first post: things I've been loving this summer!
activities, music, books, content creators, etc.
Summer is a great time for me to find new stuff that I LOVE because I don’t have classes to eat up all my time. This summer I’ve been a bit more busy than usual, but I’ve been making sure to prioritize doing stuff that I want to do so I don’t completely lose my mind. Anyway, enough rambling; let’s get to the list.
1. Have a Nice Life
I finally listened to their sophomore album, the unnatural world, after obsessing over deathconsciousness for months. These two albums are amazing to me and extract some sort of emotion out of me that feels almost ancient. It’s indescribable. The way that they use music is so unique and hits me right at my core. It’s sort of just a “if you know, you know” situation.
2. The Kick Inside by Kate Bush
Find the album on Spotify here
I decided it was a good idea to listen to something other than Hounds of Love, and I think The Kick Inside might be my new favorite Kate Bush album. I was struck immediately by the opening track, “Moving,” and the album continued to wow. I’ve been working on listening to more of an artist’s discography instead of focusing on one album, and it’s been a great decision. There’s definitely a lot of people who loved her for her viral songs on Tik Tok, but I think people miss out a lot when they stop with just the popular stuff. Usually when you dig deeper on your own, there’s a whole load of other great stuff from viral artists. Also, the album art is SO summer. It’s definitely more upbeat and summer-y than my first music recommendation of Have a Nice Life.
3. Great Art Explained
This Youtube channel takes 15-ish minutes to explain notable artworks. Not knowing much about art, I think that they’re great videos to watch quickly to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for art. It’s really cool learning about the background, different things that inspired/were inspired by the art, and information about the artist and technique. It’s in colloquial terms that make it easily digested, and the story is captivating. This video about Edward Hopper's Nighthawk was one of the first videos I watched, and I loved seeing how his art inspired film so much.
4. instagram/tik tok chef Samantha Montgomery
I’ve been trying to cook from scratch a lot more often, so Sammy is a godsend. She has this series of 20-minute dinners that are easy and delicious. I’ve found a lot of good pasta recipes through her, like her tortellini with spinach in a lemon cream sauce that I’ve been making almost weekly since I found it. Her videos use a lot of basic ingredients and not so much effort that it makes cooking feel like a Herculean task. Her videos make me feel like I’ve mastered pasta with the amount of recipes I have up my sleeve.
5. Valley of the Dolls
I just read the book in June, and now I understand why it’s such a classic. The beginning was a bit slow, but the characters and plot were well built. I didn’t find every character lovable (I’m sorry Nealy, but you annoyed me often), but I was still invested in their stories. I loved the references to Mount Everest and using it as a metaphor for how lonely it is at the top. I still desperately need to watch the movie, but for now the book was really good. The ending was tragic after a small glimmer of hope for certain characters, so by the time I got to the last page it was still just as devastating as other parts of the book. I also tried annotating the book for once, marking passages I liked with different colored tabs. It’s great for looking back at things I liked.
6. Picking fresh blueberries
A lot of people don’t know that you can go to a local orchard and pick fruit. They had raspberries, blueberries, peaches, apricots, even potatoes (but I don’t know why you’d want to dig for them). However, I thought the blueberries were the best thing to pick yourself. I was able to pick out exactly the type I wanted: firm, sour, and just ripe. I think blueberries are one of those fruits that vary a lot by fruit, so it’s nice picking out the ones you’d want. The peaches were basically like any peach you’d buy at a store, so I didn’t really see a point in picking out that kind of fruit and paying extra for it.
And that’s all for now! Stay tuned for more content :)
The Kick Inside is a great album, though I haven't listened in one sitting yet. My go to from that album is Oh to Be in Love. It feels so cathartic and I love when Kate Bush just goes for it vocally. Get Out of My House on The Dreaming is a fun song as well! Would love to see a post about music recommendations based on different sounds people are into.