What I’m Into: November 2020

I don’t usually do What I’m Into in December because I’m busy with many year-end posts, which I plan to start working on this week! So this fall-ending roundup might be the last for this weird year. Let’s go.

Reading

I’ll Have What She’s Having: How Nora Ephron’s Three Iconic Films Saved the Romantic Comedy by Erin Carlson (3.5 stars) A fun deep dive into the making of When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, and You’ve Got Mail. At times there were too many names being thrown around to keep track of, but WHMS and YGM are two of my all-time favorite movies, so I still enjoyed it.

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness (4.5 stars) Many of my friends love the All Souls books, but I’d never read them. This came up in a book chat with my friend Vada and a few others, and we decided to do a Zoom book club. Of course I couldn’t control myself and finished the whole book before we even got to Chapter 20 in our discussion. The only reason I didn’t give this 5 stars is I’m slightly less academic/historically minded than the author and her characters. Overall, it really is the smart, adult Twilight.

Startup by Doree Shafrir (3.5 stars) A novel about a founder, a tech journalist, and a working mom in the New York startup scene. I knew nothing about startup culture and only sought this out as a Forever35 fan, but I have a new level of respect for Doree, because she clearly knew what she was talking about here and brought out its humanity.

Listening

Best 2020 anthem yet:

Someone used this Julie and the Phantoms song in a Twitter meme and I was instantly obsessed:

The Lazy Genius Guide to Spices was surprisingly interesting.

Watching

Two pleasant-surprise movies I saw this month: Ready Player One (I never read the book, but the movie is a visual feast) and The Two Popes. I was already a big fan of Pope Francis and this movie made me love him even more. During an early scene when he and Pope Benedict are arguing, I turned to Taylor and said “This might be the best sermon I’ve heard in months.” I also learned a lot about Argentinian history and how popes are chosen.

Another random Netflix watch we really liked was Midnight Special. It’s a sci-fi road movie about a child with mystical powers. Right up my alley.

We’re over halfway through Ted Lasso, and it’s as good as everyone says! As aforementioned, I’m also loving Julie and the Phantoms, which is perfect to watch on my lunch breaks. (Taylor: “Is this a kids show?” Me: “Yep.”)

“Around Town“

The Tiger basketball program streamed a virtual Memphis Madness on their YouTube channel. It was of course not the same as the in-person event, but we appreciated the effort.

At Home

The fall colors have been beautiful in the neighborhood!

Eating

We had a covid-safe Thanksgiving at home with just Taylor’s parents. I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to plan and cook a small Thanksgiving spread by myself, and we were all pleased with the results! Menu: Turkey for Two (scaled up for four – note, if you do this, double the cooking time); mashed potatoes (scaled down by half); green bean casserole (I used French’s fried onions in a can instead of cooking them separately); Stove Top stuffing from a box; and cranberry orange sauce. I would definitely use these recipes again. Taylor contributed rolls, and also spaghetti, for a non-traditional option.

For dessert I made cheesecake with blueberry topping. I had never baked a cheesecake before and chose a “no water bath” option to prevent an inevitable holiday scalding/trip to the ER. I CANNOT SAY ENOUGH ABOUT THIS CHEESECAKE. It was amazing and I anticipate making it for many future occasions. We also had brownies that my MIL brought.

Wearing

Loft has some really nice sweaters right now. I’ve wanted a cute animal sweater for a while, so when I saw this owl sweater at a big markdown, I had to have it. It’s making me very happy.

As for my semi-monthly Old Navy purchases, I added some leopard joggers to my stretchy pants wardrobe, and have been LIVING in these Allbirds knockoffs I bought on impulse. I’m talking indoors, outdoors, going to the store in them not caring if they’re meant to be house shoes. But I don’t recommend long walks in them because while they’re cushy, they’re not very supportive.

Beauty

I’m #blessed with curly, dry-ish hair and an oily scalp. It’s hard to find shampoo that addresses both. My go-to is L’Oreal Vive Extraordinary Clay, but I saw a recommendation for Aveeno Almond Oil shampoo and decided to check it out. It’s definitely more on the hydrating end of the spectrum than the scalp-calming end, but it’s a nice change and smells good.

My Ipsy bag was really cute this month and I’m excited about the big fluffy brush!

Random Happiness

When the election was finally called on that historic Saturday, I was on my sister’s baby shower Zoom. Taylor shouted to me from the other room. I knew Debra didn’t have her phone on her, so I texted my BIL to give him the news. We concluded the shower calmly and then, seeing the celebrations on TV and not knowing what to do with myself, I went outside and ran laps around our house, cheering. Several excited phone calls followed. Later, Taylor and I drove around blasting celebratory music and flying an American flag out the car window. That night we watched the acceptance speech/fireworks show, and I danced around the living room to “Party in the USA.” It was the lightest I’d felt in four years. This country is still a mess, but I can’t express how relieved I am to soon be led by an experienced, empathetic human being.

We had an A+ rainbow this month, which I almost missed because the time had just changed and I hadn’t adjusted to 3:30 being a prime window for rainbows.

I never cease to be entertained by the head bobbing cat.

I also laugh hysterically every time I look at this meme. I don’t know what about it gets me so much.

Our zoo named its new baby giraffe Ja Raffe, in honor of our NBA Rookie of the Year Ja Morant. This article about the meeting of the two Jas is delightful.

Your Monthly Rufus

For most of November, we only had one functioning thermostat for our two HVAC systems (upstairs and downstairs). A technician had already come out and fixed the downstairs system once, but Taylor realized the problem was in the wiring of the Nest. We got a free replacement, but had to wait weeks for it to arrive, which it finally did yesterday (right along with early-winter weather). In the meantime, we used a space heater to stay comfortable in the living room. I’ve never seen Rufus react to anything the way he reacted to this heater. He basked and lolled in front of it for hours like he was at the beach. Here’s a selection from our approximately 80 photos of him in various stages of joy.

And some additional cuteness: