Hello, hello, hello! Here’s a quick recap of the best month of the year so far. It’s been a while since I’ve had a stellar month that felt very positive when I take a moment to reflect on everything that happened so don’t mind me while I celebrate a win. Part of the reason I think this month felt so uplifting is the amount of time we spent outdoors in the fresh air. It was needed! I hope Spring temps are headed your way soon too.
Books + Reading
I’m calling it now. April was filled with books that will make my Best of 2024 list at the end of the year. I read several 5-star romances that I’m still thinking about as we go into May. This month for reading was probably on par with my enjoyment levels from February.
My top recommendations from this month (in order by date read):Funny Story by Emily Henry
The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center
How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang
Bride by Ali Hazelwood (reread)
The Rereading Project progress report: I finished Ender’s Game (a holdover from March), Charlotte’s Web, and two Babysitters Club graphic novels: Claudia and the Bad Joke and Karen’s Roller Skates.
TV + Movies
Napoleon on Apple TV+ was a standout from this month. I enjoy a good action-packed movie and learned a lot about Napoleon’s wife Josephine in this one. The timeline transitions were a little clunky at times but overall I thought it was well done.
My husband and I went to the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival to watch a selection of outdoorsy short films. I laughed and cried! I always leave feeling inspired to watch more. Here’s a great YouTube playlist if you’re interested in seeing some previous years films at home.
Two kids movie recs for family night that were cute but not my fave: Wish and Migration.
I finally watched Argylle on Apple TV+ and it was silly and outrageous but I still enjoyed the theatrics.
After starting The Gentlemen on Netflix I’m back on my Theo James BS so I had to watch Divergent now that the series is back on Prime.
I’ve been watching new episodes of Palm Royale on Apple TV+ as they come out on Wednesday and last week’s episode Maxine Saves the Whale blew my mind! I did not see some of the plot twists coming.
Tunes
This month’s additions to our record collection: Only God Was Above Us by Vampire Weekend, A La Sala by Khruangbin, Kveiker by Sigur Ros, and The Tortured Poets Department by Taylor Swift.
I’ve been listening to a few other albums on repeat lately like Don’t Forget Me by Maggie Rogers, minor by Gracie Abrams, Country by Medium Build, and I’M DOING IT AGAIN BABY by girl in red.
Emily Jacobs makes fun playlists for new book releases and I’ve been enjoying her latest for Funny Story and How to End a Love Story.
Purchases + Wish List
I’m always excited to visit a town with a Trader Joe’s so of course we had to come home with a mini haul of some of my favorites plus some new items from the shelves: Aglio Olio Garlicky & Spicy Seasoning Blend, Ranch seasoning, onion salt, brown butter salted caramel mini biscotti, sea salt brownies, dark chocolate covered cherries, and snacky clusters.
I honestly spent a lot more on myself this month than usual. We went to the outlets and I found a bunch of good stuff on clearance at GAP and Old Navy. And of course, I couldn’t leave our concert without some merch! I’m most excited to wear the swimsuit and linen set when we go to the beach this summer.
Organization + Cleaning
My husband and I worked with our kids one weekend to clear out the back play corner of our living room and move their play kitchen there to create a little grocery store/kitchen area. That meant sorting through piles of Lovevery toys and trying to find a million little pieces. We’re bad about immediately getting things out of the house so the toys still need to get bagged up and taken to our local consignment shop.
Yummy Bites
This time of year we pull the Tea-Time at the Masters cookbook off the shelf and find a few things to cook from it. While it’s not in the official cookbook, my mom worked at the Green Jacket restaurant back in the day and has their Green Jacket salad recipe. It’s a must for Masters Sunday. My younger sister also brought us some treats from the course for dinner. I’m team pimento cheese sandwich!
We made a couple of 5 items or less Trader Joe’s meals on our vacation.
1. beef bulgogi, japchae, and scallion pancakes
2. gluten-free tagliatelle pasta, Argentinian shrimp, and chimichurri sauce served with the lemony arugula salad mix. I’m kicking myself for forgetting to grab the olive fougasse!I tried my first softshell crab and oysters in Charleston! I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn’t nearly as slimy as I braced myself for. I love seafood in general so I’m glad to have two new items to add to my rotation.
We’re still getting the Home Chef boxes and I’m really liking how easy they are. The flavor profiles are a little more basic than what my husband and I usually gravitate toward but our kids are eating the meals too and that’s a testament to the power of Bluey branding!
Highs + Lows
We saw a partial total eclipse! Some of our other family members went up to the cottage in the Eastern Townships of Canada to see the total eclipse and while I’m slightly jealous, I was happy to mark the occasion simply in our hometown.
My husband and I went on our first vacation without kids to Charleston, SC earlier this month. We lived there in college and as newlyweds, so it’s always almost a staycation when we’re there. It feels like coming home. I wrote more about our trip here.
Our 10th wedding anniversary is a couple of months away and we wanted to celebrate before life gets busy. I’ve alluded to some big life changes on the horizon and now that my husband’s current job is in the know, I can share more. He’s going back to school to be a secondary school science teacher! I’m thrilled to support him over the next year+ while he pursues his goals. This will be the first time in our marriage he’s worked somewhere with “regular” hours and no weekends and it will be a welcome and needed change to have more time together as a family. I have so much respect for families that navigate deployments, single-parenthood, living far away from a family support system, shift work, multiple jobs, etc. It’s hard work juggling it all.
We went to Charleston twice in one month and had the best weather. I can’t remember it ever being cool enough for a cardigan in April in all the years we lived there. The second time we went was for a quick overnight to see Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service play a 20th Anniversary set for their albums Transatlanticism and Give Up.
We only went to the doctor *three* times with the kids this month. Hopefully, warmer weather will mean fewer colds are on the horizon.
I’ve mostly given up on our raised beds. The only seedlings that survived were the lettuce and snap peas. I bought some plants from Lowe’s and I’m keeping them on our front porch in pots where they get plenty of sun and I don’t forget to water them. We already have some tomatoes growing and I’ve got one little girl who’s going to be thrilled when she can grab a snack on the way in the door soon!
Indie Bookstore Day was a success! My family visited two bookshops. I loved the community focus of All Good Books in Columbia, SC. The sell beer, wine, and coffee from their checkout area and encourage patrons to sit and read while sipping on their bevvy of choice. There’s a great patio out back too! I’m eager to pop in again the next time we are in Five Points. Our local bookshop is The Book Tavern in Augusta, GA and while we went later in the evening and missed some of the special activities, I was still able to pick up a limited edition tote along with a couple of books.
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I just love how comprehensive your edits are! I need a place for Trader Joe recs and to figure out which Theo James thing to watch next--and you, my friend, are it!
Congratulations to your husband on starting this new chapter. How exciting!