What I'm Into (July 2013 Edition)
07/31/2013
I twirled my way through July, visiting friends in Louisville, traveling home for a family reunion, spending time with old and new friends, and, naturally, enjoying a picnic at Arrington Vineyard. There were some wrinkles at the start of the month but good friends helped and now those days are more of a distant memory. July also marks my half birthday, which has been cause for some Jesus Year reflections. I have no idea what will happen next and I'm strangely OK with it.
Read and Reading:
I love when we can peel back the curtain from The Greats and get a more holistic view of they were: deeply flawed, deeply creative individuals who loved and lost and made mistakes and still gave us amazing work in spite of or because of it all. The Paris Wife (McLain) and Loving Frank (Horan) are great examples of this. It's hard to say which book I enjoyed the most but I will say Loving Frank's ending shocked me. Interesting also to read about two men with ties to Oak Park. It almost made me wish I'd taken advantage of the Frank Lloyd Wright tours available, instead of walking by a house here and there.
MWF Seeking BFF (Bertsche) may be a case of reading the right book at the right time but man, did I love it. A must-read for those seeking to be better friends and figuring out how to broaden their community. I might have to write a review post at some point because I have so many thoughts and ideas now!
I could not put Me Before You (Moyes) down. This isn't a spoiler- I did sob partway through. This would be great Book Club fodder. Another good pick is What Alice Forgot, a novel that led to quite a few reflections. What would my 10 year ago self make of my life today?
You can pre-order books from two of my dear friends and I'm going to bossily demand you do so now. Addie Zierman's When We Were On Fire and Elizabeth Esther's Girl at the End of the World. CANNOT WAIT.
You can see all the books I've read at Goodreads.
Currently reading: She Matters (Sonnenberg), A Moveable Feast (Hemingway), Eat With Joy (Stone), O Me of Little Faith (Boyett), Letters to a Young Poet (Rilke), A Year of Biblical Womanhood (Evans), Walking on Water (L'Engle), Feast (Lawson).
(I read 12 books this month.)
TV:
Must-see TV: So You Think You Can Dance, Real Housewives of Orange County and New Jersey
Breaking Pointe is back! I really enjoy the insider's look at the life and times of the Salt Lake City ballet company.
Music:
New discoveries: The Neighbourhood, The Kopecky Family Band (technically old discovery, new on the playlist), Tom Odell, Lorde, David J. Roch
Don't forget you can listen to the What I'm Into 2013 Spotify playlist.
Things I Love:
- Unexpected encouragement and timely kind words
- Avocado popsicle from Las Paletas
- Reconnecting with friends, especially over Happy Hour
- Watching fireworks while driving on 65N
The only picture we thought to take together, picture via Anne
- Sparklers and small fireworks in light rain with Anne's family on the 4th. Remember snaps? Oh, yeah.
- Ginger cardamom mini-donuts from Loco Donuts, a food truck.
- The Delvins giving me a few extra cucumbers for free because I'm a CSA member. I'll remember that act of kindness whenever I eat the pickles I made.
- Going to niece-in-love Katelyn's 4th birthday party- the first time I've been in town for her birthday since she was born. What a treat!
- Meeting up with fellow bloggers Danielle Vermeer, Dianna Anderson, Bethany Suckrow, and Brenna D'Ambrosio for breakfast at Honey. (I had greatly missed their Caprese Benedict.)
- Coffee with my cousin Adam, followed by time at the park with my friend Jill and her sweet daughter
- Every moment at the family reunion, whether catching up with 2nd cousins or eating my weight in taffy apple salad. There was not nearly enough time to talk with everyone. It was strange not having my aunt there but it is always good to be with family.
- Vintage dresses
Time with Megan and Abby is good for the soul (picture via Megan)
- Anything Megan Cobb makes. Especially cheese grits and chocolate peanut butter martinis.
- Joy the Baker's Peach Cobbler Scones made with fresh blackberries as a peach substitute
- Picnic at Arrington with Emily and Jaimee- so much fun!
- Making my own chicken stock for the first time. Amazing!
- Catching up with Kibibi while she passed through town. It's as if time never passed.
- Day o' fun with AE: breakfast at Merridee's, shopping in Franklin, scoring great deals at the Viking store closing sale, followed by book-finds at McKay's. And, of course, lots of laughing.
- Buying my first cast iron skillet
- When I picked up a reserved book from the library, a book of Hemingway's short stories was also waiting for me. A book I never requested. This is how I know library elves exist.
- Mug brownie with homemade blackberry sauce
In the Blogosphere:
I am pretty well obsessed with 40 Days of Dating. Two friends date each other for 40 days to see if they can overcome their fears and inadequacies in relationships. Will they fall in love? Will they damage their friendship? I don't know but I am enjoying every update, graphic, and video in the meantime.
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What have you been into this month?
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