June 2020: Recap + On My Shelves
We're halfway through a year that has felt like no other, but I'm thankful for the moments of normalcy – things like afternoons in the backyard, walks around the neighborhood, and pretend "movie theater nights" at home.
1. Introduced Bottles + Solids – Before my second baby was born, I started thinking about what I wanted to do differently this time around. At the top of the list? Eventually introducing bottles and formula! I waited too long with my first, and he just refused both. I'm so happy that I'm still nursing but am successfully bottle feeding formula, too. I love combining both! Our pediatrician gave us to go ahead to introduce solids, too, and that's been messy fun.
2. Projects Around the House – There were a lot of projects around the house that got done in June, and it made me so happy. Nick was hard at work! He installed a new light fixture outside and in a bathroom, replaced the fan and hung the outdoor string lights pictured on the screened-in porch, and helped clean out our dining room. It had become the holding area for stuff to be donated, put it storage, etc. It was so satisfying to cross it all off my list!
3. Weekend in the Mountains – We spent Father's Day weekend in the mountains, and it was exactly what we needed. Traveling with a baby, even just an hour away, is always a little stressful. I have to remind myself that babies are generally pretty adaptable! We all loved getting out of the house, had nice weather, and enjoyed spending time with my family. My favorite part was reading on the porch and snacking on hot boiled peanuts.
4. Brother Love – This isn't one specific thing, but it deserved a spot because so many of my June photos are of these two boys. It has been a delight to watch my big boy become a brother. He's handled the transition with such maturity! And the older the baby gets, the more fun they're having together. The baby's eyes light up when he sees his brother, and our big boy is so gentle and loving with him. The way they smile at one another melts my heart.
Read 17 Books | Favorites:
Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore
You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle
Writers & Lovers by Lily King
I Miss You When I Blink by Mary Laura Philpott
Honorable Mentions:
Long Bright River by Liz Moore
Stir by Jessica Fechtor
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
Don't Overthink It by Anne Bogel
“I kick my dangling feet to leave scuff marks.
This is how I'll die: slightly unwilling but ultimately lazy.”
You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle
“I wouldn’t listen. I wanted everything to stay as it was.
I was more afraid of the truth than the lie. The truth would change the circumstances of my life.
The lie was static. The lie was peaceful. I was happy with the lie.”
Long Bright River by Liz Moore
“I don't know why it's so hard for people to admit that sometimes
they're just assholes who screw up because they don't expect to get caught.”
One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus
“I don’t write because I think I have something to say.
I write because if I don’t, everything feels even worse.”
Writers & Lovers by Lily King
“Food has powers. It picks us up from our lonely corners and sits us back down, together.
It pulls us out of ourselves, to the kitchen, to the table, to the diner down the block.
At the same time, it draws us inward. Food is the keeper of our memories,
connecting us with our pasts and with our people.”
Stir by Jessica Fechtor
“Her death hit in waves. Not a flood, but water lapping steadily at her ankles.
You could drown in two inches of water. Maybe grief was the same.”
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
“When you married someone, you promised to love every person he would be.
He promised to love every person she had been. And here they were, still trying,
even though the past and the future were both mysteries.”
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
“Maybe we all walk around assuming everyone is interpreting the world
the same way we are, and being surprised when they aren’t,
and that’s the loneliness and confusion of the human experience in a nutshell.”
I Miss You When I Blink by Mary Laura Philpott
“If everyone decided nothing could change, nothing ever would.”
Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed
This is how I'll die: slightly unwilling but ultimately lazy.”
You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle
“I wouldn’t listen. I wanted everything to stay as it was.
I was more afraid of the truth than the lie. The truth would change the circumstances of my life.
The lie was static. The lie was peaceful. I was happy with the lie.”
Long Bright River by Liz Moore
“I don't know why it's so hard for people to admit that sometimes
they're just assholes who screw up because they don't expect to get caught.”
One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus
“I don’t write because I think I have something to say.
I write because if I don’t, everything feels even worse.”
Writers & Lovers by Lily King
“Food has powers. It picks us up from our lonely corners and sits us back down, together.
It pulls us out of ourselves, to the kitchen, to the table, to the diner down the block.
At the same time, it draws us inward. Food is the keeper of our memories,
connecting us with our pasts and with our people.”
Stir by Jessica Fechtor
“Her death hit in waves. Not a flood, but water lapping steadily at her ankles.
You could drown in two inches of water. Maybe grief was the same.”
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
“When you married someone, you promised to love every person he would be.
He promised to love every person she had been. And here they were, still trying,
even though the past and the future were both mysteries.”
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
“Maybe we all walk around assuming everyone is interpreting the world
the same way we are, and being surprised when they aren’t,
and that’s the loneliness and confusion of the human experience in a nutshell.”
I Miss You When I Blink by Mary Laura Philpott
“If everyone decided nothing could change, nothing ever would.”
Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed
.I didn't blog as much as I'd hoped to in June, but that's okay. I started the month with my May 2020 Recap and our June 2020 Goals. Then, I introduced Tales & Tiger Lily – my sister's new bookstagram account – and a new feature with her book reviews every month. After posting her reviews, I shared my May 2020 Quick Lit reviews. And finally, I had three Top Ten Tuesday posts: 25 Books on My Summer TBR, Celebrating 10 Years of Top Ten Tuesday, and Books I'm Buying in the Second Half of 2020. Not my most productive, but not too shabby either!
Favorite Song: "Cowboy Take Me Away" covered by Carly Pearce
I enjoy Pearce's music and was so excited to listen to her cover of this classic Dixie Chicks song.
It made me so nostalgic! Now I want to make a playlist of late 90s/early 00s country music.
Just Mercy (2019) starring Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx and Brie Larson – I read the book this movie is based on back in 2017 and was so obsessed with it. It was such a moving, thought-provoking read – and the movie was a wonderful adaptation! I loved the casting, especially Michael B. Jordan as Bryan Stevenson. You can watch the movie without having read the book, but I would certainly encourage you to pick up the book after if that's what you decide to do. In there, you'll find additional legal cases and statistics that illustrate our flawed justice system.
BOTM: Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner, The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett, and Writers & Lovers by Lily King
Bookstore Browsing: The Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton, The Marriage Game by Sara Desai, Last Tang Standing by Lauren Ho, Little Universes by Heather Demetrios, Jo & Laurie by Margaret Stohl & Melissa de la Cruz, One of Us is Next by Karen M. McManus and Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan
Amazon Buy 2, Get 1 Free Sale: Late Migrations by Margaret Renkl, I Miss You When I Blink by Mary Laura Philpott, The Rural Diaries by Hilarie Burton Morgan, I'd Give Anything by Marisa de los Santos, Save Me the Plums by Ruth Reichl, and Devotions by Mary Oliver
Target Buy 2, Get 1 Free Sale: Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev, Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh, Over the Moon by Natalie Lloyd, If I'm Being Honest by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegmund-Broke, Tweet Cute by Emma Lord, and Relish by Lucy Knisley
Books-a-Million Bargains: Always Never Yours by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegmund-Broke, Lab Girl by Hope Jahren, Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, Brown-Eyed Girl by Lisa Kleypas, and The Best Cook in the World by Rick Bragg
Used Bookstore Credit: Annie's Life in Lists by Kristin Mahoney, Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed, and Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore
Bargain Books: Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev, Hourglass by Dani Shapiro, Kid Gloves by Lucy Knisley, And Now We Have Everything by Meaghan O'Connell, Sisters First by Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush, Pen & Palate by Lucy Madison & Tram Nguyen, Hungry Hearts edited by Elsie Chapman, The Map from Here to There by Emery Lord, My Life with Bob by Pamela Paul, Good Husbandry by Kristin Kimball, The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow, Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson, We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal, Dark of the West by Joanna Hathaway, and The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Gifted: The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin, The Girl in White Gloves by Kerri Maher, and The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
For Review: The Empire of Gold by S.K. Chakraborty, Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert, and The Heir Affair by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan
NetGalley: Dear Emmie Blue by Lia Louis (not pictured)
It sounds like you all had a delightful June! I love how big your backyard looks, and the screened in porch looks really cute with the new light fixtures.
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