s… not really a normal reaction for someone in their thirties to have. I didn’t understand why Emma was so close to her mom when her mom just didn’t seem like a fun person to be around. Most of the conversations they had revolved around her mom chastising her, so it didn’t really make sense to me that they were close and ergo, had a good relationship. It didn’t read that way to me at all.

In any event, while this is a sweet romance novel and had some good moments, it’s probably not one that will be a go-to recommend for me. However, it’s an easy, quick read if you’re looking for something to bring to the beach this summer, so it’s great if you want to pick up something lighthearted to read!

Goodreads synopsis:

By day, bashful wallflower Emma Duffy works at her family’s bed-and-breakfast. By night, she secretly pens erotic romance hot enough to melt the snow in their cozy Rockies town.

But Emma’s real life is about to heat up when her mother books the entire inn to a professional snowboarder, hoping the publicity will put them on the map. In a karmic twist of fate, that guest is Wyatt Lawson, the man with whom Emma had shared the secret one-night stand that became the inspiration for her novel and its dreamy hero. Worse, a film crew is documenting his comeback just as her debut is about to hit the shelves. Emma’s only saving grace is that Wyatt doesn’t remember her—and hopefully he never will.

When Wyatt arrives in Sterling Canyon for several weeks of intense training, the last tumble he expects to take is falling for a girl, especially one as shy as Emma. Unlike groupies with their hidden agendas, she isn’t using him—or so he believes…until the film crew uncovers Emma’s pen name and steamy novel.

Wyatt’s comeback run can withstand a fall or two, but can his heart recover from this crash and burn?

You can connect with Jamie Beck on her website, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Her book is available to buy from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. 

Click here to add this book to Goodreads!

I received a copy of this novel for free in exchange for an honest review. All words and opinions, unless otherwise stated, are my own.

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5 Thoughts On My Recent Vacation (and Vacations in General)

1) My trip to Puerto Rico was the first non-cruise vacation for my mom and me in a really long time. Actually, excluding our weekend trips to Savannah, it’s probably the first real vacation outside of cruises we’ve taken together. (We didn’t travel as a family when I was younger.) And, guys, we’ve been spoiled by cruise ships. We quickly learned how much we enjoy not having to worry about where to eat every single day for every single meal. I missed just going down to the lido deck for lunch at the buffet and to the dining room for a yummy, sit-down dinner. Instead, every meal felt like a production. We not only had a find a place to eat (that would suit our very picky tastes!), but also had to figure out a way to get there. Should we just find a restaurant within walking distance or take an Uber? It’s funny because people who don’t enjoy taking cruises cite this very reason for why they don’t like them: having their meals decided for them. They want the freedom to explore interesting restaurants and cuisines! I’ve always said this is exactly why I like cruising (not having to come up with a place to eat every day/night), and this trip to Puerto Rico taught me that it’s completely true. I truly missed the simplicity of dining.

2) I am one of those weirdos who hasn’t done much travel by plane in my life. I’ve done a lot of road trips and cruises, so this trip to Puerto Rico was only the third time I’ve been on a plane. (I know, I know.) I have a lot of friends who have a ton of anxiety when it comes to plane travel – I’m talking “need a Xanax or a few glasses of wine before the flight” type of anxiety – so I was interested in how I’d deal with it. Turns out, no anxiety problems here! Maybe it’s the meds I’m on, but I found the whole experience rather fun and exciting. From lifting off to being in the clouds to touching down, it was all incredible to me. I even really enjoyed being in the airport. The people watching is sublime and I enjoyed just kicking back with my Kindle as I waited for my flight. It made me want to do a whole lot more plane travel – and soon!

3) When I’m in my normal life, I don’t really drink alcohol all that much. Maybe I’ll get a drink if it’s happy hour and there’s a special, but usually not. But when I’m on vacation, all bets are off. I’m getting a drink with every meal, who cares if that pina colada is $15? GIMME. It’s as if I completely switch to this different person – Vacation Steph. Vacation Steph must have a drink with her meals because otherwise, she’s not vacationing in the right way. It’s funny, the identities we give ourselves. At home, it’s rare for me to have a drink. On vacation, it’s rare for me not to have a drink. Maybe I think I’m not having the right amount of fun if I don’t drink while on vacation? I don’t feel that way at home; even if all of my friends are drinking, I don’t feel the need to do so, too. Or is it the money aspect? On vacation, I can spend money because I “earned this vacation dammit.” In my real life, I’m much more frugal and spending $9 on a cocktail feels sickening. It’s an interesting dichotomy… I know I could give up alcohol completely and not feel as if anything was missing from my life. But would I feel like something was missing from my vacation? That… I do not know.

4) I have discovered that I am a lazy traveler. I wish I was not. I wish I was someone who enjoyed scouring travel recommendation sites and finding interesting places to visit, but making so many decisions is overwhelming. Hence why I love cruising. With cruising, I don’t have to try to find the best deal on a hotel or Airbnb while praying those handful of bad reviews aren’t the more accurate picture. With cruising, I don’t have to decide where to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every single day. With cruising, I don’t have to plan what to do every day and look through lists upon lists of “top X things to do in Y place.” Cruising is just so damn easy. There’s very little decision making. The biggest decisions I have to make is whether to do an excursion or walk around while we’re in a port. To go to the dining room for sit-down breakfast or the lido deck for continental breakfast. To play bingo at 3pm or take a nap. To spend some time in the sun or stroll around the decks. Cruise life is perfect for the lazy traveler and that’s who I am.

5) I’ve long felt a bit of shame at the fact that I am not as well-traveled as I think I should be. Most of my travel has involved taking a cruise to tropical islands. I’ve been to Jamaica and Mexico and St. Thomas and the Bahamas… but only for a few hours and never to truly explore these islands. This past vacation was my first time in an airport since 2012. And 2012 was my first time in an airport ever. (A while back, I read a Twitter thread that had a shaming tone about people who haven’t been on planes a lot in their life, and apparently, that sense of shame has stuck with me.) Truthfully, though? I enjoy tropical, touristy vacations. I enjoy taking cruises. I have a limited amount of money to spend on vacations and a limited amount of time to take them, so why should I spend it doing something that doesn’t make me overwhelmingly happy? Why should I worry that other people scoff at all the cruises I take and think I should opt for less touristy travel? Backpacking through Europe or road-tripping across the country doesn’t appeal to me. A European cruise, on the other hand, most definitely does. I’m not going to apologize that my preferred method of travel is by cruise ship, and I’m sure as hell going to stop feeling shame about my lack of experience with airlines.

San Juan, Puerto Rico – Part II

And I’m back for Part II of my San Juan recap! As I mentioned on the previous post, the second half of our trip was definitely more adventurous than the first half (seriously – we took five-hour naps in the hotel room on Saturday and Sunday!) We planned for a big adventure day for Monday, and then, since our flight back to Florida didn’t leave until 4pm on Tuesday and the hotel gave us a late check-out, we were able to spend some time in Old San Juan in the morning before we said adios to this beautiful island.

Here’s some more of what we loved during our time in Puerto Rico:

Horseback riding through Carabalì Rainforest Park. I knew I wanted us to have one “adventure” during our trip because spending all five days at the beach or in Old San Juan wasn’t going to cut it for us. I wound up finding out about Carabalì Rainforest Park and their horseback riding tours and it sounded like a blast! I’ve only been horseback riding once in my life, but it was super fun, and I’ve always wanted to go again.

Getting to the park was an adventure in itself, since my GPS took me to an entirely different location. I finally had to pull off the road and call the tour company to find out where the heck to go. Thankfully, we found the location 20 minutes before our tour was designated to start. Whew.

The horse I was given was named Peter, and he was gentle but also really liked being near to the front of the pack (he would gallop a little if another horse tried to nudge in front of him, ha). We rode for about 45 minutes to a river, where we stopped, refreshed ourselves, and took in the beautiful views. (I also had the most delicious mango sorbet here, and I’m still dreaming about it today!) After a 15 minute rest, we got back on our horses for another 45 minutes.

I was a little nervous about riding a horse (I kept envisioning my mom just toppling right off… overactive imagination, much?), but the horses were super gentle and easy to ride. And, thankfully, they had steps for those of us rookie riders to get on and off the horse. They thought of everything, that’s for sure!

Oh! And while we rode with two (human) tour guides, our real tour guide was this adorable dog that had wandered into the park a week ago. She ran alongside with us the whole time and even jumped into the river during the halfway point to cool off. She was so adorable! Except on the way back when I saw her murder an iguana. No lie there – she straight up killed an iguana. And then proudly ran with it in her mouth for about half a mile, as if to show all of us her “prize.” It’s crazy out there in the rainforest, guys.

El Yunque Rainforest. This rainforest is a “must do” in Puerto Rico. Everyone told me I needed to visit it, and every Puerto Rico vacation guide included it. And I must say, they are right. It is a place you must visit when you’re in Puerto Rico. We headed straight to El Yunque (pronounced Yunky) after horseback riding, and got there a little after noon. We started at the visitor’s center where we changed out of our horseback riding clothes (we were in long pants and dying from the heat!) and I ate a disappointing lunch (we soon found better lunch options as we drove around the rainforest, so save your money and eat at one of the roadside stands!)

Once we learned how to get to all the fun areas in the rainforest, we hopped back into the car to find the different places of interest. We considered stopping at the first waterfall, La Coca, but since it wasn’t a waterfall you could swim in, we opted to wait and see if we felt up to checking it out when we were heading back. Instead, we went to the Yokahu Observation Tower. After climbing 96 stairs, we got to the top where we could see the entire rainforest spread out all around us! So gorgeous.

We didn’t spend too much time on the top of the tower, and were soon heading down the road to the real reason we had come to El Yunque: the La Mina waterfall.

La Mina waterfall. I’ve never seen a waterfall in person, and it was definitely something I wanted to do while I was in Puerto Rico, even though it meant hiking. There are two trails to get to the waterfall, one being easier than the other. I think we chose the more difficult trail that involved a lot of downhills and uphills. It was just not fun and it felt like we were never going to make it to the waterfall. (At one point, I had to take a seat on a rock and have a meltdown. My mom is truly a saint for dealing with me.) Eventually, 3,000 steps later, we found the waterfall and it was magnificent. The water was ice cold, so I didn’t go swimming, but it was nice to sit on a big rock, take off my shoes and socks, and dip my feet in the water. We spent about 30-45 minutes at the waterfall, enjoying the view, the water, and the people watching, before making the journey back to the car.

Not breaking an ankle while hiking. I mean, I have to include this as a good thing that happened while in Puerto Rico! Whenever I told friends that I was going to go for a hike in Puerto Rico, they got very concerned. For those that aren’t familiar, I tend to get hurt when I go on a hike. I’ve been on two hikes and both times I have either broken or sprained my ankle. But, thankfully, I went on my first hike where I didn’t get hurt! *confetti emoji* I can’t lie: I was scared during the entire hike, even though I saw people wearing sandals or even going barefoot. But I took my time, went suuuuper slow on the downhill portions and held on for dear life whenever there was a railing to use, and I got through it. I don’t think I’ll ever be someone who enjoys hiking, but I’m glad I set aside my fear to see the waterfall.

Cafe Berlin. We went to this delicious little cafe on our last morning in Puerto Rico, and it was probably one of the best breakfasts I’ve ever had. I’m not really a breakfast person (I know, I know), but this place turned me into a believer. My mom and I got matching mimosas and then I got their San Juan breakfast, which included eggs, sausage, breakfast potatoes, and pancakes. Everything was so fresh and delicious! Even the eggs were outstanding, and I’m typically very critical of how eggs are made. Man, I wish we had been to this cafe sooner because I would have probably eaten there every day.

Castillo San Cristòbal. This was our last touristy adventure of our trip, and I’m so glad we made the time to visit the fort. There are two different forts in San Juan: Castillo San Cristòbal and Castillo San Felipe del Morro. We didn’t have time for the second fort, so I guess this means I need to go back to visit it, yes? 🙂 I truly enjoyed walking around Castillo San Cristòbal and found everything so fascinating. I’ve been to the fort in St. Augustine, which has live cannon firings during the day, and found this fort just as interesting, especially because I really didn’t know much about the history of Puerto Rico before coming to the island. It’s definitely a place you must visit while you’re there, even if you just want to take in the beautiful views of San Juan and the ocean.

And that’s our trip! It was wonderful and fun and I’d love to go back someday.

Questions about Puerto Rico? Leave them in the comments.

San Juan, Puerto Rico – Part I

My trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico was a fabulous one – and I ended up enjoying my time on this little island so much more than I expected. San Juan is such a beautiful city, bursting with history and culture, and I’d love to revisit it someday in the future. (And since flights can be super cheap, it’s a given that I will!)

Originally, I planned one full post about my time in Puerto Rico, but it was way too long (nearly 2,500 words), so I’m breaking my vacation recap into two parts. The first half of the trip was fairly low-key while the second half was busy, busy, busy. (I could have used another day or two of relaxing poolside before coming home, that’s for sure.) Anyway, here are the highlights of my trip:

Pool time. I love spending time at the pool, even more than going to the beach. I was especially pleased with the pool at our hotel (Doubletree San Juan) because it was the perfect size, it had two mini-waterfalls, and there were hammocks to lounge in. While I didn’t spend as much time at the pool as I would have liked, it was especially nice to cool off after a long day of walking around Old San Juan. Ahhh.

Piola Pizzeria Artesanal. Oh, man, you guys. This little pizzeria was fantastic. My mom and I stopped in during our first night in town and they were having a margarita special for Cinco de Mayo. The margaritas were strong and delicious, and the pizza was even better. I ended up eating five slices on my first night, mostly because I hadn’t eaten much during the day and was a hungry girl! We ended up going back to the pizzeria on our last night because we enjoyed the pizza and environment so much.

Spending a day at a (dog-friendly!) beach. Our first full day in San Juan was spent at the beach. Our hotel had a shuttle service that would bring us right to the beach, and then Doubletree had employees on the beach who set us up with lounge chairs and an umbrella! Talk about service. The beach was fairly quiet when we were there, but it was super windy. I read my book, listened to a podcast, and took lots of videos of all the dogs on the beach. (Can’t stop, won’t stop with Instagram Stories!) I didn’t realize Puerto Rico was such a dog-friendly place, but there were dogs everywhere we went. It was delightful.

While we were out on the beach, a Doubletree employee came around to take lunch orders, so we ordered hamburgers and drinks (I got a piña colada and my mom had the local beer) and ate out on the beach. Perfect!

A walking tour of Old San Juan. I love taking walking tours when I’m in an unfamiliar city, especially a city that’s teeming with history like Old San Juan. I signed my mom and I up for a two-hour walking tour given by author David Rodriguez for Sunday morning. The walking tour was sensational, and David did such a fantastic job taking us all around the city and telling us about the significance of the different sites. We even spent some time in one of the catacombs, which was thoroughly interesting! I really didn’t know how historically significant Puerto Rico is (it’s never something that was taught in my history classes!), so it was really eye-opening to discover the impact this little island has had.

If you decide to do this tour, make sure to wear comfortable shoes! I wore TOMs, which I prefer to running shoes when I’m doing a lot of walking (my arches tend to cramp in running shoes after a few miles), and by the end of the tour, my feet had swelled due to the heat and humidity and my FitBit registered around 7,000 steps. Mom and I were definitely ready to head back to the hotel and take a nap after walking around Old San Juan for two hours, ha.

Barrachina. This restaurant is said to have been the place where the piña colada was created, so I knew my mom and I had to check it out when we were in Puerto Rico. We headed here for lunch after our walking tour, since it was close to where the tour concluded. Of course, we both got piña coladas and they were delicious! I also had a chicken dish with the most delectable rice and beans. I actually moaned after my first taste, haha. So, folks, please visit Barrachina when you’re in San Juan. You won’t be disappointed!

Successfully driving a car around Puerto Rico. Monday was our “adventure day,” where we explored two different rainforests: one on horseback and one on foot. We decided to rent a car to go to the rainforests, because they were about 45 minutes away from our hotel and taking a taxi would have been stupid expensive. I was nervous as hell to drive around Puerto Rico because, even though they drive on the same side of the road, it’s still an unfamiliar area and I had to drive on a lot of highways. I’m a good driver, but I can also be a nervous driver at times, but I handled it. We rented from Bella Rent A Car, and I highly recommend this rental place over any of the “regular” car rentals because it was cheap ($60 for the day, and that’s with getting the most expensive insurance).

Once I got a handle on the highways, driving around Puerto Rico was easy-peasy. I mean, I am an experienced Tampa driver and I’ve also driven around rush-hour Atlanta before, so I should have known I wouldn’t have had any major issues. But I was still so worried about the drive that I nearly called the whole thing off. I’m so glad I didn’t, though! Because a) this day was the best day of the trip and b) conquering your fears is the most empowering feeling.

To be continued! 🙂

30×30

I’m turning 30 in six months.

It’s one of those frightening milestone birthdays that makes a person question their life, their choices, where they’re going.

I don’t feel fear about turning 30. My brother turned 30 last year, and he didn’t really want to talk about getting older. He’s married with two kids, yet turning 30 was a frightening proposition for him.

I’m single, have yet to have a serious boyfriend in my life, and my “kid” is my 15-year-old dachshund. But I’m not scared about turning 30. I’m not fearful about getting older.

For the most part, I love my life. I love my job, my friends, my family. I love my dog, my blog, my hobbies. I’m dating and meeting new people and hoping that someday soon, I’ll go on that first date that blows every other first date out of the water. It will happen, I just have to trust the process.

But there’s a part of my life where I am incredibly unhappy and that’s my weight. I’m going to opt for brutal honesty here because that’s what this blog is all about: at present, I’m about 50 lbs overweight.

It’s horrifying to say that, to recognize how much weight I have put on since college. But it’s the truth of the matter and pretending that I don’t have a substantial amount of weight to lose isn’t helping me.

I haven’t been doing much to lose this weight. I joined a gym, I try to eat healthy during the week, and I’ve cut fast food out of my diet (for the most part), but I haven’t really put forth an effort to lose weight and it shows.

The majority of my twenties have been spent hating my body and not treating it well. I’ve hidden myself in pictures, content for selfies over full-body shots. I try not to look at myself in the mirror if I can help it, and have developed a wardrobe that’s filled with a lot of black – because black hides the fat.

I don’t want my thirties to be like this. I don’t want to spend this next decade hating my body and fighting with my weight. I want to be happy with my reflection, and that starts with weight loss.

Look, I want to be all “rah, rah, body positivity” because that’s a thing now, but that’s not me. I’ve tried it. But the truth is, I’m not happy at this weight, I’m not healthy at this weight, and if I don’t take control now, I’m going to run into major health issues in the next decade or so.

I don’t want to feel embarrassed when I step on a scale at a doctor’s office. I don’t want to have to worry that if I wear a certain dress, I’ll be asked when my “baby is due.” I don’t want to feel shame when I look at full-body photos of myself.

And I know how I feel when I’m losing weight. When I’m exercising at a higher intensity multiple times a week. When I cook good food for myself and stay away from soda and sugar. When I drink lots of water and reach for healthy snacks.

I feel proud, empowered, excited, thrilled. I feel in control. I feel like the way I am supposed to feel.

So, where does all of this fit in with turning 30, you may ask? That’s where my 30×30 challenge comes in.

I am challenging myself to lose 30 lbs by my 30th birthday.

I am planning to have a fun party to celebrate my birthday, and I want to feel damn good at this party. And I know if I show up 30 lbs slimmer, I will.

And look, I know weight loss can be a touchy subject and it could be the worst thing in the world to base my happiness on whether or not I’m able to lose 30 lbs over the next six months… but I also know that it can’t hurt to try.

I’ll be journaling my progress over the next six months, doing a monthly check-in on how I’m doing and where I’m at in my weight loss. Losing 30 lbs in six months equals out to five lbs a month, which can be a tall order, but I’m ready for it. I am so ready for it.

Basically, I’m at a crossroads here and I can either work my hardest to lose weight and feel good about myself again, or continue on this path and watch the weight continue to creep up.

I’m opting for the full throttle mission. Not because of a desire to be skinny, but because of a desire to be happy with myself.

I don’t think there’s a better 30th birthday present I could give to myself.

 

Currently in May

Hello! It feels like it’s been forever since I checked in on my blog, but in reality, it’s only been 11 days. I was hoping to start recapping my trip to Puerto Rico, but my blog has decided to stop uploading photos for some reason (working with my host to resolve this issue and crossing my fingers it’s fixed soon). So, in lieu of a trip recap, I thought I’d write about what’s going on with me currently. Let’s dive in!

Loving… Crockpot meals. I firmly believe that no kitchen is complete without a Crockpot and I finally have one to use! Mainly, I’m using my Crockpot to make a big meal on Sundays that I portion out for lunches every day during the week. I’m really not a salad or sandwiches girl when it comes to lunch, so I like having a good meal to look forward to. It makes meal prepping so much easier, and nothing tastes better than chicken from a Crockpot. (Okay, okay, chicken from the grill definitely does, but that’s a purchase I won’t be making as long as I’m in an apartment, sigh.)

Loathing… the heat and humidity. And I need to get over it because it’s only May. But it’s already feeling oppressive. I guess this means I just need to make more time to spend at the pool. Because nothing feels as refreshing as a dip in the pool on a hot summer day.

Reading… With Love from the Inside by Angela Pisel. We chose this for my local book club, and boy, is it a heavy read. It follows a woman, Grace, who is on death row for allegedly murdering her infant son (she maintains her innocence). Grace has been given her execution date and she’s trying to reconnect with her daughter before it happens. (Her daughter was around 11 when her brother died.) Two of my friends who have read the book said they just sobbed through the last few pages, so I’m preparing myself for a tearjerker.

Watching… season seven of Gilmore Girls. I’m almost finished with the series! It has taken me forever because I am not a binge watcher, so I tend to only watch 1-2 episodes a week, if that. I’m really excited to finally watch the revival episodes, so I’m going to power through this last season (which I’ve only heard bad things about…) so I can get on to the real reward.

Anticipating… um, nothing? I mean, that sounds kinda lame, but I don’t really have anything super fun on the immediate horizon. My next trip isn’t until November and I’m trying to save money right now, so it’s not even like I can go to Orlando for the day or anything like that. I am planning on doing a picnic in a local park with a friend on Wednesday evening, and I’m looking forward to that! Nothing like sunshine and girl time to put me in a good mood. 🙂 

Thinking about… my 30th birthday party. After some thinking, I decided that I wanted to throw myself a party! I am actually very much looking forward to turning 30 and I want to celebrate all I have achieved in my first three decades of life! I have corralled a friend to help me plan it (and by “help me plan it,” I mean she will do the planning and I will say yea or nay, haha), we’re going to use my mom’s clubhouse, and it’ll be book-themed, of course. I’m just mostly excited to gather with a bunch of my favorite girls and celebrate this milestone birthday.

Needing… more money. Ha. I honestly think spending five days in Puerto Rico was more expensive than a five-day cruise. (Scratch that. I know it was.) It was a great time and I don’t regret anything, but my bank account looks a little sad these days. It would probably be helpful to pick up a side hustle, but finding good-paying freelance writing jobs is tough these days and it eats into the time I want to spend writing my novel. Decisions, decisions.

What are you currently loving, loathing, and reading?

Monthly Book Review | April 2017

April was another fantastic reading month for me – I read nine books and I’m way ahead of my goal to read 100 books this year. What can I say? I’m devoting a lot of time to reading lately, and it feels really good. This month, my favorite novel was The Underground Railroad, which is a novel I think everyone needs to read. It’s sensational.

Here are my book reviews:

Whisper No Lies by Cindy Gerard (★★★★★) – I could barely put this novel down; it was so good that I immediately wanted to reread it when I finished it. Cindy Gerard writes such intense romantic thrillers, and this one was especially intense as it followed a human trafficking ring, which was just so damn heartbreaking. One of these days I’m going to write a post about finding great romance novels, but if you’re looking for a romance that will easily keep your attention and isn’t cheesy, pick up anything by Cindy Gerard. (library e-book)

Extreme You by Sarah Robb O’Hagan (★★☆☆☆) – I reviewed this book earlier in the month for TLC Book Tours, and you can find my review here. It’s a great read for ambitious career-minded women, but as I’m not really the target audience for this type of book, a lot of the advice didn’t land for me. (hardcover)

Grin and Beard It by Penny Reid (★★★★☆) – This romance was such a fun time, and so much better than the previous book in this series (Truth or Beard). What I loved most was that it had a plus-sized protagonist, and that’s something you just don’t see in romance novels that often. I also found the juxtaposition of glamorous Hollywood and backwoods Tennessee to be such a unique mix, and made the romance all the more believable. The next book in this series is about Cletus, who is far and away my favorite Winston brother, and I cannot wait to dive into that one. (e-book)

Hopeless by Colleen Hoover (★★★★☆) – My book club is obsessed with Colleen Hoover, and I’m slowly working my way through her list of titles. I’ve had Hopeless on my Kindle for a long time now (I bought it during a Bookbub deal) and I finally got around to reading it and couldn’t put it down. The thing about Colleen Hoover is that she makes me want to give up on fiction writing completely because I’m not sure if I can write characters and scenes as real and believable as she does. Everything she writes just comes alive on the page. This book took a crazy turn about 75% of the way through – a turn I wasn’t expecting at all – and it just made this book even more unputdownable. Give it a read, but be warned, it’s basically a mushy YA love story. (e-book)

The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy by Julia Quinn (★★☆☆☆) – I have really enjoyed Julia Quinn’s Smith-Smythe Quartet series, but this novel just didn’t do it for me. The whole plot seemed contrived, and the hero of the novel was not how I like my romance heroes to be (honest, kind, forthright). In the end, I wasn’t even rooting for the romance to succeed, and that’s never a good sign. (library e-book)

Still the One by Jill Shalvis (★★★★☆) – This was such a fun romance novel! It continued her Animal Magnetism series, and I basically never want this series to end because it makes me so happy. Romance novels involving animals? Hello, wheelhouse. This is one of those novels where the characters spend a lot of time hating each other, but are also not able to handle the rush of sexual chemistry they have for one another, which is one of my favorite romance tropes. Fun, cute, with great sex scenes… all I want in a romance novel! (library e-book)

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (★★★★☆) – I can finally say that I read, and loved, a Pulitzer Prize award-winning book! This book was masterfully written, heartbreaking yet hopeful. It’s a story about Cora, a slave on a plantation in Georgia, who escapes with another slave named Caesar through the Underground Railroad. Except the Underground Railroad is an actual railroad with engineers and conductors and tracks and tunnels. The book follows Cora’s journey as she travels this railroad and what happens afterward. I worried that the language of the novel would be too literary for my tastes, but it was actually super accessible and easy to read. There’s definitely a literary element to Whitehead’s writing, but it read beautifully and not literary just for the sake of being literary. And this quote, near the end of the novel, was simply outstanding:

“‘And America, too, is a delusion, the grandest one of all. The white race believes-believes with all its heart-that is it their right to take the land. To kill Indians. Make war. Enslave their brothers. This nation shouldn’t exist, if there is any justice in the world, for its foundations are murder, theft, and cruelty.'” (p. 285)

I am going to encourage everyone I know to read this book. It’s a hard, heavy subject but we need to continue telling the stories about the horrors of slavery and the way blacks were (are?) treated in our country, as if they were less than and not human beings. (hardcover)

All Wound Up by Jaci Burton (★★★★★) – I’ve read quite a few of Burton’s Play-By-Play novels that have been less than stellar. They started feeling formulaic and contrived. But I’ve stuck with her because the first few novels in this series were so good, and I’m glad I did because this novel felt more like the ones I read in the beginning. It was a fun plot with likable characters who didn’t seem too perfect. I also really respect the way Burton writes sports scenes – it really feels like you’re on the field and if I ever end up writing sports romance, she’s someone I could take more than a few lessons from. (library e-book)

A Separate Peace by John Knowles (★★★★☆) – I read this novel for my “read four classics” yearly goal, and it was really fantastic. It’s a quick read at just under 200 pages and I really loved the time period and this insight into an entirely different viewpoint. Most World War II books follow people involved in the war or deeply affected by it, but this novel tells the story of boys who are not yet able to fight in the war, but know their time is coming, as they are in their final year of boarding school in New England. The novel is mostly about Gene and Phineas and their friendship and how it evolves during the year. (library paperback)

What was the best book you read in April?

10 Things I Loved in April

And it’s May! April was a pretty crazy month – my apartment was fumigated, I got a nasty stomach bug, and it was my first full month on anxiety meds. But throughout all of that, there were a ton of great moments and happiness. I really, really loved April and it was truly a great month for me. Here are the 10 best things about my month:

1. A sleepover at my mom’s. My apartment was fumigated early in the month, so Dutch and I stayed with my mom for a few days. And it was really fun to have a sleepover with her! We made dinner together one night, we watched a lot of TV, and having a helping hand with Dutch was soooo nice. (Mom also got to witness Dutch’s middle-of-the-night restlessness, as he was up from midnight – 2:30AM the first night. Yay.)

2. Breakfast dates with my friend, A., exploring coffee shops around the area. My friend, A., wanted to start exploring all of the different coffee shops around our area, and invited me along on her journey. In April, we went to three coffee shops: Banyan Cafe, Mity Nice Cafe, and Bandit Coffee Company. So far, Banyan has my heart for their delicious food and even better coffee. Mity Nice was okay, but Bandit was a little too hipster for my liking. We’ve also had some of our friends join us for the dates. Coffee + good food + girl talk? Perfect!

3. One month on Lexapro. I’ve been on Lexapro, an antidepressant that’s also used for generalized anxiety disorder, for a little over a month now. I’ve been hesitant to seek out meds for my anxiety, not because I think there’s anything wrong with taking meds, but because I thought that maybe my anxiety wasn’t “bad enough” and maybe I was being a drama queen. I also worried that because I wasn’t a nervous wreck every single moment of every single day that it wouldn’t work for me. Well, I finally spoke to a doctor and got a prescription because my anxiety was getting progressively worse and I wanted to see if it would make me feel even a tiny bit better. And yes. YES. This stuff works. I feel more stable and able to handle life. Little things that used to send me into a tailspin no longer do. I don’t feel as if there’s an elephant sitting on my chest anymore. So, three cheers to Lexapro and lessened anxiety symptoms!

4. Teaching my nephew how to play Clue. Clue is one of my favorite board games and at a recent Family Game Night, my nephew pulled this game out and asked to play it. When I said it might be too complicated for him, he looked at me and said sweetly, “But you can teach me.” Well, all right then! So, I’ve been trying to teach him how to play the game and it’s been so much fun. He even won a game and was so thrilled! It was adorable. Of course, it’s a little weird to say, “So, there’s been a murder…” to your eight-year-old nephew, but alas, I don’t think I’ve given him any nightmares.

5. An Easter picnic. My mom organized a picnic at a local park with my family for Easter, and it was a ton of fun! We had nearly 20 people, so it was a great turnout. We used to do picnics at this park all the time and it’s one of my more fond memories. Grandma’s presence was definitely missed – with any family gathering, she is – but we enjoyed eating tons of yummy food and catching up with one another. My mom even had an egg hunt for the littles!

6. A great haircut. My hairstylist of nearly 15 years left to pursue a different career path, and I was really, really bummed about it. She was someone who took my hair from dark brown to blonde in one sitting, cut my hair to donate to Locks of Love, and dealt with all my different hair moods. I was worried about getting a new hairstylist because it felt like nobody could make my hair look as good as Hailey did (seriously – every time I went to a different stylist over the past 15 years, it turned out awful!) Well, I had my first haircut with my new stylist, someone Hailey recommended to me, and she did a fantastic job! It is a huge sigh of relief to know that I have another great hairstylist to go to, someone I can trust with my hair. My hair is such a defining feature of me, and if that makes me sound shallow, so be it. But I’m glad to know I don’t have to worry about terrible haircuts anytime soon.

7. Lovett or Leave It. This is the only podcast I listen to the minute it’s downloaded on my podcast app. It’s a game-show style podcast that talks about what’s going on in the news in a way that doesn’t make you want to cry or throw things (which is basically what I want to do every time I open up Twitter). Jon Lovett, one of the hosts of Pod Save America, is the host of this podcast (hence the name) and brings on three guests to play games like “OK Stop,” in which they watch a news clip and stop it at various times to talk about what’s being said and the “Rant Wheel,” which has various news-worthy topics (everything from Jared Kushner to S-Town) for Jon to rant about. It’s fantastic and makes me laugh and Jon Lovett is everything to me.

 

8. My mom taking care of me. It’s true what they say, you’re never too old to need your mom. This month, my mom took care of me in myriad ways: letting me stay with her while my apartment was fumigated, bringing me soup and taking me to urgent care when I got sick, and helping me out by lending me her car while mine was in the shop for a day. The thing about being single is that you don’t have that person to help you out when things get hairy. It means you have to rely on the kindness of other people, and while I have plenty of friends who are willing to help me out, there’s truly nothing like family, and knowing I still have my mom to be there for me, even though I’m 29 and independent, is one of the most comforting feelings in the world.

9. A picnic with my work ladies. I am grateful that I have a handful of coworkers that have become good friends of mine, and one such friend recently went to France and came back with wine for us to share. So, last Friday afternoon, we went down to the little beach near where we work and enjoyed wine from France, as well as an assortment of delicious treats, like fruit, Nutella, cheese, crackers, and cookies. I’m not much of a wino, so I can’t tell you if the wine was any good (ha), but what I loved most was just gathering with my friends and enjoying the sunshine, ocean breeze, and conversation.

10. Sportsfest 2017. Sportsfest was incredibly fun and incredibly challenging. I spent the month leading up to the event trying to talk myself into going because I knew it wasn’t really my “scene” (hot beach, loud music, crowds, doing athletic events, etc.), but I also wanted to kick my social anxiety in the teeth and go do something I wouldn’t normally do. Thankfully, two of my close girlfriends were going to the event, so that helped ease my anxiety a bit. And it ended up being so much fun! I don’t think I was very much help due to my lack of athletic ability (my strategy for dodgeball was just “don’t get hit”), but I was an extra body and a good cheerleader. I was there for six hours, walked over 11,000 steps, and even though I meticulously applied sunscreen, got a bit burnt. At the end of the day, my feet and ankles were trashed from walking barefoot in the hot sad for the entire day. But I did it and I showed my social anxiety who is boss and I had fun and I cannot WAIT for Sportsfest 2018.

What are some highlights of April for you?

 

Yearly Goals – Check-in #1

I totally meant to check in on my yearly goals earlier this month, but time slipped away from me and here we are, nearly at the end of April. (HOW?!) Nonetheless, I wanted to take some time to look back on the goals I set at the beginning of the year and see how I’m doing with them. For some of them, I’m doing great! And for others, not so much. Isn’t that how goal-setting tends to go, though? I wish I had tried harder in some areas during this first quarter, but I still have three quarters to get stuff done.

Here’s how I’m doing on my yearly goals:

1) Quit fast food and soda

Well, this goal was going well during the first half of the quarter, but then I sort of fell apart during the second half. I’m only having fast food maybe once or twice a month, which is good, but I still feel better when I cut it out completely, so I need to get better at meal planning and choosing better options when I’m out. Soda continues to be an uphill battle, but one I’m determined to win!

2) Read four “classic” novels

I have read two already: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and A Separate Peace by John Knowles. I’ve loved both books so much, and while they may not be classics in the truest sense of the word, they feel like classics to me, so that’s all that matters, right?

3) Save $1,000 in an emergency fund

I’ve saved $300 towards this goal, but unfortunately, I’ll be using that for an expensive car repair coming down the pipeline. The first quarter of this year was spent catching up on my credit card, which had a $1,700 balance in January (and now is nearly paid off!), so hopefully, the rest of the year can be spent working towards this emergency fund.

4) Start seeing a therapist

Finding a therapist that is taking new patients, accepts my insurance, and works with my schedule has been incredibly difficult! I got frustrated last month after a slew of back-and-forth phone calls with a therapist that went nowhere, but I’m going to get back to the search after my trip. I know how useful therapy will be for me, and I just need to be patient and know that I’ll find the right person in time.

5) Write my novel

This goal is going exceedingly well! I’ve written about 30,000 words of my novel, so I have around 60,000-70,000 words to go. At this rate, I will definitely finish my novel by the end of the year. I’m having so much fun writing the novel, and I just want to do this for the rest of my life.

6) Get a tattoo

Hasn’t happened yet, but I’ve discussed this with two different friends and both are on board to get a tattoo with me. I am hoping this will be a fun task I can mark complete sometime this summer!

So, I’m doing well with some of my more fun yearly goals (reading and writing), but I’m lagging behind on the less fun ones (healthy eating, saving money, and therapy). What I’d like to work on over the next three (well, now two) months is to quit fast food completely (I can do it!), save at least 5% of every paycheck, and email therapists until I find one I like.

I’m trying to remember that these yearly goals are simply for personal development. They are things I’d like to accomplish over 2017, but they are by no means a measuring stick for how well or not well the year went. I just really love goal-setting and making these goals helps me to continue to work towards something every day, no matter how big or little of a step I take.

Have you made progress on your yearly goals?

How to Read More This Year

When people ask me how I can read so many books, I usually blow them off.

“Oh, I don’t have much of a life,” I tell them with a laugh.

And, in a sense, that’s true. I don’t keep a very full social calendar due to being an introvert and needing tons of alone time. I’m not in a relationship and I don’t have kids. It leads to having lots of time to read. And it’s my favorite hobby, so I make the time for it. It’s something I can’t imagine not doing, so reading is something I make time for every single day.

I have a lot of friends who want to read more. I don’t really think anyone needs to read as much as I do. If you’re reading at least 1-2 books per month, you’re doing fine. But if you’re looking for tips on how to read more, well then, I’ve got you covered:

1) Listen to audiobooks.

Do you have a long commute? Do you spend a lot of time by yourself cooking or cleaning? Do you like to take long walks? All of these activities lend themselves to prime audiobook time. I listen to a lot of podcasts, which means I don’t really listen to a ton of audiobooks, though I’ve been trying to listen to more this year. I love to listen to audiobooks when I’m driving (I never listen to the radio anymore, instead opting for a podcast or my audiobook in the car), when I’m cooking, when I’m cleaning, when I’m taking Dutch on walks. Sometimes, I can even listen when I’m working, depending on the task I’m doing. You could easily knock out 1-2 books per month simply by listening to audiobooks.

2) Read before bed. 

I read before bed every single night. Sometimes, I can only manage a chapter before my eyes are too tired to focus and sometimes, I get in bed so early that I can read for 45 minutes or more. This is when I get the majority of my reading done. It’s such a habit for me that I feel weird if I go to bed without reading, even if it’s just a few pages. If you find that those hours right before you go to sleep are spent scrolling through Instagram or reading terrible news stories on Twitter, instead plug in your phone, set your alarm, and put it on Do Not Disturb. Then snuggle into bed with your book and read until you get sleepy. It’s the perfect end-of-the-day activity!

3) Read on your lunch break.

One of my favorite things to do is read during my lunch break. It really allows me to break up my day when I know I have at least 30 minutes (or more) set aside to dive into my current read. I used to feel embarrassed about reading at work, but I’ve been outed as a major bookworm, so now I have no qualms about it (and a good portion of my office reads on their lunch breaks, too!) If you’re looking for a pocket of time to get some reading in, your lunch break is the perfect time to do that. (And if you work from home, this works for you, too! I know too many of us tend to work through our lunch and, this way, you can physically set your computer aside and take an actual lunch break, complete with your latest book.)

4) Read in spurts.

I do a lot of my reading in spurts – 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there. It’s something that was apparent when I logged my reading for a week, as there were only four instances in the space of an entire week where I read for longer than 30 minutes. The majority of the time, I snuck in reading in 5, 10, or 15 minute spurts. And that’s still my M.O. today – lots of reading in spurts. There are a lot of little times during the day when you can probably sneak in some reading. Get to your doctor’s appointment early? Reading time. Have 10 minutes before you have to leave for work? Reading time. Need to use the bathroom? Reading time. (Ha.) You’ll be amazed at how much reading you can knock out in these little spurts of time!

5) Give something up.

The real truth of how to read more is that you have to give something up. You can’t just expect to read more without changing your life in some way, whether that’s less TV or less social media. Think about it: if you told yourself that when you got home from work, you weren’t going to open up social media for the rest of the night, you’d be able to spend oodles of time reading. (This article explains it better.) But the truth of the matter is that I don’t watch much TV (it took me four months to watch one season of Gilmore Girls and that is not a joke) and I don’t have a full, active social calendar. In order to read more, you have to open up space in your life and that usually means giving something up. But in doing so, you will gain so much more than bingeing on a Netflix series or scrolling endlessly through Facebook. Social media and TV have nothing on a good book, in my opinion.

Have any tips to add on how to read more? Let me know in the comments!