Main Events:
September is a refreshing month in theory, but this one felt a little heavy for me. The heat remains unrelenting; the news is constantly exhausting; I had two unrelated incidents with my car; I’ve felt vaguely anxious, out of place, and out of sorts. But hopefully real fall is on its way, and in the meantime, good things are still happening. Let’s talk about them.
Reading:
Educated by Tara Westover lives up to the hype – I finished it in two unsettling days. As my friend Marie said in her review, it’s miraculous that Westover is even alive to tell the tale. After that, I had to cleanse my palate with a No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency (I’m several books behind). I really liked the thoroughly South Floridian novel The Shark Club, which is deeper than it appears. I also finally got around to Essentialism, which covered a lot of principles I’ve been trying to implement into my life. I recommend it.
Listening:
This month I randomly discovered, and was instantly obsessed with, this Joseph gem from a few years ago.
Watching:
Taylor and I saw Operation Finale with my parents. I had never heard this story and it was intense. It also weirdly made me want to visit Argentina… like “Horrifying Nazi stuff, but wow, that café looks legit.”
I’m midway through season 2 of The Bold Type on the elliptical, and my primary reaction has been:
Also at the gym, I got sucked into a rerun of The Good Place, and I think I’m hooked! I’ve hesitated because I don’t have time to watch it from the beginning (plus I have a weird rebellion toward shows that EVERYONE LOVES), but I knew enough from articles to figure out what was going on, so I think I’ll just jump in!
Finally, I started watching Manifest, and will probably continue, even though it’s clearly Lost on Malaysia Flight 370.
Travel:
We took a last-minute trip to Louisiana last weekend, and it was just what I needed! Taylor and I dropped off his mom with family in Baton Rouge, then continued on to New Orleans for Memphis vs. Tulane football. We went to the game with my college roommate Emily and her family (they were all very gracious about Tulane winning), then hit Bourbon Street with one of Taylor’s old friends who happened to be in town. In the morning we did some brief sightseeing, met Em and fam again for lunch, and drove back to Baton Rouge for an LSU game!
I’d never been to a game at a really big-time football school before. Taylor, a lifelong casual LSU fan, briefed me on the traditions. It started raining while we were tailgating, and continued the entire night, but we still had a blast. I loved the fan engagement and the vibe of the whole event, and felt at home in my birth state.
And of course I devoured Cajun food and seafood all weekend. In that sense, it was a better trip than Miami last month. I think I ate several pounds of shrimp. #worthit
Around Town:
My mom and I love the annual Central Gardens Home Tour. This was our third year to attend (this time with Taylor, and friends we ran into along the way)! We made it to all but one of the homes. A couple of weeks later, I got a bonus mini-home tour when there was an estate sale at a mansion next door to my condo complex. The house has a beautiful stained-glass window seat on the stair landing. Maybe if I befriend the new owners, they’ll let me come over and read there sometime.
September also brings Cooper-Young Fest, aka Midtown Christmas. We hit the fest in the late morning, then had a sort of open house at Taylor’s for any friends needing somewhere to take a break. It was ridiculously hot this year and there was much discussion among our group about moving the fest to October!
Tiger football kicked off on our city holiday, 901 Day (September 1st). My parents and Taylor’s mom joined us for the first game. We can now walk to the Liberty Bowl from Taylor’s house, and have been doing most of our tailgating at the house, which is so easy and convenient. But it also means I still have a lot of Tiger Lane tailgate invites to cash in!
My church celebrated its 8th birthday. I feel really fortunate to be part of a church that’s evolving together with me. I love the weird, wonderful, holy thing we’re becoming.
At Home:
I did a long-overdue purge of expired foodstuffs. A few items were older than my nieces. My takeaways were: 1. I guess my home cooking now centers on soups, salads, and Asian-inspired dishes 2. It took me several years to relearn how to buy groceries for only one person 3. I’m consciously avoiding a stockpiling mindset from now on, unless the apocalypse is truly nigh.
Lots of hummingbirds have been visiting Taylor’s front porch. I love the time we spend sitting out there watching them and watching the world go by.
Eating:
I hit up the farmer’s market to roast and freeze some of the last of the summer veggies, and get some grape tomatoes for an A+ caprese!
Wearing:
Stitch Fix has a distinct style that emerges over time, and it’s not exactly mine, so I’ve scaled back to every other month. But this top is my favorite thing they’ve ever sent me! Despite mostly swearing off pants for work, I also kept a pair of pants. They need to be hemmed, but are great everywhere else, so I’ll want them when winter comes (which is currently hard to imagine). Anyway, I’m thinking of canceling Stitch Fix entirely and trying The Awe Box instead.
Follow-up to last month’s sandal search: I bought a strappier pair of OluKai (pictured in the above Canal Street photo) to replace FOUR pairs of flimsy silver sandals. These weren’t cheap, but the arch support is amazing.
Beauty:
I was pleasantly surprised by both the effectiveness and the lasting scent of Love Beauty & Planet rose hair mask. Other than that, after last month’s experiments, I’m back to my old hair product rotation. I’m also continuing the same skincare routine and have maintained clear skin for as long as a week at a time!! Fingers crossed that all this effort is starting to pay off.
Wellness:
I started Yoga for All with good intentions, but dropped out around day 4. Sadly, I can’t drag myself out of bed early enough for more than a 20-minute practice. I did make time one evening for the Fearless practice.
At the gym, I’m experimenting with doing weight training before aerobics instead of after, and so far it’s a win! I have more energy for the weights, and I like being finished as soon as I hop off the elliptical.
I started up with a new church small group this month, for the first time in a while. It’s just me and two other women, and we’re reading Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Harrison Warren. So far so good.
Your Monthly Rufus:
Rufus is obsessed with his new feather toy. He already had a similar one, but this one has a springy cord and the feather spins around. He’s also starting to enjoy the porch and a little of the yard at Taylor’s house.
On The Blog:
I participated in Laura Tremaine’s 10 Things to Tell You challenge on Instagram, which bled over onto my blog for two of the days: I Grew Up and Something I’ve Been Struggling With.
Good Reads:
♥ Michael Hobbes at Highline: Everything You Know about Obesity is Wrong and RELATED: Lindsey Coates: Why Am I Still Fat? And Other Stupid Questions
♥ Tara Bender: When It’s Worth the Broken Heart
♥ Helen Rosner on Yom Kippur: A brief story about transgression.
♥ Dan Greene in Sports Illustrated: It Had to Be Penny
♥ Amanda Magee: And just like that, it’s normalized.
♥ Lindsay Ferrier: I Just Went Shopping at the Mall and Now I Am So Confused
♥ Kate Beaton at The Cut: Our Sister Becky
♥ Addie Zierman, concluding a great series on the concept “Let Go, Let God”: The New Thing That’s Part of the Old Thing
I love the Awebox idea! I’d never heard of it. Maybe I’ll try…
I just heard of it yesterday!