Monthly Recap | July 2019

READING

I read 14 books in July, which is my highest reading month in a while! I didn’t even realize I read so many books until I counted them all up. This puts me at 79 books read for 2019, which means I’ll probably hit my goal of 100 books sometime in September. Here are my three favorites:

• Miracle Creek by Angie Kim, which was a thrilling legal drama that had great courtroom scenes and a satisfying conclusion
• Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery, which is the third book in the Anne of Green Gables series and such a sweet read
• White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo, which is a book every white person needs to read because we all have racial biases and assumptions and we need to work to dismantle them

WATCHING

• Schitt’s Creek, seasons 3 and 4 – I’m flying through Schitt’s Creek seasons now, finishing up two of them over the month of July. This has truly become one of my favorite shows. It’s so damn funny and smart!
• Big Little Lies, season 2 – I’m slowwwwwly working my way through season two of Big Little Lies. I don’t find it as engrossing as season one so I’m not as inclined to watch it. I really want to finish up the season, though, so I can cancel my HBO subscription. That’s $15 down the drain every month!
• To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before – I finally watched this adorable rom-com and I am so glad I did! I wasn’t a fan of the book but I figured I’d love the movie because what came off as overly saccharine and juvenile in the book translated into a sweet teenage love story on screen. I loved the cast, the plot, and just how heartfelt the whole movie was.

BUYING

• Nightgown ($20) – I don’t know if I should feel like a little old lady now, but I bought a nightgown from Target this month and it might be life-changing. It’s so comfortable and so much better than wearing pajama pants that cut into my stomach.
• A new shelf ($20) – I wasn’t even looking for a shelf but when I found this at TJ Maxx last weekend, it was too beautiful to pass up!
• Bookcase ($150) – I finally took a trip to Ikea to buy the Hemnes bookcase I’ve been eyeing for such a long time. I wasn’t planning on buying the bookcase just yet but my small bookcase that sat next to my bed fell completely apart when I tried to move it away from the wall to reach the plug behind it. Like, seriously fell apart. One of the sides detached and all my books fell. That’s what you get when you spend $11 on a bookcase! Heh. I haven’t put this bookcase together yet (that’s a project for this weekend) but I am so looking forward to having a gorgeous tall bookcase for all my books!

LISTENING TO

• Broken Harts – I’m halfway through this miniseries about the Hart family. (<– Link to a news article about them, if you’re not familiar.) It’s really well-researched and I’m enjoying it, even though it’s super heartbreaking and what these women did (both before the tragedy and the tragedy itself) is hard to wrap my mind around.
• The Dropout – Everyone has heard of Elizabeth Holmes by now, right? Currently, there’s a book about her (Bad Blood), an HBO miniseries (The Inventor: Out for Blood), and this podcast. I still need to read the book (just picked up my copy from the library, actually!) and watch the miniseries, but I thought I’d start with the podcast. Infuriating at times and head-scratching at others, the podcast really dives into how she got away with her lies for so long.

THE HIGHS

• Celebrating Mom’s birthday – My mom’s birthday was on the 8th of July and I had already planned to take the day off work to give myself a long weekend, so when she also took the day off work, it meant we could have a full day of celebration! We started with lunch at Chick-fil-A and then went to Practically Pikasso for a crafty afternoon! We both picked out plates to paint and it was such a fun time. We both really enjoyed ourselves, especially since we could work at our own pace and just make it our own. After painting, we went to a nearby bakery for cupcakes and then had some downtime at her place before going out to dinner with my brother and older nephew. Such a fun day!
• Dying my hair purple – I did it, you guys! I dyed my hair purple and it is such a fun change. I love it immensely and I’m curious to see how well (or not well) the color holds. It was an expensive appointment because it involved highlights so I’m probably not going to keep the purple for very long, but I’m enjoying it so far!
• Bowling with the fam – My older nephew has been taking bowling lessons for a few months now and is in a league, and I’ve been wanting to play with him for a while. Bowling is one of my all-time favorite pastimes, even though I’m not a super-great bowler. I just think it’s fun to play! So this month, in lieu of one of our family game nights, we went bowling! My nephew seriously impressed me with his skill and we all had such a fun time. He was also the sweetest at being encouraging to the rest of us who were struggling, which melted my heart.

Honorable mentions (because this month was seriously amazing): seeing my favorite aunt and uncle when they were in town, enjoying lots of family time during the 4th of July, a five-day weekend, Potty Mouth Pottery at Practically Pikasso, going axe throwing, no cavities at the dentist (haven’t had a cavity since I was in high school, booyah!), and babysitting Chip for a weekend.

THE LOWS

• A Lila scare – Lila gave me a good scare on one of my work-from-home days. She spent a good 8 hours under my couch, refusing to come out. She hasn’t hidden under my couch since the first few days after I brought her home and if she needs to hide away, she’ll usually go under my bed but that’s never for longer than a cat nap. I was in worst-case scenario mode and googling my vet’s hours to make sure they were open over the weekend in case I needed to make an appointment. Eventually, though, she came out and I nearly cried I was so happy to see her little face! What I think caused the hiding was my Swiffer mop that was leaning against a wall in my room (usually, this mop is hidden away). I think she may have gotten scared of it for some reason, poor baby.
• A bout of mental unwellness – This month had a few days where I felt mentally unwell and didn’t want much to do with anyone. Thankfully, it passed as it always does but man, I hate how dark those days feel.

ANTICIPATING

• Seeing the Backstreet Boys in concert with some girlfriends
• Celebrating six years at my job (!)
• Game night with book club

Tell me one highlight from July for you and something you’re looking forward to next month!