How My March 2023 Went

Well, mid-April seems like the perfect time to post last month’s recap post.

• I haven’t been adding the categories, so here are the rest of them if you just want to jump to them in the post:
  • books
  • tv shows/movies (new!)
  • music (new!)
  • orders

Daily Life

March 2: My parents arrived in Nashville on Wednesday, March 1st. My dad’s appointment was on Thursday, and I was able to go with them.

The doctor recommended to wait 2 months before doing a new scan to see whether the three spots that are remaining shrink or grow. Fingers crossed it’s only scar tissue and they’ll shrink! If not, further testing will need to be done to determine if it’s lymphoma or an infection.

Afterward, we ate at a restaurant near their hotel, Ted’s Montana Grill. The pickles were complimentary, and the house chips were really good! A bit salty but tasty, and so was the french onion dip.

I ordered The Big Sky Grilled with Salmon. It was an okay salad, but I liked the salmon. My mom ordered the fish sandwich. She added some salt to it and that made it better. My dad ordered the two chicken fillets; he ate almost all of it!

After lunch, we popped into a shop next door that was connected to the Three Brothers’ Coffee. Dad and I ordered iced Caramel Lattes. They were okay, but a bit too much milk. I know lattes have a ton of milk in general, but the coffee taste was drowned out and didn’t do it for us.

March 4: I did some work, then my parents came over around 1 PM. We went to HomeGoods and bought a new rug. The couch my parents bought for us was supposed to arrive this day, but there was an error on the company’s side, so it’s expected to arrive on Tuesday.

The food aisle is still my favorite. They had red bean mochi!! I couldn’t resist, and this box had 6 pieces in it. I resisted the urge to go back and buy several boxes because they were such a good price.

After we shopped for a bit, my parents wanted to eat at Honey Fire BBQ. The left photo is my dad’s meal: pulled pork and smoked turkey with coleslaw and fries.

I ordered the brisket and pulled pork with the spicy beans and fries. My mom ordered the same as me, just a different side. Coleslaw, I think.

The brisket was delicious!! So amazing.

March 11: Stephen’s 30th birthday! I got us coffee from Boots & Good Co. He’s been liking the Mocha drink from coffee shops. I got my usual iced Snickerdoodle Latte.

March 12: I may be a little bonkers for doing this, but I placed some clothes for sale on the Facebook Marketplace and a girl from Athens, Alabama, messaged me. That’s about an hour and a half away from me. Due to her situation, I offered to drive to Athens to give the clothes to her. Alexis went with me, and we turned it into a little road trip!

I’ve had the bag for months, and I’m relieved to be getting rid of everything!

First stop: coffee from The Well. I tried an iced Cuban for the first time, and I loved it! I’d been wanting to try it, but I keep getting seasonal drinks.

We passed this on our way. I bought Stephen the LEGO set of this a few years ago. I did not get the “Welcome to Alabama” sign, so I’m a little sad about that, but it’s fine, haha.

We met up with the girl at Walmart, then Alexis and I went to Samurai Steakhouse because we were starving. The spring rolls and fried gyoza were good and really hit the spot. Alexis ordered a chicken Bento box, and it was a bit underwhelming. My beef yakisoba was good. It tasted just like the yakisoba at the restaurant I worked at years ago! They probably use the same packets.

Driving back, we first stopped for coffee #2. Alexis has never tried White Bison before, so we went there. I ventured out and tried the Nutty Bison. It was not for me, but at least I tried! It tasted quite nutty and chocolatey. Alexis ordered a mocha frappuccino. She said hers was okay.

March 26: Darby was invited to a barkday pawty for his corgi friend, Winston! It was hosted at Birdy’s pawrents house. It was a small group: Winston, Birdy, Goose, Winston’s mom’s friend and her dog (a Yorkie named Lillie), and Darby. They had such a fun time!

I also went to visit Alexis for a few hours. We grabbed coffee, drove around, and ate at a Korean restaurant. I ordered my usual iced Whiskey Caramel from Plumb Line. So, so good!

The kimchi here was not the best. It didn’t have much of a flavor, but I enjoyed my ramen and pork panko! I tried some of Alexis’ bulgogi and it was good!

March 29: I went with my friend to the antique store. I bought a cute sweater dress! Other than that, not much else happened in March the last week.

Books

• The Second Husband by Kate White
  • themes: mystery, thriller, suspense, psychological thriller
  • rating: 3
  • This was an incredibly slow burn. The ending was also underwhelming and super abrupt; it’s like it’s missing a chapter. Although, this could’ve been way shorter.
    • Dialogue and character interactions felt forced and awkward. Bunch of digs at millennials, too. A bit cringey and off putting.
    • Big murder/crime scene is left as a big mess, but the only resolution is whether or not Emma can trust her second husband, Tom, which I guess is the main storyline.

• Twelve Months and a Day by Louisa Young
  • themes: romance, fantasy, magical realism
  • rating: 4
  • This book was written in beautiful language. There are elements about about grief and love, life and death. It was slow paced, and I didn’t know what to expect. Of course, I imagine Rasmus and Róisín becoming close, but I’m not sure if they’re meant to be just friends or have a romantic involvement. It’s a unique premise, and it’s sweet to imagine Jay and Nico encouraging their living partners to find their way to each other.
    • This was a slow, slow burn. I could pick it up and put it down with wondering what was going to happen.
    • I want to know what happens after! It was a nice ending

• The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
  • themes: mystery, thriller, cult, crime
  • content warnings: rape, grooming
  • rating: 4
  • I stayed up late to finish this novel, even with a migraine coming on. This book is a page turner! It was a little hard for me to get into at first, and I wondered how the three POVs were connected.
    • We get Libby’s POV, the present, Lucy, who’s a single mother of two children, barely making ends meet, and an unidentified POV that covers the backstory of the mansion that Libby inherits when she turns 25, which is a heck of a long game to wait before things happen.
    • The ending, I’m very curious about what would happen whenever the remaining people would go to Africa. It also left me wondering if I could trust one of the characters.
    • Libby’s love interest seemed forced and a little strange. Didn’t see necessary. A lot was already going on.
    • With all that was going on in the house, I wanted to know more about David. How was he so charismatic to convince these people to live like the way they were living?
    • Why was the unidentified POV so shady? (leaving out name to not spoil) He was a little sketchy, and his behavior didn’t really seem to be addressed.
    • The fact that Lisa Jewell wasn’t going to make a sequel bumps this rating to 4 stars. I’m glad she made a second book because a few things were left open-ended.

• The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell
  • themes: mystery, thriller, cult, crime
  • content warnings: attempted rape, crime
  • rating: 4
  • This was a nice book to give an ending to the characters from the first book. I’m a little bummed we didn’t get more of one character, getting to see what they were like, but they were quite a mysterious person to jump start this wild goose chase.
    • Unhinged, unreliable character was still (shocking) acting unhinged without anyone thinking they need to seek help.
    • It was a bit off-putting at times when Detective Samuel Owusu’s race was brought up a few times, which seemed unnecessary. I think just seeing that his last name is “Owusu” would give that away without it being brought up for no real reason.
    • Neat, clean, happy ending for everyone. Overall satisfied, but it’s crazy to think that this one character could head off to Chicago and actually find the person they’re looking for, without knowing anything besides their name.

• An Ocean of Minutes by Thea Lim
  • themes: science fiction, dystopia, romance
  • rating: 3
  • I was so, so excited to read this book. The cover is gorgeous, the premise sound amazing! It felt flat for me, and I’m bummed about it.
    • I didn’t connect with Polly. She had her unlikable moments, but I cut her some slack because she was rerouted to a different year than where she was supposed to end up, and that the world was completely different.
    • I wanted to love Polly and Frank, but I didn’t. I don’t think they were that well matched.
    • After Polly finds Frank, it was underwhelming. From Frank’s perspective, I can partially understand his actions, but he was literally giving nothing.
    • Not a satisfying ending. Felt abrupt. I’m more curious about how Polly is navigating this new world.

• The Favor by Nicci French
  • themes: mystery, thriller, crime
  • rating: 4
  • hook: Two months away from getting married to her fiancé Nat, main character (MC) Jude is tracked down by her first love, Liam Birch, who she hasn’t seen in 11 years. He asks her to meet him at a later time to ask her for a favor. Liam ends up getting murdered, Jude is tangled up in the mess. She finds out she’s been assigned as one of the two executors of Liam’s will that he had made four months ago. Also, he left her a bowl he made, which was considered special to him. Why, Liam?
  • The font is large, which might be why the book seems so thick. I think it could’ve been shorter, but I was super curious and couldn’t put it down!
    • There are a ton of characters introduced, repetitive questions, and every little new detail muddied the mystery.

• Roomies by Christina Lauren
  • themes: romance, chick lit
  • rating: 4
  • This book was a nice little break from the thriller/mystery binge that I’ve been on lately.
    • Even after one long sitting, I later struggled trying to remember the male MC’s name. It’s Calvin, but the name Clifton kept popping up in my head, haha. I knew that wasn’t right, but it was the only name that I thought of.
    • Just now typing this mini review up, it’s only been a couple of days since I read this book, and I forgot Holland’s name and had to look it up.
    • Holland and Calvin had great chemistry.
    • Holland’s “friend” Lulu was terrible. I’m glad Holland grew up and opened her eyes about her.
    • I did feel emotionally connected to this story. It was sweet, and quite a literal dream come true.

• The Favor by Nice Rich
  • themes: thriller, mystery, crime
  • rating: 3.5
  • I had a few questions that weren’t answered. It’s a clever plot, with Liam showing up after eleven years and asking Jude for a favor that’s not outright said, but it was obvious once the plot unraveled.
    • A bit repetitive because we’re introduced to a bunch of characters (a lot of them are LIam’s housemates, which they had a funky dynamic). Jude gets asked the same questions over and over by different people, and gal pal literally does not give them the answer they want to hear from her because she doesn’t know!
    • The book could’ve been shorter, but it was a fun read.

• Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger
  • themes: thriller, mystery, suspense, crime, horror
  • content warnings: rape, sexual assault
  • rating: 2
  • No. Absolutely not. This is my second Lisa Unger book, and I did not enjoy it. So, this will probably be my last book by her that I’ll read.
    • First off, the grammar. She used incorrect grammar, and she would use the same adjectives to the point where they were overused and stale. This book marks her 20th that she’s published, yet she used the incorrect “who’s” and “pore over.” I died a little each time she used “who’s” when it should’ve been “whose.” I mean, how do you publish 20 books without using that correctly?
    • This book was about family—the one you choose, not the people you share blood and DNA with.
    • Lots of characters to keep track of, which wouldn’t have been half bad, but I honestly did not care that much for them. They literally all defended Mako and stuck by him throughout his life. The man-child deserved worse.
      • Hannah: MFC, couldn’t go one or two pages without mentioning her daughter. Obviously, I’m not a mother, but I have read plenty of books with the MC as a mother and their child was not mentioned as frequently as much as Hannah thought about Gigi.
        • Absolutely despised her character after the fact that she was defending her brother whenever they were teenagers and he raped a girl at a party he was throwing. Instead, she blamed the girl as drinking too much and being unreliable.
    • The DNA kit storyline that was part of Henry’s could’ve been a book on its own. I would’ve loved Cat as the MC. She reminded me of a fictional heroine named Alexandra Mallory.

• How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix
  • themes: paranormal, mystery, horror
  • rating: 3.5
  • This book was longer than it should’ve been. I was tired after 300 pages.
    • Also, my gosh, we have a 39-year-old MC named Louise who is arguing with her 37-year-old brother, Mark. They are like petty, immature children. It made Louise even less likable to me.
    • Creepy, possessed puppets and taxidermy squirrels, got it.
    • I feel like the title is a bit misleading because the house is not haunted, but the puppets are.
    • Sounds like a creepy, interesting premise, but personally, I think I would prefer this as a movie instead of a book because I couldn’t take it seriously.
    • There were a few painful scenes. The puppet stabs a needle into Louise’s eye. Ouch. No thank you.
    • Not a bad book, but I don’t think I’d read it again just because of its length and how it seemed kind of silly. Wonderful writing and premise, but it wasn’t for me.

• Recursion by Blake Crouch
  • themes: science fiction, thriller, time travel, mystery
  • rating: 4.5 (originally 5 stars, but bummed down)
  • Some of the science talk made me lose my focus at times, but the concept was really interesting and cool. There was an open-ended scene, which I didn’t like that, but a super unique book!
    • I love that MC Helena Smith is the brains behind the infamous chair that is responsible for the false memories.
    • Didn’t like the ridiculous choices that Helena and Barry chose to do on the day where everyone’s memories would flood back at once.
      • Knowing that the U.S. would be under attack on a certain day, yet they decide to go on a hike or be super far away from the tank? That makes no sense, yet it drives the story further for the plot.
      • Also, how is that even possible that people could build the tank and execute the attacks that quickly if they just got all of those memories back? Not super sure about that, either.
    • This was a mind-bending novel, and I was pleasantly surprised by it since I’m not sure if I would’ve read it if it weren’t for Stephen’s recommendation.

TV Shows/Movies

Since I dropped the ball on the what I’ve been watching series, I’ll just add my shows here. Plus, I have only been watching like one or two shows a month. Also, I can be a bit boring, so time to talk about some shows and music!

Love Between Fairy and Devil

Oh my goodness, I didn’t expect to love this show as much as I do! I’m not big into xiaxia (fantasy genre), but I gave this Cdrama a try and I adore it. Call me a fan now, haha.

It took me a few episodes to get on board and invested in the concept, but then I was hooked!

I finished Love Between Fairy and Devil on the 6th, and I’m so bummed.

There is a void in life because of this show. I watched Meteor Garden a few months ago, which has Wang He Di (Dylan Wang), and I saw people raving about this show. Okay, I get it now. His acting and the main character, Fairy Orchid (Yu Shu Xin, Esther Yu), were phenomenal.

Zhang Ling He, who played Lord Changheng was so, so sweet. I really liked him, too.

Lots of internet people are into him right now. He didn’t catch my eye in MG as Dao Ming Si, but he certainly did in this show as Dongfang Qingcang.

Ashes of Love is recommended next, so I will be watching that next!

The Last of Us

Stephen was so excited about this show, and I have to say, I’m enjoying it much more than I thought I would.

There are some very touching moments in this show. I am looking forward to watching season 2.

Music

I’ve been wanting to talk about music for so long, so until I make my album reviews, what I’ve been listening to for the month will go here!

Rolling Up the Welcome Mat — Kelsea Ballerini

Even though it came out in February, I am still loving Kelsea Ballerini’s EP, Rolling Up the Welcome Mat. I listen to it several times a week.

Interlude deserved to be a full song because it is a masterpiece.

Current ranking:

• 1. “Blindsided”
• 2. “Penthouse”
• 3. “Interlude”
• 4. “Mountain with a View”
• 5. “Just Married”
• 6. “Leave Me Again”

I love the sentiment of LMA, but since that songs more personal, I suppose I’m ranking it last. It’s so hard to rank these songs. They’re amazing, and so is the short film! It was wonderfully done.

This is the Heavy — Mitchell Tenpenny

I have listened to a few Mitchell Tenpenny songs, and I decided to sit and give his latest album, This is the Heavy, a chance.

What got me thinking of him again was a song I stumbled across by State Champs that featured Tenpenny called “Act Like That” on their album Kings of the New Age.

There are 20 songs on this album. There are a few I don’t jam as heavily to, but I really enjoy his voice and most of their songs. It brings something out of me, haha.

Since it was a single, “Truth About You” is one of my favorite songs.

“Love of Cang Lan”— Faye (Theme Song from Love Between Fairy and Devil)

Like all K- and Cdramas, there will be a couple of songs that will be repetitively played in an episode during an intense scene.

Stephen found the translation of the lyrics, and they’re just as lovely as Faye’s voice. It’s a very emotional and heartfelt song.

The More Lover Chapter – Ep, “All of the Girls You Loved Before” — Taylor Swift

Lover isn’t my favorite Taylor Swift album, but “AOTGYLB” is a song that I really enjoyed! It’s pretty catchy and will pop into my head at random times.

The More Red (Taylor’s Version) Chapter – EP, “Eyes Open (Taylor’s Version)” and “Safe & Sound (Taylor’s Version)” — Taylor Swift

Stephen prefers “Eyes Open,” and as soon as the song was over, he asked me if she was going rock, which is a very good question that us fans have been wondering.

I never paid much attention to “Safe & Sound,” but I love the haunting tone of it.

I enjoyed listening to them both!

The More Fearless (Taylor’s Version) Chapter – Ep, “If This Was a Movie (Taylor’s Version)” — Taylor Swift

Surprised this was released with Fearless, considering it was on the Speak Now Deluxe album. This brought back so many fun memories with an old friend of mine!

Speak Now to this day is a favorite album of mine. Whenever that drops, that’s all I’ll be listening to, haha.

Orders

March 11: Darby’s peanut butter from Bark Bistro Company arrived! I just ordered him the Red Velvet to try. He very much approves and loves it!

March 28: My succies arrived! These were from a flash sale. I had no intention of buying, but I was unable to resist.

Very top cluster is called Pachyphytum Bubble Bee, very bottom is an Echeveria Colorata hybrid, and the one on the left was gifted. It’s a Variegated Graptoveria Mendoza. So stinking cute!

I had my eyes on the Colorata hybrid, and I’m so glad I didn’t pass it up!

And That’s All for March!

• What’s up with you? Been anywhere fun?
• Watch anything good?
• Is there any new music that you’re loving?