What I’m Loving Lately – April 2018
April turned out to be kind of a strange month where I felt like I had lots of downtime to bake and read, but the month as a whole passed in a flash. We seemed to accomplish a perfect mix of planned weekend events and days with literally nothing on the agenda. That means I have a wide variety of TV shows/entertainment to share as well as a few activities. Check out Leigh Kramer’s linkup to see what other bloggers are into this month too!
TV Shows
Veep – Hulu is offering a terrific deal to add on HBO for only $6/month (six month trial period). We’re taking advantage of this great price while we can and watching practically all of their shows. Veep is a long time favorite of ours, but we’re only on Season 4. Hoping we can finish all the seasons in the next few months.
Silicon Valley – I had pretty low expectations for this comedy, but it’s absolutely hilarious. I love the entire cast of characters.
Westworld – A few months ago I watched the first episode of Westworld, but never kept going. I didn’t really understand what all the fuss was about. While I was away on business in mid-April, Jay binge-watched the entire first season in two days and then encouraged me to keep watching. Well, I finished in it just a week! It picks up significantly and the last few episodes are phenomenal!
New Girl – It’s back!!! I’ve watched this show since college, so I’m thrilled to see it back on TV. I’m actually two episodes behind by now so I need to catch up on this season…
Movies
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle – We often collect Amazon Prime $1 digital credits in lieu of two-day shipping…and then never use them. Finally, this month we rented a movie for free! I couldn’t believe how much I enjoyed it. It’s a pretty basic action movie, but the actors and the characters they play are simply hysterical.
The Two Towers – The second disc is where all the action happens! The battle at Helms Deep and the Ents take on Isengard! Now on to Return of the King.
7 Days in Hell / Pop Star Never Stop Never Stopping – Apparently Andy Samburg is super into mockumentaries. 7 Days in Hell makes fun of a ridiculously lengthy tennis match and Pop Star is basically a parody of Justin Bieber’s career. They’re both worth seeing if you want a laugh.
Blade Runner – Ugh. I basically convinced Jay to watch this with me…and he warned me I wouldn’t like it. He was correct.
SuperTroopers – Somehow I’ve made it this far in life without seeing SuperTroopers, but it was surprisingly funny. Meow.
Books
Check out my latest reading roundup post here!
Events/Activities
Game of Thrones Trivia Night – Our local library hosted a Game of Thrones trivia night and it was as amazing as it sounds. They had six rounds and enough questions to fill two hours! We ended up coming in second to our great disappointment haha.
Business Trip – My first business trip in 3 years!! I used to travel every few weeks at Campbell’s, but it’s the complete opposite in my current role. I jumped at this opportunity to visit one of our manufacturing plants, even if it was just in Ohio.
Baby Shower – Our D&D / board game weekend friends are having a baby! We were invited to the baby shower and enjoyed a delicious 5 course high tea. It was fun meeting their families and other friends and a perfect excuse to eat lots of scones and cake 🙂
Iron Pigs Game – My company gave me free tickets to see the Iron Pigs, our local minor league baseball team. Unfortunately it started raining just before the game. So, we ate some baseball food, they cancelled the game, and we went home ha.
What I’m Loving
AeroGarden Harvest – We received this indoor garden for Christmas and I finally got it out of the box two weeks ago. It grows herbs and vegetables in just water!! I honestly didn’t believe it would work, but we’re already seeing progress. Our thyme, basil, and dill are an inch tall and we can start harvesting soon. Unfortunately, my tomato and pepper seeds I started indoors aren’t faring nearly as well…
Larabars – My poor husband keeps hearing me rave about Larabars. I bought a few on sale and now can’t stop eating them. In a great triumph, I also made my own version!! Keep an eye out for my recipe next week.
Maybelline Master Prime Hydrate & Smooth – My face gets rather dry in the winter and this lotion (? primer?) prevents my poor nose from peeling.
What were you loving in April?
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I loved Jumanji, too! It was so much fun, that’s definitely one I could rewatch.
I’ll keep an eye out for your homemade Larabar recipe! I’ve never actually had one, but they look really good.
Yes, I think we’ll be buying the Blu Ray so we can watch it again! Recipe is posting on Friday 🙂
Hi Rachel,
I enjoyed your post about what you loved in April. So much about life to love!
I loved the reappearance of Spring. It was a long time coming and all the more loved because of the seeming delay.
I finished watching all episodes of Psych, the comedy detective series, and I loved it so much, I hated to see the 8 seasons come to end (seen through Amazon Prime). I remember watching it on network television years ago and being annoyed by the antics of Shawn, the main protagonist, but have grown to love his irreverence and quirkiness. The combination of humor and crime-solving (and love and friendship and family) makes this show a gem.
I have been reading Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project and have learned a lot, the most important of which is to be whoever you are. That is, don’t feel bad or guilty for having preferences about how you choose to spend your time. Some people like x, but if you don’t, that’s OK. We were all created uniquely, so it’s important to be open but not to be who you’re not. Great advice.
Look forward to reading more of your blog.
I’ve heard lots of great things about Psych! I’m also a fan of Gretchen’s book. There were tons of little changes in attitude I took away from it. Thanks for your comment!
Silicon Valley is so great! My husband and I started watching that earlier this month, too. That AeroGarden sounds so cool! I’m not planting anything this year, so I’ll have to look into that instead! 🙂
The AeroGarden is unbelievably easy to use. I’m excited to try actual veggies as well as a backup in case our outdoor garden doesn’t go well!
Rachel, I love that you are reading a Laura Ingalls Wilder! Such a great cozy read for a blah April. (But NOT The Long Winter! I don’t think I’ll ever read that book again!)
I enjoyed cracking open a Madeleine L’Engle book that had been languishing on my night stand for a long time. A bout of the stomach flu gave me some extra reading time, so it was not all bad!
It was a perfect read for the weather – had me thinking pleasant thoughts of spring!