Television
Modern Love – Is a series based on the 15-year-old New York Times column “Modern Love” where people submit personal essays on various forms of love. I just found out it is also a podcast, so I’ll be hitting that up ASAP. Season one was recently released on Amazon Prime and I gobbled it up! There are only eight episodes and they’re about half an hour each. It seems because of that it would be hard to have a quality series but each episode is beautiful and almost like a mini movie. My favorite episodes are specifically “When the Doorman Is Your Main Man” and “Take Me as I Am, Whoever I Am”. The first one is so precious and unexpected and the second is a powerful visual representation of a woman’s journey with her mental health. I HIGHLY recommend this series! (And it’s already been renewed for another season so… YAYYYYYY!)
The Great British Baking Show: Series 7 – This is probably my favorite season of the show. I feel so emotionally involved and it’s been so fun to actually watch it as it happens in the UK. We already have a winner, but going off of how I felt before it came out… (Although I’ll still be dying to watch it on Friday here!) Who do you think it will be? I think Alice could win the whole thing if she does things that taste great and are pretty. I could see it being an even competition for the most part, but she always does great and I think she makes things presented better for the most part than Steph (who has a great chance at winning too). I don’t think David will win it.
Breakfast Lunch and Dinner – Another series from David Chang. After watching some interviews talking about superstar chefs, I want to hate this series, but I really enjoyed it! I didn’t think it was as good as Ugly Delicious, but it was fun to watch these four episodes. I especially liked Seth Rogen and Kate Mckinnon’s episodes. I’ll pretty much watch any show David Chang comes out with.
Films/Limited Series
Harry Potter Movies – This has been the first time Albie has watched the Harry Potter movies and it has made us so happy to share them with him. He gets so excited to watch and every evening he asks for Harry Potter. Of course, the first ones are more well-received but he’s been watching all of them! We love it!
Lego Movie 2 – If you haven’t seen the Lego Movies I highly recommend you do! They sound like they would only be for people into Lego, but they’re just funny movies that are entertaining for everyone.
Books (for me)
Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell – This book is SO important. I highly recommend everyone read it. It seems like it might be a difficult read because of how research based it is but I found it to be a quick, enthralling and informative read. I now look at encounters with others, including my husband, in a whole new light (if you’ve read it the Transparency section in particular shapes how I interact with others so much!). I have so many things I could say about this book but to put it simply, just read it. It is fascinating and I will be talking about it for a LONG time to come.
Just a quick update onAmericanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, I wouldn’t recommend it to people. I am glad I read it because so many people I admire like it, but I didn’t. I thought it was alright.
Podcasts
Armchair Expert; the Monica Lewinsky interview – I found it fascinating and I loved hearing her story.
The Papaya Podcast; The One Where We Own Our Anxiety – I really enjoyed this episode, featuring Julian Brass, on anxiety. He has a book out with 99 tips on how to harness your anxiety and use it to work for you. I particularly liked this quote, “I realized that I can take negative debilitative energy and move it into a positive and facilitator energy…if I can use that natural source of energy, now that’s my secret edge.” Brass talked a lot about using your weakness to be your strength and it gave me (an anxious person) a lot of hope.
Supersoul Conversations by Oprah – I just love it. I try to listen to it every Sunday morning.
Instagram Accounts
thebirdspapaya – Sarah Nicole Landry is a gem. She is a mother, writer, creator, speaker and host of The Papaya Podcast and she is worth following. I LOVE following her on Instagram because she is raw, real, and uplifting. Sarah is an amazing human and I think you’ll know within five minutes of scrolling through her grid/watching her stories whether she’s for you. Check her out!
Home Bits
Okay, last month I had a candle and I’m back with another! Target’s Hearth & Home brand has great candles. You look at the price tag and think ”…yeah, no way” BUT they are boss candles. They last a long time and their scent is SO strong. It’s worth the money 100%. Also, their holiday scents are amazing so…RUN to Target and get them! I might horde some soon so I can have them all season.
Activities
Pumpkin Everything! – We’ve done four stand-out things this month with pumpkins and I loved them; pumpkin picking, pumpkin painting, pumpkin baking and house decorating.
We went to a great pumpkin patch to pick some pumpkins. We were a bit late in the game because our area had already been hit with two frosts at that point so the pumpkins were pretty squishy BUT it was so fun! Albie loved their corn pit and the giant slide at the pumpkin patch. It was a two-year-old’s dream!
We managed to get one decent pumpkin at the patch and instead of carving it, we painted it! IT WAS THE BEST IDEA EVER. Honestly, I will be painting pumpkins with Albie every year until he demands to carve one. It was so fun and not a huge hassle like carving is. Albie loved using all the colors! We didn’t get proper paint for it, but it didn’t really matter at his current age because he’s just been excited to see his pumpkin whenever we go outside. (Also, I’ll definitely paint my own pumpkin every year from now on because I loved doing it too.)
YesterdayWeeknight Bakingby Michelle Lopez came out and I was lucky enough to be given an advanced copy of the book! Albie and I made the Choose-Your-Own Pumpkin Spice Bread and it was SO GOOD and SO EASY. Albie loved making it with me and it was so fun to have that baking moment together. I highly recommend the cookbook to anyone with a child! Most of the recipes are doable with a young one.
Decorating with Albie this year has been so fun too! He’s at an age where he’s just loving everything new we throw at him. He says “goodnight” to all the pumpkins every night and he loves the spider webs we put up. He helped stick bats on the walls and he’s just matched my excitement with the holiday which makes me so happy.
Meal/Food
I think my favorite dinner this month has been just a basic creamy tomato basil soup with this amazing white cheddar, rosemary and garlic pull-apart bread I made the other day. I will share the recipe for it soon! (once I make it again so I can write down what I did! I did not expect it to be THAT good!)
Michelle Lopez’s Oatmeal Cookies from Weeknight Bakingare SO good! They’re light and make you feel like you’re eating something more on the healthy side of baking. AND Chris said they’re his favorite cookie I’ve EVER made. She has a preview of the recipe highlighted on her Insta stories or you can click hereto order the book!
I was also reminded this month of the genius that is Christina Tosi. Her birthday cake frosting is just one of THE best frostings. It never fails me. I love it. You can find the recipe in the books Milk Bar and All About Cake
Restaurant (fast food – gourmet)
The Cookie Cottage – This place has bomb cookies. The best part is they have a HUGE variety that rotates all the time. The shop is ADORABLE and I want to work there so badly. I highly recommend going there for cookies if you’re in Rexburg. Best cookies in town hands down.
June’s Place – This place is officially one of my top happy places in Rexburg. I feel incredibly welcomed, the coffee is so good and they go all out on holiday decorations. It feels like a safe place where I can be 100% myself and recharge. I highly recommend this gem.