Monthly Scribbles: June

I read a ton of short stories and essays this month! I've said before that while I very much enjoy them, I have a hard time finishing these kinds of collections since they are typically something you don't read consecutively. I don't know if aliens took over my body or if it was just a spurt of teacher-without-a-classroom energy once the school year ended, but I'm not complaining! The Opposite of Loneliness isn't the most polished but it does an amazing job of capturing the maelstrom of emotions you feel post-grad. Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls was so snarky and yet also inspiring. I'm still working on Reader, I Married Him, but I'm loving this collection of Jane Eyre inspired stories as well.

Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose

I didn't find much in the way of new (or new to me) TV this month, which had me cycling through some older shows. I don't know about you, but I love rewatching shows. They may not be on the air anymore, but they are still very much in my heart. One such love is the first season of Friday Night Lights. It is such an amazing and emotional series of episodes and it's so well done. Usually you have to wait out the first few episodes of a show before it really settles in - I was seriously grabbed from the pilot with this one. Coach Taylor and Tammi Taylor are absolutely adorable, and I'm a little in love with Riggins, in spite of myself. I mean...

I got a sample size of this Pores Be Pure mask in an ipsy bag I never did a post on - whoops - but it's so great. It's one of the few pore purifying masks I've tried that I find actually makes a difference to my skin when I use it. It tingles a lot when you initially apply it, so sensitive skin peeps might want to shy away from this one, but if you can get past the initial discomfort the results are worth it - at least for me. It also looks and smells like you're smushing a strawberry milkshake on your face, so there's that. It's one I'm definitely going to purchase the full size once I run out.

In spite of summer break, I had to do several hours of driving this month. During much of it, I was listening to the Gilmore guys podcast. As you might imagine, it's a podcast by two guys breaking down every episode of Gilmore Girls. It's hilarious and a dream come true. They have random guests on (one of my favorites was Hank Green) and interview people from the show (like Kelly Bishop), and it's wonderful. Honorable mention to the Gilmore Girls revival - I COULD NOT BE MORE EXCITED ABOUT A NETFLIX THING THAN I AM ABOUT THIS NETFLIX THING. Do you think I should do a blog post (or two or three) about it? I might...

I refuse to include the real I Ship It poster because it is laughably bad. Sorry, CW.

As I was writing this post, I realized that I am a big, stinkin' liar, because I DO have a new favorite show that I watched this month! I still love Friday Night Lights, though, so I didn't want to get rid of it altogether. Plus I'd already found the gif of Riggins' face... Anyway, I Ship It is a TV series (based on a short film of the same name) by one of my favorite indie creators, Yulin Kuang. She is incredibly talented and writes many wonderfully funny and shippy things (you can see many of them on Youtube). I Ship It is a ten episode musical/romantic comedy series about a girl who decides to start a band after a breakup. It's on the CW Seed app and you can watch it for free and I heart it so much. I also heartily recommend the short film!

This came up during my search for stock photos of success. I'm not sure what kind of success this represents, specifically, but I'm 100% here for it. 

I feel like every time I've written a monthly favorites recently, I've struggled to come up with something positive to say. Then again, maybe that's why I SHOULD be doing it. Consciously looking for things to be grateful for and all that. My magical moment - a la leighannsays - was probably reaching the end of the school year. I felt like I might not survive long enough to take that victory lap, so it was satisfying to be able to do so (even if the relaxation was short lived).

So, what were your monthly favorites? Do you have short story, essay, TV, skincare, or podcast recommendations for me? Let me know in the comments below!