Anchored Musings

The Co-op – Tarah DeWitt

The Co-op – 4.5/5 ✩

The Co-op by Tarah DeWitt follows LaRynn Lavigne and Deacon Leeds, two former flames who are thrown back together after being named the two owners of a family home.

LaRynn and Deacon have a complicated history. After meeting through their grandmothers, they agreed that their relationship would stay purely physical, but relationships like that don’t often stay solely physical, especially with people like LaRynn and Deacon. When one confesses their feelings for the other, both end up with broken hearts and what ensues is years of silence until they both end up back in the same, nostalgic beach town trying to figure out what they want to do with the home their grandmothers once owned.

I’ve never read any of Tarah DeWitt’s books before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I absolutely LOVED this book! Her sense of humor is infectious and she has such strength in character building.

Romance is my favorite genre to read, hands down. But sometimes, I find that while the romance in a novel can be amazing, the characters can lack a certain degree of depth. And while I have no problem with this, it also was NOT the case in The Co-op.

LaRynn and Deacon were multi-dimensional characters each with their own backstories that added so much to what could’ve been just a fun romance novel. I loved each of these characters so much and I really enjoyed the fact that you typically get a grumpy/sunshine romance where the male character is grumpy and the female is sunshine and in this case, it was flipped. I loved the character development in this novel – there was one point where one of the characters said, ‘I don’t care if it sounds pathetic anymore’ and this one line is just one example of how much these characters grow with and for each other. LaRynn and Deacon feel like completely mature, developed versions of themselves by the time you reach the end of the book.

The Co-op is also a unique novel because of the incorporation of music and the concept of having a soundtrack to one’s life.

My only piece of criticism is that I wish there was more female friendship (or friendship in general) portrayed in this book. I loved the relationship LaRynn and Deacon shared, but I do wish that we could have seen some more moments of friendship between LaRynn, Elyse, and June and also friendship between Deacon and Jensen.

Overall though, I loved this novel! Thank you NetGalley for the digital galley in exchange for an honest review!

November’s Playlist

LAAAA LAAAA! LAAAAAA LAAAAAA! Wicked fans, rejoicify! The film is FINALLY here!

If it’s not obvious, I spent most of November listening to the Wicked albums on a constant loop. I’ve been a huge fan of Wicked since I saw it in 2009 and to be able to see it on the big screen was a dream. Since the movie’s release, I’ve been alternating between listening to Broadway recording and the movie album.

I also listened to the songs Drive You Back Home by Raynes and catch me when i fall by penelope Q on a heavy rotation!

Here’s the full playlist for November:

Drive You Back Home – Raynes
catch me when i fall – penelope Q
The Wizard and I – Idina Menzel, Carole Shelley
The Wizard and I – Cynthia Erivo, Michelle Yeoh
Defying Gravity – Kristin Chenoweth, Idina Menzel
Defying Gravity – Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande
Dancing Through Life – Norbert Leo Butz, Kristin Chenoweth, Idina Menzel, Christopher Fitzgerald, Michelle Federer
Dancing through Life – Jonathan Bailey, Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode
What is This Feeling? – Kristin Chenoweth, Idina Menzel
What is This Feeling – Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo
No One Mourns the Wicked – Kristin Chenoweth, Cristy Candler, Jan Neuberger, Sean McCourt
One Short Day – Kristin Chenoweth, Idina Menzel
As Long As You’re Mine – Idina Menzel, Norbert Leo Butz
No Good Deed – Idina Menzel
Popular – Kristin Chenoweth
I’m Not That Girl – Idina Menzel
Thank Goodness – Kristin Chenoweth, Carole Shelley
Wonderful – Joel Grey, Idina Menzel
March of the Witch Hunters – Christopher Fitzgerald
For Food – Kristin Chenoweth, Idina Menzel
No One Mourns the Wicked – Ariana Grande, Jeff Goldblum, Andy Nyman, Courtney-Mae Briggs, Jenna Boyd, Sharon D. Clarke, Wicked Movie Cast
Popular – Ariana Grande
One Short Day – Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Kristin Chenoweth, Idina Menzel, Michael McCorry Rose
Ozdust Duet – The Wicked Orchestra
I Don’t Like Me Without You – Willow City
Chances – Cole Norton
Yes or No – Andrew Weaver
Where We Belong – Brighten
Pieces – Landon Conrath
Know Better – REAVES, Katelyn Tarver, Will Anderson
Expectations – Tim Riehm
Faithful – Allen Stone
Year From Now – Katelyn Tarver
Just So You Know – Cody Lovaas

If you want to listen to the playlist, click here!

Wicked

Last night, I went to an advance screening of Wicked and all I have to say is Oh. My. Oz.

Wicked means the world to me. I truly feel like this show raised me. I remember moment I heard a song from the musical for the very first time and I remember going home and BEGGING my mom to buy us tickets to see the show.

That Christmas, I found tickets to Wicked in my stocking and that experience unlocked an absolute obsession with live theater. It was my first experience with live theater and I can say with my whole heart that Wicked unleashed a side of me that I had no idea existed.

After that, I listened to the Broadway album on repeat. Wicked became the soundtrack of my childhood and to this day, I can’t hear the arrangements without getting choked up.

Live music in general makes me emotional, but live theater brings it to a whole other level. The second I hear the first note of No One Mourns the Wicked live I have to swallow down a sob from so deep in my chest that I know if I let out, I won’t be able to stop crying.

But I wouldn’t have it any other way. This story speaks to me in a way very few other stories do and it probably sounds dumb, but I’m so grateful that this story was brought into my life.

I’m going to dive deep into the musical and the movie, so if you haven’t seen either, I would suggest coming back once you do. There will be major spoilers.

Leading Up to the Movie

My mom and I have been following news on the film for YEARS and to say I was nervous to see it would be an understatement. The musical is so well done and the original Broadway cast is so phenomenal that I was terrified they were going to ruin it.

Kristin and Idina truly were made to play these roles. The heart of the story lies so heavily in the life these two put into it.

In my eyes, no one is going to live up to Kristin Chenoweth or Idina Menzel, and I mean no hate here, but I am not an Ariana Grande fan at all, so seeing that she was cast in a leading role… I had huge reservations.

But honestly… this film was so well done, I am completely blown away.

I truly believe that they did this beautiful show the justice it deserves.

My Initial Reactions

I’ve seen this show more times than I can count and I was so scared they were going to change lines, dialogue, instrumentals, vocal arrangements, you name it. And while there were some (though admittedly very few) changes, the arrangements – and especially the instrumentals – were near identical to the Broadway show which I was so impressed by.

Literally every freaking song got me choked up. As I mentioned before, I do get emotional listening to this soundtrack even just on Spotify, but seeing and hearing it on the big screen was totally different. The second the first note of No One Mourns the Wicked started, I felt that familiar sob rising in my chest and I had to try to just swallow it down. And I’m completely unashamed to admit that it stayed there the. entire. movie. There were tears in my eyes for the full two and a half hours watching this beautiful story play out in front of me.
- I didn’t fully lose it until Dancing Through Life (which I’ll touch on more later) and after that, all bets were off.
I think that both Ariana and Cynthia did such a fantastic job and they had such huge shoes to fill. I can’t imagine having been in their position. Broadway fans are harsh critics, but these two really did hit the notes and play these characters so well.
Ariana truly surprised me. She honestly killed the role. While I don’t think her vocals are as strong as Kristin’s, I don’t think there is a single person I would feel could fill the shoes Kristin (or Idina for that matter) does. But she played the role almost like it was made for her. The way she embodied that ditzy, shallow behavior of Glinda’s, I was seriously impressed.
I liked being able to see more of the characters reactions and backstories in the movie. I love the musical, but musicals are, by nature, fast paced and it’s very easy to miss expressions as they cross actors’ faces and miss things in general as you try to take in everything on the stage in front of you.
- I especially liked being able to see Glinda’s reactions in No One Mourns the Wicked – it felt to me like she was upset that people were speaking so disparagingly about Elphaba – and also see her reaction to Fiyero speaking to Elphaba before she boards the train to the Emerald City. Same with Nessa’s reaction to seeing Boq fawn over Glinda.
I enjoyed seeing more of the dynamic between Elphaba and her family. I liked seeing the flashback to her childhood during No One Mourns the Wicked and how she interacted with her family when they first arrived Shiz to drop Nessa off.
I freaking love Jonathan Bailey. I followed casting announcements with my mom for years and I remember Harry Styles mentioned as a possibility to play Fiyero, and as much as I LOVE my guy Harry (and I REALLY do), I think Jonathan was absolutely perfect for this role. He just has that charisma and he so perfectly fits the aesthetic for who Fiyero is.

Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero in Dancing Through Life.

THE KRISTIN CHENOWETH AND IDINA MENZEL APPEARANCE FUCKED. ME. UP.
- In the moment, I genuinely forgot about the possibility of them being in the movie and I’m just so happy they were in it and how they were in it. The second they appeared, my jaw DROPPED and I just instantly started crying.
- I need to see the movie again for so many reasons, but especially to take in this particular scene a little bit more.
- Just seeing the way that Kristin and Idina look at each other, the love there is so special.

Idina and Kristin on the red carpet at the LA premiere of Wicked.

Qualms

There were little line changes that I didn’t like (and I only noticed because I’m such a nerdy fan)
- In Dancing Through Life, I didn’t like that the lines ‘So, what’s the most swankified place in town? / That would be the Ozdust Ballroom / Sounds perfect!’ were cut out. I know they mention it prior to the song beginning, but I wish it was in the song itself.
- I hated the extra la las in Popular – it was TOO MUCH.

Glinda and Elphaba during the song Popular.

I have no notes about Ethan Slater’s performance, but I just am such a HUGE Christopher Fitzgerald fan that no one holds a candle to him.
I didn’t feel the relationship between Glinda and Elphaba.
- I thought that their relationship would be more fleshed out in the movie given the run time, but I really just didn’t feel how close these two woman were. I think in the musical, everything is so fast paced and you feel so deep in your bones how much love is shared between Glinda and Elphaba, but I didn’t feel it here. I don’t think it was anything in Ariana nor Cynthia’s performances, but I think the shallowness of Glinda’s character is so emboldened in the movie and I just didn’t feel the love like I do in the musical. I’m curious to see how the second part will play out and if I change my mind by the time For Good comes around.

I feel how much love is shared between Ariana and Cynthia, I just don’t feel it as much between Glinda and Elphaba.

General Observation and Praise for Wicked

Excuse my language here, but the foreshadowing in this musical is fucking incredible. This is such a well written, well thought out soundtrack and script, I’m still blown away fifteen years after seeing it for the first time. Let me give you some of my favorite examples:
- Sentimental Man???????? Admittedly, I do skip this song every time I listen to the soundtrack, but it’s such a brilliant piece. The lyrics are short enough that I’m going to paste them here:
  - I am a sentimental man who always longed to be a father. That’s why I do the best I can to treat each citizen of Oz as son or daughter. So Elphaba, I’d like to raise you high ’cause I think everyone deserves the chance to fly and helping you with your ascent allows me to feel so parental.
  - If you’re looking through the right lens, this song tells you everything you need to know; the Wizard is all but telling Elphaba that he’s her father here but because it’s not said outright and the actual revelation doesn’t come until later, I think it’s brilliant.
- Dancing Through Life
  - There’s mention of being brainless and thoughtless and the irony here of Fiyero actually becoming brainless is not lost on me
    - I also love how Fiyero says in Thank Goodness that ‘people are so empty headed they’ll believe anything’ when he actually does become empty headed when he’s turned into the Scarecrow.
    - I also think it’s funny that Glinda says to Elphaba that Fiyero’s changed and that he’s ‘been…thinking!’ when he’s soon to not be doing any more thinking at all.
- I like the mentions of melting throughout the story, prior to the rumor being spread that the Wicked Witch will melt
  - For example, Madame Morrible mentions how Elphaba ‘mustn’t get wet’ at the beginning of the film. I think Elphaba herself even mentions not getting wet at the beginning of the movie too, outside of the mention in The Wizard and I.
- I think the irony of Elphaba saying in The Wizard and I ‘I swear, someday there’ll be a celebration throughout Oz that’s all to do with me!’ is worth mentioning. I feel so hard for her – I know she’s hoping there’s an event celebrating her brilliance, but I do think it’s ironic that there is a celebration throughout all of Oz all to do with Elphaba… only, it’s her ‘death’ they’re celebrating. She’s also correct when she says in this song that once she meets the Wizard her whole life will change, it’s just not in the way she had been expecting or hoping for.

Alice Fearn performing The Wizard and I.

I love the instrumentals, especially the repetition of so many instrumentals and the singing of unlimited in so many different contexts. I think that’s part of what evokes such nostalgia in the show.

These characters are so well written. You understand the attraction Boq has for Glinda in a way that’s familiar, because at one point or another in your life, you’ve had that type of innocent, unadulterated affection for someone. You experience how shallow Glinda is, but you also feel her regret over how she’s treated Elphaba.
- As for Elphaba and Fiyero, they have so many layers. The character building here in particular is what’s so strong. These are two characters who don’t want you to see who they really are (Elphaba pretending she doesn’t care what people think of her and Fiyero claiming in Dancing Through Life that life is better when you ignore strife and only skim the surface) and yet, they become the only people who can really, truly see who the other is.

One of the first times we see Elphaba and Fiyero connect in the movie and we see how similar their hearts are.

The relatability of this show is wild to me. Even though the reality is very far from the world we live in because of the magic, the concepts of their world are very much the same. Many people in our world judge those who don’t look like them (like Elphaba), people prefer to live on the surface where there’s less conflict (like Fiyero says in Dancing Through Life), and a lot of times, the person who is more popular or who knows more people will get what they want over the little guy (the song Popular represents this well, especially when when Glinda says ‘it’s not about aptitude, it’s the way you’re viewed’)

The Thing That Hit Me Most Seeing the Movie

Elphaba just kind of breaks my heart. And I say this because I LOVE Elphaba. I love her character, I love her personality, I love her heart. But the way she’s treated absolutely breaks my heart. You see it in the musical and you feel for her, but in this movie, I genuinely ACHED for her.
- Elphaba has SUCH a GOOD HEART and no matter what she did, everyone was just so AGAINST her. And for what? Really, for what? Because she looked different than them? Because she spoke her mind? There’s nothing wrong with that. And it felt like she was the only one that could see that.
- The way she wanted to help the animals, wanted to help Oz, wanted so desperately (and innocently) to believe in the Wizard, the way that she refused to bend her morals to align with the Wizard even though she knew it was the easiest route, THE WAY SHE HELPED GLINDA GET INTO THE SEMINAR???? She truly has the purest, kindest heart, and yet everyone was so against her and also so quick to turn on her (i.e. Madam Morrible)
  - The way that her peers treated her, shunned her, and bullied her broke. my. heart.
  - One of my favorite songs from Wicked is Dancing Through Life and I was counting down until that part of the movie, but I didn’t expect to actually cry during that song (unless it was nostalgic tearing up). When everyone was staring at Elphaba, alone, on the dance floor wearing her new hat, I absolutely broke down. To see a woman so broken, so humiliated, comprehending that she’d been treated so badly by someone she thought might actually be becoming her friend broke my heart. And when Glinda actually stepped out onto the dance floor and stood with Elphaba, that got me crying even more.
  - I will give extremely minor props to Glinda for seeing the way that everyone was treating Elphaba (including herself) was wrong – like when she gave her the hat – but it wasn’t until she danced with Elphaba that I was able to see a little bit of light in Glinda’s character.

Idina Menzel and Cynthia Erivo at the 2024 Tony Awards

The Three (Maybe Four) Parts That Got Me Most Emotional

Dancing Through Life – Like I said above, when Elphaba is standing alone on the dance floor, I could not hold the tears in
One Short Day – This scene felt so surreal for these two to finally be in the Emerald City, and when Kristin and Idina came on screen, I lost my freaking mind. Their presence alone was enough to get me full on crying, but the way they look at each other sealed the deal.
Defying Gravity – The emotions are raw in this song and I just cried through the entire scene.
The Credits – I couldn’t tell you if there was anything special in the credits because I started crying even more during the credits than Defying Gravity itself. I just looked at my family members and said ‘that was incredible’ and started crying even more. I could barely even get the words out, and as I sit here typing now, I could start crying again.

They really just did this story justice.

Things I’m Excited For in Part 2

As Long As You’re Mine
- I think the soundtrack for the second half of this musical is so underrated and I LOVE As Long As You’re Mine, No Good Deed, and March of the Witch Hunters and I think As Long As You’re Mine in particular is so beautiful and the fact that it means more Jonathan Bailey? Sign. Me. Up.

Billy Harrigan Tighe and Christine Dwyer on the Wicked National Tour in 2012.

Stemming from that last point, I can’t wait to see more Jonathan Bailey in the second half. I was so sad when I processed that after the train left for the Emerald City, he wouldn’t be in the movie anymore. I want to see more of his character and his character’s growth.
For Good – I’m so excited to see how I feel watching Ariana and Cynthia sing For Good. That song in itself is so emotional and such a strong way to end the musical, so I’m curious to see if I’ll feel more of that loving friendship by the end of the second half that I was looking for in the first.

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande as Elphaba and Glinda.

This isn’t specific to part 2, but I’m really curious to hear the soundtrack. Some of the songs were extended (i.e. No One Mourns the Wicked, Dancing Through Life to a certain extent, One Short Day) and Defying Gravity was broken up a little bit in the end, so I’m curious how it will all come together on the soundtrack

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading all my thoughts and nostalgia about Wicked! Check out the trailer for the movie if you haven’t seen it yet and check out the movie once it hits theaters this weekend!

October’s Playlist

I feel like I’ve said this every month this year, but I think October was the busiest month of the year so far. From weddings, to travel, to Halloween parties, to date nights, the fun never stopped.

I didn’t really listen to too much in particular this month. I listened mostly to Spotify’s auto-generated playlists and it was mostly acoustic, chill music. This playlist sums it up pretty nicely.

Officially though, here’s the final October playlist:

when was it over? – Saha Alex Sloan, Sam Hunt
Drive You Back Home – Raynes
Expectations – Tim Riehm
The Kind of Love We Make – Luke Combs
Better Than Heaven – A Story Told
Nights – Neon Trees
CALIFORNIA (the OC theme) – Phantom Planet
Strip That Down – Liam Payne, Quavo
Mood Swings – Scotty Sire
Heaven or Hell – Chris James
Heart’s Not In It – Loote, Picture This
Entropy – Marrick Smith
My Girl – Jackson Penn
Tangerine Skies – Declan J Donovan
The Great Escape – BOYS LIKE GIRLS
If I Could Fly – One Direction

You can listen to that full playlist here!

Group Travel Tips

I recently did my first group trip and I wanted to share my thoughts!

Last month, I traveled to the Azores and Madeira on a work trip with Sagres Vacations! I’m a big traveler and I’m used to planning everything myself, so not having control over what we did was a little scary, but to have all the responsibility taken off my shoulders was also so freeing and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to have traveled with this group!

Why I Think Group Travel Works

You’re Never Alone – Group travel is the perfect opportunity to meet new people.
- If you like solitude, maybe that sounds like your worst nightmare, but I think this is part of what’s so appealing about traveling with a group. If you don’t have a go-to travel buddy, going solo on a group trip is easy and safe! You have a guide with you and you also have a whole group of people to meet and make friends with.
- If the thought of being with the group is overwhelming to you, just remember that you have your own hotel room and will always have that space to take a breather. You can always stay back from an excursion as well if you need some time to yourself.

Aside from the coworker I traveled with, I didn’t know a single person on this trip, but everyone in this group was fantastic!

Your Trip is All Planned For You
- I feel like no matter how much research you do on a location, you’re still going to be left with a million questions. On a group trip, your trip is planned for you by experts and you’ll likely have a guide with you during all of your day trips. It takes the stress of making sure you’re going to safe areas and seeing all the important sights off of your shoulders and allows you to just relax and enjoy your time.

You’re With an Expert
- If you see a place you want to visit or have something you know you want to do but it’s not on your itinerary, ask your tour guide or your group representative. Chances are, they’ve built leisure time into your itinerary and will be able to suggest places for you to visit and help you figure out the logistics on how to get there.

Tips for Group Travel

Because I’ve only been on one trip like this, I can only speak from my own experience, but here are some of the things I learned while I was away.

Read the itinerary!
- There’s definitely an appeal in spontaneity and knowing that everything is planned for you, but still, check your itinerary. It will help you to be more prepared for your trip. You can read the entire itinerary and still be surprised by what you see and do!

Make Friends, Be Social
- Like I said before, the people that you’re traveling with are your go-to people. You will be with them for the entirety of your trip, so take advantage and get to know those around you. Even if you don’t make a forever friend, it’s still fun to get to know new people and make memories with them.

I might never see these ladies again, but I loved the time we spent together while we were away!

Be Prepared if You Get Sick – Bring Meds!
- You are going to be with a lot of people in a lot of small spaces. You are likely all flying together and you will likely be on buses or trains together. If one person gets sick, chances are, other people are going to as well. Be prepared.
- Medications I recommend taking with you: Advil, Exedrin Migraine, Advil Sinus, Emergen-C (I prefer the Raspberry Everyday Immune Support that you mix into water), Zicam (I like the Cherry Flavor Rapid Melts), and Airborne Chewable Tablets. Hopefully you won’t need them, but if you do, these are the medications I’ve had the best luck with!

Make Sure You’re Getting Enough Sleep
- It’s exciting being in a new place and you’re going to want to see everything you possibly can, but travel puts a lot on your body and you need to rest. So, when your body is telling you that you need sleep, listen to it. It will also help minimize the likelihood of you getting sick.

Stay Hydrated
- Make sure you’re drinking water. If you’re visiting a country in Europe, it’s likely that you’re going to be offered different kinds of wine and espresso and I highly recommend you try everything you can, but don’t forget to drink water too. Water is not offered to you in the same way wine and coffee are. Seek out water, this will also help minimize the chances of you getting sick.
- I’m notoriously bad at drinking water, so I recommend bringing Liquid IV with you and drinking a full glass of water in the morning with a packet of Liquid IV to help keep you hydrated and start your day on a good foot.

Take Advantage of Everything You Can!
- You paid a lot to be on your trip and it’s likely that your travel agency has included full days of tours which include multiple meals a day – make sure you’re taking advantage of these things! Go on your tours, get off the bus, take those pictures, and let yourself live in those moments.
- At meal time, try the foods and beverages that are offered to you!
  - On my tour, whenever there was a meal included, we were given a red and a white wine, bread, an appetizer, an entree, a dessert, and an espresso. Most times, we weren’t given the option of what we ate at these meals; if we didn’t like what was placed in front of us, then we would have had to wait until our next meal (unless there was a food allergy. Our agency was very accommodating to food allergies).
    - Not everything I was given was a food or drink I would normally eat, but I tried everything (minus blood sausage and sardines, I did have to draw the line somewhere)! That being said, I LOVED everything I tried, and many of those things were things I genuinely thought I disliked.
      - SO TRY EVERYTHING YOU CAN! Immerse yourself in the culture as much as you can. And because you have guides with you on group tours, you can always ask them if you’re uncertain of something.

Ask Your Travel Agent / Booking Company for Tips on What to Pack
- I felt wildly unprepared for my trip when it came to packing. I read and re-read our itinerary and tried to pack as best I could, but at the end of the day, I overpacked and brought a lot of unnecessary clothing that took up a lot of space in my suitcase.
- I wish I had asked our travel agent prior to going if she had any recommendations for what to bring because it would’ve saved a lot of time, space, and stress.

Bring a Backpack or Bag to Bring with You on Tours Every Day
- This might sound like common sense, but I highly recommend bringing a bag with you (in addition to a purse if you carry one). Sometimes, there are curve balls throughout the day or it’s colder in one location than another and it’s always good to be prepared.
- I brought an extra bag with me on the bus every day where I kept a raincoat, a sweatshirt, a bathing suit, and a towel. Unless I needed those things on our stops, I left the bag on the bus when I got off, but it gave me peace of mind knowing that I had them if I needed them. It’s also good to have if you buy souvenirs so you can put everything in one place and not worry about leaving something on the bus.

Bring Walking Shoes
- There is typically a lot of walking, so make sure you have shoes that you’re comfortable walking in. If you’re a fashionista and worry walking shoes will ruin your outfits or pictures (I feel you, bestie), carry a bag big enough to hold a pair of cute shoes. You will thank me later!

Be. On. Time.
- I know a lot of us out there tend to be late, but when you have other people depending on you, do. not. be. late. You do not want to be the person that everyone else on the bus is waiting on in the mornings.
- When your guides tell you to be at the bus at a certain time, BE THERE!

Take Lots of Pictures!
- Make sure you’re present in the moment, but don’t forget to take some pictures to look back on once you’re home, and even if you hate taking pictures of yourself, make sure you hop in some too!

General Travel Tips

Buy a Scale
- If you’re flying somewhere, it’s likely your luggage cannot exceed 50 pounds. If you’re an overpacker like me, this probably stresses you out. To help alleviate some of that stress, I suggest buying a luggage scale so you can weigh your baggage prior to getting to the airport to make sure your bags aren’t too heavy. You can get one on Amazon here.

Bring Two Adaptors
- If you’re traveling out of the country, you will need an adaptor to plug any of your electronics or accessories in. If you can, I suggest getting two, one for by your bedside to charge your phone, computer, etc., and one for the bathroom for hair tools. You can get them on Amazon here (this particular model will work in Italy, Portugal, Spain, France, Iceland, and Germany).

Bring an Umbrella and a Rain Coat
- Even if there’s no rain in the forecast when you’re packing, bring a rain coat and an umbrella. I made the mistake one time of not traveling with a rain coat and I will never do it again! In Madeira, my coworker and I both had rain coats, but we got caught in one of the worst rain storms we’d ever experienced and had to stop in a Claire’s just to buy an umbrella, don’t let this happen to you!

Have Fun on your Upcoming Trips!

September’s Playlist

I didn’t listen to much music in September – I saw Pitbull and Frankie Valli in concert this month, so I spent most of my time listening to them – but here’s the official playlist:

Only Growing – Stephen Day
Grew Apart – Logan Mize, Donovan Woods
State I’m In – Ryan and Rory
December, 1963 (Oh What a Night) – Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
Wasn’t Expecting That – Jamie Lawson
Fancy Like – Walker Hayes
Stay – Frankie Valli & The Four Seaons
Who Loves You – Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
Hotel Room Service – Pitbull

You can listen to that full playlist here!

Not in My Book – Katie Holt

Not in My Book – 5/5 ✩

Not in My book is a spectacular enemies-to-lovers novel about two writers who couldn’t be more opposite and are forced to write a book together. As pieces of themselves start bleeding into the novel, Rosie and Aiden have trouble piecing together what’s real and what’s not and grappling with the fact that maybe it’s not just their characters who have chemistry.

I looooved everything about this book! From the slow burn of the romance, to the witty dialogue, to the lovable characters, Katie Holt had me engaged from beginning to end!

I really liked how the story was narrated by Rosie, but we also got excerpts from the novel she and Aiden were writing as well. I thought this was an interesting way to explore how the characters (Rosie and Aiden) felt without them having to explicitly say it. They were both complex characters who tended to have trouble speaking their minds, so to be able to still be able to get inside their heads in this way was really interesting to me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the ARC!

August’s Playlist

I went to a concert every weekend of August aside from Labor Day, so I spent my month listening to Sad Summer Festival artists like The Maine, We the Kings, and Mayday Parade, The Beach Boys, Sara Bareilles, Avril Lavigne, and Simple Plan.

Here’s my official August playlist:

Grew Apart – Logan Mize, Donovan Woods
State I’m In – Ryan and Rory
One Sweet Love – Sara Bareilles
Don’t Take the Girl – Brett Young
Red – Sara Bareilles
Many the Miles – Sara Bareilles
Breathe Again – Sara Bareilles
Soft Place to Land – Sara Bareilles
Everything Changes – Sara Bareilles
I’m With You – Avril Lavigne
Dance Around It – Parachute
Bad Behavior – The Maine
Slip the Noose – The Maine
Numb Without You – The Maine
Wouldn’t It Be Nice – The Beach Boys
Addicted – Simple Plan
Welcome to my Life – Simple Plan
You Suck at Love – Simple Plan
Oscar – Stephen Day
Like the Weekend – Stephen Day, Clover County

You can listen to the full playlist here.

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year – Ally Carter

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year – 5/5 ✩

Ally Carter never misses! The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year is about Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt, two rival writers who both accept a cryptic invitation to a Christmas party at the home of a reclusive fan. Little do they know, the world’s most famous mystery writer Eleanor Ashley is the party’s host. When Eleanor goes missing, Maggie and Ethan must team up to see if they can find the famous writer and make it back to the States in one piece. And, of course, it wouldn’t be an Ally Carter novel without some romance sprinkled in there.

If you’re looking for a feel good, fast-paced novel that will you leave you laughing at every turn and falling for a couple that feels real on the page in front of you, this is the book for you! I couldn’t have loved it more!

I might be biased here because Ally has been one of my favorite authors since I was a kid, but she really, truly never misses. She’s absolutely hilarious and knows how to immediately draw you into her stories. Ally introduces and teases things at the perfect moments, reeling you further and further in until you’re about the teeter off a cliff, but before you do, she pulls you back just in time to reveal the answers you’ve been craving.

She also knows how to write banter better than any other author I’ve read. Her characters’ dialogue never feels forced or awkward; it’s very real and very funny. You can’t help but love her characters and fall deeper and deeper in love with the enemies-to-lovers trope the more you read.

Her characters are dynamic and 3D on the page; Maggie and Ethan both are realistic characters with very real pasts that haunt them and eventually bring them closer and closer together. Maggie’s experience with her ex-husband has crafted her into the woman we see in the novel; she is a woman who has been gaslighted over and over, morphing her into someone who questions herself at every turn. Meanwhile, Ethan’s past with his family and his accident have shaped him; he is headstrong and caring, willing to do anything he can to protect the people he loves.

Throughout the novel, we see these two collide and begin to grow together, transforming Maggie into someone who can see and embrace confidence in herself and Ethan into someone who is able to grow with someone else and support someone else, helping him grow in turn. They both compliment each other so well, and together, they’re able to speak their minds and create a future together that would be unthinkable with anyone but each other. (Plus, Ethan is the definition of a golden retriever boyfriend and I couldn’t have loved him more for it).

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for the Advance Reader’s e-proof of The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year! I can’t wait to get a hard copy of the novel once it’s released!

The Happy Place Effect

Some books make you feel. Other books REALLY make you feel.

I had a bad week this week and to try to pull myself out of it, I picked up Happy Place by Emily Henry.

Happy Place was one of my favorite reads from 2023 and I’ve been wanting to reread it since. The story felt so real and raw and vivid and it really made me feel all the emotions last year. I knew that rereading it would elicit those same emotions and I hoped that it would help me to get my emotions flowing and get me back into my usual frame of mind.

And reading it this time… it REALLY got me thinking.

Firstly, what is my happy place? I have many things and many places that make me happy, but I don’t know if I know what MY Happy Place is yet. And I think that’s okay.

I spend a lot of time in my head. I grew up as an introverted only child, which means I grew accustomed to time spent in my own head. I know how to make myself happy, I know how to entertain myself on long bus rides, train rides, and flights, and I thrive being on my own.

But that’s not to say I always want to be on my own. Just because I’m good at it, doesn’t mean that I always want it. And the older I get, the more I realize that I actually might not be as good at it as I think I am. I crave relationships with others and I so deeply value the ones that I have. The people I surround myself with are people who I have chosen from the billions of people in this world to call mine. We share similar values, we have fun together, we can depend on each other.

I also crave a partnership with someone else. I love love, I am a romantic at heart, and I truly can’t wait for the day that I settle down with a man I love and we create a life together.

Now that I’m older, I find that when I fall into bad moods or bad frames of mind, I have a more difficult time pulling myself out of them than I did when I was young. When I was a kid, I feel like I could just flip a switch and my good mood was back. If that didn’t work, I listened to Chris Brochu’s music and my good mood came back swingin’. But now, it’s not that easy.

This week was one of those weeks. Out of nowhere, it felt like my world was crashing down and no matter how hard I tried to pull myself out, I sunk further and further down. I’ve noticed this happen in the last few months too and my new philosophy is this: don’t try to pull myself out.

This might not work for everybody, and I realize this, but the more that I try to pull myself out, the more pressure I put on myself to feel better, the WORSE I feel when I can’t do it. Having that amount of pressure on my shoulders sets me up to fail.

Instead, I let myself feel. I let the emotions course through me and I remind myself that they will pass. The desire for them to pass remains like it would in the previous scenario, but the pressure is alleviated and it allows for my emotions to pass more quickly.

Going about it in this way will sometimes allow me to sit up, look around me, and realize the emotions have passed without even having realized it.

But to circle back to my first point – about doing well on my own – I’m realizing that that also might be hurting my relationships.

I’ve been seeing someone for the last few months and if you’d asked me before I picked up Happy Place, I would have said that things are going great. I would have told you that he’s an amazing guy. He’s caring, he’s thoughtful, he’s supportive, he’s everything you’d want in a partner. But I would also say that we have a lot left to learn about each other. That there are a lot of conversations left for us to have, a lot of room for us to grow and decisions to be made about where we see our future going. If you’d asked me before I reread Happy Place, I’d have said I had no worries about those conversations.

But now, I’m feeling a little bit like I’m on shaky ground. It’s nothing that he’s done, it’s nothing that he’s said, it’s ALL in my own head.

Happy Place is about a woman named Harriet who has recently broken up with her ex-fiancé Wyn. Harriet and Wyn met through their close-knit friend group and had been together nearly a decade before breaking up. When the friends go on their annual vacation, Harriet and Wyn still haven’t told their friends they’ve broken up and the story explores the complexities of friendships, relationships, love, loss, growing up, and what it means to find your happy place.

It takes Harriet almost the entirety of the novel to see that she’s grown apart from her friends. To understand exactly why she and Wyn broke up. In the end, it boiled down to the fact that she was trying so hard to be the one who had it all together. To be the one who didn’t put a burden on her friends. To be the rock when Wyn couldn’t. When it came to the important things – like picking a wedding date and grieving – Harriet pushed it all away, to let everyone else feel their emotions. To be supportive, never needy. To be the chill one. To always be the one who was okay. To never ask things of other people.

I saw myself in her. I don’t think these are bad qualities, but I think the circumstances in which she was exhibiting these qualities is important and it stung a little bit, seeing myself in her. I don’t want to be that person. I loved Harriet; she was witty, she was kind, she was lovely, but these are qualities in her that I do not want to share under these circumstances.

I’ve had a little bit of a fear inside me these last few months that maybe he doesn’t know how much I care. I have worked so, very hard to be chill in this relationship. I have worked to be the go-with-the-flow type of girl, when I am, in fact, not that girl.

I desperately want to be that girl, so I’m not saying this so it seems that I’m giving him a false version of myself. It’s just that in the past, I have been the complete opposite. I have had the desire to hold control in any way I can. I have wanted to talk 24/7. I have wanted to be together 24/7. And I genuinely do not want that now. I want someone who I care about and who cares about me. Who wants to see me and spend time with me, but doesn’t need for it to be constant. Someone who can create a life with me while we both still maintain our own separate ones as well.

I am trying so hard to do this that I fear I may have missed the mark completely. In trying to change how I’ve behaved in the past, I fear that I could have hidden the fact that I really do care.

I try to allow plans to come up organically, I tend to let him ask me to hang out or let him pick what we do, and honestly, not only is that probably difficult for him, it also, in no way, shows that I care about those things too.

Even though I don’t want to be picking everything and planning everything, I think I should be showing a little bit more initiative as well.

I don’t want there to be a lapse in communication on my end like there was on Harriet’s. As much as I know I’m every bit deserving of hearing that I’m missed or that he wants to make plans, he deserves those things too. And I think a part of me knew this, deep down, before rereading Happy Place, but this book really drove the point home.

Ultimately, Happy Place did what I needed it to; it made me feel better. But it did something more too. The book made me see faults in myself that I want to change and improve upon. I want to go after what I want, not just let things happen to me.

So, I’ll end it with this, what is my Happy Place? I don’t know yet. But I do know that it’s not in my head. The contentment I can find in solitude is wonderful, but it is not my happy place.

My happy place is external; it’s a place where I can build my life with people, share my ideas with others, spread my love, build connections. Where is that place is exactly? I’m still trying to find it with and that is okay.