What I’m Into: June 2020

Happy June! Did anyone see any pretty Saharan dust storm sunsets? (Did anyone have “Saharan dust storm” on your 2020 bingo card for June?) We went down to the river hoping for amazing colors, but the most interesting thing that happened was this moment when it looked like there was a ring around the sun. Anyway, let’s get into it.

Reading

Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden: Grow, Harvest, and Arrange Stunning Seasonal Blooms by Erin Benzakein and Michele M. Waite (4 stars) I read this beautiful reference book cover to cover and will be coming back to it in the future!

When We Left Cuba by Chanel Cleeton (3.5 stars) The sequel to Next Year in Havana focuses on Elisa’s dazzling sister Beatriz, after the Perez family has fled Cuba for Palm Beach.

Strangers and Cousins by Leah Hager Cohen (3.5 stars) A novel about an unusual wedding at a historic family home. It’s… a lot, but there are moments of brilliance. I think I’ll appreciate it more upon reflection. It’s like a literary version of Morgan Matson’s Save the Date (which I loved).

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond (5 stars) While you’re on the waitlist for the most popular anti-racism books, read this true narrative of poor Milwaukeeans trying to find and keep a home, and the people who exploit them. Desmond embedded in the community for years and went where the stories took him. It’s haunting and will open your eyes to the realities of the housing crisis.

The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez (4 stars) The sequel to The Friend Zone – it was actually written before the first book! Sloan is still grieving the loss of her fiance when a dog literally jumps into her car at a red light. She tracks down his owner, a musician named Jason. They hit it off immediately, but then have to navigate the challenges of his developing career.

Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion by Jia Tolentino (5 stars) A ruthlessly on-point collection of essays. I especially recommend the one about the evolution of the internet.

What You Become in Flight by Ellen O’Connell Whittet (4 stars) I snatched up this brand-new memoir by a former ballerina. Ballet is the backbone of her story that spans family tragedy, health problems, assault, and the different ways to be an artist.

Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets, & Advice for Living Your Best Life by Ali Wong (4 stars) In the format of letters to her daughters, Ali Wong shares the highlights and lowlights of her life so far. There’s a lot of raunch here as you would expect, but she’s a funny, engaging writer with a lot of interesting experiences.

Listening

Forever35 Mini-Ep 115: Friendship Questions with Danielle Bayard Jackson was helpful, thought-provoking, and fed my ongoing existential crisis of what is friendship anymore? do I even have friends? I also liked the Weight Watchers and Me episode of Everything is Fine – considering adding Marisa Meltzer’s book to my TBR.

Watching

I haven’t been keeping track of everything we (re)watch. A lot of things that I’m excited about drop this holiday weekend, so I’ll have more here next month! I will say: I’m working on the current season of The Bold Type and it’s the best yet; I semi-watched Uncut Gems and did not like it.

Travel

We had an “isolation vacation” visiting my brother and SIL in the mountains of northern Wyoming. I wrote about it here!

At Home

After a visit from an electrician, our backyard gazebo now has string lights and a fan, just in time for the real arrival of summer. I sit out there well into the evening. We’re thinking about some other additions too!

We started talking about getting a chest freezer early in the pandemic. Of course, all the stores have been sold out for months, so I was shocked when Taylor found this one at Home Depot. Now we have stock-up flexibility, and if things get more serious and we need to, like, go in on a cow, we can.

We thought our yard surprises were over, but this ruffled daylily has been a welcome one.

Cut Flower Garden got me very psyched to start growing interesting flowers, but discouraged because I’m terrible at starting seeds. Then it occurred to me to start them in my Aerogarden! I ordered some empty pods and started a batch of these Floret flower seeds in them last weekend. I have more kinds for fall. Stay tuned!

After six months’ residence in our house, I just now finally deep-cleaned my bathroom. This is only the first of MANY serious detail cleanings and reassessments that need to be done. Whenever I’m tempted to feel ashamed about this, I remind myself that I’m living through 2020. Anyway, the fixtures I thought were dark oil-rubbed bronze are actually gold/brass. I couldn’t get them all the way clean even after extensive scrubbing with a copper pad and Bar Keeper’s Friend. Meanwhile, the floor tiles are tiny (and, in some places, crumbling) squares, and dirty grout is stubborn and abundant. Someone recommended this floor steamer and I’m seriously considering it.

On the surface, our house was move-in ready, but once I started looking closely, the neglect of the last several years was obvious. It’s hard to gear up to fix problems that, while annoying, are livable. Even when you’re at home all the time.

Eating

For Father’s Day, I made each of our dads their favorite dessert: strawberry rhubarb pie for my FIL, banana pudding for my dad. They were both happy!

Vitamin Water has a new Cool Blueberry Lavender flavor that Taylor and I are both loving. I’m thrilled someone is making a blueberry flavor again – I was still mourning Crystal Light blueberry green tea that they stopped making 8 years ago.

Wearing

My MIL surprised me with these comfy Tigers shoes that will be great whenever we have sports again. I don’t know where she got them.

J. Crew Factory had a massive shorts sale just as I realized hardly any of my shorts fit. I placed an order that arrived at the end of May, and have been wearing all the items constantly. I especially recommend the linen drawstring shorts, but I also got the black scalloped hem shorts and the chambray shorts, and the classic v-neck in pink and black.

Any other smaller-faced people struggling to find good masks? My top maker so far is Smashing Threads – I have two masks from her and will probably get more. They’re durable yet soft, don’t hit me mid-eyeball, are easy to take on and off, and come in a ton of cute fabrics.

Milestone

Yesterday was our first anniversary! <3 If you’re new to the blog or just want to relive our wedding with us, that post is here. Our epic first year of marriage has included 1 global pandemic, 1 job change, 2 moves, 2 miscarriages, 2 dads retiring, several historic Tigers moments, countless hours of yard work, and 365 breakfasts cooked by Taylor. Somehow we’ve survived it all, and still love and like each other after being together 24/7 for months. We’re also thankful that we got married when we did and were able to have a wedding.

(Put a pin in this: coupled people are having to be everything to each other right now, something I firmly believe is not healthy or sustainable. You need a village! And we have the privilege of companionship, while single and living-alone people are dealing with real isolation. DO NOT FORGET YOUR SINGLE PEOPLE.)

(Put another pin in this: yes, I lost another pregnancy. I haven’t felt like talking much about it until recently, but I will soon.)

For our stay-at-home anniversary, we each ordered whatever takeout we wanted (I got scallops!) and watched a movie from a couch fort in the living room. Taylor gave me a portable hammock! I gave him a yearbook album, a tradition I want to continue. Since the classic first-anniversary gift is paper, it worked as a standalone for this year. Mixbook pro tip: putting your photos in the right order before uploading them will save you hours of frustration. I learned this and other things the hard way in December making a book for a friend.

We had a small cake at our wedding supplemented by donuts, so instead of saving part of the cake (which usually turns out gross anyway), I ordered a fresh mini replica for our anniversary. I only got two bites of the original, so getting to enjoy it properly is great!