All The Things Edition #5

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It’s time for all the things I’ve been into lately, friends!

 

At times, it truly feels like we just started 2024 and I was getting all of my goals together….and now, here we are in May! It seems to be flying by! I’d love for it to slow down a bit, but very thankful we are coming into warmer weather here in Ohio. I love the sunshine and being able to open up the windows (so do our cats!) to let the fresh air in.

 

Do you like the warmer months, or enjoy chillier weather?

 

It seems like we are in a heavy season of rain here right now and it’s hard to find those sunny days, but so thankful for them when they squeeze into the week!

 

Let’s dive into all the things and I can’t wait to hear what you’ve been up to also!

 

What I’ve Been Watching

 

I enjoy curling up in my chair in the evenings trying to find something good to watch before bed. I like a little bit of everything, whether it’s romance, comedy, true crime, action, documentaries, animated movies, news, etc.

 

Chad Daybell Trial

 

This case is at least two years in the making and now that Lori Vallow Daybell had her day in court and is locked away, now it’s her beau’s turn. This is such a devasting case of not just two beautiful children’s lives lost, but also Chad’s wife that he accused of murdering as well. The children were found buried on his property, in case you haven’t heard of this story. There’s also other people wrapped up in this horrible case, and I hope everyone involved recieves justice!

 

Young Thug RICO Trial

 

Per usual, I’m following more than one court case at a time, haha! This trial revolves around a rapper called Young Thug and several people who supposedly were affiliated with him, and the state claims that he was running a gang called YSL. He disputes that and says it’s simply the name of his record label. While I don’t know much about the details of this rapper or his label, what I find so interesting about this one is that there is so much arguing! The judge, the prosecutor, the million defense attorneys (since there are so many defendants with it being a RICO trial, Young Thug is just the main one and most well-known) are always yelling back and forth and I really just watch it for entertainment. It’s wild!

 

You can find clips of them arguing back and forth at the top of their lungs on YouTube. Plus, it took them over a year just to choose a jury and there’s no end in sight for how long the trial will actually last – those poor jurors! Can you imagine being stuck on a jury for the foreseeable future?! The schedule is so willy nilly too, so nothing is ever on time and it’s just off the wall.

 

What I’m Reading

 

For the most part, I read YA novels, rom/com, personal development books, or thrillers!

 

Yellowface

 

Without giving anything away, this book centers around two authors, Juniper Song and Athena Liu, and is written from Song’s perspective. While they have writing in common, they unfortunately don’t have success in common. Athena has won all the awards for her work and continues to win the popularity contest, leaving Song admittedly jealous of her friend Liu. Jealousy is an ugly thing, and we all know nothing good comes from that!

 

This book was everything and more, I really enjoyed it! Carrie (Curly Crafty Mom) said she loved it back when she read it and I’m sad it took me this long to check it out!

 

More Than You’ll Ever Know

 

If you have a true crime obsession like me, I think you’ll love this one! It’s about a young woman named Cassie getting ready to marry the love of her life, who seems to have the perfect family. She, on the other hand, has had anything but that and has only known double lives from her parents. They were picture perfect to the outside world, but inside their home was an entirely different story. The heroine finds herself living somewhat a double life herself, she’s never told Duke about her family life growing up or why she’s so concerned about her brother Andrew, who she typically refuses to pick up the phone around Duke when he calls.

 

Cassie writes for a true crime blog and has stumbled upon the story of Delores Rivera who in fact had two husbands at one time, and now one of those husbands is dead after the other husband killed him…or did he? The young woman is determined to find out the real story of Rivera and how she could go on living this double life for so long.

 

This is one of those I-can’t-put-it-down type of books – highly recommend!

 

Remarkably Bright Creatures

 

I am just starting this book, but I wanted to include it here because it was such a popular book! It seems a little odd to read from the perspective of Marcellus, an octopus of all things, and I have had some giggles from Kyle and my mom about it. I can tell it’s going to get really interesting though, and he’s one smart octopus!

 

 

 

What I’m Working On

 

I like to pick goals for the house, here on the blog, and just things in general that I can break down over time so they don’t feel as heavy or overwhelming.

 

LTK Shop

 

I launched my LTK shop late last month and it was a little labor of love! I’m trying to get used to how the app works, sometimes I feel like a ninety-year-old woman who hates technology, haha. I am pretty happy with how it turned out so far though, and I would absolutely love if you would give me a follow. I’ll include the link below! If you are a blogger and have your very own LTK shop, please let me know and I will give you a follow too!

 

Click here to follow me on LTK!

 

I’m still getting used to the idea that you can’t see who follows you on LTK, seems sort of strange, but we will roll with it! Also, I would love to hear any ideas you have about the sorts of things you like to see posted on that app. I’m trying to gather some inspo before getting more posts over there!

 

Updating Old Posts

 

This one has been on my list for a little while now and I have revamped some of my older ones, but definitely not as many as I’d like. I kind of worry about some of you who have read my blog from the beginning and seeing those posts again, but I’d venture to guess many people still haven’t seen some of them. Also, it would be a good boost for SEO to get them updated to current dates, update old branding, etc. So if you start seeing some posts you may have interacted with before, you’ll have a heads-up why you’re seeing it again. 🙂

 

Garage Clean-Out

 

I feel this is one of those never-ending jobs. We try to clean out the garage every winter to prepare for spring/summer, and there’s just always more to do. I want to tackle cleaning it up soon, getting rid of anything we don’t need, and organizing all those things that we do need!

 

What I’m Excited About

 

There is almost always something magical to get excited about, no matter how ordinary it may seem at first! 

 

The Tortured Poets Department by Taylor Swift

 

I know this album is quite literally everywhere, but I am in love with it! It is certainly a very deep, more often than not sad, album and truly my favorite lyrically. While many of the lyrics I can’t relate to (thankfully), I can relate to some and regardless, you can picture exactly what she’s going through much like you would with reading a really good book. Only Taylor really knows who most of these songs are about, but it seems that many are written about Matt Healy and none of them are good for him, haha! A couple seem to be for Travis Kelce, her boyfriend, and they are really sweet. It’s nice to see her happy!

 

I loved this post about the album from Lindsay at Lindsay’s Sweet World!

 

New Presets for Blog Photos

 

I have been wanting to get my own presets (we’re talking years!) for a really long time and I finally did it last week! I bought them on Etsy and installed them in the Lightroom app, and I am in love. You can see the before and after above, and it really feels like an incredible difference!

 

An Upcoming Collaboration

 

My lips have to be sealed for now, but I have a collab coming in the next couple of weeks that you’ll be seeing here! Might be a familiar brand around here, but that’s your only clue. 🙂 Getting some of my post together ahead of time, even though much of it needs to wait until I get the goodies!

 

That’s a wrap on all the things, friends! I’d love to hear what you’ve been up to, and how May is treating you thus far – I hope it’s being so good to you!