Weekly Recap: Sabrina Carpenter's Short 'n Sweet Tour & Other Happenings
Though it’s not yet consistently cold outside, the temperatures around here are pretty erratic at the moment. As such, of course our HVAC unit went out during one of the cold spells. It took a few weeks to get it up and running, but we have AC and heat again — rejoice! I bought a heated blanket last year and I’ve been living underneath it almost every night. It’s so cozy!
What I’ve been up to:
First things first — the Short ‘n Sweet Tour! It was so much fun!!! Alex and I were lucky to secure tickets for the Raleigh show, and boy I’m glad I got them (it was a battle, thanks Ticketmaster). I’ve had serious FOMO over the last two years missing out on The Eras Tour (a concert film and 100 grainy live streams could never be enough), I couldn’t bear to have missed Sabrina’s show too. We loved every minute — the setlist (!!), the outfits (!!), the freaky Juno position (!!), the cheeky humor (!!). Sabrina Carpenter, you pop princess you!
Aside from the horrendous traffic getting to the arena (thanks NC State Fair UGH), it was the perfect husband/wife date outing. But even gridlocked traffic and hours of extra time in the car couldn’t stop us from having a good time. I thought for sure we were going to miss the opener (Griff, whose music I love), but by some miracle we made it just in time (we did have to power walk a mile though haha). It was a double win getting to see both Griff AND Sabrina in concert on the same night. Annnnnd… we got to hear Griff’s demo track Last Night’s Mascara before it blew up on TikTok (brb, putting THAT on my resume lol).
What else, what else? I can’t believe it’s already middle November. The fall season is flying by. We bought our usual porch decor (mums, pumpkins) a little late this year, but the mums are still holding strong and I haven’t killed them yet. For Halloween, Alex carved a pumpkin with his students at school while I embarked on a painting journey. I was inspired to paint an Eras Tour-themed pumpkin and… it was A LOT of work. Each section of the pumpkin represented one of Taylor Swift’s 11 musical eras — it took several nights of strict dedication to finish just in time for Halloween. On Halloween night, we sat outside to hand candy to our neighborhood trick-or-treaters and though we don’t get a ton of foot traffic year over year, I always enjoy seeing the kiddos and their costumes. One kid told me I was the “main character” of the neighborhood because I was giving out a lot of candy. A win is a win!
The weekend before the Election, I was feeling pretty stressed and overwhelmed, so a friend and I drove down to Kure Beach for some ocean therapy which was nice. We stumbled on a kite festival, walked several miles up and down the shore, and collected so many colorful clamshell sea shells. My favorite! For those hours at the coast, all my stresses evaporated, only to come back on Election Day (sigh). I’m not a Trump supporter. I legit felt like I had post-election depression. I don’t like bully politics and it’s hard for me to accept that the majority of Americans felt the opposite. But, we move on… Something Kamala Harris said really resonated with me, so I’m going to choose to use this mindset to keep fighting for a better future. I am and will always be a human supporter first.
“To the young people who are watching, it is OK to feel sad and disappointed, but please know it’s going to be OK. On the campaign, I would often say, ‘When we fight, we win.’ But here’s the thing. Sometimes the fight takes a while. That doesn’t mean we won’t win. The important thing is don’t ever give up.” — Kamala Harris
What I’ve been listening to:
“One of me is cute but two though?” — Juno has been my most recent ear worm.
Kelsea Ballerini’s new album Patterns — After a couple weeks of listening, I claim my favorite tracks to be Baggage and How Much Do You Love Me. And OMG, her album release show at MSG?? How she had to have the crowd take over Penthouse?? I was sobbing while watching on a TikTok live stream.
Last Night’s Mascara — From a demo to a viral snip on TikTok. She released a finished version!!!! Yes Griff!!!!
Gracie Abrams deluxe track That’s So True — Stuck on loop in my brain, it’s so good. Hearing her sing it live on The Eras Tour and in the Radio Music Hall release >>>
Speaking of The Eras Tour… I’m back on my own Eras Tour playlist again — I like to call it “If I Scripted The Eras Tour” (even though its already perfect, no notes).
I’ve also been loving APT. by ROSÉ and Bruno Mars — One of those fun little bops!
Gave Montevallo another spin — Sam Hunt’s debut album recently turned 10 years old and I can’t believe it’s been a decade.
I’ve also gone down the One Direction rabbit hole with the sad news of Liam Payne’s death — I’m not the biggest 1D fan, but I’d love to see a 1D reunion tour maybe honoring Liam?
What I’ve been reading:
Middle of the Night by Riley Sager — After seeing so many mid reviews, I thought I wasn’t going to like it. Fortunately, I was totally wrong and that’s why you never form a judgement around someone else’s opinion. I really liked it, second behind my favorite: The Only One Left (something about that book just lives rent free in my mind — read my personal review here).
The Wedding People by Alison Espach — Okay, this started way darker than I bargained for. I went in blind, probably should’ve actually read the synopsis. In my defense, the cover sucked me in! I listened to the audiobook and quite liked the story in this format (others seem to agree).
Bride by Ali Hazelwood — Vampires (sorry, vampyers as they are called here) and werewolves? The book was fine, but I couldn’t not think Twighlight fanfic as I was reading. It has an average rating over 4 stars on Goodreads, so maybe I’m the anomaly here.
I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue — Loved the beginning, but thought it fell off the rails a bit. I wish there had been more corporate email humor before the story shifted. Liked the premise, but directionally speaking, it missed the mark for me.
They Went Left by Monica Hesse — A WW2-era book, but with an interesting perspective. I liked how this one focused more on post-Holocaust life, emphasizing displaced persons and mental health struggles. The authors note was well-stated and clearly outlined the motivation and work that went into writing this body of work. If you like wartime historical fiction, you might want to give it a read.
My Husband by Maud Ventura — It’s labeled “suspenseful and darkly funny” but I didn’t get that impression. It was more like listening to the inner monologue of a crazy lady. I could see Vladimir fans liking this.
What I’ve been watching:
(Look who actually took advantage of her Netflix membership this month haha)
GUTS World Tour on Netflix — I thought it was a good show, kind of makes me wish I’d seen it live.
The Perfect Couple on Netflix — It’s kind of a weird book/plot to adapt (my opinion), but let’s see how it plays out. I’ve only watched the first episode so far.
Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson on Netflix — Regrettably, I stayed up to watch this boxing match live. God, it really, really sucked. Did either boxer even get a bruise? Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano was a better fight… home girl (Serrano) lost an eyelid and still gave it her all.
A few other (random) things:
It’s the last leg of The Eras Tour (tears!!) — New Rep body suit, say what? Never thought I’d see the day. I really LOVED her mashups back on Indy N2 (and Travis was there!). This Love/The Prophecy on guitar and Maroon/Cowboy Like Me on piano?? Hearing her sing “This love changed the prophecy”?? I simply cannot.
Speaking of Tay Tay and The Eras Tour — The Tortured Poets Department (The Anthology) is finally being released on CD/vinyl AND we’re getting an Eras Tour book. Big hater energy to Target though, like why in store only and ON Black Friday? I hate the world on Black Friday.
Kelsea Ballerini and Kelly Clarkson singing To The Men That Love Women After Heartbreak was so good — Kelsea and Chase, I hope you’re the end game.
(Finally) a new TJR book, hello!
I got a library card — Now I can use the Libby app to listen to audiobooks for free. How did I never think to use the digital library before? Saves so much money on audiobook subscriptions. BTW — if you like audiobooks and have a Spotify Premium membership, remember that you get 15 listening hours per month to use in their audiobook library… take advantage of that!
Blog posts you might have missed:
Hope you have a great weekend! We’re off to Charlotte to see the Milwaukee Bucks play the Charlotte Hornets. Only 7 more work days separate me from Thanksgiving break and a trip to Las Vegas with my mom!
Enjoy!
JBW