Howdy! It’s my first post of my Staycation and I’m constantly feeling like I need to rush to do all of the things on my list and then realizing that no, I’ve got time to rest. I did go to bed early last night and woke up early (of course) this morning and went grocery […]
MoreI am fairly certain its bad blogging etiquette to say how exhausted I am, but it’s been a crazy few weeks at work, and life has just been SERVING it to me. Lucky for me, I planned a staycation for myself months ago and have the entire week off! At first, I didn’t think I’d […]
MoreI feel a little bad about posting two book reviews in a row, but this means I’ll be all caught up with Blanche’s Book Club, and I’ll be able to post about my stay-cation plans later in the week! So, let’s get to it: the latest read from Blanche’s Book Club is “The Vanishing Year” […]
MoreDuring my road trip to Marfa, I listened to my first Jojo Moyes’ book: “One Plus One”. I’ll be honest here, I know people love Moyes, but I have never read a description of one of her books that made me really want to read it. So, I was excited at the sound of “One […]
MoreIt’s been several days since I’ve returned from Marfa, Texas – a place they say is “Tough to get to. Tougher to explain. But once you get here, you get it.” I’m not quite sure I get it, but I’ll explain as much as I can. On Saturday morning, I set out west in the […]
MoreHey, hey! It’s been a little while since I was here – it has been a crazy few weeks at work, and I didn’t really do any of the reading or writing I thought I was going to do on my trip to west Texas (more on that in a later post). But, yesterday I […]
MoreToday is the day! I’m heading west to Marfa, Texas after years of dreaming about it, and a few weeks of preparing for it! But, I didn’t want to get behind on Blanche’s Book Club, so I’m sharing our latest read: “The Missing Hours” by Emma Kavanagh. Here’s the description from Amazon: One moment, Selena […]
MoreI leave for Marfa, Texas early tomorrow morning – my bags are packed, my rental car is ready for pickup, and I’m reflecting on why I wanted to make this unique trip in the first place. I heard about Marfa for the first time on an episode of “Courtney Loves Dallas” (on Bravo), when her […]
MoreSince I’m staying in a trailer with AC, I am really lucky that I don’t have to pack bedding, a tent, or any super serious camping supplies. However, the things I’ve packed for this trip are definitely a little different than what I’ve packed for other trips in the past. I thought I’d share some […]
MoreRoad trips have been a part of American history since they were possible – “Every American hungers to move,” wrote John Steinbeck. Whether it’s a trip mostly for the destination, or a trek just for the sake of it, road trips do something to the soul. I have been very lucky in my life to […]
MoreWhile I have never been to Marfa, Texas, I have been doing lots of research to figure out some things I want to do while I’m camping there this weekend. Yes, I said camp. I’ll get to that… What I’ve found is that, while Marfa is sort of a town known for being small and […]
MoreEarly Saturday morning, I’m taking yet another trip that’s been on my bucket list for many years and am heading west to Marfa, Texas. Marfa’s slogan is, “Tough to get to. Tougher to explain. But once you get here, you get it.” Before I take to the road, I’m going to attempt to share all […]
MoreFor the past couple of weekends, I’ve had this really weird feeling of not knowing what to do with myself. I don’t know if it’s because I usually have a lot of things planned, or what, but to avoid that, I made a “weekend to-do” list hoping to avoid that lost feeling. I think it […]
MoreThis week, fans of “Sex and the City” have been celebrating its 20th anniversary – can you believe it? HBO’s iconic series debuted in 1998, when I was in 8th grade. We didn’t have HBO at my house growing up, so I didn’t come across the series until I was a junior in high school, […]
MoreHappy Humpday! It’s been such a weird week for me… Sunday night, Austin got a very unexpected storm – it was around midnight and my power kept going out and then coming back on… Probably not a big deal, but every time it would come back on, my stove would beep. I didn’t fall asleep […]
MoreYou might recall that earlier this year, I’d never seen a single episode of “The OC”, but I watched season one, and after receiving a surprise copy of season two in the mail, I plowed right through season two. Before I tell you anything else, here’s the description of season two from Amazon: Hook up with […]
MoreRolling right on through my library reserves… If you follow me on SnapChat @OrangeJulius7 you know that I picked up two crime fiction novels two weeks ago, both about missing persons. That’s the risk you take with, what I like to call, the Russian Roulette of Reserves. Of course, it’s like, way less risky… given […]
MoreMemorial Day has come and gone, and that means it’s officially summer! I went through the archives from Blanche’s Book Club and was SHOCKED to see that I’ve never offered a Summer Reading Guide! Shame on me! I always offer a Fall Reading Guide and a Holiday Reading Guide, but if you’re anything like me, […]
MoreI hope everyone is enjoying the holiday weekend! I took a dance class yesterday, did some serious outlet shopping (I got so many beauty products – ahh!), and have been working on a few new items for my Etsy store (there is currently a big sale happening, check it out here). I am about to […]
MoreI had an entire blog post ready for today that looked a lot different than this one does. I was going to post screen shots of some text messages I received from a guy I went on a few dates with almost a year ago (the texts are just a few weeks old). The texts […]
MoreI’m heading to the doctor this morning for my annual checkup and blood test. If you’ve been reading for awhile, you know that last year, I (finally) faced my fears and got my blood tested for all sorts of things… everything turned out fine, so now I am happy to have a comparison and see […]
More I’ve had a few days to marinate on my trip to Denver last week, and wow, it was a good one! I really needed a break from work, and well, from my life in general, and I’m feeling so much better. I spent a good amount of time planning the things I wanted to […]
MoreFriday is here! I’m back in Austin after my Bucket List trip to Denver – don’t worry, I’ve got a post coming soon of everything I did, travel tips, and what to pack, on the way! I went to Gaby Dalkin’s Cookbook signing last night, and today’s Friday, so I feel like I’m still high […]
MoreThe chances are likely, that as you’re reading this, I’m on my way to, or have already arrived at my Bucket List Trip destination: Denver, Colorado. But why Denver for a Bucket List Trip? I’ll explain. For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to take a trip to a city I’ve never been […]
MoreWe made it – we made it to Friday! I have been feeling so sluggish, and have still been recovering from either a cold or terrible allergies. I am looking forward to the weekend for so many reasons – getting a hair cut/color, heading to a friend’s birthday party, first pool day of the season, […]
MoreThe royal wedding – between Meghan Markle and Prince Harry – is May 19th, meaning it’s just 10 days away and I’m so excited! I will admit, I haven’t been following this couple as much as I did when Kate Middleton and Prince William were getting married in 2011. I just love Kate Middleton – […]
MoreI’m kind of liking this book review on Sunday thing… I’m taking a break from a DIY project (decorating a jacket) and making some jewelry (you can watch it all on my SnapChat @OrangeJulius7) to tell you about the latest read from Blanche’s Book Club. It’s “Little Fires Everywhere” by Celeste Ng. Before I go […]
MoreYesterday morning, I had an appointment at my orthodontist’s office at 8:15 to remove all of my Invisalign attachments and get fitted for retainers. That’s right, my teeth are straight after six months of using Invisalign! In the pictures above, those are more of the “after” – I took the one on the left after […]
MoreOn Saturday, I packed a backpack and headed about 40 minutes outside of Austin to Elgin, Texas, where New Republic Studios is located. I was going to my first ever Writer’s Retreat, and it was also the inaugural Writer’s Retreat hosted by the Austin Film Festival, where I’ve been volunteering for the last two years. […]
MoreHowdy! I’m feeling so relaxed this morning – finally – after a pretty rough week, but I went to a retreat yesterday, which I’ll write more about later. Today, I’m excited to share the book Blanche’s Book Club just finished! I’m talking about “Searching for John Hughes” by Jason Diamond. Here’s the book’s description from […]
MoreSo two weeks ago, I got a giant news flash when I started wearing a pedometer given to me as a part of the United Healthcare Motion program. I found out, I don’t ever walk… like at all. During week 1, I walked 18,599 steps. For week 2, I really wanted to amp things up […]
MoreWhat? A blog post on a Sunday?! Yes, I’m living a little, y’all! Actually, I saw the movie “Love, Simon” last night after finishing this book earlier in the week, and I just couldn’t wait any longer to share how awesome it is! I’m going to get into the book first, and then I’ll talk […]
MoreI admit it: I am a beauty and skincare JUNKIE! Beauty and skincare products are one of my favorite ways to spend money; I’d much rather buy new products than clothes or…well, anything. If you’ve been a blog reader of mine for awhile, you know I’m also a bargain hunter. However, over the last two […]
MoreIt’s not even 11am and I’m only the struggle bus for the day – issues at the office, and y’all KNOW how little tolerance I have for that #WhyDontIWorkForMyself Anyway, I’ve got another book to share with you from Blanche’s Book Club! It’s “The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore” by Kim Fu. Here is the […]
MoreAbout a month ago, the HR department at my job told us they’d be switching our healthcare provider. So when I enrolled, I saw that our new provider, United Healthcare, had a “Motion” program that involved getting a pedometer, setting fitness goals, and earning money toward our care. Sweet! I have never really tracked my […]
MoreYep, I am still on a mission to try as many beauty products as possible in order to find the perfect batch! Over the last few months, I’ve tried four new primers, along with an eyelash primer, and I’m here to report my findings. Balance Me Instant Lift Primer I got a sample of this […]
MoreAnother day, another book to read! On Saturday, I went out to lunch with a friend (we had vegan Chinese food) and we went to see Cecile Richards on her book tour. I got home around 5pm, and had one thing on my to-do list: read a book. This book was due back at the […]
MoreI’ve written a solid amount about the trouble I have had sleeping over the years. As a child, I have always had very vivid, colorful dreams while sleeping – but I also have had terrible, life-like nightmares (some of them I can still remember). I can recall many nights waking up in the early hours, […]
MoreHellooooo! I’m happy to report that I’m back on the giant sleeping pills and those seem to be working for the time-being. I am still very much into reading as my form of escape, but am slowly getting back into some of my favorite creative endeavors. My blog course at UT is back in session, […]
MoreMorning! I am still very much dealing with stress and grief, and I think it’s safe to say I’ve entered whatever stage messes with my sleep. I’ve been having nightmares nearly every night, and even on the weekends, I can’t seem to get on a sleep schedule that leaves me feeling rested. But still, I […]
MoreYou know, for this being Blanche’s Book Club, I realized I don’t really talk much about my reader friend, Miss Blanche! For background, Blanche is my rescue kitty, and she just recently turned 5! As a Calico, she is very sassy – and she’s equipped with all of her claws (very sharp) and large teeth. […]
MoreI’m writing this at 10:15 pm on Wednesday night, after getting home from seeing the first showing of “Ready Player One”, Steven Spielberg’s creation based off Earnest Cline’s best-selling novel. This was just the movie I needed to see. I read the book last June, and I loved it. The funny thing is, it fell […]
MoreSo…who watched the premier of the “Roseanne” revival? Heh, ME!!!! I was overly excited for it, and well, I’m looking forward to seeing what the remainder of the season has to offer. I also whipped up some vegan sloppy joes with rosemary red potatoes, and it was pretty delicious. I am continuing to roll right […]
MoreI can’t believe it’s come to a “Part 9” of my podcast recommendations – but here we are. Dream big, folks! It’s been an entire year since I posted about podcasts and that’s simply because I haven’t been devouring them quite like I used to. Since then, I’ve gotten my own office, with a door, […]
MoreHello! It’s Friday and I’m just rolling right on through my reading list. Usually, I use my library reserve list to choose the order in which I read books (when it comes time to pick up, that’s the book I read next), but given my recent loss, I saw this book was on the shelf […]
MoreThat’s right, I have NEVER watched a single episode of “The OC” – until now. Of course, I’d heard it was a good show, but it premiered in 2003, when I was strictly watching “Laguna Beach”. After discovering that my library has NO copies of “The OC” on DVD, I asked for season 1 for […]
MoreHappy Monday! No, really, I am actually feeling good about this week. Last week, I felt so unmotivated and exhausted; I refuse to blame it on Daylight Savings, but something was definitely off. But now I’ve had a good weekend, got some rest, had some fun, and I have been reading a TON, so I’ve […]
MoreAh, here we are, the final stage: Acceptance. This stage can come across as a giant sigh of relief, but the truth of the matter is, acceptance does not equal joy or mean that life goes back to the way it was. Instead, it simply means that we are accepting life without our person; and […]
MoreStage four isn’t that shocking – it’s depression. Why wouldn’t someone going through grief suffer from depression? I have been slogging through the darkness of depression and sadness since my dad’s surgery in late September. Although depression can come in many forms for different people, for me, there was one telltale sign: things that normally […]
MoreStage three of grief is an interesting one. Bargaining refers to promises that may have been made before the person passed away. For example, praying and asking God to please spare your loved one; or perhaps making a promise that you’ll never do anything bad again if only this person can live longer. These types […]
MoreAlready, anger has played a pretty big part in my grieving process. Actually, anger has had a role in the relationship I’ve had with my dad for many years. As described by the experts, this stage of grief can be met with general feelings of anger, along with structured feelings of being angry at a […]
MoreMy dad was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer in October of 2017. I know that typically, the five stages of grief are part of the healing process after loss; after death. But I have been coping with symptoms of grief since I heard the news about a mass in his brain. I […]
MoreI almost didn’t want to post anything today – I know you all are probably sick of reading my book reviews, but I have been reading so much lately! I think I’m using books as a bit of an escape from life, stress, grieving, etc… so I’m just going to go with it. The latest […]
MoreHowdy! Did anyone else stay up watching The Oscars last night? I did, and I’m not entirely sure why – I never am good at keeping up with the movies that are nominated. I did enjoy when the celebs visited the moviegoers across the street, though. I also took a much-needed 3-hour nap yesterday, so […]
MoreThis album was the last one in my pile I gathered at the library last month. I was searching for new tunes to keep me distracted enough from crying every time I got into my Jeep to go somewhere. If you’ve listened to Chris Stapleton’s debut album, “Traveller”, you probably know how and why it […]
MoreHappy Hump Day! We’re already halfway through the week, plus I’m so excited to share Blanche’s Book Club’s latest read – it’s a goodie! Today, we’re talking about “Ramona Blue” by Julie Murphy. Here is the description from Amazon.com: Ramona was only five years old when Hurricane Katrina changed her life forever. Since then, it’s […]
MoreLast night, I put performances in my 5th showcase with Dance Austin Studio to bed. After our showcase in November, I said I was coming for you, Love Hangover, and that’s exactly what happened. In the fall, my life took a turn when my dad was diagnosed with brain cancer. When I found out, we […]
MoreHello! I know I’ve sort of been keeping the blog strictly to book and music reviews lately – I am just not quite ready to blog about things much deeper, yet. I am also very happy to have had some time to read said books and listen to some new (new to me, anyway) music […]
MoreContinuing on my journey of listening to country albums form 2014… I’ve been jamming out to Little Big Town’s “Pain Killer” the past few weeks. This was the first album from Little Big Town that I’ve listened to, and really the only song from them I’d paid much attention to was “Girl Crush”, which is […]
MoreI certainly have much more on my mind than my latest read, but for now, I’m sticking to my journal until I’m ready to talk about the bigger things swirling around. Besides, I’m trying to post my book reviews ASAP and keep up with my reading list this year! So, let’s get to it! The […]
MoreGreetings! It’s so cold in Austin right now – I’m writing this from the comfort of my couch after eating a hot bowl of homemade tomato soup with a grilled cheese (both vegan)! I’m also watching reruns of “The Hills”, and all I can really say is, thank YOU, MTV. But anyway, I’ve got a […]
MoreIt should come as no surprise that I’ve been going through some tough times lately, and one of the most difficult things for me has been driving in my car – I cry all the time in my car. I realize how pathetic this sounds, and it is frustrating for me because I’ve always enjoyed […]
MoreThat’s right, I’m more than halfway done with my journey to straight teeth! Right now, I’m 50% done with my 8th tray (I have 14 trays total), so I’ve been at it for approximately 17 weeks. And I can tell a big difference in the way my teeth look – plus, it’s getting easier and […]
MoreI know I usually post these things on Friday, but since I’m working from literally NO content calendar at this point – and am just blogging whenever I feel like it, I’m just going with it! I finished reading this book yesterday, so I thought I’d go ahead and talk about it 🙂 So, the […]
MoreI’ve been wanting to try meditation for years, but I always assumed it was something I just couldn’t do. But I knew when I set my goals for 2018, I had to do something to practice regular meditation – I’m 100% sure my sanity depended on it. Truth be told, I could have gone without […]
MoreGreetings from Harlingen, Texas! I flew in last night and am heading back to Austin in a few hours. I’m writing this from the airport, which smells like a giant toilet, so there’s that (no offense, Rio Grande Valley). I have MUCH to discuss about Blanche’s Book Club’s latest read: “Career of Evil” by Robert […]
MoreThursday night I joined a friend to see “Lady Bird” – we were especially excited after all the hype it got at the Golden Globes last weekend and wanted to catch it before it left theatres. I’d heard a little bit about it, and saw the film’s writer and director – Greta Gerwig – on […]
MoreLast week may have been everyone’s first week back to work, but it was also a week FULL of TV show premiers, and I’m in heaven. Seriously, every single night there was a new show or a new season starting, and this is what I’m dubbing the most wonderful time of the year… So yeah, […]
MoreAfter nearly two weeks off from work – I’ve officially survived the first four days back (it was not without struggle)! We’re here and I’ve got a really great book to share with you all: “Let it Snow: Three Holiday Romances” by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle. This book has been on my […]
MoreThis is IT – it’s the last day of 2017, and wow, what a year it has been! I wish I had some sort of epiphany to write here, some sort of something to be able to explain to you why I’ve been a little less open about my life since October, and why I’m […]
MoreHey there! It seems sort of pointless now to keep apologizing for not writing on a more regular basis like I have been for so long. I really can’t explain much else aside from simply saying that I feel like the last 3 months of 2017 really knocked the wind out of my sails. Even […]
MoreOkay, so not quite yet but it’s almost here – and man, I feel like it creeped up on me this year even despite the early arrival of Thanksgiving. Oh well! Tomorrow is my LAST day of work in 2017 and I could not be more ready. Y’all, I’m exhausted. I am looking forward to […]
MoreHowdy! I’m currently on my couch, winding down after a weekend packed with holiday goodness. I went to some holiday markets (saw the best handmade goodies), enjoyed some sushi, sake, and yakitori (for the first time), bought and wrapped aaaallll of my gifts to donate to a nursing home (an annual tradition), and even stumbled […]
MoreI don’t know if you know this about me but I LOVE beauty products – skin care, makeup (!), self-tanners, cellulite creams, hair treatments… you name it, I probably have 4 bottles of it in my cabinet. It’s a bad addiction, but it’s a fun one. I’ve been trying to find a way to share […]
MoreHey, hey! It finally got chilly in Austin last week (yes, it even snowed!), and I’ve been SO paranoid that this would be year #3 of having the Christmas Mouse come for a visit. Blanche started meowing at my coat closet door on Wednesday, and ever since then I’ve been so paranoid (not to mention […]
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The Bitter Lemon 
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