Fridaze 073

Hey guys, I don't know how the summer's been flying on by, but it has! Totally random, but I was looking at my blog drafts, and realized that I didn't actually ever finish my favorite books of 2023 posts, which is super embarrassing, because I really thought I posted them all? I don't know whether to post them late, or not talk about them at all? We'll see what I end up doing.

As you can all tell, I've been all over the place with this blog. I have been so busy, and haven't been prioritizing this space. I thought I would come on here and do a lil catch up with you guys! It's been a busy summer, so let's chat about it.

date night with J

We had a date night in early June. There's this Mexican restaurant that my coworker recommended to me, and so I made a reservation for me and J to go! The location itself was not only really close to my house, but it was also really cute. It was decorated so nicely, which is something I always appreciate when eating out.

The cocktails were really good. While I didn't really enjoy the appetizer we ordered, I liked my entree. While I'm not sure if we'd go back, it was nice to go out and try some place new together! We try to make it a point to have "official date nights" at least once a month. I think it's really important to set that time aside, especially when you live together.

surprise birthday brunch

my best friend and my sister planned a 30th birthday brunch with all my closest friends. I was so pleasantly surprised and felt really emotional about the effort they both put in to celebrate me and my birthday.

father's day

For father's day, my family and J went down the shore to one of my dad's favorite restaurants. I'd never been there before, but it was nice to spend time with them, outside while smelling the beach in the breeze. It's something I don't take the time to do that often, so it was really nice.

disney 2024

This was the second annual Disney trip J does with his family. This time around we were able to visit all 4 parks, and overall had a really nice time. It was a lot slower paced compared to last year, and spent more time pool side and relaxing. While we had a really good time spending time with his family, we do know that we won't be going back to Disney for the foreseeable future.

Not only is it extremely expensive, but we only have a certain amount of PTO, and have so many other places we want to travel to and visit!

canceled flights

The day we were supposed to come back from Disney, our flight actually ended up getting canceled! There was a huge storm in the north east of the US (where we live), so there was no way to get up there. We ended up having to stay an extra day. Luckily the hotel gave us no issue staying another night in our room, and while finding a flight was semi-stressful, we were able to do it fairly easily.

4th of july weekend

4th of July weekend was really busy for us. Actual Independence Day landed on a Thursday, so on Thursday my aunt invited us over for a BBQ at her house. J and Martin (my sister's boyfriend), didn't end up going. Each for different reasons. The rest of my main family ended up making an appearance. The only bad thing about her bbqs, is that I feel like I can't spend more time with them, since they're busy hosting so many other people. Nonetheless, I had a pretty good time.

Then on Friday, J's best friend invited us over for a BBQ at his house. I also had a lot of fun there. I've made a lot of my own friends with the people from J's friend group, so I always have a good time.

friend hangouts

Then that Sunday (the same Sunday for 4th of July weekend), my sister came over, and we spend the whole day watching reality TV and playing games together. It was a lot of fun. The perfect mix between chill and doing something.

Besides that I went out for drinks with my friend Jenn. And while I see her in group settings, I really enjoy spending one on one time with her. I feel like we can talk about all sorts of topics that I might not bring up in a group setting.

I also got sushi with Erika! It was so nice catching up on everything, I feel like time passed way too quickly. We pre-scheduled another friend date immediately!

Not only have I had a lot of friend dates lately, I also have a lot of them scheduled for the future! It always gives me something to look forward to 🙂 It's so hard planning get togethers as an adult. Everyone's in such a different phase of life, with so many different responsibilities and schedules, that pre-scheduling people in is the best thing to do if you want to make sure you see those most important to you.

bbqs

Last weekend we had another 2 bbqs to go to. My sister had a philly cheese steak themed bbq, which was super fun. There were a lot of fun cocktails (her boyfriend and one of his friends are bartenders), the food was delicious, and the conversation was super fun. We also went to J's best friend's house for another bbq!

We've obviously been taking advantage of BBQs for the summer season. Even though we've been getting extreme heat this past month or so, it finally seems to be getting better. It was over 100 (37 Celsius) degrees here for a few days, but it's now about 83 (28 Celsius), which is pretty normal for our summers.

olivia & valentina's baptism

Then to end this past weekend, my friend's kids got baptized! They both looked so cute in their beautiful white lace dresses. Afterwards there was a lunch at her mother in law's home. While I had a nice time spending time with Erika & Jenn, I didn't really get to spend much time with Patty or her husband Chris. They were busy hosting and taking care of the girls, but luckily we have a friend date in the books!

games I’ve played:

• Stardew Valley [PC]
• Dave the Diver [PC]
• The Sims [Gamecube]

Shows/Movies I’ve Watched:

• One Piece - Impel Down arc [Hulu]
• Demon Slayer [Crunchyroll]
• My Hero Academia [Crunchyroll]
• Silicon Valley [HBO]
• Love Island US [Peacock]

Books I’ve Been Reading (Let’s be Goodreads Friends!) (Let’s be StoryGraph Friends!) :

• Iris Zero 7 by Takana Hotaru
• The Emperor (Darkverse #3) by RuNyx
• Heartstopper #4 by Alice Oseman
• Manacled Volume 1 by SenLinYu
• Pageboy by Elliot Page
• Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas
• Finaleby Stephanie Garber
• Game Plan by Viola Herman
• Face Off by Chelsea Curto
• Heiress Takes All by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka
• Not Safe For Work by Lindsey Lanza
• Yona of the Dawn Vol 1-7 by Mizuho Kusanagi
• The House of the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
• The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center
• The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley
• Every Summer After by Carley Fortune
• You, with a View by Jessica Joyce
• The Long Game by Elena Armas
• The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes
• Wildfire by Hannah Grace
• The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
• How to American by Jimmy O. Yang
• For the Record by Juliana Smith

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Wow, that was really long, but that's what I've been up to in the past month or so. How have you all been? What's your summer been looking like? I miss you, and hope to be more consistent (what I ask for every time I post) I hope you're all doing well, and chat soon xx