How My July 2023 Went

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We’re just a third into August, so I need to catch up a little bit. Here’s how well July treated me.

Or, jump to:

• books
• TV shows/movies
• music
• orders

Daily Life

July 1: Alexis came to hang out with me for the day! I hadn’t seen her since the Taylor Swift concert and it’s been too long. The storm rained out our original plan of going to Inchin’s and trying a new coffee shop. Instead, we just went to The Eastern Peak and The Well for coffee.

We ordered the Wok Edamame as an appetizer, and I ordered the tofu drunken noodles. They weren’t as good as the previous time I got them, but I still liked it them. Alexis got her crab roll and pad thai.

I tried The Well’s summer drink, this makes my second one, and it’s the Soda Pop Shop. I liked it more than I thought I would! It tastes like an orange creamsicle.

We went back to the apartment and watched the latest episode of The Bachelorette.

July 3: Honeyfire BBQ has burnt ends on Mondays, and I finally got some! Stephen was also off work! He’s the one who ordered the brisket and queso.

July 5: Louise and I went by The Well before she had to go to work. I tried the iced Wake Up San Francisco, and she ordered the iced Soda Pop Shop. I agree with her thought about the drink I got. It was a bit too sweet, but I still enjoyed it and drank it all.

July 6: Louise and I went to YogaSix for the Yoga 101 class. We liked it, but it was a little pricey for us. It was a reminder for me to stretch more. I’m still decently flexible, but I would like to be able to do a split again. They were super nice and the facility was super clean, but a couple of days later, they would either call or text me to hear my experience and sign up for more classes, which I was a little put off by after I had already answered one text. I think I’d go again, but it wouldn’t be too often with less wiggle room in our budget.

For lunch, we went to Tropical Smoothie Cafe. I got the Caribbean Jerk Chicken Wrap and a Watermelon Mojito smoothie. It was the perfect lunch after the class!

We also stopped by Sprouts Market next door. I bought some ginger beer! Have you tried it? I’ve never had it before until Louise introduced it to me, but now I have to have at least a bottle in the apartment. It reminds me of the extra bold Ginger Ale. Stephen is not a fan of ginger beer.

Today was THE DAY for Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)!! Well, for me being in the central time zone.

I stayed up waiting for it to drop on the 6th at 11 PM. I thought I’d do some work to be productive while I waited, but I was crying on the inside because I ended up claiming a long file and couldn’t listen to the album until 11:30 PM! Right at 11 PM, Stephen was upstairs, and he made the lights purple for me.

I had put Darby upstairs so he could get some sleep, but evidently he was whining and woke Stephen up, so he spent time with me downstairs!

He was not happy with me locking him up in our bedroom.

I decided to listen to the vault tracks upstairs since it was past 1 AM at that point, and I didn’t want him to be too out of whack the next day.

July 7: Okay, today was the official date of release. Since this is my favorite album, I went to Target and bought the CD! I didn’t have purple nail polish to match, so this wine color would have to do.

After walking around in Target, I decided to head to McKay’s just to browse some more. I stopped by Starbucks for an iced Caramel Macchiato. I didn’t buy anything at McKay’s, but it was nice to go whenever the place wasn’t crowded.

Stephen and I headed to Kingsport to celebrate his dad’s and my mom’s birthday, which are a day apart and next week.

Darby likes to press up against his crate for some reason. He’s so funny.

July 8: My parents and I went to eat at Perkins for breakfast. I had to keep my mom out and about until 12:20 to 12:30 PM to go to my aunt’s house.

Our breakfast:

We dropped my dad off at their house so he could continue with his usual Saturday stuff; it would’ve seen suspicious if he didn’t. Mom and I had our “Mommy-Stephy day.” We only went to Hobby Lobby and TJ Maxx whenever it was 12:10 PM.

At Hobby Lobby they had these cute dryting mats:

Typically we go everywhere on our day, so I was not sure how to get her to Lisa’s house and say that we needed to end our shopping and go up there. Luckily, Haley was on the phone with mom and convinced her to go to Lisa’s right then. I don’t think my mom was suspicious since we initially told her that Levi was going up there to swim at 12:30 PM.

Let’s just say I did not do a great job because I internally panicked whenever she wanted to go to Walmart at 12:10 PM whenever we needed to go to my aunt’s house at 12:30 PM.

It all worked out, thanks to Haley!

We hung out at Lisa’s until a little before 4 PM, then we headed back to my parents’ house so Stephen and I could pack up and head to his parents’ house.

Look at my boys! 🥹

Darby was pressed up even more against the crate! We stopped at 7 Brew for coffee. I ordered the iced Blondie again, and Darby got a pup cup! I spoon fed him through the bars. He was super happy.

I had some boneless barbecue wings for dinner. Stephen’s family ordered from Pizza Perfect.

We ended up spending the night at my parents’ house because Stephen wasn’t up for the drive back that night like he had planned. I had a migraine and was trying to sleep, and Stephen started getting one that affected his vision. We arrived at my parents’ house a little after 9 PM. It’s a good thing we didn’t go because a big storm was headed our way!

July 9 (aka, “Last Kiss” day!): The next morning, we were officially on our way back. I got a large iced caramel macchiato for the road. The drive was okayish, but we were glad to be back home.

Literally the best drink! I wish I had one near me.

July 13: I got my açaí from the farmers’ market, and it was so good! If you ever go to Riptide Açaí, this is the Crazy Bowl #2!

July 14: It’s officially my mom’s birthday! I took my friend Louise to the DMV so she could test for her learner’s permit and driver’s license. We had a little hiccup, but it surprisingly didn’t take all day! We were in the Franklin area and stopped by Just Love Coffee. I tried the iced Toffee Coffee.

Afterward, around 12 PM, Darby and I went to Birdy and Goose’s to play for a little bit!

We stayed for a couple of hours, then went home to eat a late lunch. This was him on the way back:

July 15: This is how I started my Saturday: watching The Bachelorette and eating the skinny poppyseed muffin Louise bought us at Just Love.

Brayden wouldn’t be my cup of tea, but he seemed fun-ish.

Crumbl Cookies had a cookie butter cookie again this week, and I had to try it! I think it may be my second favorite. I loved the white chocolate chips, but I wanted more cookie butter taste. Still good, and I ate it within a day!

Kylie and I both got the cookie butter one, Zach tried the Butterfinger one, and Stephen wanted the semi-sweet chocolate chip. Everyone’s cookie choice was their favorite, so that’s a win!

Our neighbor went out of town again, so I looked after Pepper!

July 16: Darby’s lazy day! This couch is his, and he will steal your seat.

July 18: Heart is EXPLODING. He’s only in it for the treats.

July 20: Darby and I met up with Louise and Luna at the park before a storm hit. He had so much fun playing! He needs to do better with his recall, but he didn’t stray too far off with his long leash, and we had the whole area to ourselves!

We left around 12 PM, then dropped off the dogs and headed to The Well. I finally tried the Eden Bowl, and I got an iced matcha latte. So good! I expected to have leftovers, but I finished it in one sitting!

It was raining, but we headed over to Sprouts next door. I bought some shrimp to make for dinner on Friday and some more ginger beer.

Today was the day when we went to see the Barbie movie. Stephen has watched the trailer and the Ken song every day, and it’s finally his day! For me, I get an Icee and popcorn and was happy.

I think the movie lived up to his expectations because he has listened to the soundtrack and has chosen some favorite songs!

July 21: I’m back on my avocado toast kick until further notice.

July 22: Stephen and I went to Sweet Sofia’s so I could get a mangonada for National Mango Day!

It had mango and lime ice cream. It was salty, sweet, and a little spicy. A very interesting combo! It seems like chamoy is on everything, even gummy rings and worms!

Also, I ordered a Speak Now (Deluxe Edition) the night of Taylor’s Version and it finally arrived after two weeks! This was my first time ordering from eBay and I was a little worried it wouldn’t be legit. I’ve listened to a few songs, and it’s real!

Absolutely beautiful and wonderful to have. I had the original album growing up, but I have no idea where it went. I wanted the deluxe because, to me, it is not Speak Now without “If This Was A Movie.” TS put it on the “More Fearless” chapter and it feels wrong to me.

July 26: Stephen went to a concert on Wednesday, and I went to Crumbl Cookies to surprise him with a semi-sweet chocolate cookie that they brought back, and I stopped by Sonic because I was craving a blue raspberry Slushie with Nerds.

July 27: Darby hung out with Birdy and Goose! He was a good boy and had such a good time! Charlene got him to swim with her one time, but he did get in a few times by himself!

As you can see in the video, he’s trying to figure out how he’ll float and jump off the step to start swimming. I think he’s figured out that the water cools him off because he’s been sticking his head in the water! Legitimately the cutest!

We hung out with them for like 3 hours! He was tired for the rest of the day and didn’t go on his evening walk.

In the evening, Stephen, our neighbor, and I stopped by the Bellevue Farmers’ Market to try the food truck, Bubbled Up.

Stephen ordered a chocolate shake, and I tried The Candyland. It was so good! I could not finish it all, but I did eat most of it.

July 28: We thought our air conditioning stopped working and we put in a maintenance request. A maintenance worker showed up the next day, and, it turns out, one of the breaker poles was tripped! We suffered for a day! 😵‍💫 I was over at Kylie’s apartment having dinner with her. Darby was a good boy whenever the guy showedu p!

Kylie and Zach lent us a fan and a portable air conditioner for the time being. Our temporary setup:

July 30: We got out of the apartment for a little bit. I dragged Stephen to Petco, and I found these bags of dog food on sale for $6 when they’re originally like $30!!

I had a corgi mom friend mention the Natural Balance food, so I thought I’d add it to Darby’s food for some razzle dazzle to mix things up for him.

For dinner, we made ribs in the Instant Pot!

Absolutely delicious! Stephen removed the bones and made himself a pork sandwich.

July 31: I went back to Petco to buy some of the Natural Balance dog food for my friend, and there was one bag left! I also saw that they had the meal toppers for this brand on sale.

I bought each of the big bags on sale for $9 when they’re originally $29. I cannot resist a good deal.

Books

• The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth
  • genres: mystery, thriller, suspense
  • content warnings: depression, postpartum depression, mental illness
  • rating: 3.5
    • I’ve only read one other Sally Hepworth novel and that was The Younger Wife. I liked this novel much better, and I didn’t see most of the twists coming! This book has short chapters, making it easy to fly through. We have two POVs: Pippa (then and now) and Amanda (before and after). Amanda is like an omniscient point of view and a ghost. She fills in some of the holes in the story that Pippa’s may have, along with how her marriage went.
    • Gabe and Pippa have a seemingly perfect marriage, the cutest meet-cute, and a pretty baby, yet once we get to know the flaws in their marriage, I would have ran from the first red flag that Gabe showed. He seemed like the perfect dad (which I guess he was). This story is about a husband doing sketchy, concerning, and illegal things. When we find out, I didn’t feel much emotion toward them as individuals or as a couple.
    • I liked learning about Amanda and Max’s relationship. I cared for them more.
    • I feel like Mei should’ve fit somewhere in this story and should have had a bigger role since she worked for Max as well, unless I got that wrong. She did know Gabe, so it makes me wonder what all she saw and knew.

• White Ivy by Susie Yang
  • genres: coming of age, thriller, Asian literature
  • content warnings: depression, infidelity
  • rating: 4
    • Ivy was such a messy character, and it was refreshing. My toxic thought is I like Roux. He and Ivy were a terrible match, but they were chaotic together and it really created the friction in this story.
    • Gideon seemed sweet, but he was just there. He certainly was kind, and nothing like Roux.
    • The reveal at the end wasn’t shocking to me, if I am understanding correctly what it was implying.
    • I’m really torn by the ending because there’s a lot going on with Ivy—she’s being blackmailed, for one—her family’s finances have changed for the better, yet she doesn’t know what’s going on with them, and she’s trying to plan her wedding.
      • I expected more from the ending because a lot goes on, then once Ivy commits a crime, things seem to calm down and it’s peaceful. I wish there was an epilogue because I want to know what life was like for Ivy after she was married.

• The Only Survivors by Megan Miranda
  • genres: thriller, mystery, suspense, psychological thriller
  • rating: 3
    • This is the first novel that I’ve read by this author, and I just couldn’t get attached to the characters. I realized that each of the surviving teenagers had something to hide, one being murder, and this was an incredibly traumatic event, but I wasn’t blown away by it or developing an attachment to the characters.
    • The big reveal at the very end is what bumped up this rating half a star. I’m very surprised that this character didn’t have more trauma or guilt from the event.

• The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren
  • genres: romance, chick lit
  • rating: 3
    • Felicity Chen, Jess’s best friend who’s a romance author from The Soulmate Equation, gets her own story! All I can say is that I think I can only handle Fizzy in doses. She had crass language, and this feels like another character Christina Lauren tried too hard to make ~super quirky~ and say the most outlandish, inappropriate things. This book really missed the mark for me.
    • Fizzy was charismatic, but my gosh, it seemed like she only liked Connor (and he liked her) for their bodies and how hot they are. There wasn’t much substance.
    • Also, I’m not a huge fan of pop culture references, and I thought the slang was a bit cringe.
    • I loved the concept of a dating show like The True Love Experiment, but this could have clearly been shorter and the plot is just Fizzy and Connor (the executive producer of the show) falling in love but unable to be with each other.

• Find Me by Alafair Burke
  • genres: crime, mystery, thriller, suspense
  • rating: 3.5
    • This was a plot-driven novel. I didn’t care much for the characters, but I was really interested in seeing how all of these puzzles pieces were fitting together.
    • Hope Miller’s disappearance seems sketchy: she runs off after getting a cash advance from her boss, she’s using a fake name because she was in an accident 15 years ago and doesn’t know her real name, and a body is found from the ocean. Not looking good for her.
    • I really didn’t expect to come back on her own, but I’m glad she did.
    • Lindsay seemed like a really good friend, and it turned out that she and Hope had some interest in one another.
    • As for the end, I find it hard to believe that one of our MC could put on a ruse for that long. Also, would the actual truth ever come out?

• The Last Guest House by Megan Miranda
  • genres: mystery, thriller, suspense, crime
  • rating: 3
    • Well, right off the bat, I’m not loving the sentence fragments. It seems like this is a theme for Miranda to make hte MC seem untrustworthy.
    • I don’t know if this author is particularly for me. This book was another slow burn, with new things going on, and it didn’t really deliver for me.
    • When Avery pieces everything together, I find it hard to believe that no one spotted Sadie, or the person with her, at the party, especially since the person sounded significantly older than the average person at the plus-one party.

TV Shows/Movies

XO, Kitty (2023)

Barbie (2023)

Black Mirror, Season 3 (2023)

Music

THE album released!!

Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) –– 2023 | Taylor Swift

Whatever other music was released this month was overshadowed by this album. It holds a lot of emotions for me.

Orders

July 9: I tried a new skincare product and it irritated my face. So, to restore my biome, I bought Derma E products from Ulta. These are AMAZING. After only 3 days of using them, my skin is far less irritated and it almost looks like it normally should.

Whenever I used the product, I had tiny red bumps on my cheeks and around my mouth and chin. A few days later, the areas started drying out and peeling, along with itching ☹️, but these 3 products are acting quick, and my face seriously looks so much better!

I know I should’ve taken before and after photos to show how much of a difference it’s made and how fast it’s worked, but trust me, it was not a good look. I think my skin is looking even better than it was pre-irritation!

Derma E is my go-to brand, and I think I’ll stick with it after this experience. It was miserable waiting on my skin to balance out again.

July 20: I was so close to not buying succulents, but I had a gift card and I was on Etsy. Introducing my newest additions, Echeveria Werther and Echeveria Blue Bird! I had a BB once, but it was from a seller I wasn’t familiar with and it died shortly after getting it. This seller I purchased the two succies from run in the same circle as my succulent Insta community, so I trust her.

Originally, I was on the hunt for an Echeveria Crispate Beauty, but I’ll probably contact my favorite seller and ask if she can find me a nicer looking one for a better deal. I wasn’t impressed with the ones on Etsy.

ICYMI

• How My March 2024 Went
• How My February 2024 Went
• How My January 2024 Went
• How My December 2023 Went
• How My November 2023 Went

I finally shared my complete succulent collection!

That’s all for July! What’s a highlight for you?