5 Things — no.5
More on my move + what I've been loving in July.
This summer has been a whirlwind of life changes, the biggest one being my move to the small mountain town of Squamish. Having lived in Vancouver my whole life, This move felt a lot more monumental than just moving an hour away. But while symbolic, this move has also felt seamless and easy…almost as if it was the next step in my little life journey.
Something I’ve been telling all my friends when they inevitably ask “So how are you adapting” is “I’ve actually been loving it.” It’s been a good balance between nature and city visits (I still drive down at least once or twice a week). The days also feel longer here and my anxiety feels more at peace.
I love the city for its hustle and bustle, the busyness. But I am starting to believe that this move came at the right time for me. It has been a blessing for my mind. The days feel a bit slower and longer here, which in turn makes me feel like I have more time to work on projects, read, and cook. While I learn to not let my endless to-do list overwhelm me every chance it gets, this little mountain valley town has been the perfect backdrop.
An article that felt relatable. “How are you reading so much?” I get this question all the time. The answer has always felt simple in my head: when you like something, you can choose to spend your time doing it. And I choose to spend my time reading. It really is that simple! I don’t have more hours in my day, I don’t have fewer work hours than the next… I just dedicate many of my non-working hours to reading. Discovered this article by Pandora Sykes which really lays out the truth (and provided comedic relief to the whole topic).
I may think that I want to get into a solid pilates routine, or cook a meal out of a cook book, or go to a gallery opening, but in reality, I only want to want to. I will find ways, as I always do, to not do the other stuff, so that I can find time to read.
A book that I loved. I really need to start a separate thread where I just share monthly book recommendations because deciding on just ONE book to share here is killing me slowly. I read 7 books in July and they were all 4 or 5 star reads so imagine my internal conflict writing this. Gun to my head, if I had to pick just ONE to share here, I’ll probably have to say Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid. The story follows Carrie Soto, arguably the best tennis player in the world, holding the most slam records ever even compared to the men's pro players. If you like competition, beautiful character arcs, hearty backstories, and diving deep into the mentality of a professional athlete (and learning the ins and outs of the sport as well), you are going to LOVE this book. Actually, if you enjoyed Break Point on Netflix, you will love this book.
A recipe that surprised me. Every single one of my friends knows that if I could only eat one thing for the rest of my life, it would just be noodles. Like noodles of any kind—dry noodles, soup noodles, udon noodles, pasta noodles (does that count?). Pho noodles have always been high on my list of favorite ways to eat noodles but it’s always been something too intimidating to make at home (the broth is infamous for being complicated). However, recently my sister sent me this 20-minute chicken pho recipe that although I was (highly) skeptical at first, actually turned out to be an amazing recipe. No, it doesn’t beat out a 30-hour pho broth BUT it absolutely would satisfy my craving for pho on any given day. I did end up adding a few tweaks (like bay leaves to the broth, and additional spices and soy sauce to the chicken) but the standard recipe would still be amazing either way.
A new bookish Instagram account to follow. Okay, this one is absolutely a shameless plug, but with my reading kick being in full force this summer, I started a reading club page on Instagram called Feel Good Reading Club. It’s a shared page between my friend Janice and me and is just a space where we can both share our reading journeys. I’ve also started a Fable book club where people can read with us as we go through our list of TBRs so if you’ve been wanting to chat books with some new people, feel free to join us on there.
A podcast I can’t stop listening to. Hour-long drives to the city = more time for podcasts. I’ve been loving ‘We Can Do Hard Things’ by Glennon Doyle. There’s something SO comforting about this pod—every time I listen to it it feels like I’m in a room with my close friends catching up. It’s made me laugh out loud and even tear up a few times.
I’m going to try to make these ‘5 Things’ newsletters more consistent! Hoping to get them out by the first Thursday of every month (I know I’m already late for July). One that always happens when I start reading more is I actually want to start writing more too. Hopefully I can continue to dedicate more time to these two hobbies moving forward <3