Weekly Recap: We Bought a New Car!
So it goes, it was time to upgrade our ‘03 GMC to a new set of wheels. After lots of deliberation and negotiation, Alex and I decided on the newest Nissan Pathfinder Rock Creek trim — a sporty SUV we love so much already! Thank God car shopping is over and done lol. Looking forward to a much calmer week.
What I’ve been up to:
So yeah, we bought a new car! What a time, what a time. As we bid farewell to the old GMC we’d been driving since 2019, we also made peace with our Taylor Swift Midnights CD we lost to the depths of the car’s CD player over a year ago (RIP Midnights — you were a great CD, though we listened to you exactly once before you got stuck and stopped working). It didn’t increase our trade in value, but I hope the next owner appreciates our overwhelming generosity haha. And I hope they like Taylor Swift.
All else aside, it was high time for an upgrade. The GMC was starting to become a pricy burden, and we figured it was best to invest thousands of dollars of repairs into something better with newer tech. We had a couple ideas in mind, but wanted something to suit our lifestyle both now and later. Researching cars earlier this year, Alex really liked the Pathfinder. I thought we’d end up going midsize (like a Rav4), but when I saw the Pathfinder (specifically the Rock Creek trim), I knew it was the vehicle we needed. We talked numbers with our sales guy and ended up finding a good deal (though it sucks to be back in the car payment club… I paid my car off in 2020 and haven’t had a car payment since). We’re so happy to have something nice again — with my car being 10 years old and Alex having never owned a car newer than 2005, we feel much safer with all the updated features. Never did I think we’d end up driving a white car, but seeing the pearly white Pathfinder with black accents in the dealer lot really caught our eye. It’s a good looking car. Now that it’s ours, we’ve got to get it pet-proofed so we can take Mogul for his inaugural spin. He’s going to love it.
What I’ve been listening to:
Two episodes from Call Her Daddy peaked my interest — I don’t listen to every episode, but the Chris Olsen and Amanda Knox episodes were both good. I still need to listen to the Kamala Harris one… it’s on my list for the week ahead.
Christina Aguilera x Sabrina Carpenter singing What a Girl Wants on the 25 years of Christina Spotify special — WOW. I remember buying her debut album and living for Genie In a Bottle all day every day.
The bridge of OSTON’s Burton St. — It’s so good.
1898 (Taylor’s Version) — It’s never left rotation so to speak, but I’ve really found myself gravitating toward Out Of The Woods and ALL the vault tracks lately.
The newest single Two Things from Kelsea Ballerini — I’m always excited for new KB music. Her new album comes out in a couple weeks, so I’m looking forward to that.
Oh how I’ve been loving Robin!! — When I tell you it’s my most repeated song from The Tortured Poets Department right now…
Katy Perry’s newest album 143 — Music critics haven’t been kind, but I don’t think it’s all that bad. For me, the album’s standout track is ALL THE LOVE, but ARTIFICIAL has a groovy pop sound I find myself going back to.
Sugar Water by Maude Latour — TikTok turned me on to this debut pop album and it’s been my favorite discovery as of late. Highly recommend taking a listen.
What I’ve been reading:
Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe — The hype around this book… hmm… It was modern, messy, and sometimes funny, but nowhere near a perfect book.
The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager — I was hooked until the major twist which felt like it came from left field and didn’t fit well with the rest of the book. I liked it, just didn’t love it. Would have preferred a creepier, more haunted setting or a totally different twist altogether.
We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer — This book was SO confusing to me. It felt more like 2-3 books merged into one. So many things happened throughout the book that never came back together and the ending was a cliffhanger if nothing else. I don’t mind books that aren’t tied like a bow, but this one left me scratching my head.
Sam by Allegra Goodman — It’s been a minute since I’ve read a good coming of age story. I loved Sam.
All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby — Liked it much better than Razorblade Tears. Much better.
What I’ve been watching:
(Literally nothing… only NFL football. But watching Dallas get beat up by Detroit… CLASSIC.)
A few other (random) things:
It’s hard for me to see the destruction out of beautiful Asheville in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. It’s hard to believe we just celebrated our one year wedding anniversary there 2 short months ago. Please donate if you’re able — the Appalachian people need our help!
About a month ago, I set a goal for myself to drink a minimum of 90oz of water daily and I’m proud to say I’ve been going 3.5 weeks straight, weekends included! It’s amazing how proper hydration fuels the soul. I’ve got a 30oz Stanley I fill 3x a day to help me stay on track. Prioritize your water intake — your body will thank you.
Did you see the Northern Lights last week? Alex and I were able to catch a faint glimpse of pink tones here in North Carolina (thank you iPhone night mode). Second time seeing them this year!
My sister went through our old toy closet back home and found A FURBY THAT STILL WORKED AFTER 20 YEARS IN THE DARK. I’m officially creeped out.
Blog posts you might have missed:
Hope you have a great week! We’re looking forward to the weekend — we’re seeing Sabrina Carpenter in Raleigh on Saturday.
PS — I’m going to wrap up our most recent weekend adventures in another blog post soon. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do!
Enjoy!
JBW