Hello hello! Happy Beyonce album!!! Here’s a recap of the last two weeks:
Things I Read
Books
If you’re looking for a book to read, try this list of contemporary romance recs, this list of other fiction recs, or this list of non-fiction recs. I also track everything I read on Goodreads.
Come and Get it by Kiley Reid: I loved this author’s first book, Such a Fun Age, so much that I pre-ordered this one sight unseen, without even reading the description. It’s very different, but I liked it! It takes place at the University of Arkansas in 2017, and follows a professor and several students over the course of a school year. This is really just about vibes more than plot, but the writing in this is excellent. This took me right back to freshman year of college and the anxieties that come with making friends and being in a new place. Extremely immersive reading experience, this felt so real. If you need a fast paced plot this may not be for you, but if you like a No Plot Just Vibes situation then I would recommend. I would warn though, there are a few darker mental health related plot points.
One in a Millennial by Kate Kennedy: I really liked this book. This is a collection of personal essays about girlhood in the early 2000s and 2010s, and its so relatable and funny and sincere. Kate hosts a podcast called Be There in Five that I’ve been listening to for years, so I was sort of primed to like this as it covers a lot of topics she’s talked about on the podcast. I also listened to the audiobook, which she reads herself, so it almost just felt like a long podcast episode. One thing I really appreciate about Kate is how frankly and honestly she has spoken about struggling to decide whether or not she wanted to have kids over the past few years. I wish more people would talk about this choice publicly, because it’s so often presented as black and white and think there are probably a lot of women, particularly millennial women, who are somewhere in the grey area. This book made me laugh and also made me emotional, and if you’re a woman between the ages of 25-40 I think you should read this.
Articles
What Happens to the Stay-at-Home Girlfriend After a Breakup?: This headline was an immediate click, as I have seen so many of these girls on TikTok and every time I watch in a combination of horror and fascination. While a deeply unrelatable choice to me personally, I can understand the choice to be a stay at home wife or mom. But to do this as a girlfriend, when you have no legal protections when things go awry, is genuinely terrifying to me! It’s so interesting to hear girls talk about how they felt while in a relationship where they were fully financially dependent on their partner, and how they felt after that relationship ended. There’s a girl in here who says she doesn’t have a dream job because “I don’t dream of labor.” Babe. Most people don’t! But also, as this article says, “We live in America. Last I checked, it’s a capitalist society. If you don’t have money, you can’t do anything.”
Things I Watched
TV
If you’re looking for a show to watch, try this list.
One Day (Netflix): Ok. I’m finally here. Everyone has been talking about this for weeks now and I knew I would love it because I have read the book and seen the movie adaptation. But, that also meant that I knew I was headed for emotional distress, so I really took my time making my way through these 14 episodes. This stars Leo Woodall (hot) and Ambika Mod as Dexter and Emma, who meet on their college graduation day and then we follow them through the next 20 years. I am not in the business of spoiling things in this newsletter, but I think it would be actual malpractice not to to tell you that this story is not a happy rom com, the ending of this story is so violently sad I literally had a hard time making myself watch this because I knew where it was going. This show is so beautiful, it is stunning and emotional and the two leads are really incredible together. I think it’s so lovely at highlighting the mundane moments in life in a way that still makes them seem beautiful. The soundtrack is so good, too. It’s a beautiful show, I recommend it, but I did suffer through the last episode in a hysterical crying fit so. There’s that.
Movies
Irish Wish (Netflix): Lindsay Lohan trash can movie!! She is in love with her coworker, he gets engaged to her best friend, and they all go to Ireland for the wedding where she meets a hot photographer. Then there’s a time travel plot? Idk who cares what the movie is about that’s not the point. My favorite thing about these movies is that the accents are always insane, I don’t think anyone in this movie is actually Irish. I think this is a great lane for Lindsay to make a career comeback in, but I do think this could have been a better Bad Movie. I was kind of bored! Three trash cans, fine but not the best. The best rom com set in Ireland is still Leap Year starring Academy Award Nominee Amy Adams and Very Hot Man Matthew Goode.
Then I went on a Julia Roberts bender. Her run of movies from Steel Magnolias in 1989 to Ocean’s Eleven in 2001 is CRAZY. I watched:
Notting Hill (Prime Video): an all timer, one of the best. Hugh Grant is so cute in this movie, it’s overwhelming. They’re so good together, his group of friends is so funny, I love this movie so much.
Erin Brockovich (Netflix): She is SO GOOD in this movie. If you have not seen this I cannot encourage you more strongly to watch it, it absolutely holds up.
Pretty Woman (Hulu/Peacock): This movie is so hot. This is the hottest two people have ever been in a movie, I think. Brb gonna go watch Richard Gere’s entire filmography. Obviously this has some problematic elements but the two of them together is just….so good. The clothes in this movie are so good. She got an Oscar nomination for this, which I think is incredible. They don’t nominate movies like this anymore! I guess they don’t really make movies like this anymore. Tragic.
Things I Bought
You can read about my full skincare routine and favorite products here. If you need a sunscreen recommendation, try this list.
L’Occitane Almond Shower Oil: I have been out of this for a while and I really missed it so I just bought a refill. I love this stuff, it’s so luxurious. It smells SO GOOD. I use it to shave my legs and it leaves my legs so incredibly smooth. I have gifted this to so many people with a very high success rate, and now I have me and all my friends obsessed with a fancy shower oil. It’s just so nice.
One Last Thing…
I listened to this podcast episode a couple weeks ago and I cannot stop thinking about it.
That’s it for me! This week I am going to listen to the Beyonce album on repeat and watch more Julia Roberts movies. I hope you all have a good week.
TTYL,
Emily
Yessssss!!! Leo Woodall IS HOT 😂😂 And the series was heart-wrenching. Not even just the end but so many other moments in between. It was excruciating and joyful to watch. Those two did a fantastic job. ❤️