We are halfway through September somehow, and I still want to provide a monthly review for August, if only to help me when I’m putting together my end-of-year posts in December. Ha! I’m doing a modified version, so you’ll get everything from books to goals to spending in this post!
August Reading
- Books read: 11
- Pages read: 3,729
- Star average: 3.9
- My favorite book(s) of August: The Unselected Journal of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower (Vols 7 and 8)
- My least favorite book of August: The Unseen World by Liz Moore
- The book I thought I would love more than I did: Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yaisawa
- The book that surprised me: Enormous Wings by Laurie Frankel
- August’s Unread Shelf Challenge: The challenge was to read the shortest book on my shelf, which was Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yaisawa.
August: The Quick Snapshot
- Title of the month: Overwhelmed & Weary
- Weather notes: So many summer thunderstorms! It rained almost every day, and there’s nothing I love more than watching the sky darken outside my windows and hearing rumbling thunder in the distance. It also continued to be hot, humid, and gross.
- Mood: Welp. My mood sucked in August, honestly. My mental health really struggled when faced with some potential disappointments and health complications.
August: The Good Parts
I’ve already taken you through some of the hardest parts of my month, but there were some bright moments:
- Meeting Bri’s new dog, Asher
- A lovely breakfast and bookstore date with my friend, Lynn
- Pumpkin spice szn is BACK
- A dog birthday party filled with the cutest doggos (and my neurotic fur-siblings)
- Recording our ONE HUNDREDTH episode of The Friendship Paradox! (<– it released yesterday!)
- Bedazzling book club and catching up with everyone
- Renewing my lease – my rent is only increasing by $50 and they’re giving me $500 off November’s rent for renewing early
August Goals: A Quick Recap
- Adhere to a 10:30pm bedtime – nope, work in progress
- Watch two movies – I watched one (Sleepless in Seattle).
- No caffeine after 3pm – nope.
- Work on improving my walking speed – eh, not really.
- Get a light for my bathroom – yes!
Easy goals for September: sunshine on my eyeballs before 9am every day, finish season 2 of Suits, and make a plan for reorganizing my office closet
August Spending
I’ll keep this simple with just my top five spending categories this month (after bills, which is always the highest category, duh):
- Food ($945 | ↑ $98 from July): Surprisingly, my Uber Eats spending was almost at baseline ($120), but I spent a lot more on groceries.
- Travel ($678 | ↑ $78 from July): A little higher, but that’s to be expected. I gave my mom $600 and then bought tickets for a Fenway tour.
- Pets ($555 | ↑ $392 from July): How did I spend so much money on my cats in August? I guess they just needed everything replaced? Wet and dry food, litter, Litter Genie refill bags, desiccant bags for their feeders, treats, etc. And I bought some fun new scratchers because I just can’t help myself!
- Shopping ($463 | ↑ $169 from July): Nothing crazy to report here. My book spending was normal for me (less than $100). I bought a cart for my office and some tech supplies like longer iPhone cords. It’s much more than I have been spending, although I still came in under $500, which is always my goal.
- Savings ($360 | ↑ $60 from July): Finally, a good increase! I saved a little more this month, and a good portion of it is going toward a new reading chair. We’re getting there!
August Favorites
- Favorite show: It remains Big Brother – it’s been a good season.
- Favorite podcast: I really loved the episode that The Popcast did in mid-August about the state of the podcasting industry. I always love a good behind-the-scenes look!
- Favorite meal: I made this recipe that Birchie posted about a long time ago and it was so, so good.
- Favorite cat moment: I was sitting on the couch one evening with Lila, and all of a sudden she turned her head and this immense look of love filled her eyes.I knew that Eloise had walked into the room, and sure enough! There she was. The purest form of love.
- Favorite purchase: Planner accessories. I bought some cute highlights, fine liner pens, and a tiny ruler, and it all makes me so happy!
- Favorite ordinary moment: It was a Friday evening, and Bri and I had recorded a few episodes for the podcast. We were just lounging on the couch with the dogs, and her husband was sitting nearby putting together a LEGO set. It was truly an ordinary moment, but I felt so content and happy.
- Favorite decision I made: To take a step back from blogging when life felt overwhelming. I felt immediate relief when I made the decision, which tells me it was the right one.
- Favorite thing I learned: That wasps apparently built mud nests?! My mom noticed something weird growing in her mailbox, so of course, I took to ChatGPT to find out what it was. According to Chat, “The wasp collects mud, brings it back, and builds little chambers where it lays eggs and leaves prey for the larvae to eat.” Fascinating!
Tell me one good thing about your August.
How did Sleepless in Seattle hold up? I haven’t seen it in at least 30 years. I think I originally saw it in the theatres! Now that I think about it, it’s a pretty weird premise.
To be honest, I am BAFFLED that Sleepless in Seattle is such a beloved movie. I finished it and was like “what the fuck was that?” Annie is just a straight-up stalker (the scenes of her watching Sam and Jonah play… shivers). Maybe if I had watch this in the 90s, I would have liked it more but from a 2026 lens, it’s a WEIRD movie. These two people never even TALK until the last few minutes, and I’m supposed to believe they have a HEA? No.
I am also here to discuss Sleepless in Seattle. I love that movie, it’s so cute. BUT, Annie is so horrible to Walter, right? HORRIBLE. And when she dumps him, on Valentine’s Day, when they’ve been shopping for their china pattern? I just hate her. And he’s fine with it. Probably thinking, “I dodged a bullet there!” Who wants to be told over and over again how boring they are?
Honestly, I thought it was the weirdest movie. The way Annie treated Walter AND the way she basically stalked Sam (those scenes where she is just watching Sam and his son play together… so weeeeird). And I’m supposed to believe these two are HEA when they never have one conversation together? Nope.
Overall August did very well by me. I mean, I spent nearly three weeks 24/7 with another blogger. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Agree with Nicole and Julie, we need more info on what you thought about Sleepless in Seattle!!! I saw it back in the day and again a few years ago and enjoyed it. I don’t have to tell you what my favorite show of August was because you already know: UK Traitors! I just finished season 2, so the question is, should I watch season 3 next or jump to Celebrity Traitors?????? I think that the answer might be that it doesn’t matter because I’ll end up watching them all by the end of next month anyway.
Travel is messing with my podcast listening schedule, but I’ve got your 100th episode downloaded and can’t wait to hear it.
I have to be honest and say… I did not love Sleepless in Seattle. I think I might have enjoyed it more had I watched it in the 90s but from a 2026 lens… it’s WEIRD. Annie basically stalks Sam the entire time and he just sees her in an airport and is like “omg the love of my life!!!” Stop it. I just don’t get the hype…
YESSSS UK TRAITORS. The celebrity edition was AMAZING so I’m excited for you to watch it. And once you get through UK Traitors, you can move on to the US version… Canada… Australia… New Zealand… lol. Can you tell I’m fully obsessed with this show?!
It is a good thing that you learned about the wasps nests because the best thing to do is stay away from them (or destroy them). Those little suckers are mean and having a nest nearby is no bueno! We used to get them under the eaves of the house and they could be fierce. My Dad always knocked them off with a broom and destroyed them.
My mom was able to destroy it, super woman! Wasps/bees scare the bejeesus out of me so I want no part of them!
I love the bookstore photo. Is there anything more beautiful than a shelf full of gorgeous books?
Well, yes, there is…kitty photos! They are SO beautiful!
Thank you, friend! It helps to have the most gorgeous kitties ever!!
Let’s see… I think my favorite thing about August was high school football starting up again! Well, I guess all football (NFL preseason and college also started in August) but I love going to the high school games.
I hope September is going better for you than August! Although, as you’ve mentioned, you did have some good things last month. I like the idea of listing “favorites”, even when a month wasn’t great overall.
Very glad you’re back to blogging!
It’s been great to have football back! It’s such a long off-season. It must be extra fun to go to high school football games, too. A different kind of energy!
I also need you to report back on what you thought of Sleepless in Seattle! I loved it but since you didn’t say anything I fear it was not a hit for you!
I can’t wait to listen to your 100th episode! Congrats on that milestone! I had an early flight back this morning and I wanted to sleep so I put on episodes that I didn’t really need to listen to because I just needed some calmish talking in my ears to lull me to sleep ( for example, I listened to some older Book Riot podcasts). I saved yours for when I am 100% alert!
I must be honest and say that I did not love Sleepless in Seattle. I just found Annie’s character to be really unsettling, the way she essentially stalked Sam (even early Internet stalking!). And how am I supposed to believe these two are going to make it when they don’t have a single conversation the entire movie, and he only remembers her because he saw her in the airport once and thought she was hot? It’s just… a weird premise, especially from a 2026 lens. Maybe I would have liked it more if I had watched it in the 90s, probably!
But young Tom Hanks… be still my heart!
Ah, give me that kitty so I can mush her!!
One thing about August. It felt like a really loooooong month. I wasn’t working, the kids were at the house and we just came back from an expensive trip to Italy… so we were kind of bumming around, playgrounds and municipal pool… I was happy when my work started again on August 28th.
Sometimes I get way too excited about my cats and they run away from me like, “Calm down, lady.” HAHA. My love is too expressive for them!
I need to remember that August is just a HARD month for me for some reason. It always feels like this, maybe there’s just something about knowing we’re entering the final four months of the year…? IDK!
August is so far away already. I have no idea what happened there.
I love your ordinary moment. those are the best. Also what a great way to track them monthly. Is that a new on or did I miss it in all the previous monthlies?
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop did not hold up to the hype. I was also bored and a bit disappointed.