What's Up Wednesday

Today I'm joining Shay and Sheaffer for What's Up Wednesday to share some highs (and lows!) from the last month! 

What I'm Eating: Now that it's the Lenten Season (and I'm a good Catholic girl), I've been struggling to find some meatless meals for Fridays that aren't pizza, PB&J, or a tuna dish. I made this DELISH Chana Saag (chick peas and spinach with Indian spices) from Budget Bytes with white rice and naan last week and it even got  two-thumbs up from my spice-averse gf, Blue! And it was so easy! That's one thing I love about recipes from this food blogger- they're usually wallet friendly, using ingredients I already have or are easy to attain, and fairly simple! If you try this one, I'd adjust the salt; I needed more, but I'd rather have that than too salty to be edible (which unfortunately has happened to me before)! 

This week I'm going to try this Cajun Sausage and Rice Skillet and this 20-Minute Red Curry Basil Garlic Oil Noods recipe. Wish me luck! 

What I'm Reminiscing About: My last "air travel" vacation in Jamaica pre-pandemic (Dec 2019). This was my first group vacation, and one of the couples who came with us are there right now and blowing up my FB feed with gorgeous ocean views and delicious food and I'm so jealous! I wish I were ready to get back on a plane, but mentally I'm not there yet :( 

What I've Been Up To: Well. There has been a leak in my ceiling since... October? Which is ridiculous because I'm on the ground floor and my upstairs neighbor hasn't had any water leaks/damage at all! Apparently high winds made rainwater leak between the two floors (how?!). So my landlords finally got a team in to fix it, but now my couch is sitting in my kitchen while they continue to fix the ceiling in my living room! It's been inconvenient to say the least! 

What I'm Excited About: Finally getting a chance to deep clean my living room now that everything is out of it? I may even do some rearranging/purging when it's done. 

What I'm Watching/Reading: I just posted about what I'm watching here! As for reading, I just completed a reading challenge, so I've slowed my roll on this front. I did just get The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren and am slowly making my way through that. 

What I'm Listening To: Every so often I find a country song that absolutely love and this one popped up in my Spotify recently and has been on repeat since! It's called "Fancy Like" by Walker Hayes. 

What I'm Doing This Weekend: Our wine is ready! For our anniversary Blue got us a gift card to make our own wine, so a few weeks ago we made/mixed it, and now it's time to bottle it before it sits for over 6 months. We got half a case so we can gift some to friends for Christmas.  

I'm also going shopping *gasps all around* I'm not a fan of in-store shopping but our dress code at work downgraded post-pandemic and my jeans aren't nice/dark enough since I never planned on wearing them to work before. 

Favorite Purchase of the Month: This wasn't my purchase, but Blue bought us these new zero-gravity chairs for her deck. I will probably purchase this similar one from Amazon for my deck since it has a cover, and I hate when it rains and I get wet because I'm on a lower deck and the rain comes through the upper deck! 

What I'm Looking Forward To Next Month: It's this little munchkin's first birthday! So excited to celebrate with the  fam! 

And that's a wrap! 

What's been up with you this month?

Watching Lately

During the colder months of winter I tend to be a bit of a hermit which leads to a lot of TV and movie viewing. Now that it's spring, I wanted to recap some of the those that I've watched recently! I've broken it into movies first, then TV. Most of these are available to stream, with where to stream from somewhere in my notes. Click the title for a synopsis from IMDB.

{via}

The Batman (2022): Ok so this was the first (and only) one I've seen in theaters since Ghostbusters: Afterlife in November 2021, which was a good movie but terrible overall experience because I was nervous the whole time (#covidproblems). But I'm trying to live my life AFTER Covid, and I'm glad I saw this one in theaters. It's gotten a bad rap because it's 3 HOURS long, but I can honestly say that it didn't feel that long! It's much darker than some of the other Batman adaptations, but it goes back to a rendition of Batman where he's a super-sleuth and though I didn't know that going in, I thought that was really interesting spin and very well done! And surprisingly to me, Robert Pattinson made a great (albeit broody) Batman. Blue told me that the producer had a vision of someone like Kurt Cobain in this role, and I definitely saw that coming through. 

The Adam Project (2022): This one came out on Netflix earlier this month and has an all-star cast (Ryan Reynolds, Julia Garner, Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana!). Sci-fi and/or saving-the-world type movies really aren't really my jam, however I loved this one! It was an interesting and new concept (thank goodness, anyone else tired of all the remakes lately?!) and Ryan Reynolds' signature deadpan humor along with his relationship to his younger self really made this work. 

Kimi (2022): This was a super short film at only 90 minutes and again, a super interesting concept. Zoe Saldana was perfect in this role as an agoraphobe who works as an Alexa-esque moderator/corrector who hears a murder. The overall vibe was pretty creepy but it kept me guessing which is always a win in my book.

Just Like Heaven (2005): I randomly saw this on Netflix one night when I was looking for a rom-com I haven't seen (very hard to find as a rom-com lover!). I was surprised I'd never even heard of this one as it stars Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo, both actors I adore, and it wasn't anything ground-breaking but it was cute and I do love a good HEA! 

Miss You Already (2015): We had to have at least one tearjerker, amiright?! I found this on my Hulu watch list from I don't know when and I watched it last night since it's set to expire soon. It's basically about two bffs and their journey through one of their battles with breast cancer. It was bittersweet to say the least but an honest look at how that could be. 

The Woman In The House Across The Street From The Woman in the Window (2022): This was a bit ridiculous if I'm being honest, but isn't that somewhat implied by the title?! It definitely kept me engaged trying to figure out the who-dun-it in this cozy murder-mystery and the ending is set up for another season, which I would absolutely watch! Available on Netflix. 

Inventing Anna (2022): My current obsession! It's about an average person who somehow makes everyone think she's some rich socialite and thereby living the high life. I've literally lost sleep watching this highly-addictive show (loosely based on actual events, I think?). I've actually put off watching the last two episodes because I really don't want it to end!! Available on Netflix. 

Sweet Magnolias (S2): Some shows just wrap you up like a cozy blanket and you know exactly what to expect. This is that show for me. I love the friendships, puppy (and other... bow chica bow bow!) love, and small town charm and drama. It's a bit more dramatic and delves into heavier subject-matter than season 1, but pulls at your heartstrings even more. Available on Netflix. 

Doll Face (Seasons 1 and 2): I'm not sure how I missed this one when S1 came out back  in 2019 but I'm glad I finally catching up! Basically a woman in her late 20's was in a long-term relationship but now that her bf has broken up with her, she realizes she's neglected her female friendships and is now trying to get back in their good graces. Also stars Kat Dennings, whom I love :). Available on Hulu.

The Book of Boba Fett (2021): I should mention that we watch basically everything having to do with the Star Wars Universe so this went on the "must-watch" list. I enjoyed learning more about Boba Fett's background told through flashbacks, however that was also a bit confusing and I wished it the series would have gone in chronological order. I was also very happy to see some cameos from my favorites from The Mandolorian. Available on Disney+.

Up Next: I'm really (REALLY!) looking forward to Get Organized with the Home Edit coming April 1st on Netflix, and I just got Peacock+  free for 3 months through a GrubHub deal, so I've added Marry Me and Redeeming Love to my movie watch list there! 

What are you currently watching? 

Have you watched any of these?

Any must-sees I should add? 

TTT: Spring 2022 TBR

Like I said last time, I'm only interested in book posts lately! Today I'm joining Jana and sharing my top books I'd like to read this spring.

My first order of business is to finish the Book Challenge by Erin 16.0, and I'm on my very last book, The Invisible Husband of Frick Island by Colleen Oakley.

I also want to read the books that are becoming movies/series, which include Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll and The Dry by Jane Harper. (For a comprehensive list of many books-movies/series coming out this year, check out Tanya's list!)

One of my reading goals this year is to read books that I already own, waiting for me on my (physical) bookshelf. These include Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney, and Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng. 

Another goal of mine this year is to clear out some books off of my Netgalley shelf. Two I've started but stopped, Ghosts by Dolly Alderton and Eight Perfect Hours by Lia Lois, and one is by a favorite author, The Therapist by B.A. Paris. 

Of course with spring in the air I'm thinking of spring cleaning, and I found this short book on Kindle Unlimited so I thought I'd check it out Decluttering at the Speed of Life: Winning Your Never-Ending Battle With Stuff by Dana K. White.

What are some books you'd like to read this season?

February Reads

Seems like the only posts I'm interested in writing this year are book-related, but I'm pretty sure this audience doesn't mind! One thing I bought myself this Christmas was a "reader's journal." Even though I occasionally come back to these posts to remember what I thought of a book, I hardly ever write/share spoilers and thrillers are one of my favorite genres, so this allows me to  write down and remember questions that I had while reading and those big AH-HA! moments. I love it. I'm still figuring out how exactly I want to structure it (like, I don't care about "character notes" but I am interested in how I got the book, whether it was from library or Kindle, or BOTM, etc.) and genres, etc. It's definitely still a work in progress, but I'm loving it so far! It actually helped me to write some of these reviews! So without further ado, here's what I read in February. 

What You Did - Claire McGowan: 5 Stars

Kindle Unlimited

Summary: 6 college friends get together for the first time in 20 years. They're having a great time until Ali (our protagonist)'s BFF Karen comes staggering in from the garden claiming that Ali's husband (and her friend as well), Mike, raped her. There is a trial, after which shit goes down and even more truths come out about that night and a night 20 years earlier at their graduation where another young woman that they all knew was sexual assaulted and murdered. 

Wow. THIS was the fast-paced domestic thriller I've been looking for. So many twists and turns, and even though our protagonist is a bit dim/wearing rose-colored glasses, I didn't see that ending coming!

"'Al. Ali. You know by now, don't you? You know and that's why you've come?'...

'What do I know?'...

'What I did...'"

The Call of the Mountain - Sam Neumann: 3 Stars

Netgalley (from 2015)

Summary: High-flying financial analyst Julian up and leaves his life in NYC because he's tired of the "rat-race." He moves to Denver because he's always wondered what it would be like to live "out west" after seeing an ad for the Rockies in his childhood. He gets caught up with some mob (like, really? How could you not know?) and a bunch of shit goes down.

This was just ok. Kind of predictable, but kept me intrigued enough to finish. I would not label this as a "face-paced thriller" but more of a slow-burn. Julian was a very unlikeable character with no real back-bone and there's 0 character development. The "romance" was lackluster at best.  The whole story was a bit far-fetched, but the ending even more so, and it needed an epilogue. It wrapped up a bit too tidily.

Jonny Appleseed - Joshua Whitehead: 2 Stars
Purchased, paperback

I wish I could summarize this one, but the storyline was so hard to pinpoint. I'll try though:  a young, gay man trying to make ends meet after he leaves the "rez," moves to Winnipeg and pursues a life as a cybersex worker (the author really makes a point of stating "cybersex worker" and not prostitute, but basically a prostitute). He is trying to make money to go back home to his grandmother's funeral- one of the few people who seemed to understand and love him for who he was. 

The stream-of-consciousness story-telling made this story extremely disjointed. There was just no coherent timeline and too many VERY graphic overly sexual scenes. I think the author was trying to be "edgy" but it just made me cringe. At least it was a short, fast read. 

Currently Reading: Why Not Me? - Mindy Kaling

Book Stats
Total number read: 8
Owned: 1

Library: 4 (same)

E-book: 4

Physical book: 3
Non-Fiction: 1 (same)
BIPOC Author: 2

What are you reading?

Linking up with Steph and Jana!