The Digress | 7.17

A book I gave up on, the one I moved onto, my hypocritical love for the housewives, a fire playlist, and more!

READING

BIG NEWS — I finally finished Cutting for Stone. I started it about a week before I went into labor with Rhodes, so it’s been very slow going and it’s already a very long book. But I’m happy to say that after a casual three months, I finally finished it and it was so phenomenal. Abraham Verghese has officially secured a spot on my favorite authors list. I will read anything he writes without a second thought. He’s so skilled at narrative and never relies on dialogue to carry the story, which I appreciate so much. This sweeping familial drama set in Ethiopia is about work versus family, showing up for chosen family, and forgiveness and it’s a gorgeous novel.

I then moved onto The Museum of Failures because it’s been on my Want to Read list for a long time. After coming off of Cutting for Stone, I got about 20 pages into Museum of Failures and said “absolutely not. Good-bye.” Too much dialogue and the plot immediately felt uninspired and predictable. I couldn’t do it.

So then I asked Google what books I would like based off my love for Abraham Verghese, and it recommended The Physician by Noah Gordon. I read the synopsis and was instantly in:

“The Physician is a novel by Noah Gordon. It is about the life of a Christian English boy in the 11th century who journeys across Europe in order to study medicine among the Persians.”

11th century??? Say less. Now, I didn’t look at the page count until I had started and it’s a casual 898 pages. Will it take me another three months to finish? Hopefully not, but stay tuned. I’m about 200 pages in right now and it’s excellent.

WATCHING

The way Real Housewives of Salt Lake City has become my comfort show is beyond fucked. I say this because FOR YEARS, I lambasted reality TV and those who loved it. Alas, here we are. It started with RHORI as a silly little postpartum show to watch, but escalated into diving in headfirst to SLC and watching it any chance I get. Guys, I talk about the cast like I know them. Am I the world’s biggest hypocrite? Maybe. But I don’t care because I finally get it now. I get it.

Also incredibly proud of this visual I made.

We tried to start I Will Find You because my parents insisted it's great but it’s the opposite of great. It’s terrible. Mama, I know you’re reading this and I’m sorry to publicly shame your television taste but WHAT THE FUCK? From the first line, we were out. The story, the writing, the acting — it’s all so bad. SO BAD. Like I’m pretty sure AI wrote this show. Don’t waste your precious time watching it. Please.

Zac and I started season 23 of Top Chef and watch an episode whenever we can (like once a week? Maybe twice?). The unmarried couple… guys. The woman??? She straight up fell apart. I feel so bad for her. First her arm and then her FACE? WHAT? I was sad for her but was also glad to see her boyfriend exit the show with her because I couldn’t stand him or his jorts.

LISTENING TO

I’ve been blasting this self-made playlist at the gym lately and it’s doing wonders for my motivation.

EATING

This Teriyaki Turkey Skillet is seemingly too simple and yet… it’s DELICIOUS.

Grilled Green Goddess Chicken Thighs with a Summer Salad is actually a perfect summertime meal. The salad (made of cucumbers, tomatoes, herbs, red onion, capers, and more) was addictively good.

I made this cinnamon swirl banana bread and it was gone within a few days. Zac claimed it’s the best he’s ever had, so.

I love a good chicken burger and this recipe did not disappoint. Quick, easy, delicious. What more could you want?

SHOPPING

If you’re a paid subscriber and read my new Money Diarie$ segment, you know that I’m doing my damndest to not spend any extra cash right now. So my shopping list is very short from the past few weeks.

My precious Ember mug’s charging pad crapped out, so I got a new one. The few days I had to suffer through without a fully charged Ember were dark, y’all.

These chair condoms are a game changer if you have wood floors. Just be sure to measure your chair feet first so you order the right size!

We went over to a friend’s house last weekend and they served frozen margaritas in these stainless steel margarita tumblers and I was in awe. I won’t lie — it made the frozen marg experience that much better.

And that’s it. For real. I ordered some Aerie swimsuits to try for our upcoming anniversary trip (in October, lol) but haven’t put them on yet so I’ll report on those next week… or I won’t.