Happy September! August is over and we enter into a new month on this beautiful, yet hot, Labor Day. Time just keeps flying by! While I do have fall colors featured throughout this email, it's still in the triple digits in California, so it's really just me pretending that it is fall like it should be, until the weather catches up. It's been a good month. It was filled with the nostalgia of Freakier Friday, getting ready to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Gilmore Girls, hot days, a lot of work events, a lot of planning for the next few months, a lot of looking forward to the fall months ahead. There were family and friend moments that I'm so grateful for, celebrations of birthdays and engagements, constant social media notifications, emails, trips to LA, online shopping, later nights, last moments of freedom. I saw someone describe August as the “Sunday of summer” and I can't stop thinking about it. It's so true. It's when we start going back to routines of school, work schedules, counting down until Christmas break since there aren't really any vacations until then. The fun, carefree attitude of summer and being with family and friends goes on hold for a bit once again. So, here are my highlights, lessons and snapshots of the month. Of course, what would my monthly newsletter be without the entertainment I've consumed, the things I've done, what I've listened to and what I've read? |
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- The 1% Club
- The Last Showgirl
- Building the Band
- My Oxford Year
- The Summer I Turned Pretty (the most recent episodes)
- Pamela, A Love Story (documentary)
- Freakier Friday at the El Capitan Theater on Hollywood Blvd.
- Trophy Wife: Murder on Safari (started watching, couldn't finish or even get through half of first episode)
- Ken & Barbie Killers: The Lost Murder Tapes (watched all of it, but zoned out and didn't pay much attention, other than what my mom would comment on)
- The podcast heard 'round the world: New Heights with Jason Kelce and Travis Kelce with very special guest, Taylor Swift
- Mr. and Mrs. Murder (docu series)
- Last Man Standing (from the beginning)
- The Princess Diaries (it was on TV…I had to)
- Boy Meets World
- ESPN Original: The Kingdom
- The Golden Girls
- Gilmore Girls (because it's officially entering their season)
- LeAnne
- My Life with the Walter Boys
- Emma and Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey, A Diane Sawyer Special
- The Map That Leads To You
- The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox (the first three episodes)
- Disney Princess: A Concert Celebrating 70 Years of Disneyland (it's actually only 11 minutes)
- Stealing America's Most Famous Pair of Shoes - Ruby Red (about Dorothy's Wizard of Oz shoes that were stolen from her home place of Grand Rapids, Michigan)
- Search for the Truth: The Amanda Knox Story
- Her Last Broadcast: The Abduction of Jodi Huisentruit
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- The Open Journal with Pamela Anderson, Substack newsletter
- The Mistakes We Made (Book #1) by Hannah Brown
- The Four Engagement Rings of Sybil Rain (Book #2) by Hannah Brown
- Love, Pamela by Pamela Anderson
- If Not for My Baby by Kate Golden
- We Might Just Make It After All: My Best Friendship with Kate Spade by Elyce Arons
- Once Upon a Time in Dollywood by Ashley Jordan
- If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy
- The Blonde Identity by Ally Carter
- Anywhere with You by Ellie Palmer (definitely one of my very favorites from the year)
- God Bless This Mess by Hannah Brown
- Mad Rivals (The Bradley Legacy Book #1) by Lisa Suzanne
- If All Else Sails by Emma St. Clair
- The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton
- The Rule Book (re-read) by Sarah Adams
- People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
- Rookie Season by Katie Bailey and Leah Brunner
- Fall at Once by Nora Everly (didn't finish)
- Well, Actually by Mazey Eddings
- Deep in My Feels by Jennae Cecilia
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- More bracelet-making for the Freakier Friday showing
- Reading, as always
- Coloring, as always
- Collecting all the new Gilmore Girls items that keep popping up at Hallmark
- Mentally preparing for the upcoming academic year
- Held a meeting with my friends/coworkers in the office for “New Heights” with the Kelce brothers and Taylor Swift; learned about her new album, “The Life of a Showgirl” and am making it my entire personality now.
- Reading and following Substack authors
- Researching and consulting with my dad for my Fantasy Football league with my coworkers - it's our second year, and it felt even more intense this time around than last.
- Attending the beginning of the year festivities at work, grabbing social media and planning out content for our calendar, email marketing, etc.
- Joining Creative Market; Nerding out over fonts and special graphics
- Already planning my birthday weekend in January; I bought a ticket to meet one of my favorite authors, Sarah Adams, in Huntington Beach
- Planning out a content calendar and reaching out about possible partnerships for my Gilmore Girls fan account.
- Falling deep down a rabbit hole of learning more about set design and decor on Gilmore Girls, trying to do interviews with some of the decorators.
- Studying up on thyroid issues because there are a few health things that I haven't been able to figure out and need to find an answer.
- Learning how to work and operate my Hatch Sleep/Alarm clock. I've programmed it for the week with the Gilmore Girls ‘la las’ so it's like I'm waking up in Stars Hollow
- Became a member of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
- Spent time with family friends for a birthday celebration and got baby cuddles at the same time
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- Fast by Demi Lovato
- Live Without It by Colbie Caillat, feat. Maddie & Tae
- Greetings From Your Hometown by Jonas Brothers
- Speak by Lindsay Lohan
- Freakier Friday Soundtrack
- Chicks in the Office (podcast): The Demi Lovato Interview
- And, baby, that's show business for you…Taylor Swift playlist
- O's Little Book of Love and Friendship - The editors of O, The Oprah Magazine
- A Little More Personal (RAW) by Lindsay Lohan
- Midnights by Taylor Swift (I REALLY LOVE THAT ONE)
- I Didn't Come Here to Leave by Chris Young
- Patterns by Kelsea Ballerini
- MaRynn by MaRynn Taylor
- A Matter of Time by Laufey
- Songs for a New Moon by Charles Kelley
- Sabrina Carpenter discography and new album, Man's Best Friend
- PODCAST: I Am All in (again) with Scott Patterson (feat. guest, Candace Cameron Bure)
- PODCAST: Dumb Blonde with Bunnie XO (Jelly Roll's wife) (feat. guest, Carly Pearce)
- Happiness Begins by Jonas Brothers
- PODCAST(S): Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky
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Lessons & Highlights from the month: |
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- You don't need to have plans or vacations to take time off
- I think in our society, we deal a lot with guilt when it comes to rest. We consistently work and feel the need to be productive at all times. But, it's okay to just take a week off for the heck of it, if you have the time available. Enjoy your slow mornings, binge watch that popular show on Netflix, get together with friends you wouldn't normally.
- Snail mail is making a big comeback and I am consuming it all
- I am all for the snail mail coming back - letters, monthly surprise boxes with goodies, etc. I really want to start my own! Like a Zine with some stickers and other promo items. Maybe someday!
- It's easy to romanticize moments from the past, but it's easy to look back and see it through a different lens.
- I'll scroll through past memories and think ‘wow, things were so much better when___" or wonder why things just don't feel like they used to. But, I have to remind myself that while there were a lot of good things, there were a lot of heavy, toxic things that needed to go and I wasn't necessarily in a good place. We're always going to see things differently after time has passed. Hindsight and all that…
- Friendships are always adjusting, learn to roll with it and adjust with it
- I have a hard time with change, as most people do. While some friendships might not end, they occasionally shift with the seasons…Sometimes, when there are breakups or someone gets into a serious relationship. Other times, it's when there's a newborn or a particular stage for the older kids. I'm learning to shift with all of the seasons and adapting that is necessary, and to enjoy them all. Relationships aren't going to be like they were in high school because you've lived a lot of life since then, and that's a good thing. You learn more quickly which relationships can stand the weather and chaos of life.
- Sometimes the doors aren't opening and the opportunities aren't coming because they just aren't what God has for you.
- I've often found myself struggling, especially this month, with the influencer culture. I feel the need to keep up with it because I see accounts similar to mine - And then I realize, I just need to focus on the art, being authentic and go where God's calling me. Not where culture is calling, because that's a completely different story. I tend to think it's that I'm doing something wrong or I'm not talented enough for this and that. But, recently God hit me with a truth last week that reminded me, maybe it's simply because I'm not focusing on where He wants me to go. That makes all the difference.
- Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift are officially engaged and we all celebrated love.
- Yes, we all knew it was going to happen. It was pretty clear from her attending that first game that there was something deeper there. I know a lot of people always like to bring up the fact that she's “dated a lot of people.” But, not all of them were necessarily serious. Plenty of people go on dates or are getting to know someone. She just didn't get the luxury of being able to hide those moments where she was still figuring things out. And, so what if she writes about her experiences? She's found the kind of guy she's written about and dreamed about for years, and having followed her career since 2006, it's such a beautiful thing that she found true love and said yes to forever.
- I'm still just as fascinated with the Hollywood production scene.
- I used to be a lot better about dreaming; thinking about someday and wanting to get into the entertainment industry. But, it often feels like a lofty dream. So, attending the taping of Shifting Gears was a nice little wakeup call that I do still have a love and passion for it. It really inspired me in some of the stories that I'd put on the back burner or forgotten about. It made me want to start writing and dreaming again. There's a romance to it that I can't explain.
- I'm learning what self-care looks like these days.
- I think it looks a lot like unplugging from my phone. It's doing things from childhood that brought me joy. It's also getting back into church and bible studies in community. It's taking better care of myself with getting enough sleep and eating better, staying hydrated. It's especially going to the doctor to find out what's wrong and staying on top of my prescription refills. It's budgeting and being better with my terrible spending habits. It's setting clear boundaries and knowing what my limits are, whether it's work, spending too much time online, isolating too much…Just being more self-aware overall - improving where I can.
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FAVORITE SNAPSHOTS FROM THE MONTH |
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So, that's a wrap on August. We move into September with hopes and expectations, prayers that it will be a good one, one that will shift the rest of the year. I'm believing for it, and I hope you will too. I'm looking forward to: - a church retreat and making it a mini vacation with friends
- starting the next study with First 5 (for our Facebook group)
- a few favorite shows are back on: The Weakest Link, Law & Order: SVU and The Floor
- lunches with friends
- new books to read
- eat more pumpkin treats
- more festive events and fall-centered things
What are you looking forward to most in September? |
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Stars Hollow Ct.
Bakersfield , CA 93311, USA |
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