I've been updating my bookstagram account (every now & then, at least), but I keep forgetting to post my reviews here! 

I haven't been reading as much as usual, in part because I started boxing in May, which has kept me busy. And for a while, I just didn't feel like reading, you know? Fiction hasn't felt quite right for me, somehow, so I've been trying some nonfiction options — self-help, even. It's getting me back into reading, finally. 

So! All of that said, here's what I read in June, July, August & September.

Life Lately: Just a Few Updates

I haven't had much to say lately. Life's been busy while at the same time pretty standard & unremarkable. 

But it's been three months since I last posted, which might be the longest I've ever gone without writing, & I don't want to let this blog slip by the wayside, so I figured it was time to pop in.

Without much to report on, I'm going the lazy post route. Better than no post, right?!

If we were getting coffee, here's what my life updates would look like. How about you?

Potato Pizza, Free Baseball, Flawed Art, & More (CLE Weekends, Pt. 5)

I don't know that "CLE Weekends" is the right name for this series, after all. It's essentially a round-up of anything fun, tasty, or otherwise notable that I've done lately... & often not on the weekends at all. With summer in full-swing, we've been going out with friends (& each other) a lot, not just on Saturdays & Sundays but during the work week, too.

I'm feeling a bit burned out, to be honest, because as extroverted as I am, I also need a lot of alone time to recharge, to write, to sleep, to just be. I don't have quite as much planned in July as I did in June, so I'm hoping things will slow down a bit while remaining fun.

Here's what I've loved lately. How about you?

My Lakewood Bucket List

There's so much I want to do in Lakewood that I can hardly keep track of it... so I decided to start keeping track of it. I've been keeping a list in my phone of all the things I want to do & places I want to try, & I've finally assembled it all in one place here so that I can actually work my way through it.

There's also still so much I don't know about Lakewood, even though I've lived nearby for the last seven years. If you live in the area & see any oibvious gaps on the list or have other suggestions for places you think I need to go, lemme know! I want to do & see it all.

17 Recent Amazon Purchases I Love

Amazon Prime Day is coming July 12-13, & while I know that a lot of people have stopped using Amazon, I nervously confess here that I still use it with some regularity. I do most of my day-to-day shopping from Target, but there's just so much on Amazon, & it comes so quickly, &... I don't know. This is probably something I need to reckon with, but I'm honestly just not there yet.

I thought I'd share some of my recent favorite purchases. They're all over the place, topics-wise, from home goods to beauty items to completely random shit, but they're all putting in the work for me. Might as well share!

Sandwiches & Shave Ice, Beer & Boba Tea (CLE Weekends, Pt. 5)

None of my recent weekends has been jam-packed enough for its own post, but little by little, we've been on some fun mini-adventures, almost all of them involving something delicious to eat or drink. I thought it might be time to round up a few of them.

What have you been up to? And if you live in Northeast Ohio, especially, can you recommend some good spots for me to check out? You know I'm always on the hunt!

Here's where we've been as of late. 

10 Podcasts I'm Loving Lately (+ One That I Host)

Have we talked about podcasts lately? I don't think we've talked about podcasts lately. For the most part, I listen to a lot of podcasts about The Bachelor franchise, which is what brought me to the medium in the first place. But when the show is on hiatus, I don't know what to listen to!

Plus, lately I've been trying to scale back some of my true crime pods, for the sake of my mental health. I still tune in sometimes, but aside from the two on this list, I don't typically go the true crime route as much these days. 

Here are some of the podcasts I've been loving lately. 

What I Read in May

May down, and five books with it. I'm at 32 books of my 75-book goal for the year.

Lately I've been a hard time figuring out what to read. I loved the four Julie Buxbaum books I read in April, & since then I've been floundering a bit, like... what could live up to them? And I want good mysteries, especially ones set at boarding schools, but I can't seem to find anything that feels right.

So here's what I've got, all pretty good but none quite fitting the bill of what I'm really craving. Any recs? Hit me up. Until then...

I'm a Boxer Now, I Guess?

On a whim one day in March, I joined my friend Erin at a free boxing class. I thought it was just a class, but it was actually a demo day leading up to the start of a 10-week session. I had absolutely no intention of starting 10 weeks of anything, much less boxing... but I left that hour-long class ready to try. I registered the next day.

Let me be clear: I am not particularly good at boxing, even now, seven weeks into the session. But I feel a lot like I did when I first discovered cycling classes (the first time I decided that I loved it, not the actual first time, when when I almost vomited & then cried). I feel like my body is doing something, & it's exciting, especially at a time when I am struggling so much with weight gain & body image.

On Trying Not to Hate My Body

Trigger warning: This post discusses weight, including my complex feelings about my own weight gain. Read at your own risk, please, especially if you, too, struggle with your weight & may be triggered by reading about my recent issues.

The only word for what has happened to my body in the past year is "ballooned." My body has ballooned. I have ballooned. I have gained about 30 lbs. in just over a year, & I'm not sure I'm done.

I haven't started eating worse. If anything, I've started eating better, cooking from home more often & making healthier choices when I go out or order in. I rarely drink anymore. And for once in my life, I actually can't remember the last time I binged. 

But it hasn't made a difference.