The April Edit
A spring refresh, lots of homemade meals, and new media.
If you’re a new reader, the Monthly Edit is a brain dump of everything I consumed (or consumed me) during the month. This newsletter is filled with recommendations that I hope will add value to your life.
We are fully into our Springtime rhythms and already making plans for Summer break. The planner in me enjoys having something to look forward to. My month started out by attending the Augusta National Women’s Amateur final with my family. It set the tone for the month. I feel like we spent much more time outdoors. We went to several Easter egg hunts, bought a new book from my local book shop on Indie Bookstore Day, voted in local elections, and sold four strollers on FB Marketplace.
Television
My husband moved an old TV in our bedroom so I could watch more in the evenings. I tend to make more time for reading and have to remind myself it’s okay to consume other forms of media too. I’m grateful we worked out a solution that lets me indulge in television and movies here and there.
Someone in my leadership class recommended The Residence on Netflix. Turns out all I need to be sold on a TV show or movie is a comparison to Knives Out. If you’re a birdwatcher, you’ll love this one.
Ransom Canyon on Netflix is a new cowboy romance/drama based on the Jodi Thomas series of books. I felt pretty lukewarm about it but it picked up for me around Ep. 5. I’ll probably watch the second season because there were so many loose ends.
Whew… The Narrow Road to the Deep North on Prime Video was a tough romance war drama to watch. If you’re queasy, skip this one. There’s some graphic content but it accurately drives home how devastating war is.
Movies
After reading Small Things Like These last winter, I wanted to see the movie starring Cillian Murphy. While it’s certainly not a springy film, I decided to give it a go since it is finally streaming on Hulu. Seeing it in a film format drove the message home for me and provided a bit more context that I think I missed reading the book the first time.
My friend Hannah recommended The Life List on Netflix, and of course, it made me cry! It is a cozy and heartwarming drama/romance about a mother who sends her only daughter on a quest to complete a teenage bucket list.
The Hating Game was so cute! I’ve never read the Sally Thorne novel, but I think I need to go back and pick it up. It’s an enemies-to-lovers workplace romance set at a publishing house in NYC. Do I even need to say more to convince you?
Gladiator II was a ridiculously long movie, but if you can get past the awful golden color grading, there’s enough action and drama to keep you entertained. Just don’t expect it to be historically accurate. I have my quibbles, but overall I’m still glad I watched it.
The first week of April started with three great audiobooks: Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins, Swept Away by Beth O’Leary, and Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez. I hit a lull in the second week, and after DNFing two audiobooks, I decided to replace the “noise” at work with music and podcasts.
My library holds came in at the perfect time to keep me from falling into a reading rut. I loved Deanna Raybourn’s follow-up to Killers of a Certain Age, aptly titled Kills Well With Others.
It’s been a while since I’ve read something more literary so I was delighted by the family drama in Fun for the Whole Family by Jennifer E. Smith.
Wild and Wrangled by Lyla Sage was a great cowboy romance to read while watching Netflix’s new Ransom Canyon Series. Under Your Spell by Laura Wood was a nearly perfect British rom-com. Highly recommend!
Without realizing this month is his birthday, I checked out A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare from the library and thoroughly enjoyed Lysander, Hermia, Demetrius, and Helena’s mishaps.
Goth Babe is one of those artists that always carries me through Spring and Summer. I love indie dance pop that has a coastal vibe so it was serendipitous when I discovered his music a few years ago. Maybe it’s because I lived at the beach in my early adult years, but it makes me want to roll down the windows and go cruising.
You may have heard Sailor Song by Gigi Perez making its rounds on TikTok a while back. I preordered her new record, At the Beach, in Every Life, from our local record store.
I’ve also been enjoying Whithered by d4vd (pronounced David), Send a Prayer My Way from Julien Baker & Torres, and Tunnel Vision from Beach Bunny.
The Good Times playlist from Apple Music is one of my all-time favorite Indie music playlists. Maggie Rogers and Sylvan Esso covered one of my favorite songs from my teenage years.
My daughter is a huge fan of the copycat Cracker Barrel hashbrowns casserole so she loved this ham and potato casserole variation. I served up her comfort food with a side of fresh green beans sautéed in garlic.
An olive oil store and gourmet market opened in our downtown a few years ago and I’ve been obsessed with flavored olive oils ever since. They have a lower smoke point than other oils, so it’s important to avoid high heat for extended periods. Simply put, these aren’t oils you’re going to fry foods in but rather they’re great dipping oils for fresh baked bread, as a drizzle over a salad or veggies, or for roasting or grilling veggies! I keep a lemon infused olive oil and sundried tomato infused olive oil on hand at all times!
We are back to doing pizza Fridays with card games and a movie night. While searching for pizza recipes, I stumbled upon the Substack Pizza Friday by Front Yard Veggies. I think you’ll enjoy
’s commentary on life, the state of the world, and her garden as much as I do. I immediately shared it with my recently retired coworker because I hope she’ll start her own backyard journal. I want to vicariously live through everyone’s Spring gardening adventures this year. We chose not to grow plants from seed this year for various reasons, but I have some veggies in containers growing on our front porch that are already flowering!
I had the pleasure of grabbing lunch with some work friends this month on the most perfect Spring day. It was cool and windy, and our busy downtown was the perfect soundscape for our quick catch-up on local projects. I’ve been guarded in the past when it comes to work friendships, but after 8 years at the same place, it feels good to embrace them and allow myself the pleasure of other people’s company.
Ever finish a house project and ask yourself why you put it off for so long? That’s exactly how my husband and I felt when we switched my preschooler’s box bedroom and our office. He has so much more room to play in his big boy room and a tiny office makes so much more sense. It forced us to acknowledge our clutter and be ruthless with what we kept and tossed.
👌🏽the aesthetics of avoidance by
asks some hard questions and made me think about my relationship to my emotions and my environment.⛳I’m more of a fangirl as an adult than I ever was as a teen. Don’t mind me while I swoon over this interview with Niall Horan. Fun fact: my niece helped him check out at the Pro shop this year and I’ve spotted him having lunch on the balcony of the Clubhouse in previous years.
📑On Unreliable Narrators (and some Literary Examples) by
reminded me that some of my favorite books tend to feature unreliable narrators. I’d add The Secret History by Donna Tartt and Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov to this list.
What was the best part of your month?
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I love "kid-friendly kitchen" corner! What is everything on that top row? And do you have recipes? Everything looks so delicious.
The Hating Game is one of my favorite books.
And I love Niall too!