Author: Lauren

I'm Lauren and this is my life.

Bookmarked

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Is it redundant to say I bookmarked a book?

We’re closing in on the end of the year which means “best of” lists abound!  I’m sort of into it because I’ve been listening to everyone else’s Spotify playlists, writing down everyone else’s favorite TV shows and adding a billion books to Goodreads.  My mom sent me their Choice Awards list and as I was adding book after book, I felt such joy and wondered how anyone could not like reading.  Here’s some of the books I marked.  Have you read any of them?  Or have them bookmarked yourself?

  • Exit West
  • Sing, Unburied, Sing
  • Little Fires Everywhere
  • Beartown (review here)
  • Before We Were Yours
  • The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
  • The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane
  • We Were the Lucky Ones
  • Moonglow
  • A Column of Fire
  • Lincoln in the Bardo
  • Far from the Tree 

Meanwhile, I’m still working on The Stand and guys, it’s long so please don’t ask what I’m reading for a good while because I’ll just be giving the same answer every time.

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In other news, I was all set to just hit publish on this post, but instead, can I also say HELL YEAH, ALABAMA!  I woke up this morning feeling quite the opposite of how I felt the day after the presidential election and it was a welcome change.  I’m proud and I’m ready for more of this feeling.  Happy Wednesday!

Weekend Things

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This weekend felt therapeutic.  In that laughed-so-hard, got-a-facial, ate-the-best-food, spent-quality-time-with-loved-ones way that makes you feel whole and happy and rejuvenated come Monday morning.  Despite how it may seem in these recaps, not every weekend feels this way and it makes me all the more grateful when they do 🙂

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Friday night, we made ourselves a Thai Roasted Cauliflower Pizza — if I never choke on the fumes of a Fresno chile again, it’ll be all too soon — then headed out to see this much anticipated (by me) film.  When it first started, everyone else was laughing and I thought “wait, is this supposed to be funny?” but then Zac Efron and Josh Hutcherson showed up and I actually lost it.  I literally laughed myself into tears.  I haven’t laughed that hard at a movie in A LONG TIME.

Point being, I fucking loved this movie and haven’t stopped quoting it since we left the theater.  Joey is about ready to kill me, but guys, it was so good!  Love me some Franco brothers, ya know?

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Have you heard the term “Sunday Scaries”?  I’ve been getting the “Saturday Scaries” lately because my brain likes to think of all the stuff I want to fit into the day and then feel stressed about it (even if it’s fun stuff!) but I think I held it together this weekend.  Maybe it’s because I started the day with an Elvis Waffle made by Joey and a facial?!  Afterwards, we hit up pizza leftovers, the grocery store, a run and some food prep before starting dinner.  CHICKEN PAPRIKA!  We love this recipe so so much and hadn’t made it in a while but I’m now certain it tastes best in your pajamas while watching Scrooged.

P.S. Looking over at your significant other and realizing one of your favorite movies is now one of their favorite movies is one of the greatest moments in life.

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Sunday morning, we did a little breakfast/Christmas menu planning at Black Eye Coffee and my heart was so happy!  I am very very excited about the recipes we decided on.  Then afterwards, I headed over to my parents’ to bake cookies with my mom ♥  My sister was there too but refused our attempts to get her to wear an apron or help with the cookies 🙂  We made about a billion cookies (give or take) and I tried to make Dorie Greenspan’s World Peace Cookies and look, I was all proud of myself for weighing out the ingredients like a real baker, but then I did 75g of flour instead of 175g!  Let’s not talk about how they turned out.

Back at home, we finished up our salads for the week and I maybe re-made the cookie dough to bake tonight while Joey made us dinner.  He literally ordered me to sit down so he could deliver my plate to me and WOWZA, did it look good!  He acted all nonchalant about it, but I loved this dinner so much.  It felt made with love ♥

In conclusion, laughter, cookies, time spent with other ladies, puppies posing for their Christmas card and a smiley baby picture from your bestie is the best medicine.