Monthly Medley: September 2024

 

This month's Monthly Medley is coming to you a little early, since next week's posts are reserved for my (soon-to-be) 18-year-old man-child.

Reading

Zero Days by Ruth Ware definitely wasn't my favorite of her thrillers, but it certainly wasn't a bad read if you like mysteries (which I do). I think my biggest beef with the story was that Ware's descriptions of events, activities, encounters, escapes, etc. were frequently too long and detailed. I love an author who paints a picture with her words...whose descriptions are so good that you can imagine yourself in the scene and feel like you're walking alongside the protagonist. But at some point, the character is just "climbing a ladder," and that process shouldn't take four pages to explain.  

I also read First Comes Love (I know, two books in one month, and September isn't even over yet!) by Emily Giffin. I used to read all of Giffin's books as soon as they were released, but it had been probably three years since I'd picked up one of her novels. This emotionally challenging yet endearing and completely relatable (at least to anyone who has siblings) story about all different kinds of love hit the spot for me in between suspenseful mysteries.

Watching

This month I watched the Netflix documentary Sign Stealer, as well as The Perfect Couple, a Netflix short series. Sign Stealer was average, but I loved The Perfect Couple and was sad when it ended after only six episodes. 

I also watched and enjoyed the pilot of High Potential staring Kaitlin Olson in a role completely different from everything I've seen her in before. I'm looking forward when the next episode of this new show comes out next week, as well as when all of the networks' new fall shows start dropping!

Listening To

I tried three new podcasts this month, but none of them stuck, which is kind of a shame because I'm a little tired of my usual podcasts. I continue trying new podcasts next month, so hopefully I'll have something new to report at the end of October!

Following

I've been thoroughly enjoying Emily Vondy (@emilyvondy), a video creator whose specialty is "motherhood in all it's wild glory." She's funny and creative and honest and I wish I'd followed her when my kids were younger.

Wearing

This was a month for new shoes - I "accidentally" picked up three pairs at DSW while on a shoe shopping trip with/or Tom. 

• I'd been looking for a pair of maroon sneakers to wear to high school, club soccer, and Aggie sporting events (yep, they're all maroon), and this pair kind of fell into my lap. They're comfortable and cute, and I LOVE the pink laces. 
• I'd also been looking for a slide or loafer for fall, and this driving loafer (I chose tan) fit the bill. The best features of these shoes are its arch supports and cushy sole, which took them up a notch compared to other loafers I've tried on recently.
• I wasn't looking for this last pair, but these Mary Jane flats (I chose taupe) were on super clearance so I decided to give them a try. I was worried that either I couldn't pull them off or they'd age me, but they felt pretty good and Hallie told me I didn't look stupid when I wore them for the first time.

Trying/Using

This set of three pairs of sunglasses could fall into this category or the one above, but since I bought and highlighted three pairs of shoes already, we'll put it here. I wear out my sunglasses - the result of just wearing them A LOT - pretty regularly, so I'm always looking for inexpensive new pairs to add to my stash. They're obviously not the highest quality available, but they're polarized, lightweight, and comfortable, and they get the job done at a very reasonable price!

At just $6, I couldn't afford not to try this under eye brightener (with hyaluronic acid and shea butter). I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it actually does make my under eye area look brighter, which contributes to me looking more awake...even when I don't feel that way.

Eating/Drinking

Our only new recipe worth sharing this month is this fudge-filled vanilla bundt cake. Hallie actually served as head chef on this one (the two new recipes I tried didn't make it to the keep/share list), and while she followed the recipe exactly with a delicious result, she has one edit she'd try if making the cake again. We both thought it was a little weird that there was sugar in the cake and in the glaze but not in the filling, so if she were to do it over again, she'd cut the amount of sugar in the cake a little and add that amount of sugar to the filling. 

Smiling About

• The world's most entertaining (dramatic? flamboyant? fabulous?) referee. I would love to watch this guy work.
• This dog needs a kiss on his nose before each meal. Oh, my heart.
• Turns out middle schoolers get the zoomies too. I've saw Will do every single one of these during his 6th - 10th grade years.
• This view of Stephen Nedoroscik's ("Pommel Horse Man") teammates watching him compete his routine and secure the bronze medal for team USA.

Happy fall, y'all!

Just kidding. It's not fall here.