Even though I didn’t get to explore much of Atlanta because we were working the whole time, it was nice to escape LA for a few days. And my timing couldn’t have been better—I managed to dodge the terrible heatwave back home. While Atlanta was nice, Savannah still takes the crown for best southern city in my book.
Since getting back, I’ve been on a serious deep-clean journey. My first day back, I scrubbed my kitchen until it looked (almost) brand new. Then yesterday, I tackled the bathroom, and now I just have three more areas to conquer. Maybe it’s the chaos of the world, but I’m all about taking control of my space. I spend so much time in it that I don’t want to take it for granted!
Anyway, it’s starting to get (almost) chilly at night in LA, and I’m already pumped for the spooky season. Bring on the horror movies and creepy books.
High of the week: snuggling with my fur babies when I got home. I missed them very, very much. I couldn’t stop talking about them while I was away.
Low of the week: all of the things I’m trying to catch up on. I am, myself, understaffed atm.
Thoughts & Things:
started listening to Ginger Root, and i can’t decide if i like their music or their retro music aesthetic more
fridgescaping is the weirdest TikTok trend that i’ve heard about over the last few weeks. i mean, why?
Sabrina Carpenter now has a smoothie at Erewhon. i’m curious to try it, but i’m not in the mood to spend $20 on a smoothie again so soon
the gender wage gap has widened for the first time in 20 years
functional freeze aka i love being able to put a name to my issues
my old man friend Curtiss doesn’t understand brat vs demure, and since he asked if i would include something about it in my newsletter…well, here it is. of-course, it’s not so relevant anymore
Georgia on my mind: My trip to Atlanta was real quick and left little time to exploring. Most days were spent juggling work and catching up on sleep—I’m wild folks! Though, I did get to try Spiller coffee at Ponce Market, which was delish. And while I didn’t dive deep into the food scene, I was pleasantly surprised by the abundance of vegan options. Guess I’ll have to plan a return trip to actually explore the city, but so far, Savannah has stolen my heart as my favorite Georgia city.
A couple of years back, I went to Savannah with my Oma (that’s grandma, for those not in the know). We hit nearly every vintage store, and she made friends with everyone we met. We even went on a ghost tour (because I am a sucker for all things ghosts).
On our first day in Savannah, sitting outside a café enjoying lunch, tow giggly gals sat down next to us. One of them leaned over to say something, but her friend cut her off. Naturally, I demanded they spill the beans because I am an anxious person and I needed to know that they weren’t secretly whispering that I smelled or something like that. Turns out that it had nothing to do with me and that Voldemort himself was sitting right next to us. Sure enough, Ralph Fiennes was sitting on our other side in a chef’s shirt, sipping espresso. Apparently, during the filming of The Menu, he was just casually roaming Savannah in full chef mode. Even had crocs on. Love.
On that trip, before leaving Savannah, we swung by SCAD, which—surprise!—had an exhibit of Christian Siriano’s gowns. To say they were stunning would be an understatement; I was practically drooling, and my Oma definitely caught it on camera. Maybe I'm not giving Atlanta a fair shot, but for now, Savannah has my heart in the Peach State!
Homemade Bagels: In Atlanta I checked out Emerald City Bagels, which was pretty damn good! I’ve always had a “meh” attitude towards bagels—I mean, I’ll much on one if it’s around, but I don’t usually crave them. But, my friends in Atlanta were raving about it, so I figured, why not? Plus, I was starving and it was right there.
I went for their olive oil and sea salt bagel with vegan cream cheese, and if I’m honest, I was in bagel heaven. Writing about it my mouth is watering, I would love for one to just appear in front of me right now, but also I’ll have to go back to Atlanta at some point if only to try their other flavors. Since traveling back to Atlanta isn’t anywhere on my books, I decided to channel my inner bagel and attempt to make my own bagels once I got back to LA.
Now, I’ve only attempted to bake them once, and while the flavor was there, the texture…well, it REALLY wasn't. Kinda turned out like a bagel from another dimension—dense enough to be a doorstop. I’m not ready to throw in the towel yet. I’m on a mission to fulfill this bagel journey. Unlike croissants, which I attempted once, but lamination is the reason that I am willing to pay too much money for a croissant at a bakery.
Ready for spooky season: In LA, even the slightest whisper of a cold breeze has me diving headfirst into my sweater collection, cranking up the Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack, and embracing my inner creep (queue Radiohead). We might have a few more 80+ degree days lurking around the corner, but I’m ready to blast the AC just so that I can layer up. While I’m not much of a “dress up for Halloween” type (even though I adore a themed party), I am about all everything else October. The spooky vibes, the pumpkin pie (pumpkin spice anything is overrated), and binge watching horror flicks are what I’m here for.
Though I may not be into dressing up for Halloween, I could not be above risking my wellbeing by dressing up my cats for Halloween. The possible scars and trauma I would bring onto myself would be worth it. One could be a pirate and the other faerie. OR puss in boots??
Speak No Evil: On Sunday night I went to watch Speak No Evil with my horror film bud. To be honest, my only expectation was to see James McAvoy be a total badass. But lo and behold, the movie did not disappoint—it’s probably in my top picks for the year.
The plot? A family spends a weekend in the countryside with a vacation acquaintance, and surprise, surprise—the hosts are, well, unstable and a little bloodthirsty. Regular people problems. McAvoy (obviously) nailed it, and I was excited to see Gordon and Cameron reunited (iykyk). Plus, the kid actors surprisingly good, and McAvoy’s on-screen wife held her own like a champ.
Oh, and as an honorary film student (who's kind of a snobbish pain in the ass), I have to shout out the cinematography. The way they shot the car scenes were gorgeous and not stereotypical— so yeah, no boring driving shots here.
After watching the movie, I learned that it’s a remake of a Danish film with the same name, which I now need to check out. Kind of a bummer that at film from 2022 was remade so quickly, but the silver lining is that the remake was at least good. Though, it seems like some shots were identical.
Creepy book(s) to kick off the season: Guys, I’m not exaggerating, I am READY for spooky season. To kick spooky season off early, I decided to dive into Sleep Tight by J.H. Markert. The book, which came out this month, has everything you could want in a spooky book: serial killers, kidnappings, cults, and a sprinkle of psychic powers. It was a wild ride. I’m all about a badass female detective, and this book had me hooked until the final act. That’s when they tossed in a few too many plot twists, making things too convoluted and slowing down the action.
Definitely worth a read, though! Now I’m on the hunt for more creepy reads. Here are some that have given me the chills:
Night Film by Marisha Pessl, which made me actually want to sleep with the lights on.
Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine poses a chilling question: what if you discovered you were married to a serial killer? It’s the first book in a series, which is hands down the best one
Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter left me feeling endlessly uneasy. Just a heads up—this book is pretty graphic and definitely comes with trigger warnings!
Drop your picks in the comments—what books kept you tossing and turning at night, needing that nightlight on? Give me your spooky recs!
This week is going to be super busy. I’m working an event, grabbing lunch with my dad, planning birthday festivities for someone who’s not great at celebrating themselves, writing a short play for next month’s festival at my acting studio, and squeezing in a much-needed girls' night. Let the chaos begin!
In case you missed it:
June Newsletter: On Grieving
May Newsletter: Throwback Memories for Future Folks
April Newsletter: Confessions From A Reluctant Writer