Currently: December

It's been a whirlwind month, and I can hardly believe it's December already! I really don't feel like getting into specifics as to *why* it's been such a crazy month, so let's just jup into the prompts and save the drama for your llama (or another day)! 

Watching:

Red Notice (Netflix) - this was SUCH a stupid movie. I figured with the all-star cast it would have been better. And truth be told I only watched it because of that, but WOW. It was pretty bad. 

Love Hard (Netflix) - this was a cute holiday movie. A bit Hallmark-y, but since I don't have cable (and therefore no Hallmark channel) this fit the bill. 

The Shrink Next Door (Apple TV+) - I have never hated Paul Rudd as much as I do in this show. I honestly cannot watch more than 2 episodes in one sitting because he is SO repulsive. And even though it's a trainwreck (not the show but the plot), I can't stop watching. I'm to invested... especially since it's based on a true story! 

Music Box: Jagged (HBO Max) - this was a bit disjointed with the side stories, but I've always loved this album and really enjoyed learning about  Alanis Morissette's rise to fame and some of the struggles she dealt with getting there. I haven't watched any of the other musician specials that have been out recently (Tina Turner, Britney, Janet Jackson, etc) so this was quite eye-opening. 

Ghostbusters: Afterlife (in theaters!) - Honestly, I did this one for Blue. It was a little long, but cute and nostalgic.  I just felt uncomfortable in the movie theater because when we ordered tickets and picked our seats for a 2:30 showing on a Saturday, the theater looked empty, and then right before the movie started 2 girls sat DIRECTLY behind me, so I wound up wearing my mask throughout the movie. Needless to say, I won't be heading to another movie any time soon. 

Listening to: Adele's 30 album. How DEPRESSING! She still sounds great, but man, this one hits ya right in the feels! 

Sending: a Christmas present to my friend in CO, and books! I recently got back into Paperback Swap, so I've been clearing some room on my bookshelves!

Smelling: My Fireside candle by BBW

Wrapping: I haven't wrapped anything yet, but I'm just about finished with CHristmas shopping! I usually shop a little bit throughout the year but I also bought a bunch of stuff on Cyber Monday (won't find my in stores on Black Friday!), so the wrapping process shall commence in 5-7 business days LOL! 

Decorating - Nothing yet.  I took down all my fall decorations the day after Thanksgiving and got all of my Christmas decorations out from storage, but I realized I wasn't quite ready to put everything up yet. I plan on doing it this weekend though. 

Feeling - ambivalent? I'm not a huge Christmas person and things are pretty crappy at work, so I'm just trying to stay chill at this point. 

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I also wanted to share an update on my Fall Bucket List before it's time to make a new one for Winter! Overall I did pretty well, managing to complete all but 3/12 (and one that I'm not counting since this new variant arose). 

Try 3 new "Fall" recipes - I made Shay's Penne Sausage Bake and although I had to leave it in the oven a little longer than the instructions said, it was delicious! I also made Coconut Curry Lentils with Spinach from one of my favorite food bloggers/authors, Budget Bytes! I love how she almost always has recipes with items I already have on hand, however this was probably my least favorite in terms of flavor- as in it didn't have any! It was so BLAND! I also made carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting for my Mountain Mama's birthday. They were so moist and delicious- definitely a hit! 

Light fall scented candles - Hmmm.... what are your favorite "fall" scents? I DID light candles, but not so sure they fall (haha) into the "autumn" category. Either way, I'm marking this as a pass. 

Paint nails a fall color - check! I sported "In The Cable Car Lane" by OPI for our bi-annual town hall at work, and am currently wearing an old favorite, Carry On by Essie. 

Decorate for fall - check! I decorated my mantle and porch.

Change over summer to winter clothes and donate the extras - check! One of my mom's friend's family was coming in from South America, so many of my cold-weather accessories went to them, and the rest to the Vets.

Go on a (weekend) getaway - No, but I wasn't mad about it since this new variant surfaced. I'm vaccinated (and already have appt for booster), but still, I'm too nervous.  

Enjoy a hooky spa day - check! Ok, so it wasn't a "hooky" day as I was originally planning, but my mom bought me a gift certificate to a spa and I went last Sunday and treated myself to a Korean body scrub. Though I don't anticipate going again for at least 6 months, I have to admit that my skin feels so smooth! 

Finish Erin's book challenge (deadline 10/31) - check! Getting ready for the next one! 

Check out a new winery or brewery - Nope...

Check out a new restaurant - does ordering in count? If so, then yes! We recently ordered in from a place called 30 Burgers and it was really good! 

Have a pumpkin martini + enjoy pumpkin ice cream - no. I even tried to make a homemade martini and my local liquor store didn't have the ingredients! Harumph! Luckily there's still some time left!

What's new with you?

Linking up with Anne!

Spring 2021 TBR

One thing I always like to see is if I read the books I read from this time last year, and last season. Erm, I only read 4/10 from Spring 2020 TBR...oops! And I read exactly half from my Winter TBR, changing out some books that were meant to be read for a book challenge I'm participating in. I read

BUT! Here's my list for Spring 2021. Let's hope I get at least halfway through, yeah?!

{via}

Every Reason We Shouldn't - Sara Fujimara

Get A Life, Chloe Brown - Talia Hibbert

How Not to Die Alone - Richard Roper

Hummingbird Salamander - Jeff Vandermeer

It Had To Be You - Georgia Clark

Last Couple Standing - Matthew Norman

Written in the Stars - Alexandria Bellefleur

The Chicken Sisters - KJ Dell'Antonia

The Husband's Secret - Liane Moriarty

The Roommate - Rosie Danan

What's on your Spring TBR?

Linking up with Jana!

Fall 2020 TBR

Before I jump into my Fall TBR I usually review how I did on my Summer TBR, but I only read 2/10 - Wow, No Thank You. - Samantha Irby and The Summer I Turned Pretty (Summer #1) - Jenny Han - and that's it! In fact, I only read 10 books all season. I had some trouble concentrating on anything last season. 

Even though I know Fall doesn't officially start until next week, it's never too soon to start planning what I'm hoping to read, right?! Plus, I love making lists! Instead of focusing on only BIPOC authors this time around though, I'm just going to read what I want. Hopefully that will help me get through more than 2 from this list this season! 

{via}

Beartown - Fredrik Backman

Such A Fun Age - Kiley Reid

Queenie - Candice Carty-Williams

Wayward Son (Simon Snow #2) - Rainbow Rowell

Behind Closed Doors - B.A. Paris

The Family Upstairs - Lisa Jewell

Mayhem - Estelle Laure

Sula - Toni Morrison

George - Alex Gino (For Banned Books Week - Sept 20)

A Long Way Home - Saroo Riley (For my non-fiction goal)

What's on your Fall TBR list? 

TTT: Books That Give Off Summer Vibes

First of all, a big THANK YOU to Jana for keeping this link-up going! Today marks 10 YEARS and 500 TOPICS! Crazy! The topics for today were either a re-do or addition to a former list, or a past TTT that I wish I'd done but didn't get a chance to, and that's what I've chosen to do today! This topic was originally posted on June 1st, 2020- Books That Give Off Summer Vibes! 

There are a few things that make me think of summer, or a perfect "beach read:" new releases, romance, a hot setting, vacations, female friendships, and of course at least a little bit of danger/mystery. Here are a few that I'm hoping to get through this season- it's my first time reading any of these authors besides Jennifer Weiner, so I'm really looking forward to it! (Those with an asterisks are ones I own): 

Beach Read - Emily Henry

Holiday in the Hamptons - Sarah Morgan*

Ladies' Night - Mary Kay Andrews*

Something To Talk About - Meryl Weinberger

Secrets in Summer - Nancy Thayer*

The Summer I Turned Pretty - Jenny Han*

The Summer Deal - Jill Sharvis

Best Friends Forever - Jennifer Weiner*

Summer Days and Summer Nights - Various

Pleasure Island - Anna-Lou Weatherly*

Have you read any of these?

What are some of your favorite books that give off summer vibes? 

Linking up with Jana! 

Summer 2020 Bucket List

Before we dive in to some things for summer I'd like to quickly recap how my Spring Bucket list went.

I did...

• Create a viable work-from-home space. This was probably the first accomplishment, because it was more of a necessity than a desire. 
• Read more. I read nearly 20 books in Spring! 
• Spring Clean my apartment. I switched over my wardrobe (another necessity, but still), decluttered 2/3 hall closets, organized the kitchen, bathroom cabinets and a few other "trouble" areas, cleaned appliances, etc. So yes, I'd call this a success, even if I did it slowly!
• Make 5 recipes. I'm sure I did this, though I clearly did not keep very good track of it!
• I didn't complete it, but I did  start and work on my puzzle.

I didn't quite...

• Take more walks with Blue. Unless you count walks to see the sunset which I don't, because it was quite close and not the walk through the state park that I was imagining. 
• Play more games. We started off strong with this one, but as the weather warmed up we spent more time on the deck, reading. 
• As the weather has got nicer I met with my Mountain Mamas for sunsets and happy hours more regularly, and TBH it's much nicer meeting with friends in person than via Zoom!
• Utilize What I Have Or Get Rid Of It... I'm not sure what I was thinking of when I added this to my bucket list other than it sounded like a really great idea, so I can't say I really worked on this one.
• I don't think I printed a single picture or even opened my scrapbook.

So I "accomplished" literally half. Accomplished is the wrong word- these weren't really goals as much as things I "hoped" I could do during spring. That just goes to show what was and wasn't working for me! Things that maybe sounded good but I really had no interest in doing (and could no longer use "no time" as an excuse!). And that's okay. But that doesn't mean that I'm not going to keep making lists and keep "hoping" to do more things in the future! So without further ado, here's my Summer Bucket List! 

• Try a new food. Is this the year I can definitely say if I love (or hate) oysters? Maybe learn how to suck a crawfish head (even typing that out makes me slightly squeamish!) 

• Go on a day trip.

• Learn how to make a new cocktail or sangria.

• Check out a new brewery or winery. Socially distanced, obvi. 

• Watch an outdoor movie. UGH. I saw a few new places offering drive-in movies, which is something that I've been wanting to do for awhile (and has been on multiple of my 101 in 1001 lists), but they're all sold out! 

• Get a pedicure. I can (and do) do my own at home. I have a "thing" about going outside in open toe shoes with "naked" toenails, as in I won't do it. But there's something so nice about getting them done "professionally," and so many more colors to choose from! 

• Go to the beach? Yes, question mark. I've heard people have been "actin' a fool" down the shore, and I can't deal with any tomfoolery.

• Eat a fresh lobster roll. We were going to go in search of one this weekend (possible near the beach!) but we have to see if the weather will cooperate. 

• More deck reading. All the deck reading. It's my favorite summer activity! You can see what's on my Summer TBR here! 

• Go glamping? Yup, another intentional question mark. So every year, me and 10-12 of my friends go glamping. It's basically the only time this group of friends get together- and it's tradition (they've been doing it for about 15 years, I just joined in the last 5)! We always go to the same place, and the same weekend every year- the one right after 4th of July. Well last year (read: before this pandemic madness), they decided they wanted to switch things up. So one of them who always goes to an outdoor "resort" later that month invited us along and changed her usual dates so it syncs with when we'd normally go. Everyone accepted. *SIGH* As of now, the resort doesn't know if it's "amenities" (meaning: pool, water park, and restaurants) will be open. But even if they are, I'm not sure I want to share a living space with 9-11 other individuals right now. 

Anyway, there you have it! Some more likely than others, but gotta keep fingers crossed that we WILL get through this and come through safely on the other side, am I right? I'm also still WFH, and that will likely change toward the end of July... and honestly I'm not mad about it. I've never actually erred on the side of caution until now, so this is a weird feeling for me, but I'm definitely in the "better to be safe than sorry" camp. 

What's on your Summer Bucket List?

Linking up with Leslie and Ashley! 

Summer 2020 TBR

Way back in March, which truly seems like a lifetime ago, I wrote out my Spring TBR. From that list, I read exactly half (all links lead to my reviews):

Between Sisters- Cathy Kelly: 2 Stars

All The Bright Places- Jennifer Niven: 4 Stars

House Rules- Ruby Lang: 4 Stars

The Mall- Megan McCafferty: 3 Stars

Autoboyagraphy- Christina Lauren* (in progress)

That's not to say I only read 4 books the whole season; I read 20 in total. It's just that the other ones on my Spring TBR list didn't capture my attention or mood at the time, and I'm a mood reader. Well that, and on June 1st the new Book Challenge By Erin (my favorite bi-annual reading challenge) categories were released, and I realized that some of the books on my Spring TBR could be used for that. I'm also sticking with my new year's goal of trying to read mostly what I already own, which is even more important now that my library is still closed. According to the calendar it' still spring until June 20th, but close enough to start making my Summer TBR // BCBE 13.0! 

{via}

When I originally wrote my Erin 13.0 / Summer TBR, it was June 1st. Just a few days prior to that, as many of you I'm sure know, the riots and peaceful protests started due to the George Floyd incident. That's not to say that I plan on changing all of my original choices (because that would be a lot of extra work for the admin who helps run BCBE), but it's not to say I won't either. I guess only time will tell. But with that in mind, I want to focus and highlight some BIPOC authors for the challenge and summer. 

5 points: Freebie – Read a book that is at least 200 pages:
Wow, No Thank You. - Samantha Irby

10 points: Read a book that starts with “S”:
Such A Fun Age - Kiley Reid

10 points: Read a book with a preposition in the title:
Girl in Translation - Jean Kwok

15 points: Read a book that is an odd number edition in a book series:
The Summer I Turned Pretty (Summer #1) - Jenny Han

20 points: Read a book set in a different country than the one you live:
Queenie - Candice Carty-Williams

20 points: Read a book with a female police officer or detective as a main character:
American Spy - Lauren Wilkinson

25 points: Read a book with an immigrant as a main character:
Shanghai Girls- Lisa See

30 points: Read a book with one of the following words in the title: thing, nothing, anything, something, everything:
The Summer of Everything - Julian Winters (release date September 9)

30 points: Read an October themed book (October 16th is World Food Day):

Love, Loss, and What We Ate - Padma Lakshmi 

35 points: Read a book with one of the following words in the title: city, town, village, district, county, state, country, kingdom:
In The Country We Love - Diane Guerrero

In case you're looking for some more Summer TBR's, here are a few others I found!

• Rachael @ Booklist Queen Summer TBR: https://booklistqueen.com/good-summer-reads-2020/
• Sarah @Sunshine and Books- Summer TBR
• Anne @ Anne In Residence- June TBR 
• Sarah's Bookshelves- Summer TBR 

What's on your Summer TBR? 

Linking up with Jana! 

Favorite Summer Foods

Happy Friday, friends! Have any good weekend plans? It's supposed to be stormy in these parts, so I'll probably be staying in and catching up on some shows. Any recommendations for me?

Today I'm linking up with Holly and Patty and sharing some of my favorite summer foods! I go for anything light and refreshing when it's hot out. To me, summer foods means lots of fresh fruits and veggies, seafood, and grilled EVERYTHING (even if I don't personally own a grill)! Here are some other summer food favorites! 

1 – Favorite Summer Dish? Lobster rolls! Fresh seafood in general.

2 – Favorite Cookout Side Dishes? Deviled eggs, shrimp cocktail, pasta salad, and potato salad... sometimes I prefer side dishes to main dishes! 

3 – Eating al Fresco? If it's not too hot or buggy outside, sure! 

4 – What Foods Do You Eat in the Summer More? Fruits in general, especially watermelon!

5 – Share Your Favorite Summer Recipe--  I don't have one in particular, basically anything fresh tasting and light... this Caprese Orzo Salad with Balsamic Dressing sounds like something I'd make! 

6 – Blueberry Pie or Strawberry Shortcake? Not a huge sweets fan, but I'll pick strawberry shortcake

7 – Favorite Summer Beverage? Non-alcoholic: Sweet Tea, Iced Green Tea, Lemonade. Alcoholic: Gin and tonic, lemonade and vodka, White Claw (the black raspberry one is my favorite), ice cold, light lagers like Rolling Rock

8 – Ketchup? Mustard? Relish? Mayo? Depends what it's for! I like ketchup and mayo on burgers, but if we're talking hot dogs, I prefer chili and cheese, or ketchup and mustard. 

9 – Gas grill? Charcoal? Big Green Egg? I've never been able to own a grill, but I guess gas grill?

10 – Popsicle or Ice Cream? Ice cream! My favorite is chocolate chip mint (as long as it's green, I won't eat the white version!). 

What's some of your favorite summer foods?

Link up below! 

What's In My... Pantry

Today I'm joining Ashley and Adrienne for What's In My... Pantry!

I have to say that I'm more fully stocked than I've ever been since being in lockdown, mostly because I want to make as few trips to the grocery store as humanly possible! I didn't cook nearly as much before this pandemic started because frankly, I don't enjoy it very much. I also don't really know how to cook? I follow recipes I find online, and I hate it when I'm trying to follow a recipe and I'm missing *just one (key) ingredient* which happens more often than I like to admit! (And then I wind up eating a microwave meal or takeout and feeling pretty blah about cooking...again). But the times demanded that I change my ways, so I tried to get everything I could possibly need. And for one person, this list is quite extensive! 

So, a few things to note:

• I live alone, so this is really all just for me. 

• Like I said before I don't really know how to cook, and I eat a LOT of pasta.

• I don't have a walk-in pantry or even one closet- I use 3 kitchen cabinets. One for staples, one for overflow, and one for coffee/baking goods (and another small one for spices, but I didn't include those here). So that's how I'm breaking it up. 

Having said all of that, here’s the list!

Staples:

• Pasta (currently 10 boxes... don't judge me!)
• Boil-in-a-bag box of rice and a packet of Lipton Rice Sides
• Canned chicken (best to be prepared for anything!) (2)  and tuna fish (3)
• Beans- black, red kidney, pinto, chick peas (those are kinda like beans right?) and lentils
• Butter non-stick cooking spray (2)
• Chicken and vegetable broth (2x)
• Cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soups (for casseroles)
• Heat- Hot sauce, diced green chilis, diced tomatoes with jalapeños, and whole red fire-roasted peppers
• Turkey gravy
• Hamburger and Tuna Helper (everyone needs help sometimes!)
• Ramen
• Instant potatoes
• Tomato soup (2)
• Grape jelly (peanut butter is opened and in the fridge)
• Bread crumbs
• 4 packets of Ranch dressing
• Kraft Mac n Cheese (2 boxes)*
• Chef Boyardee Mini Ravioli (1)*
• Nutella and Go snack

Overflow:

• The rest of the pasta
• The other 2 broths
• Canned veggies - corn (3), peas (2), and tomatoes (diced and crushed, 2 of ea)
• More bread crumbs
• Cereal- Honey Nut Cheerios and Cocoa Krispies :)
• Oreos (2)
• Gatorade, Coke, and Water... not sure why these are here actually!
• Stove Top Stuffing*
• Micro meals (3)
• Hormel Chili with Beans 
• Tomato Sauce (2 jars)
• Extra condiments- ketchup, grated parm cheese, steak sauce 

Coffee Bar/Baking Goods:

• All purpose white flour
• Baking soda and baking powder
• Chocolate chips
• Cocoa
• Evaporated and condensed milk (1 ea)
• Hot chocolate, tea, and coffee (and back-up coffee)
• Coffee machine filters
• White, light brown, and confectioner's sugar
• Stainless pastry bag
• Extra mugs

Those with an asterisk annotate my ultimate "comfort foods." You may notice I don't have many sweets. I LOVE salty snacks. Not pictured is the variety box of 46 (small) bags of chips from Amazon that are on the way!

What's in your pantry? 

Link up below!

Post-Isolation Challenge

I found this over on Hazel's blog, and followed it back to Kezzie's blog, and wanted to play along, because it's fun to dream, right?! Also, the original post had 13 questions but I prefer a nice round number like 10, so I left some out. Head over to one of those to see the whole list! 

1. Restaurant you would go out to?
It's a draw - either my all-time favorite local Italian restaurant Casa Guiseppe, or Blue's all-time favorite local pizza/Italian place, Patsy's.

2. Friend you would meet up with first?
Probably Raven. She's been having a hard time during this time because her mom is sick. 

3. Place you would go?
A park or the beach.

4. Shop you would go to?
TJ Maxx! Especially since it's right around the corner from me haha! 

5. Food item you would buy/eat?
This is a tough one because a lot of the dishes I normally eat are offering home delivery, but for the sake of this questionnaire I'll choose something that doesn't travel well, like... oooh a beef gyro platter from The Halal Guys! 

6. Show you would/will go to see?
I have tickets to see comedian Whitney Cummings the last week in May, and though I have 0 expectations of the isolation being lifted by then, this is the one I'd go to. 

7. Concert you will go to watch?
Like above, I have tickets to see Alanis Morisette (with Garbage and Liz Phair) at an outdoor venue the first week of June, so that one! 

8. Holiday you would go on?
We were originally planning to go to Iceland in October to see the Northern Lights but travel bans or not, this will not be happening this year. 

9. Thing you would do at work?
Grab our favorite drinks for me and my team from the local cafe and set up in the break-room to catch up with everyone! 

10. Item you would buy?

TP! ALL THE TP! Haha, jk... mostly ;)

How would you answer some of these? 

Spring Bucket List Check-In

Hi friends! I hope you're all hanging in there as we embark on Week 6 of quarantine! I'm actually doing okay. Maybe it's from growing up an only child and having to find ways to entertain myself, but I haven't found myself "bored" yet. Besides work, here are some fun ways I've kept busy.

Play more games: Yup! So far we've played both Scrabble and Yahtzee and breaking out our Heart and Brain game soon! 

Print pictures and work on scrapbook: No longer planning on printing any pics because I don't want to go anywhere unnecessary, but I also haven't even touched the scrapbook...oops! 

Work on and complete puzzle: Work in progress! 

Take more walks with Blue: They closed the park around the corner from Blue's house, but we've taken walks around the complex and usually go to the edge of the complex to watch the sunset.

Create a viable WFH space: Though I have a desk in my bedroom, I've moved myself to the dining room table. I prefer the lighting (and not being so close to my bed), and there's more room for me to add a monitor. 

Spring Clean my apartment: Umm... I got all my cleaning supplies together, so that's something right? Baby steps. 

Love it Or Leave it - utilize what I have or get rid of it! So far I've done this with books. I've sent off 14 to my dear friend in Colorado, and 4 others via Paperback Swap! (I've since put myself on "Vacation Hold" because I don't want to take any more chances going to the post office.)

Read more: Yes! I've read 5 books and finished the book challenge I was participating in! I'm working on my first non-fiction of the year (a memoir) and hoping to finish that and one other one by the end of this month. 

5 new recipes: I've been sticking to a few recipes that I've made before but not in a long time, for the most part. I made my first lasagna on Easter, and it turned out... less than stellar lol! However, Blue and I made a french toast bake that was ah-mazing! I'll be sharing that recipe in the Recipe Swap next week! 2/5

Keep up "virtual" dates: Yes! Had a "happy hour" with my coworkers, scheduled another "lunch date" with other coworkers,  and started game nights with my friends with the help of a free app called "House Party" (available on Google Chrome on your computer or iOS). It includes games such as Pictionary, Head's Up, and Cards Against Humanity, and it's video so you can all play together- so much fun! 

How are you doing with your Spring Bucket List?

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