Welcome to In Review, a series that serves as my own personal Spotify Wrapped. In Review posts are essentially lists of what was important to me — food, drink, music, writing — over the course of the month. I earn no commission from the products I discuss here, and my goal is not to get people to buy things. I envision this series as a sort of snapshot of every month, something to reminisce on and learn from.
This series is heavily inspired by cinema girls’ wrapped series and artist, unpaid’s weekly posts — go check them out!
For the body
Eating: Jeni’s Skillet Cinnamon Roll ice cream
Though I have lived within driving distance of a Jeni’s all my life, I only recently began to dive into their extensive flavor catalogue. The price of a pint of Jeni’s makes it a once-a-month treat for me, so I’ve had to work my way through their offerings at a snail’s pace. Out of all of their flavors I’ve tried so far — hell, out of all of the ice cream flavors I’ve enjoyed in my 18 years of living — Skillet Cinnamon Roll is the absolute best. A pint of this is an excellent choice for those who, myself included, love buying themselves little treats to boost morale. Yes, life is hard, but if you have a pint of cream cheese frosting-flavored ice cream with chunks of pastry and gooey swirls of cinnamon caramel, how bad can things really be?
Drinking: lime LaCroix
Washing reusable water bottles is a Sisyphean task and I find plastic water bottles wasteful, but boy, I sure do love buying recyclable cans of sparkling water. Lime LaCroix is my favorite beverage of all time, and I am convinced that it is best enjoyed in late summer. A can of this accompanied me everywhere in August: the library, the local bakery, the park, the post office, the grocery store. It tastes like realizing you’re actually looking forward to the change of seasons, like sitting under a tree with a good book, like a clear and breezy morning. Things are okay. Go crack open a lime LaCroix.
Moving: nature walks
I have enjoyed many nature walks this month! I have also enjoyed a nearly swollen shut eye from a mosquito bite and a possible case of Lyme disease (took my doxycycline as I was writing this) this month! Nature is gorgeous, but insects are not my friends. I’ll buy some bug repellent, try again, and return to the topic of nature walks at the end of September.
For the brain
Book: The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel
This was a birthday present from my first-ever girlfriend. Though it’s been over three years since we broke up, I still own this treasury, which I think is a perfect example of the lesbian messiness Bechdel so accurately captures in DTWoF. Old flames helping each other move into houses with their wives! Running into each other at co-ops! Toying with gender and crafting new identities and creating our own families and cooking vegan meals that end up tasting horrible! God bless Alison Bechdel, long live the gloriously chaotic cartoon dykes she created.
Article: Money Diary: Tarot Reader in Austin, TX by an anonymous Refinery29 contributor
When I first started cutting out social media earlier this year, I replaced my morning Instagram scroll with hours of reading of Refinery29’s Money Diaries. The comments sections of Money Diaries are frequently quite helpful: commenters give constructive criticism, advice, and support to help diarists better manage their money. However, if the diarist is particularly obnoxious, the commenters ready their library of Schitt’s Creek reaction GIFs and absolutely flame them. Perhaps no diarist is more insufferable than the Austin tarot card reader, who uses her EBT card almost exclusively for alcohol and blames everything on Mercury being in retrograde. Whenever I feel bad about my financial habits, I re-read this diary. Schadenfreude, yes, but at least it keeps my spending in check.
Album: Rolling Up the Welcome Mat (For Good) by Kelsea Ballerini
I attended Kelsea Ballerini’s Heartfirst Tour shortly after she released Rolling Up the Welcome Mat. At the concert, I felt a bit silly. Kelsea was on the stage singing all of these incredibly tender songs about heartbreak, and I was in a happy and stable relationship for the first time in years. Over the summer, the aforementioned happy and stable relationship began to crumble, and it finally collapsed on the day Taylor Swift released Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). I came home, sobbed along to “Last Kiss”, and began the process of moving on. With the release of this EP, Kelsea is closing her chapter of grief just as mine is opening up. I don’t know how long my healing process will take, but watching Kelsea work through hers in real time gives me hope that I, too, can one day roll up my own welcome mat for good.
Song: “Тумани” by Max Barskih
This may be the first piece of Slavic media to appear in an In Review post, but it certainly will not be the last! I study Russian, and listening to Russian music is one of my favorite ways to engage with the language. Max Barskih is a Ukrainian pop musician who formerly made the bulk of his music in Russian, but he switched to making music only in Ukrainian and English after February 2022’s escalation of the war. “Туманы” (“Fogs”) was (and arguably still is) Max’s most popular song, but it was originally composed in Russian. Recently Max has begun to re-release some of his most popular Russian songs in Ukrainian — similar to Taylor’s Versions, but with an even deeper cultural and emotional significance. “Тумани” is a wonderfully joyous act of reclamation and I have listened to it an embarrassing amount of times since its release.
For the spirit
Letting go of: obsessively planning, cancelling on friends, not eating dessert, focusing on exercise statistics
Inviting in: spontaneity, deliberate rest, running wherever my feet tell me to, letting myself experience unbridled joy
I hope that August has been good to all of you! If you haven’t yet, make time to check in with yourself and prepare to welcome the final third of the year. Reflect on what 2023 has given you so far and greet the remaining months in whatever way feels right to you. The seasons are changing and so are we!
I love this! Thank you so much for the mention :) I've recently been getting into La Croix, so will have to try the lime one soon <3
such a lovely reflection!! i love how conversational ur writing is...really makes me feel like i'm talking to a friend! also omg i have so many thoughts bc our brains are so similar: i rly appreciated the alison bechdel recommendation bc i have been on the hunt for a good queer book for a while! i will confess i am not a lacroix girl but i do guzzle liters of ice sparkling water like i need it to live...although the environmentally conscious part of my brain has been yelling at me to do that less!
hard agree on the dessert thing...cannot stand when people are like "should we be bad? should we order dessert?" theres nothing bad about wanting a sweet treat!! i love having a whole bar of milk chocolate...they r so delicious and indulgent!
side note: speak now is far and away my favorite taylor swift album and "last kiss" is one of my favorite songs of all time...i listen to it whenever i'm feeling sad ab my (very much not recent) breakup and it makes me feel like a little kid again :")
never stop writing!! i'm so excited to read more of these types of posts from you <33