Weekly Recap: Routine's Never Felt So Good

First, can we all agree Aaron Rodgers looks weird in a New York Jets jersey? Okay thanks. Love, a Packer fan who’s (clearly) still not over it.

What I’ve been up to:

We’re 3 weeks post-marriage, and I’ve got to say — routine’s never felt so good! I’m back to enjoying Saturdays and Sundays, I’m no longer staying up past 1-2am on weeknights (praise), and Amazon packages aren’t showing up at my door with daily (sometimes twice daily) frequency. I have a life again!

The weekend before last, we had a “farewell weekend” for our friends who moved to Charlotte (sad face). We grabbed dinner and drinks Friday, then went to see the Barbie movie Saturday (Alex and I saw it opening weekend too lol). After the movie, we stopped for lunch and finished the evening at Dirtbag Ales. Ironically, we were back at Dirtbag Ales the next morning for the Farmer’s Market where we met with Alex’s coworker and his wife and hung out, chatted, and had a few beers in the blistering heat. Literally, it’s been so hot and miserable. I’m ready for fall.

This past Friday, Alex and I spontaneously watched and ranked all of Taylor Swift’s music videos (41 total!) — tldr, great night. I didn’t plan to drink an entire bottle of red wine and stay up past 1am, but we had so much fun so no regrets there.

Friday also marked the 9 year anniversary of our move to North Carolina. Time flies! We were 22 when we packed our things and made the big cross country move, and now we’re in our 30’s! We have so many memories here. Bringing home our cat Klein and our dog Mogul… hurricanes, ice storms, snow storms, and Carolina summer… a pandemic… mountains, beaches, local breweries, and countless other adventures… our engagement at Wrightsville Beach and our marriage in Fayetteville… lots of stories to tell… It’s been quite the journey!

Saturday morning we treated ourselves to donuts from Superior Bakery — the best place in town. We grabbed wings for late lunch, then took a drive to Hugger Mugger Brewing in Sanford. They have great beer!

Sunday was basically an errands day. First, I went to the nail salon to get the dip powder taken off my nails. Now that my wedding’s over, I’m going to try to maintain them myself (yikes). After the nail salon, I went to Target and got caught in a thunderstorm that soaked me from head to toe. I waited in my car 30 minutes before I could drive to the grocery store. When I got home, Alex and I made dinner and relaxed the rest of the evening.

What I’ve been reading:

  • Bad Summer People by Emma Rosenblum — The first book I’ve finished in literal months! It was okay, but not my favorite. It held my attention, but I wasn’t invested in the story. Rich summer people…

  • Age Of Vice by Deepti Kapoor — I’ve been listening to the audiobook since June (!!) and finally listened to the last hour to finish it off. The book itself was too long. I lost interest a couple times. And confused myself somewhere along the way. The first half was definitely better than the second half. I have a feeling this book would make a better movie.

  • The Only One Left by Riley Sager — I’m just over halfway through, finding this book super engaging so far. It’s giving Verity by Colleen Hoover vibes and I really, REALLY hope it has a solid ending.

  • Flying Solo by Linda Holmes — A new audiobook I just started, so time will tell (Julia Whelan as narrator though >>). I loved the author’s debut Evvie Drake Starts Over, hopefully Flying Solo holds up!

What I’ve been listening to:

  • New albums from The Maine and The Band CAMINO — Loved them both! Listened a couple weeks ago on our drive home from our mini honeymoon trip.

  • Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) has been a staple since its release — Timeless (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault) was our first dance wedding song. Obsessed.

  • Kelsea Ballerini’s Rolling Up the Welcome Mat (For Good) — I don’t love that Penthouse (Healed Version) isn’t studio recorded, but Interlude (Full Length) and How Do I Do This… solid!

  • emails i can’t send fwd: by Sabrina Carpenter — Listened on our drive to Sanford last weekend, inspired by Sabrina being the latest opener for Taylor Swift on The Era’s Tour.

  • The Killers new song Your Side of Town — It’s giving Daft Punk vibes, but super groovy!

What I’ve been watching:

I’ve been in a major tv/movie slump lately!

  • Barbie movie — Everyone needs to see it. It was so much better than I could have ever imagined. Actor selection was spot on. The message of the movie was perfect. Such a gem! And a fire soundtrack too.

A few other (random) things:

  • Taylor Swift FINALLY sang Cornelia Street as an Era’s Tour surprise song! The world rejoices!

  • Pumpkin spice everything on the rise… that means fall is coming, yay! I bought the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice creamer last week and drank some with my coffee on last week (shh, don’t tell Alex).

  • If you follow pop gossip — What the heck’s going on with Scooter Braun!?

  • Re: tv/movie slump — Three Netflix series with 100% on Rotten Tomatoes that I’m adding to my watchlist.

Enjoy!

JBW