Monthly Recap | June 2021

Well, well, well. After five months without it, I decided to bring back the old format of my monthly recaps. As much as I loved recapping my month by going over the big and little moments that made me happy, I really missed talking about the other parts of my month, like the stuff I’m watching and buying. So it’s back! Yay!

Also, it’s been a wild week already here in Florida as we’ve been preparing to get hit by Hurricane Elsa (formerly known as Tropical Storm Elsa before she gained back her strength while racing through the Gulf of Mexico). At this point in time (late afternoon on Tuesday), I’m not sure what the next 24 hours will hold. No evacuations have been ordered (I’m in the first zone) and I’m not too worried about my apartment flooding (perks of third-floor living!) I’m expecting to lose power at some point and, worst-case scenario, the girls and I can hang out at my mom’s (she’s in the third evacuation zone). Should be an interesting time, nonetheless!

READING

I read 9 books in June, which is the least amount of books I’ve read in a month in a long time! I struggled getting through some books and also discovered an obsession with the app, Happy Color, haha. Here’s what I read:

• White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide by Carol Anderson (print, owned, Barnes & Noble) – ★★★★☆
• Would Like to Meet by Rachel Winters (e-book, library) – ★★★☆☆
• Internment by Samira Ahmed (audiobook, library) – ★★☆☆☆
• Before She Knew Him by Peter Swanson (print, library) – ★★★☆☆
• The Intimacy Experiment by Rosie Danan (e-book, library) – ★★★★☆
• Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid (print, owned, Book of the Month) – ★★★★☆
• Glass Houses by Louise Penny (audiobook, library) – ★★★★★
• People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry (print, owned, Book of the Month) – ★★☆☆☆
• Heavy: A Memoir by Kiese Laymon (print, library) – ★★★☆☆

My favorite book this month was Glass Houses by faaaar (I didn’t read anything outstanding this month—over half my books were 2 or 3 stars). My least favorite was Internment.

WATCHING

I started watching The Bachelorette because The Popcast releases a post-episode discussion during The Bachelor/Bachelorette and I wanted to get in on the action. I’ve watched a few seasons before and this one is filled with men in tears and drama llama llama. And yet, I’m so invested and try to keep my Tuesday evenings for myself so I can make homemade nachos and watch this crazy show (I watch it on Hulu, not live).

This month, I finished season 3 of The Crown, which was kinda blah but I liked seeing more of the kids. (The actress who played Princess Anne was such a standout!) I’m also nearly finished with my second viewing of Schitt’s Creek and I am not ready for it to be over! And, finally, I’m currently watching season 4 of Superstore, which is a perfect show, I think. America Ferrera 4Ever.

Oh, and of course, I’m working through The Office to keep up with Office Ladies. They just finished recapping episode 6 of season 5!

LISTENING TO

I have two great short-run podcast series to recommend: The Vaping Fix and Running from Cops. The Vaping Fix is by Laura Beil, who did Dr. Death and Bad Batch. In this podcast, she discusses Juul, the company that helped vaping take off among millennials and Gen Z—how it got started, how fast it grew, and how it imploded. It’s fascinating but also frustrating. Vaping was supposed to be something to help cigarette smokers quit smoking, and instead, Juul tried to appeal to a younger demographic and, in doing so, launched an epidemic.

Running from Cops explores the long-running TV show Cops and exposes all the ways it manipulates viewers. While fascinating, I found myself increasingly infuriated by Cops and its producers—from the ways cops on the show are pushed to make arrests even when it’s unnecessary to how the producers push people to sign release forms. I used to watch Cops with my dad growing up and it’s easy to get a laugh at these crazy drunk people, but when you really think about it, it’s sad to consider that a form of entertainment. These are people who are either struggling with addiction or just having a bad day or are being hassled by police for no goddamn reason. (It was also disheartening to recognize the names of nearby counties mentioned on the podcast multiple times, as apparently, Cops does a lot of filming near me!) Anyway, please give this podcast series a listen. It’s really important!

BUYING

• Earrings – For the longest time, I thought that the back hole in my left ear had closed up so I never wore earrings. But I wanted to wear earrings to my cousin’s wedding so I bought a cheap pair from Target and was able to slip them in, no problem! So weird. But yay—I can wear earrings now! I bought two this month (this pair and this pair) and can’t wait to add more to my collection!
• Yoga mat – I’ve really enjoyed doing Peloton strength workouts, but I quickly realized the need for a yoga mat. Before, I was doing them on the rug in my living room, which doesn’t offer any kind of cushion (and is littered with cat toys, ha). So I bought a yoga mat and I love it!
• A dress – I bought this adorable dress on Amazon to wear to my cousin’s wedding and it was perfect. It felt really good on me! I didn’t realize that I ended up wearing the same color as the bridesmaids, haha, but it was fine.
• Heart rate monitor – I’ve been wanting an HRM for a while, mostly to keep tabs on my output during spin workouts. I have yet to use it for spin because I was being lazy about setting it up, but I finally did so over the weekend. I wore it during my workout yesterday and it showed me that I could probably ramp things up a notch during my strength workouts, as I never hit the fat-burning zone, oops. (I am positive that will not be the case for spin!)

HIGHLIGHTS

A much-needed hair appointment • lazy weekend mornings of reading and cat snuggles • meeting up with former coworkers for dinner • Lucy • seeing a friend’s new home • booking a trip to Chicago • rainy days • a new bookshelf • a park reading date • stitch fix #2 • bowling with Amber • Olive coming to our book club meeting • a massage and a facial in the same month • my cousin marrying the love of her life • dancing my face off at the wedding and enjoying every minute of it • crepe myrtles blooming again • homemade nachos & bachelorette tuesdays • an excellent first date

Tell me something you read, watched, listened to, and/or loved about June!