The May Edit

All things birthday month + Gemini season.

Hello again, my friend! May passed by in the blink of an eye. This was quite possibly the busiest month at work so far this year. We received submittal after submittal, most unexpected. I haven’t had as much time to dedicate to reading, writing, and social media because I feel like I’m in survival mode most nights. I can’t say I’ve missed scrolling, though!

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Books + Reading

I’ve been leaning into romance more and more as the years pass. I can’t believe the first contemporary romance book I read was in 2020 and now I can’t seem to get enough. My favorites from this month were The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood and The Hook Up by Kristen Callahan.

What I Read in May 2024

How about a little status update on The Rereading Project? I finished Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary and Karen’s Sleepover from the Baby-Sitters Club graphic novel series. I’m planning to do a mid-year recap next month with some thoughts on how the challenge is going so far.

Mackenzie

launched Magic, Noted this month and I’ll be keeping tabs on all her Disney insight on Substack + IG.

I have been reminiscing about our family trip to Disney World (which was a whole year ago this month)! It took me months to even recap some of our trip on Substack and I still have more I could share. For now, I’m plotting how to budget for more frequent trips.

Everything We Ate at Disney

Honest Thoughts on Disney World with 2 under 5

The Watch List

Holy moly! I didn’t realize how much TV I consumed until I sat down to write this monthly recap. It’s no wonder this month was lighter on reading.

Movies

• There’s been a lot of discourse on Substack around The Idea of You on Prime Video so you probably don’t need another opinion. Nicholas Galitzine doesn’t do it for me, especially not as a rock star. It was just silly but I didn’t hate watching either.

• The Tearsmith on Netflix left me asking WTF did I just watch? Everyone who hyped up this movie on TikTok was lying. I would put this in the same category as the After movies. Cringe.

• Turtles All the Way Down on HBO Max pulled at my heartstrings! The romance, friendships, and conflict in the story felt so real for high schoolers. John Green is so talented at writing about teen mental health and I’ve cried at every book and book-to-screen adaptation to date.

• We took the kids to see IF in theaters and I wasn’t prepared for how sad it was! Cue the tears. My 5-year-old really enjoyed it. If you’re on the fence, I think it’s worth seeing.

• Dune: Part Two landed on HBO Max and while I didn’t love it as much as the first film, I’m invested in the twist that comes at the end. If you’ve read the books then I’m sure it wasn’t as much as a surprise why the Harkonnen storyline is so important. It’s a visually stunning film and the acting is unmatched.

• No one told me how funny Anyone But You is! I laughed so hard in the first 20 minutes and it just continued on throughout the movie. If you’ve watched this, I have to know what your favorite scene is!

TV

• I watched The Gentlemen on Netflix for the plot. The plot being Theo James. Do you think Eddie and Susie will end up together or keep things strictly professional?

• Palm Royale on Apple TV+ ended on a huge cliffhanger! Even though it was a bit over the top at times, I fell in love with the characters, storyline, and setting. I hope the costume artist wins some awards for the fabulous outfits.

• It only took me two days to finish Maxton Hall on Prime. I liked it so much I might go back and watch it in German with English subtitles. There were a few scenes where the dubbing was hard to watch (especially since it didn’t match up with the subtitles) but the Dramione vibes were there and I can’t resist a campus setting.

• My husband and I started Dark Matter on Apple TV+ and I’m equal parts intrigued and confused. I didn’t realize it is being released weekly but we’re managing to keep up.

• Outlander Season 6 finally landed on Netflix and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I had to go back and read episode recaps for Season 5. After I finished Season 5 last year, I read the first two Outlander books. I’d still like to read Voyager by Diana Gabaldon but I don’t think I’ll read the books that stray from the Scottish setting. I’m excited to dive back into the show this summer.

• I decided to wait to start Bridgerton until all the episodes are out in June on Netflix. I can’t stand a cliff hanger but it’s been hard to avoid spoilers!

Tunes

There were just *a few* new releases on my radar this month. I’ve had all of these albums on heavy rotation since they came out:

Dehd: Poetry
Kings of Leon: Can We Please Have Fun
Cage the Elephant: Neon Pill
Zayn: Room Under the Stairs
Dua Lipa: Radical Optimism
WILLOW: empathogen
Childish Gambino: Atavista
DIIV: Frog in Boiling Water

Two old but new to me albums I’d recommend if you need something chill to listen to while reading or knocking out chores:

Com Truise: Galactic Melt
El Michels Affair: Yeti Season

I’m also a big fan of the Midnight City playlist from Apple Music.

Purchases + Wish List

I added a few new items to my wish list like these sandals and this shirt. I’m already starting to brainstorm outfit ideas for the Kacey Musgraves concert later in the year.

My husband bought me the Garmin Venu 3S for my birthday and I’ve officially replaced my Apple Watch! I love the sleep tracking feature on it and some of the health and fitness tracking is more robust. Plus, I can go days without charging it. I felt really spoiled and cared for in general by my friends and family this year and it doesn’t go unnoticed. While birthday gifts aren’t necessary, it’s extra special when they make you feel known and seen.

We’re headed to the beach next month so I’ve been filling in the gaps as needed, mostly in the form of new swimsuits for everyone. I love the quality of this one-shoulder swimsuit from Old Navy. Our neighborhood pool opened on Memorial Day weekend and I’ve got my Bogg Bag packed and ready to go! I ordered a set of dividers from Amazon and I think we’ll be set for the summer. I also panic ordered a Columbia PFG shirt after getting burnt at the pool over the weekend. I’m hoping not to have a repeat at the beach.

Organization + Cleaning

As you read this monthly wrap-up, I think you’ll come to understand the type of person my mom is and why she’s so special to me. She’s a real go-getter, not one to idle. I’ve had paint samples splashed across our kitchen walls for nearly a year. I was off work for a few days with my daughter while she recovered from a minor surgery and as a birthday gift, my mom helped me paint our kitchen. I tend to be someone who needs a body double to actually get chores done at home, especially with two kids who demand a lot of attention. Clearly, I wouldn’t have finished without her and it’s a huge relief to be able to enjoy the updates.

Yummy Bites

It’s nearing the end of strawberry season in South Carolina and I’m making sure to get fresh strawberry treats from local eateries any time I can. I made a version of this salad to take to our neighborhood pool’s Memorial Day celebration. My MIL was singing its praises and I said “I know, I made it”!

My son helped my mom make this cookie recipe and they are so indulgent! I highly recommend them if you like butterscotch.

Highs + Lows

The end of the school year is quickly approaching and I’ve been reflecting on our first year in the public school system on the new year-round calendar. The transition to Kindergarten was difficult and while we eventually found our way, this post about being overwhelmed by all the end of school activities hit home for me. I imagine it will resonate with plenty of other working moms too. This week I had to remember to dress my daughter up as a Queen and send in a funny joke on top of juggling all the other daily tasks and events that barely get done (or if they do it’s in more of a half-attempted sort of way). In the 2.5 hours I see my children every night I’m expected to unpack their bags, sort through school paperwork, cook dinner, make sure they eat, find time for movement, watch TV, read a book out loud, bathe them, pack a lunch for the next day, practice sight words, and get them in bed with a minimal amount of tears. Most evenings I fail to check off half the items on my hypothetical nightly routine checklist and someone is always crying because they’re physically hurt or have hurt feelings. I didn’t touch on it in my weekly report for Mother’s Day but being a mom is a lot and has stretched me in ways I didn’t expect. It doesn’t come to me naturally. It comes with great effort and sacrifice. Almost six years into this whole parenting thing I’m still learning how to expand my limits without losing myself.

Speaking of… on Mother’s Day, my mom brought over homemade chicken salad for lunch and we took a quick trip to Lowe’s to pick up some gardening supplies. The tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, and zucchini sitting on our porch were outgrowing their tiny plant pots, and moving them to larger containers was overdue. We weeded the front beds and cleared out some lower limbs of the crepe myrtle trees to make a patch for the squash, zucchini, and cucumber plants. We planted directly in the ground with some new soil and I made a simple trellis using plant stakes and stretchy plant tie tape. While growing veggies from seedlings might not have panned out the way I expected, I’m still excited by the prospect of a harvest from our container plants! With most things flowering and tomatoes forming fruit, it won’t be much longer before we’re picking from our front porch to prepare dinner.

My daughter started playing tennis! She’s younger than all the other kids on her team by almost four years but I’m really proud of her resilience. We’re still trying to find her thing. I’m hopeful tennis will stick. I gifted her this bag for her awards ceremony day to celebrate all her progress.

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Fill me in on what you’ve been up to this month! Are your kids still in school?

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