1) A new bed
I am so thrilled to report that my new bed is here, and I haven’t slept better in years. On Wednesday, my brother and his work partner came over to deliver my new mattress and box spring. They also took apart my old bed, put together my new one, and dropped my old mattress/box spring at the trash. After thanking them profusely for doing all of that, my brother’s partner said, “Of course! You’re family.” Which just melted me for some reason. My first night on my new bed was amazing. I don’t think I realize how saggy and lumpy my old mattress had gotten until I slept on this new mattress. I am sleeping so soundly on this new mattress and waking up without any aches and pains. It’s a whole new world for me!
2) Charleston in July
My mom and I booked a long weekend trip to Charleston for her birthday! We’ll get in early on Friday (our flight leaves at 7am, oy vey) and leave on Monday morning. We’ll essentially have three full days there to explore, and I’ve already started crafting our itinerary. There are lots of fun tours that we’re looking at, including a harbor tour, carriage tour of the city, and ghost tour. I also want to visit Fort Sumter and I know my mom will want to visit a few breweries.
There are also a handful of plantation tours that can be taken, but the idea of touring a plantation makes me feel squicky. I would like to visit a plantation that centers Black voices and Black stories – not one that whitewashes this part of our history. A lot of the plantation tours do that, so I’ve been trying to do my research and so far, McLeod Plantation might be an option. I’m still not sure about it, though. I need to do more research on how Black people feel about plantation tours and if it’s even worth going.
3) An official title
This week, the woman I’m dating and I made things official! So I officially have a girlfriend, and that feels so exciting to me. We have been really good about having honest conversations about where things are going and how we’re feeling. While I hadn’t been on the dating apps since our first date, a few weeks into dating, we talked about being exclusive and that’s when I officially deleted my dating apps. And now we’re both really in this thing. It’s something I really didn’t expect, but I am so glad I reached out to her on Hinge when I saw she was a bookworm who wanted to date a reader. We have been on so many bookish dates (we’ve had dates at three different bookstores, if that tells you anything about us) and it’s so fun to be able to get really deep into nerdy book talk with her. Anyway, dating can be a drag a lot of times, but every once in a while, magic happens.
4) Birthday girls
It’s birthday time here in our household, which means it’s present time, too! Here’s what the girls are getting for their birthdays:
- A new scratching post, from me – This is their favorite scratching post, which I bought way back in 2018 before I had adopted any cats. (I did a huge Chewy order for cat supplies to prepare for my eventual cats!) It’s a bit beat up after 3-and-a-half years of use and they have earned themselves a new one for their birthdays. It’s an expensive cat scratcher at $50 but it’s worth it!
- A cat-shaped cat scratch lounger, for Lila, from my mom – Lila loves sleeping on a cat scratch lounger and the one I have in my dining room is a little worn down at this point. I found this adorable lounger on Chewy and sent it to my mom for Lila’s birthday. I think she’s going to love it! (Or she’ll never use it, but Ellie will.) (Or neither of the cats will use it and I’ll be annoyed.) CATS.
- Feliner Diner scratch house, for Eloise, from my mom – We all know that Eloise loves a scratch house so I perused Target and Chewy for some options for my mom. She chose this one, which I think Ellie will really like. And I’ll enjoy all the free milkshakes she has to make for me! 😉
5) Weekend plans
This should be a fun, but not too busy weekend for me! Today, I have no plans so I’d like to spend a lot of time parked on the couch reading, as I’ve barely cracked open my book this week! Tomorrow, I have a writing date with Mikaela and then game night with the fam. And on Sunday, my girlfriend and I booked an hour in a cat cafe! She’s more of a dog person than a cat person, but she is willing to hang out with some cats for me. <3 We’ll be going to brunch afterward. I predict a three-nap weekend with plenty of social plans, so that’s the sign of a perfect weekend for me.
What are your weekend plans? If you have any Charleston recs, send ’em my way!
Oh yay! Congrats on the new step with your girlfriend! And going to a cat cafe sounds SO fun. I did that once with my daughter and wish I could do it ALL the time. (It’s very far away, and the weekend slots book up really far in advance.)
It is adorable that you get your cats birthday presents. The gifts sound awesome.
Also, your Charleston trip sounds amazing! I am especially excited that you will be doing a ghost tour. Can’t wait to hear all about it!
I think this is the 3rd or 4th cat cafe I’ve been to, haha. They are just so much fun and I love that these cats get to have such a fun place to roam around. <3
I’ve never been to a cat cafe, but I recently learned that there’s one in the next town over, so I need to make it a priority to get over there! I hope you have an awesome date!
Oh, please do! They are so much fun – being able to just snuggle and play with a bunch of cats for an hour is a delight!
That is great news that you have made your relationship official; what a big step! I bet you are glad that you took the plunge to try the dating apps! I know I personally have shied away from them, but I have had many friends have success so I guess they work! Have fun at the cat cafe and brunch!
As for Charleston, I am no help there as I have never been. However, I have heard that it is an excellent city to visit. I am looking forward to your recap so I can get ideas from you!
I’ve been on dating apps for soooo long, lol. I go on and off them all the time, but I was determined to get to my 5 first dates goal this year, and it was the best surprise that my second first date turned into something wonderful!
I’m so happy for you ♥️ Enjoy this magical beginning!
Thank you! 🙂
Re: Charleston, I wouldn’t do a horse tour in July (or ever). It’s hotter than forty hells for those poor horses, plus tbh, they smell awful.
But you SHOULD just plan some free time to walk or bike up and down King Street, Easy Bay Street, and some of the streets South of Broad where the gorgeous homes are. The aquarium is only okay if it’s raining because there are way better ones elsewhere.
If you want some history, I’d go for Charles Towne Landing or Fort Sumter over plantations (I haven’t been in several years though). And as far as restaurants, Chs is totally a reservations needed city now, unfortunately so I would make those instead of winging it for dinner.
Thank you for all of this helpful information! This is all good to know. Definitely going to get reservations for everywhere we go. That’s how it is where I live. I think that’s just the way things go these days!
EEEEEEEEE STEPHANYYYYYYYY
Okay, first of all, congrats on your “new title!!!!” This is all very exciting and I am so happy for you. She sounds like a lovely person – bookworm too!
Second, I love your duvet cover. That is a gorgeous pattern and I’m coveting it a little!
Not much going on this weekend, it is going to be nice and quiet which is much needed!
Thank you, friend! It’s been a lovely time. 🙂
It’s a quilt! I can’t handle that duvet life, haha.
I love your new bedroom setup (and I am so jealous of your bedframe – LOL – I still have to get one. It’s on my list (again!) this year).
Charleston sounds like an amazing place to visit and I am curious to hear all about it. I understand your queasiness about the plantation tour but hopefully there is one that honors the black community.
So excited about your official relationship status, yay! I love that you found your person! 🙂
Do I need to ask you every month if you’ve found a bedframe and purchased it?! Haha. I get it, though. It’s an investment and you want to find a good one!
Thank you, dear friend! <3
I did tour a plantation when I visited back in 2014 but I had met some running friends there to spectate at a marathon and I didn’t set the agenda. In hindsight, I wish I wouldn’t have gone. The guide was so blasé about the whole thing – ‘like here were the slaves quarters’… there is also this market area in town and it’s where slaves were auctioned off and now people have booths to sell things and it feels soooo wrong. They do have a good small museum focused on slavery that I believe was free and was really well done. I liked the city overall but had mixed feeling about because of how they handled their past. But that was almost 10 years and hopefully things have changed since then? I was at the start of my journey of better understanding white washing and things like that when I visited.
I hope their plantation tours and other museums have gotten better in the last decade, especially after the George Floyd uprising. The McLeod Plantation does seem to center Black voices, but other plantations gave me an icky feeling when I viewed their websites.
And I got so down the rabbit hole of talking about Charleston that I didn’t say the thing I meant to start with which is – yay!! I am so happy for you and excited for you. And to be dating a reader!!! Squeeeeeee!!
And your new bed sounds amazing. We need to get one. I think I bought mine back in 2008!!!
You are so sweet! Thank you, Lisa!
Hooray for girlfriends!!! <3
Last year I was looking for resources on plantation tours and found this amazing YouTube channel which includes this video that I highly recommend: https://youtu.be/ePDxBUxBCFc
It has a totally click-bait-y title, but the conversation is truly between friends and so, so informative. I really appreciate both women's honesty and candor and I feel like I learned so much about the Black perspective on the matter. All of the videos are super informative and Cheyney McKnight is an incredible living historian.
This is awesome! Thank you so much for sharing this resource! I really appreciate it.
Ahh! Stephany! It makes me so happy that you are sleeping so well on your new bed. Ahh, how refreshing! And how nice your bro’s business partner said that!
Charleston sounds great! I would be really on the fence about a plantation tour too. I know you will figure it out and do what is right for you!
Congrats on being official! And how fun she is a bookworm too!
I love the presents for the girls!
Your weekend sounds divine and I hope you got all three naps! My weekend plans were work, chores, and working out, which I have been doing!
I’m excited about Charleston. We should have a really good time! And I’m glad my mom finally gets to get away for her birthday. She always wants to, but the timing rarely works out.
Thank you! <3 <3
YAY on your new bed! What a difference a new mattress can make! Thrilling. Also, you’ve been working on it as a goal for SO long, I’m glad it has come together. It’s beautiful too.
Exciting to have a new relationship. Those early days can be heady and exciting! ENJOY!
I feel the same way you do about plantations. My BFF went to Monticello a year or so ago, and she found it horribly depressing. She was going to go to Mt. Vernon too, and couldn’t handle another. Enjoy your vacation with your mom. <3
Yeah, that’s the other thing about a plantation tour that I might not be ready for: how horribly depressing it will be. I want to honor the pain and suffering, but it could feel like a lot and I need to be prepared for it.
The new mattress is AMAZING. I can’t believe how much better my sleep has gotten!
Ohhh, congrats on the new title! New relationships are so exciting. Hope we get to “meet” her eventually. 🙂
AHHH! Official status! Yay! I’m so happy for you and hope that you and your fellow bookworm have many future book and cat dates of happiness. <3
That totally distracted me from everything else, but also yay to vacation with your mom, and I love seeing your new bed. Your style is so appealing. You did an amazing job picking everything out! Such good news in here. 🙂
Thank you, Anne! It’s been an unexpected delight. <3
And that is such a sweet compliment about my style. That really means a lot!