How My April 2023 Went

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The next week will be crazy and hectic for us, so here is the April post!

April was an okay month. It was emotionally taxing for me at the very beginning, but it ended on a good note. The last weeks were good, fun ones!

• books
• tv shows/movies
• music
• orders

Daily Life

April 1: I went to The Eastern Peak for lunch with someone. We split the Spider Roll and some of the Wok-Fried Edamame (not pictured). I ordered the Drunken Noodles, spice level 4, and the dish was delicious! I’m curious about level 5, so I may get that one day to try.

I ordered Stephen the Teriyaki Chicken to go.

The Eastern Peak is pretty pricey (teriyaki chicken meal was like $20! 😳), so I try not to go too often.

Later that day, I found out that Crumbl Cookies had a white chocolate macadamia cookie that week, and I just needed it!

Unlike other cookies, I managed to finish this one within a few days. They’re so dense and rich that one is plenty for me. Just looking at this photo reminds me of it all over again. So yummy!

April 4: This was the day that kicked off my really tough, mentally draining week. I handled it well. Two pieces of advice that are my favorite that I stumbled across a couple of years ago and are applicable in this situation: “Don’t take criticism from someone you wouldn’t go to for advice” and “Don’t waste your time trying to explain yourself to people that are committed to misunderstanding you.”

I’m learning it’s best to preserve my peace, and that not all things deserve/are worth the energy to respond.

Anyway, to make things better, Darby and I visited our friends, Louise and Luna, for coffee and playtime. Darby loooves playing with Luna! He sounds so evil whenever he plays with her, which I was really worried at first since it did not sound like playing, but he most definitely is. I’m trying to get him to be quieter because he’ll do that whenever he’s excited to see other dogs.

They’re so stinking cute together, and they play so well together! Of course, I trust that Luna will put him in this place! She’s super submissive, and I think Darby is learning from her.

What’s even better is The Well announced spring seasonal drinks! I was still needing a pick-me-up even after having coffee with Louise, so I went to The Well.

My first new try was an iced Georgia On My Mind, and I loved the peach and caramel combination! The peach flavor was bold, and I’m surprised that this interesting combo worked so well together.

Its description: peach and caramel latte

Another nod from the Good Lord that all would be well and this time would pass was The Well had free mini piña colada muffins to sample! I only took one, and it was really good. Just what I needed.

I would love to hear people order She Sells Seashells, haha. I will definitely practice saying that on my own before ordering it so I don’t get too tongue tied!

April 5: I went to Boots & Good Co. and tried an iced Chocolate Covered Strawberry latte. I was on the fence about trying it since I’m not a huge fan of chocolate. The flavor lives up to its name! It wasn’t a personal favorite of mine since it was quite chocolatey. If you do like chocolate with strawberries in coffee, this would be perfect!

April 7: Yeah, yeah, I need to cut back on going to get coffee, but this was my week to be dramatic. Boots & Good Co. had another coffee to try!

The Caffe Oleato was a very interesting coffee. It’s an interesting combo—one I’ve never thought about making. I’ve never try this drink from anywhere else, but I’d say Boots did it well! It was really good. The olive oil definitely gave the drink a more velvety, light oily touch.

It only is available hot, but I would get it again!

Mr. Mouse, Stephen, and I went to the pet store to get some wet food since we were running low. He was so happy!

April 8: I’ve been craving ramen, and I wanted to make it up to Stephen since he didn’t eat any from Black Dynasty Ramen a month or so ago. The Otaku Ramen near us finally has a small dining area! Before, it used to be just a pick-up location.

Stephen ordered the Shoyu, and I tried the limited time Spring Udon Bowl! I’m not a big udon person, but these noodles were an in between of normal ramen and the fat udon noodles. I’m super bummed that I did not get my egg, which was $2 extra! Stephen did get his. Overall, I really liked the new dish and I was happy to be out and about.

Afterward, we walked to the L&L Market to stop by Honest Roasters.

I tried a new drink instead of getting the Bootlegger. This time, I ordered an iced Van Buren! It was good and the orange bitters weren’t super strong. I prefer the Bootlegger, but the Van Buren was enjoyable. Stephen ordered his normal Mocha.

April 9: Easter Sunday! A Mexican ice cream place had a grand opening on this day, and we went to support them.

The flower sign was so cute and pretty! Really cool. I ordered the Passion Fruit ice cream and Lime (not sure of the word, since it wasn’t ice cream, but paletas are popsicles on a stick) paleta but not on a stick, haha. I was feeling adventurous to try these flavors. They also had a coffee ice cream flavor! I will have to try that or the crepes next. I really liked this combination.

Stephen felt adventurous, too, and ordered a Green Smoothie.

April 12: My second seasonal drink from The Well is She Sells Seashells, and this one was a pleasant surprise. The pineapple juice was the strongest flavor, followed by the light sweetness of the caramel. The matcha wasn’t as bold, but it was a perfect combination.

Its description: iced pineapple, caramel and ginger matcha latte

I had this finished in no time! Under an hour, I’d say. I try to make them last, but this was finished quickly.

April 12: I had coffee at my friend Louise’s place again. Darby got to play with Luna for a couple of hours, and they had a blast!

Thanks to Darby, we’ve made all kinds of nice friends.

I gave Darby a little chew once he was rested up, in case he needed something to snack on. He wanted to hide it instead.

April 14: I went to Kroger for some things, then decided to get coffee at Starbucks for once since it’s right next door. I ordered the Iced Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso. It was good!

April 15: Stephen bought a resin printer, so we went to Phillips Toy Mart to purchase some items for it. We did manage to buy Stephen’s nieces some toys for their birthdays that are a few weeks from now!

The little corgi stuffed animals were so cute! I am sad that there are never any tri-colors.

Also, a cool surprise was they had rented out bunnies for a few weeks, and today was the last day they would be here! So stinking cute. I got to pet one, and I was ecstatic.

Afterward, we went to Asahi Japanese Restaurant for lunch.

We ordered the Music City Roll and a Salmon Skin Roll. I also ordered the Tempura Soba, and we both ordered Teriyaki Beef. We had a lot of leftovers! So yummy.

Around 2:30 PM, Darby and I went on a walk with Kylie and Spud at a nearby park.

They both acted like they wanted to get into the creek, but we held them back. I am curious to know if Darby would actually try to get in since he doesn’t like getting wet!

Later that evening, we went to Crumbl Cookies. I got the Cookie Butter Lava cookie, and it was heavenly!! I have to say, this one is my new favorite cookie. I finished it within a day, even faster than the macadamia nut one! Stephen thought it was too buttery, haha.

I just brought Stephen back a Chocolate Chip cookie. He wasn’t feeling any of the other ones.

April 16: We went grocery shopping and bought Death Wish Coffee Co. pods. Wowza, they are pricey! Stephen had only a sip of mine since he had his morning coffee and said he didn’t notice a difference, but I can definitely tell that the coffee is strong and super bold.

This coffee will be a nice treat, but I can’t justify spending $15 for 10 pods, especially if Stephen is just fine with the pods we order off of Amazon.

April 17: I went to The Well and ordered an iced Joyride. It’s a chocolate, almond, and coconut latte. I typically don’t order chocolate drinks, but the chocolate was tame, and it reminded me of an Almond Joy, just a faint taste of one.

A kind neighbor of ours gave us two Crumbl Cookies that he wasn’t going to eat: Cotton Candy and Caramel Shortbread, featuring TWIX.

Stephen said that Cotton Candy tasted like birthday cake. The Caramel Shortbread was good! It’s super sweet. We’ve had a lot of Crumbl this month.

April 19: I tried the fourth and final drink from The Well: an iced John the Gardener. The lavender and basil are super light tasting, but the blueberry flavor is bold! This was a really good drink.

Description: blueberry, lavender and basil latte

After trying all four drinks, these are my favorites in order:

• Georgia on My Mind
• John the Gardener
• She Sells Seashells
• Joyride

They were all delicious drinks! I think this season is one of the firsts where I’ve tried all of them. For the winter drinks, they had a cider drink, but I didn’t try it.

April 20: I had coffee with Louise again, and Darby and Luna played for a couple of hours. They really wore each other during this visit. They both laid around for a few minutes, but they’ve never napped together.

Spud’s pawrents had a crazy work schedule, so I got to drop in and hang out with Spud! We went on a good walk. It was super hot on this day, so we didn’t stay out for too long.

He’s such a cutie!

April 21: Darby played in the dog park with his friend Pepper and got super dusty. He really enjoys rolling around when playing with furriends. He’d shake and become a dust cloud!

This photo does not show how dirty he was, but he was having such a good time! Consequently, it was bath time the second we got home!

I have to get in the tub with him, otherwise I can’t wash him as well and Stephen can’t help me block Darby in the tub. He always tries to get out. The water was filthy! He’s so soft now. We love it. This saves us from giving him a bath the next week, which we had planned to do before visiting family.

April 22: Earth Day! This was a busy day for me. I had to wake up at 7:30 AM (😢). It really wasn’t that bad, but it was nice getting up early, kind of.

Louise and I took Luna and Darby to Cheekwood for dog day! I bought the 9:30 AM slot. We walked a couple of trails and settled down on a picnic blanket that I brought.

Darby loved the donut! Louise and I split fried catfish and fries. She had never had catfish before! Although it was from a food truck, it was delicious! She made the right choice getting it.

Darby really surprises me at these events. I figure he’d be losing his mind because of all the dogs around, but he was so, so good! He didn’t bark too much, either. He got to say hi to a few corgis and other dogs. He’s been getting too excited when greeting dogs, so I’ve had to keep him away because he sounds mean and I don’t want others to get the wrong impression.

We stayed until almost 12 PM. It was such a gorgeous day to go! It wasn’t too hot, and there was a light breeze. After Cheekwood, I took Louise and Luna home, dropped Darby off at home, then stopped by Boots & Good Co. to get coffee before going to Clarksville to visit Alexis and Kelli.

An iced Snickerdoodle, of course, with cold foam. YUM!

We picked Kelli up and got an apartment tour now that she’s back in Clarksville. We went to Golly G’s for ice cream and coffee. I ordered a scoop of Coffee Date and an iced Butterscotch Bomb latte. It’s a seasonal drink. It also had caramel in it, and it was so good!

I’ve only been here once. The cinnamon rolls are HUGE. We’re coming back and sharing one. They’re like the size of someone’s head! It would take the three of us to eat just one, and we may still have some left.

We spent a couple of hours here and talked, just catching up on life and all that has been going on; it’s been a couple of years since we have all gotten together. We’ve decided we need to make this a monthly outing.

For dinner, we were going to go to Blackhorse, but we didn’t realize that it was prom night for high schoolers. Blackhorse was packed and we didn’t try to get in. Instead, we went to The Mailroom. I had never eaten here before!

We only had to wait like 20 minutes. I think we ended up waiting on our food for at least 30 minutes since they were so busy, and we came at a busy time.

The lights were pretty cool. I ordered a Strawberry Basil Mimosa, and Kelli ordered the Postal Paloma.

I couldn’t finish mine, so Alexis drank the rest of it. It was delicious! I think I’d stick with the refresher since I couldn’t finish it as a mimosa.

Thankful for my friends for letting me document before eating. It only took a couple of seconds!

Orders:

• Alexis: Korean Beef Bowl
  • Marinated Ribeye, Steamed Rice, Korean Pickles, Garlic Kimchi, Ssamjang Sauce, Fried Egg
• Kelli: Chicken Quesadilla
  • Seasoned Chicken, Melted Cheeses, House-Made Pico de Gallo, Gochujang Aioli, Flour Tortilla. Served with Fries, Side Salad, and House Salsa
• Mine: Korean Cauliflower Steak
  • Vegetarian House Kimchi, Marinated Cucumbers, Pineapple Fried Rice, Ssamjang Sauce

I was going to get what Alexis ordered, but I tried saving a few dollars and got a vegetarian dish instead (although getting the mimosa at the last minute really canceled that attempt out). The kimchi definitely had a kick to it. The dish was good, but I didn’t care for the shrimp sauce(?) on the cauliflower.

When we get our check, a cool postcard comes with it as a keepsake! We all got the same one:

I ended up going home around 9 PM, and Darby was so happy to have me back home! Stephen said that he even waited in my parking spot for me to return. 🥺

I was hoping he’d be tired from Cheekwood and want to rest for the rest of the day. He did get to meet and play with our neighbors’ new puppy while I was gone.

April 23: We did our weekly grocery shopping around 4 PM instead of going in the morning. I picked up a summer roll and made myself some noodles for dinner.

I almost forgot how much I love summer rolls.

Also, it was still a lazy day for Darby. I had a mini photo session with him, trying to capture his eye color.

He’s so stinking cute.

April 26: Listen up, Butter Pecan has returned to Dunkin’! Literally some of the best news this month! Darby and I went for an iced latte and pup cup.

Maybe we’ll make this a weekly thing. I really want him to quit barking at the employees whenever he hears them on the speaker and at the window.

Also, just to make a note of, I had a horrific experience later on this partic(k)ular night because there was a tick on me! Very scary moment, but Stephen was able to remove it. Now I’ll be paranoid about Lyme disease and more ticks crawling on me.

April 29: Kylie and I hung out for the evening. We first went to The Eastern Peak for dinner.

Kylie insisted I try the crab rangoons, and they were good! They weren’t too sweet, just right. She ordered the Sesame Chicken, and I ordered the Crispy Pork Combo. I think this is my new favorite dish here. It was so crispy and delicious!

This month came full circle for me. I went the first Saturday of this month, which was a difficult time, and now I’m here again for the final Saturday of the month with a good friend!

I did think my waiter was a bit presumptuous and didn’t give me back my change. That wasn’t cool, but he probably need it more than me.

Alexis is supposed to come down on Friday since she’s going to hang out with Darby while we’re at the Eras concert. We may eat here for lunch as my way of thanking her.

After dinner, we went to Publix to pick up some brownies and ice cream to make while we watch the movie One True Loves, a movie adaptation of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s novel. I read the book in October and it was okay.

Books

• Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
  • themes: mental health, romance, childhood trauma
  • rating: 3.5
  • A friend let me borrow this book, and it was not what I expected. Eleanor was not a likable characters, but she did grow. As the reader, it’s obvious that something is off with Eleanor, and I was curious to find out what it was. I felt frustrated with most of her actions and felt defensive toward other characters since she judged them unfairly.
    • The big twist at the end seems to just be something abrupt and out of nowhere.
    • Lots of childhood trauma and loneliness to unpack in this book.
    • Overall, it was an okay read, but I don’t think I would read again.

• Episode Thirteen by Craig DiLouie
  • themes: paranormal, mystery, ghost, science, supernatural
  • rating: 3.5
  • Written in a really cool format—journal entries, raw footage, emails, texts. Lots of craziness involved. Fun for those who enjoy ghost hunting and stories centered around that.
    • Overall liked most of the characters.

• Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
  • themes: romance, historical fiction, coming of age
  • content warnings: gun violence, depression, racism, homophobia, abusive relationship
  • rating: 3.5
  • This was almost a DNF for me. I had myself read to at least page 100 before putting it aside, but I stuck with it and wanted to keep reading. The characters all felt real and human. They had their faults, and their share of arguing, but they worked well together.
    • This could have been shorter. It was a bit long.
    • I wasn’t really interested in the video game aspect too much, though there isn’t too much of that to completely lose my interest.
    • A bit saddened by the outcome of one character.
    • IX Pioneers was a section I really enjoyed, and it’s a game play through, which was neat and very touching.

• Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
  • themes: sci-fi, mystery, thriller, suspense
  • rating: 3.5
  • This is my second Crouch book, and I enjoyed it. I do think I enjoyed Recursion more, especially since I was left with so many more questions. It wasn’t clear to me that the Jasons were the same, just different variations from the one we follow. Once Stephen explained to me that there were several Jasons rooted from the time the “original” is abducted, it makes me wonder why I should root for the Jason that is our MC. Just because he gets to his wife before the others one? Not really sure.
    • I know it’s a given that sometimes characters do really stupid things for the plot’s sake, but come on, you don’t go out into a blizzard or a world where it’s been deeply affected by a pandemic.
      • They weren’t dressed for the blizzard and essentially almost died.
      • In the pandemic world, Jason could have caught the disease and potentially jeopardize everyone else, but at least he doesn’t and that doesn’t happen!
    • Also, one character was introduced that play a big part in helping Jason just is never mentioned. Surely, in one of the other timelines/lives she would’ve showed up and been a part of the story later on.
    • Is the Jason that we’re following truly the best Jason? I don’t think so, considering one particular event, but whatevs.
    • Fun, entertaining read that was promising, but as everything unraveled, it fell a little flatter for me.

• The Resting Place by Camilla Sten
  • themes: mystery, thriller, suspense, psychological thriller
  • rating: 4
  • This book’s original language is Swedish. Two POVs: present day with Eleanor and past with Anushka in 1965. Their voices were distinct.
    • I had a few lingering spoiler questions that caused me not to give this a 5-star rating.
    • The twists I did not see coming. I had maybe guessed one or two, but the big reveal was shocking to me.
    • So many family secrets, and what a mystery!
    • Very fun read, and it was a page turner. The chapters are super short, and they left me hanging!
    • Wondering if this was the case where the reader knew more than the MC would ever know due to some certain things unfolding.

• The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
  • themes: mystery, young adult, romance
  • cw: domestic abuse
  • rating: 4
  • It’s an outlandish plot, but it’s a giant puzzle and it’s super interesting! I know 15-year-old me would have LOVED this book, were it published whenever I was that age. Reading it now, at 27 years old, I’m liking it.
    • I really wish that the MC (and most of the other characters) are at least in college or a tad bit older. MC Avery is a junior in high school and finds out that she’s an heiress to billions.
    • Not a fan of love triangles, but this one seems tame.
    • Reminded me of Pretty Little Liars because the guys and everyone else seemed to be haunted by Emily.
    • We don’t find out in this first book why Avery was mentioned in the will! I’m glad that I started this whenever all three books were published. Waiting for this would’ve drove me crazy, haha.

• The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
  • themes: mystery, young adult, romance, adventure, thriller
  • rating: 4
  • I was still in the queue to check this book out, so I went and ordered it from Amazon and devoured it within a day! I donated it to the library once I finished it.
    • Finally we know about Avery’s (very faint) connection to Mr. Tobias Hawthorne! Things are still muddy and mysterious, but this was a fun book. I do find it less believable that Avery could figure out the hints, but this whole series is super clever.
    • Libby and Avery didn’t interact as much in this book. I’m glad Libby’s situation essentially ended in the first book, but she seemed to run off with Nash for most of the book.
    • The love triangle died down (for the most part), thankfully. I do feel bad for the other guy, and the final book made me feel even more bad for the poor guy!
    • I think it was obvious who she was going to choose. Also, the love triangle reminded me of The Vampire Diaries. Little spoiler! So if you know about Elena, Stefan, and Damon, I think you’ll figure out quickly which brother Avery chooses.

• The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
  • themes: mystery, young adult, romance, adventure, thriller
  • rating: 4
  • We learned the truth about Avery’s mom, and wowza, this book filled in the gaps of her history. The betrayal of one character wasn’t shocking, and I felt sad for one character when they played a final chess game where the stakes were high.
    • Avery proved to be a strong MC. She had some growth, and it’s crazy to think that these three books span only one year. So much happens, but I hurried through these books! I think I read one a day to finish them.
    • Skye acted like a child and was incredibly selfish. I’m glad she wasn’t in the book much.
    • I don’t know if I’ve forgotten or if it was even answered, but I can’t remember finding out who Jameson’s father is.

• The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
  • themes: historical fiction, romance, chick lit
  • content warnings: racism, sexism, misogyny, animal death
  • rating: 2
  • A friend was kind enough to lend me this book, but this might be the last time I try to read historical fiction. I just could not get into it. After 100 pages into it, I just started to skim and quickly read the meat of the story.
    • Given the time period of the 1930s, why would I go out of my way to read about racism and misogyny?! I really don’t want to read about characters talking about a woman’s place or how a Black woman doesn’t need to be working in an establishment. It really fires me up that this actually happened, but I want to enjoy what I’m reading.
    • The Pack Horse Library Project is interesting. That I didn’t know about, and I’m ashamed to not know this already.
    • Some modern phrasing was used, which was not used in the 1930s.
    • Alice is incredibly naive. I mean, she doesn’t even know if her marriage to Bennett had been consummated. I don’t even remember how old she is, if it even said.

• Lunar Love by Lauren Kung Jessen
  • themes: enemies to lovers, chick lit, Asian literature, matchmaking
  • rating: 4
  • I didn’t know this is an enemies-to-lovers trope (which I don’t care for), but I’m continuing on because it’s written by a Chinese-American author. However, this one was actually more bearable, though it was a bit juvenile of Olivia to think and do some mean things about Bennett.
    • When it comes to enemies to lovers, typically the female MC just making hasty judgments towards her “enemy”—half the time they have never met, but he’ll either not appear friendly or she’ll assume and be incredibly wrong—and I’m just not a fan of it.
    • Also, Olivia comes off as very deceitful since she knew who Bennett was before he knew who she was because she sought him out to try to spy on him.
    • I really enjoyed learning about the Chinese zodiacs. Just so you know, we’re in the year of the rabbit in 2023! I’ve known I was born in the year of the pig (last animal in the zodiac cycle), but I didn’t know about the traits. Turns out, I’m a wood pig (those born Jan. 30, 1995 – Feb. 18, 1996). I’m really bummed that I don’t know what time I was born because I don’t know my companion sign.
      • I think I relate to a Pig a lot, but then I can see bits of myself in the other signs, especially the Horse and Dragon! That would be cool if I knew what time I was born, but reading this book also reminds me of the holes in my own history.
    • I learned a lot from this book, and it sparked more interest in learning about the Chinese culture, and zodiac, even more. I think of Fruits Basket each time I think of the zodiac.
      • New goal: learn more about China. I’ll start with the zodiac because it’s so interesting and it’s a fundamental element of Chinese culture.

What’s your Chinese zodiac? You can find out here!

• Upgrade by Blake Crouch
  • themes: sci-fi, thriller, mystery, dystopian, fantasy
  • rating: 4
  • I wasn’t sure if I would finish this book to round out April, but I did it! I thought the gene altering was a really cool concept. I glazed over the mentioning of genes and didn’t get invested in checking out the secret message hidden in Logan’s and Kara’s DNA, but it was clever.
  • Logan losing his family was really sad, but he was a good guy.
  • Overall, this book held my attention, and I was so curious to find out how this book ended.

Since the book list has gotten so long, should I combine the books, movies, and music section and share them as a separate post? I’d link that post in this one to make it easy to find.

TV Shows/Movies

Love O2O (2016) — Movie

Love O2O — TV series

Extrapolations (2023) — TV series

Wayward Pines (2015) — TV series

One True Loves (2023) — Movie

Music

emails i can’t send fwd: (2022) — Sabrina Carpenter

First Two Chapters of Frankenstein (2023)— The National

Orders

April 4: To brighten up this cruddy day I had, some succulents arrived!

From top, left to right, then bottom: Pachyphytum Botox Beauty, Echeveria Horizon, Var. Echeveria Frevel, and Var. Pachyphytum Momobijin. The Frevel was a gift that my seller kindly added in. I’ve been on the lookout for a Var. Momobijin, and my seller came through and found some! Not that you can tell much from the picture, but this one had the best look (IMO), and I got it for an amazing deal!!

April 18: Since Mr. Darby has no self-control and goes ballistic whenever he sees a potential fur friend, I ended up buying a Martingale collar and a 10-foot rope leash. The collar has done wonders!! He is a lot better and he does not pull like he used to. We should’ve bought one of them last year! The buckle is a bit big on the leash, but that’s minor.

April 26: More succulents! In this order, I received a Variegated Echeveria Biante and Echeveria Black Sabbath, and a gifted Echeveria Ivory Mountain. So gorgeous!!

That’s all for April!

What’s one fun thing you did in April?

The Taylor Swift concert is tomorrow. I am going to be unwell!