Recently

Listening to:

✨Chappell Roan

Yes, yes I've finally stopped living under a fucking rock. I have to give Nicole all the credit because it was back in May when she texted me "Have you heard of Chappell Roan?". I am embarrassed to admit that I had not. Then I went over to her house for a lil dinner party days later and all that was playing was Chappell. So I made a mental note (and an actual note because I can't remember shit) to follow up with her when I was ready to move on from TTPD. Sorry not sorry that TTPD had me in a chokehold for months. I couldn't listen to anything else. I TRIED and I'd get half a song in and boom I was down bad crying at the gym...yet again. But then in July I watched/listened to the music video for Casual. Nicole started it and Casual completed my transformation into a Midwest Princess. I immediately bought The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. It is a perfect album. Chef's kiss. No notes. I listened to that sucker on repeat for a month. That was until...

(I also have listened to School Nights and while it is good, it doesn't come close to Midwest Princess in production, lyricism, and musicality. Also I read on a reddit post someone called it "cursive" singing which is a perfect way to describe it. Very Billie Eilish. Very one-note. Very fine. I, too, am glad she found her own voice.)

I heard you like magic

I got a wand and a rabbit

-Red Wine Supernova

Knee deep in the passenger seat and you're eating me out

Is it casual now?

-Casual

It's comical, bridges you burn

Karma's real, hope it's your turn

-My Kink Is Karma

New crush, high school love again

The rush of slumber party kissing

I'd love if you knew you were on my mind

Constant like cicadas in the summertime

-Naked in Manhattan

I want this like a cigarette

Can we drag it out and never quit?

-Guilty Pleasure

And when you wake up next to him in the middle of the night

With your head in your hands, you're nothing more than his wife

And when you think about me, all of those years ago

You're standing face to face with "I told you so"

-Good Luck, Babe!

✨Sabrina Carpenter

I've been a Sabrina fan since her Girl Meets World days. She was easily the stand out on that show with her sharp tongue and Shawn-like tendencies. I've kept up with her here and there since the show went off the air with new music she'd release but wasn't necessarily wowed. However, I did really enjoy some of her Christmas songs. I saw her pal around with Taylor as an opener on various dates for The Eras Tour. I was always like good for you girl! I was happy to see all of her success when the world lost it over Espresso, albeit not for me. But then Please, Please, Please was released and again was hooked by the music video. Are yinz watching music videos still? You should. Because I am and it can totally change the way I feel about a song. PPP was added to my rotation immediately. It wasn't but a few weeks later that her whole ass album was released along with, you guessed it, another music video - this time for Taste. Oh I was HOOKED. Then I gave the rest of the album an ol' once over and that girl didn't miss, well except for Espresso, but I think I'm the only one who doesn't like that song. And who the fuck am I? An almost 40 year old cat lady. A nobody! So I don't even count. I just switch out Busy Woman (her bonus track) for Espresso and VOILA an A+ album. I love that it's a perfect mix of pop, 90s R&B, and country. You'd never think those three stylings would work but boy do they! Her country adjacent songs are what I was hoping to hear from Kacey's latest album - but nope. I'm still bitter over the let down Deeper Well is. Ok back to Sabrina, she also worked with some of Taylor's faves, so no wonder I dig it so much. 

Well, I have a fun idea, babe, maybe just stay inside

I know you're cravin' fresh air, but the ceiling fan is so nice

And we could live so happily if no one knows that you're with me

-Please Please Please

We were goin' right, then you took a left
Left me with a lot of shit to second-guess
Guess I'll waste another year wondering if
If that was casual, then I'm an idiot

-Sharpest Took

You're so sad there's no communication
But, baby, you put us in this situation
And I promise the mushrooms aren't changing your life

Well, you cracked the car and abandoned the wreckage
Fuck with my head like it's some kind of fetish

-Dumb & Poetic

This boy doesn't even know the difference between "there", "their", and "they are"

-Slim Pickins

You don't have to lie to girls

If they like you, they'll just lie to themselves

We love to mistake butterflies for cardiac arrest

-Lie to Girls

So much to shave and lipstick to reapply
Maybe for you, though, I could accommodate

-Busy Woman

Both of these women have unleashed their clever ass lyrics, unapologetic sexuality, and beautiful voices into the world with these two banger albums and I am so here of it. 

Ate: August's Finer Things Club meet-up was at Chuan Fu in Winter Park. It went exactly how they always do - we laughed a lot, we ate a lot, and as per usual Rob was late and ordered enough food for all of Orlando. The only difference is now he looks like he is about to start a cult. 

Read: Quite the variety as of late. 

I absolutely love Rainbow Rowell (I mean, Dustin won't let me live down the time I met her at the Orlando Public Library and nerdily said "I've read all of your books.") and was super excited when she announced Slow Dance earlier this year. She's been focusing on graphic novels and comics in recent years so it was extra exciting that a new adult fiction book was on the horizon. Of course I read it within a week of its release. It's a second chance romance, will they/won't they that flashes back to high school and college moments to understand how these two characters are in their 30s and not together. It was no my favorite of hers but still solid as hell and really enjoyable. 

Anna Tendler's Men Have Called Her Crazy is another I've been waiting months and months for. It's a modern day Girl, Interrupted of sorts; where she recounts her stay at a psychiatric hospital and in doing so looks back on the ding dong men she has encountered throughout her life. I enjoyed this book immensely as I am such a champion of mental health and it's worth a read just in that regard. However, I would be lying if I said I was super disappointed that her ex-husband (you know, the one that left her for Olivia Munn) did not get a single chapter and barely a mention at all. This huge part of her life seems pretty pivotal to the whole theme of the book. It left me wondering why she chose this. Did she sign an NDA in the divorce? Was it just too soon to really delve into? Or maybe she just didn't want to give him any more attention.

I have had Crescent City on my Kindle for at least six months. I started to read it and was overwhelmed within the first few pages so I told myself some other time. Then my co-worker started reading it at the urging of her cousin and flew through the 800+ page book and told me I better try it again. FINE. So I have. I'm about 20% in and I'm enjoying it a lot. However, the first part of the book was A LOT in different ways and then just gut punched me. So I was honestly a little annoyed. But this is the same author of the ACOTAR series ,which I loved, so I am trusting all things will come together. I mean, I still have like 600 pages to go. HA! Many of my fellow ACOTAR girlies have said they love the Crescent City series even more so. I will report back once I'm finished. 

Watched: More lovely British shows. I just can't ever get enough. Extraordinary is so clever and hilarious. It follows a 20 something woman who has yet to get her superpower in a world where just about everyone has one. A Good Girl's Guide to Murder is based on the book (although I never read the book and now that I saw the show probably never will) of the same name. It's a quick (only 6 ep) mystery/thriller about a teenage girl investigating a murder of another teenage girl. 

    

And circling back to music videos, it was thanks to Sabrina Carpenter's Taste video that I finally watched Death Becomes Her. This camp classic from 1992 has always been on my radar but for some sad reason I had never had a chance to watch it. So I found it on Amazon and enjoyed it quite a lot. The casting is superb and the themes are ever so relevant as many scramble toward botox and surgeries to keep up their youthful appearance while unfortunately, a lot of the time, to their own detriment. But we all have to do what makes us feel the best and if it's drinking an ancient potion so you can battle it out with your sworn nemesis in a mansion - so be it!

 

This and That

IN-N-OUT OF TEXAS

We had a good chunk of the day to kill the Monday after Erin's wedding. Dustin had never been to In-N-Out so we made sure to check that off our list first. He gave pretty high praise to the burger but wasn't a fan of the fries. I wasn't impressed (yet again). I will never get the hype. We were planning on going into downtown Dallas to visit some historical JFK museums but they were all closed. I kept looking for Texas only offerings and was left with nothing in the vicinity. I wanted to go somewhere that was a Texas-only establishment but we came up with nothing. It was all very cookie-cutter suburbs without any real charm. So we went to a donut shop and a record store before arriving at the airport way too early. 

NEED MORE OF THE D

A couple weeks ago I went for my yearly bloodwork including an addition my therapist wanted to rule out (MTHFR gene mutation). It can be linked to depression which is something I can't seem to shake all the way as of late. I got my results but I don't see anything about this specific test so I'm wondering if I was actually tested for it. I have a doctor's appointment next week to go over it all so I'll ask then. My doctor did call to tell me I have a Vitamin D deficiency. I have been on VitD (1000 IU) supplements for a year but am still showing as very low so they upped it to 5000 IU. Low D is also linked to depression (and some other shit I've been experiencing too - see below). I've just been so tired ALL the time. No matter what I do I cannot feel rested. I never feel 100% in energy or mood. So I'm hoping the more D I take the better I will start to feel. Here's hoping!

I also recently sent a message via my gyno's patient portal about a sharp breast pain I had been experiencing. I wasn't too concerned because I had no other symptoms (no discharge or lumps) but I wanted to get their opinion. They scheduled me to come in just days later. My doctor was extremely thorough in her exam and questioning. She didn't feel any lumps either. She said it could be due to wearing a only fitting bra, caffeine intake, or from a child or in my case a large cat stepping on them. CHEEEETO. She was not concerned and the little concern I had completely eased. She suggested I get a mammogram if it happens again. So far it has not. 

I share all of this publicly because I want to normalize going to your doctors to get checked out if something feels off and for regular check ups. Take care of yourself! And of course your physical health but also your mental health. It's all important. If you have insurance and/or the means to do so then make that appointment please.

Oh and I got my Moderna booster yesterday! Fuck yeah!

THE FINER THINGS CLUB

Gaya and I had plans to go to Prato way back in the spring but she sprained her ankle moments before and so our Prato date never happened. So then she invited me again in July and told me to invite Katie and she would invite another foodie friend of hers. The four of us got acquainted over calamari, meatballs, and we even tried our first duck. We all just ordered a bunch of stuff and shared everything. It was so fun to try a new restaurant and new (to me) food that she suggested we make it a monthly event. And that's when The Finer Things Club was born. As President and head-foodie, Gaya chooses our location and the rest of us just show up cute as hell open to try new things. So far we've been to Reyes, SushiPop, and SoCo (for magical dining month) and have tried everything from chicken liver pate to sea urchin (never again with that shit Rob). Also in very personal news I tried my very first (raw) sushi roll. It was good! It's not something I'd want to eat a ton of at a time but a couple here is great. Next meeting is in a few weeks...say less!

 

IMMERSE REMORSE & OTHER HAPPENINGS

A couple weekends ago the girls came over and we went straight to the mall to find Aubrie her very first homecoming dress. Hold please, let me take a moment to let that sink in. DEAR LAWD WHAT IS TIME. 

Ok, I've composed myself. But she was just a leetle bebe that looked like an Olsen twin and poof she's in high school!? Ok, for real, I'm better now. (Narrator: No she was not but the blog post had to move along.) We went to several stores but Dillard's really was the only one that was worth a second of our time. They had several options for her to try even though a few she needed to be talked into trying on. Girl knows what she wants and the second you even suggested a dress she didn't like it was a hard "NO." She ain't no pushover which is great but I think the three of us also helped her to be more open to trying things just to see. I told her even if you only like the slightest thing about it try it on. If you still hate it then off to the no pile it goes. First was the blue dress, then the maroon, and finally the green. I will fully admit I didn't like the green one on the hanger. AT ALL. But I wanted to take my own advice and was excited to see how it looked on her. It fit her like a glove. She had the sleeves up and it was perfect but when she put the sleeves down and they hung on her shoulders the three of us were like YEP. The one. Done. Let's go.

She planned on wearing Katie's black shoes so just needed some jewelry to pull it all together. Target had nothing good enough. We tried Dear Prudence since they offer custom made jewelry and have tons of stones and crystals which Aubrie is all about. The necklace she left with is the coolest and it feels even more special that it was a collaborative effort between Katie, Aubrie, and I. 

I took a FaceTime call from Hayley, Georgia, and my Aunt Sarah while we were out and about because I didn't want to miss talking to them. So we caught up for a few minutes in an antique store. Do what you got to do to get in that family time. GG started crying the minute she saw my face. Dead serious. So I talked to my Aunt for a minute while Hayley comforted her.

We ate a quick dinner in the car and were off to our final stop, Immerse. We had been two years ago pre-pandemic and really had a blast. Last year it was canceled because covid was still very much a thing and vaccines weren't yet. I was pumped to be able to go again but it was just a shitshow from the start. First, traffic was insanity as was parking. Then we had to walk a lot which we had been doing all day so we were kind of over having such a huge bones day. We got there and not only did it seem 50% smaller than the last time but it had the same installations. AND no one even checked our tickets so basically we could have done it all for free. It was such a bummer. We walked down Orange Ave. and then right back to the car. Win some lose some. 

For the record my Apple watch logged 11,267 steps (5.4 mi) and 74 min of "exercise" which is basically just tracking constant movement. 

We went back to my place and watched Scream. The original 1996 Scream. I saw that shit in theaters when I was 11 with a bunch of my friends. I even told Kierce and Aubrie we bought tickets for another movie and then snuck into this one. Sweet innocent Kierce said "you can do that?" Oh man, kids these days really need to get creative. It was the first time all THREE of them had seen it. Katie was very sheltered in the movie/tv show department in her youth so I'm glad she's finally made it to the R rated movie party. Dustin even pranked them when he used *69 (yeah that shit still works) on his phone number while calling Kierce from the other room. The girls were legit freaked out until he revealed himself. Even though Kierce didn't even answer the call. Sent Ghostface aka Dustin straight to voicemail. HA!