What I’m Into: July 2014

General Highlights:

My sister and niece visited for almost a week! We went to parks, the pool, and the zoo, and generally had a great time. One of my best friends, Alanna, got engaged on the Fourth at Turner Field in Atlanta (her fiance is a big Braves fan). The wedding will be in November, and I’ll be a bridesmaid and have already chosen and bought a gorgeous dress! Oh and I had a relaxing Fourth of July (my favorite holiday). Instead of hosting a party like I usually do, I chilled out at friends’ houses. It was a nice change.

Read and Reading:

July was an unintentional Rainbow Rowell fest. Having loved Eleanor & Park, I finally decided to read Fangirl, and it swept me away. Immediately upon finishing, I bought her debut novel, Attachments. I couldn’t stop reading these books and couldn’t bear for them to end. RR specializes in witty, likable, real characters who want to love, but feel too broken and/or weird to really believe love can happen to them. Can I get an amen? I’m holding off on Landline, the last of her current canon, just to have it in my back pocket.

TV/Movies:

I’ve finally joined Clone Club! A while back I caught some of an Orphan Black marathon on TV and always intended to watch it for real. Now I’m working my way through Season 1. Tatiana Maslany’s Emmy snubs are truly inexcusable.

Manhattan premiered on WGN Sunday night and I already love it. It’s about the scientists of Los Alamos and their families. You really get a sense of the ethical dilemmas these people must have dealt with, and the impossible situation in which they found themselves. Also: Olivia Williams (Adelle from Dollhouse) is in it! Always good to see a Whedon alum.

Begin Again is an excellent movie with catchy, solid music. I already want to see it, well, again. I didn’t even recognize Adam Levine in it until he started to sing (but I’m not a fan of his… I once famously told my sister that he looks like he should be named Vinny and run a smuggling operation). And Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo are solid. I don’t get the general hate for Keira – she’s been great in several of my recent-ish favorite movies (e.g. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World).

Music:

I went on an Ingram Hill bender after discovering that they’ve released three more albums since I last looked them up, and they are all sooo good. IH is a local Memphis band and I’m excited to see them in concert next month!

A few songs that made me stop and think “This is legit” in July: John Mayer’s cover of Beyonce’s “XO”; “Latch” by Disclosure feat. Sam Smith (great for getting ready to go out!); “Don’t” by Ed Sheeran; and Ariana Grande’s “Problem.” I’m late to the party on the last one, but when she hits that “Head in the clouds, got no weight on my shoooooooouulders,” the world instantly improves.

You can keep up with my ever-expanding 2014 Playlist on Spotify.

Cooking/Eating:

I’ve done shamefully little real cooking this month, but I’ve made a lot of Popsicles. My favorites were Dulce de Leche and a simple berries-with-Greek-yogurt (I think I used this recipe).

Wearing/Making:

A FIRST: I made a wearable skirt in one afternoon, start to finish! YAY! The fabric is from the clearance table at Hancock. It’s actually the second skirt I’ve made from this tutorial, but the first one turned out too poofy to wear, though I think it could be fixed by a more skilled sewist. I’d link to the tutorial, but apparently the blog has gone private (thankfully I wrote down the basics for future reference).

Beauty:

When I was in college, I had a large collection of Sinful Colors nail polish. It was cheap and their colors were very edgy for the time. Once I had an income, I was lured away by the siren call of OPI and Essie, but Sinful is slowly regaining my loyalty. They’re cranking out perfect dupes of higher-end colors, and according to some beauty-magazine test, their current formula is more durable than Chanel’s. At $2 a bottle, I can’t say no to that. I only wish it was available at CVS!

Also: I did a Curly Hair Post this month!

Home & Garden:

We had a storm during my sister’s visit that damaged one of the maple trees in my backyard. After so many bad storms over the years, I don’t know why this one took out some major limbs. My dad took care of one big branch that fell into my neighbor’s yard, but I had to hire an arborist to retrieve another big branch stuck high in the tree. Not only did he take it out and re-balance the tree, but he also pruned my other trees whose excessive branches were driving me crazy. I’m so happy with the results, I almost don’t mind paying the bill!

My garden is plugging along. It’s not the best season ever, but I have tomatoes!

Random Happiness:

Last winter I saw a pin of a plastic kiddie pool made “in-ground” with pavers around it. I wanted to do the same, but couldn’t figure out how I’d lift the pool out of the hole to empty or clean it. The idea of a kiddie pool was stuck in my head, though, so I finally went to Wal-Mart and bought the smallest pop-up kind they had. I spent a delightful afternoon in it on Fourth of July weekend.

I’m continuing to train for a 5K on my birthday, just a few weeks away. My goal is to run the whole thing – I’ve always run and walked in intervals before. (REMINDER: until several years ago I couldn’t run AT ALL.) I’m up to about 2.5 miles. Woo!

Pinterest Quote of the Month:

Travel:

I just spent a weekend at Kentucky Lake with my parents and brother! Next month: OCEAN TIME.

On The Blog:

If you’ve been around the blog this month, you know I’ve been a little emo and restless. Don’t worry… it’s mostly growing pains. Even when I want change, I don’t handle the “limbo” phase well. I wrote about rainbow-chasing and disappointment, doing vs. being as it pertains to calling, and blazing your own trail in life. (A friend’s review of the latter post: “That was intense.” LOL)

Posts I Loved:

♥ Chelsea Batten at A Deeper Story: Blue Valentines

♥ Paul Heggie: Knowing What You Want

♥ Glennon Melton at Storyline: You Don’t Need More Talent or Time. “The most important quality in a writer is her certainty that she is not special.”

♥ Sarah Siders: What to Do While You’re Waiting

♥ Danielle Carey: The Warrior Virtue

♥ Kelli Conners guesting at Little Did She Know: Paddleboard