Words by Allyson

10/21/25

This past weekend, I took a day trip with some friends to Pennsylvania to visit some Amish markets and ride the Strasburg Rail. A perfect fall weekend!

There's a new podcast called Jane Austen Stories where Julie Andrews is narrating Pride and Prejudice and it's my favorite thing. I've read this book about 25 times, so it's especially fun to experience this story in a different way, and Queen Julie is perfection as expected.

I'm loving this season of The Great British Baking Show. It's the perfect weekend treat and I'm already mourning the end in a few weeks. It's been long enough I may need to rewatch some of the old seasons.

A couple of Fridays ago, I called the hair salon to see how quickly they could get me in. 3 hours later, I walked out of the salon with a beautiful haircut and the best blowout I've ever had. Two weeks later, I still feel like a new woman.

Some things are changing for me at work soon. They're exciting changes and I'm trying desperately to not let imposter syndrome creep in and ruin it.

9/30/25

Everything I Read in September 2025

1. So Big by Edna Ferber - This was our book club book this month. No one is more shocked than I am that I really enjoyed this book. I don't have a great record with literary fiction so I was particularly nervous about this one, but there were so many things that really resonated with me. I would like to revisit this one again to chew on it a bit more.

2. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, vol. 8 by Beth Brower - I finally finished this most recent addition to this series, and I am simply devastated that there are no more for me to enjoy. I'm utterly enchanted by Emma, Pierce, Islington, and Hawkes. I will be anxiously awaiting the next installment, and almost certainly rereading in the meantime.

3. Rebel Witch by Kristin Ciccarelli - A really fun ending to this duology! I sped through this one, and I had a great time with it. I have my gripes with it, but overall a good time.

4. City of Night Birds by Juhea Kim - This had some strong moments and overall I liked it but didn't love. The story is about a ballerina returning from an injury and healing more than her body. If you don't really like ballet, I don't know if this will work for you.

5. Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson - This was a fun mystery! Recommended by my mother and sister, I'm planning to eventually continue this series. Put my in a very good fall mood!

9/25/25

Constitution Day at Montpelier

I've lived in Virginia for 12 years, and this past weekend I finally visited James Madison's Montpelier.

They had their Constitution Day celebration, and a couple of friends and I made the day trip and it was just delightful. We couldn't have asked for better weather and we only hit a little traffic on the way home, which is a miracle on 95.

We arrived just as the mansion opened, and as part of the day's programming, we each received a "passport" to visit different stations and collect stamps. At the end, you exchanged it for a pocket copy of the Constitution which I absolutely loved. We chatted with the tour guides, admired Madison's well-loved library, and visited an active archaeological dig happening on the property. We had lunch there at the cafe (admittedly, the meal left a lot to be desired) and did some damage at the museum store as I am prone to do.

Right near the estate was a Freedman's cabin that we stopped at, and the Montpelier train station (no longer oeprating) that is preserved to show the segregated waiting rooms. It also served as a post & telegraph office; USPS is still housed in the other half of the building. I found both very interesting and was glad that we stumbled on them.

When I was growing up, my mom always said, "We live in a great place," and it kept coming to mind throughout the trip. Glad to checked this one off my Virginia bucket list.

Next on the list: James Monroe's Highland outside Charlottesville and Oatlands Historic House in Leesburg.

9/24/25

At the Theatre

In the past month, I've seen two shows. They could not have been more different, and both of which I loved.

A few weeks back, I went to see the national tour of Parade at the Kennedy Center. It's music that I've been familiar with for a long time and that is one of my favorite scores, but I was steeling myself to physically sit through the show. The subject matter is a brutal murder of a young girl and the ensuing deliberate miscarriage of justice that ends in tragedy. I knew going in that I was essentially agreeing to watch a train wreck with no way to stop it, and throughout the show I increasing felt like something was pressing down on my sternum, almost literally breathless with heartbreak and dread. The cast was perfect - every performance so strong and nuanced and gripping. I felt really lucky to have been able to see this production, and I haven't stopped thinking about it.

Just last weekend, I saw Play On, a musical reimagining of Twelfth Night set in a Harlem jazz club in the 40s set to Duke Ellington music. Such a fun show! The dancing was spectacular and there was a fair amount of audience interaction that was very clever. The performers were amazing and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute. I've been listening to jazz for the last few days and it's been a delight.

It's not a secret that I love to go to shows, but I'm feeling especially grateful for it recently.

To get to witness incredible talent, to marvel at the storytelling, to feel things deeply.

I'm always happier when I'm at the theatre.

9/3/25

Hurting My Own Feelings

Today, I hurt my own feelings.

I made a big deal in my mind about something that doesn't actually matter that much.

It isn't actually about me at all, but I decided to think it was about me and suddenly I was upset and I've been stewing on it for hours now.

It was so easily avoided if I just took a step back and a deep breath, and then moved on with my night.

But I didn't and it happened and now on top of the actual hurt, I'm also kicking myself for making such a pathetic choice.

I'm sure I'll be over it by the time I wake up tomorrow, but for the next 45 minutes until I go to bed, it's all that I'll be thinking about.

9/1/25

Everything I Read in August 2025

A very slow reading month on account that I started watching Gilmore Girls again and that has consumed all of my media consumption this month.

1. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, vol. 7 by Beth Brower - Delightful as always! Still just loving this series.

2. Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett - I preferred the first book to this one, but still a very fun series! Emily is just adorable and I flew through this.

3. My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante - This was our book club selection this month, and I had very mixed feelings. I'm not a big literary fiction reader, so I knew it would move too slowly for me, but there were moments that I think will stick with me. We picked it as it was named by the NY Times the "best book of the 21st century." I disagree. Also, I fell down a real rabbit hole about the author, who has for their entire career remained anonymous and rarely does interviews. There's a lot of speculation of who they are, if it's multiple people, if it's a man. It made me think about the book really differently in a way that I liked. I'm not used to "death of the author" working that way and I can't stop thinking about it.

8/17/25

A Little Summer Highlight Reel

As summer winds down, I feel like this is going to be one that I remember well.

I think I did it right this year. I traveled a little, but mostly stayed put. Rested and worked. Entertained and accepted invitations. Careful not to wish it away too fast, and savoring the parts that are just here for now. Along the way I've amassed a list of moments that have lingered and demanded to be remembered. They made the summer what it was and I'm grateful for them.

My nephew sitting on my lap, his perfect blonde curls tickling my chin.

The railing digging into my forearms as I watch a fireworks show.

Taking an afternoon off of work and swimming lap after lap, having the whole pool to myself.

Giving the happiest, sweatiest tourists directions outside the National Gallery.

Watching The Intern with my parents and silently weeping.

The absolute delight at preparing my first ever steak and not failing at it.

Finishing a book late at night and waking up early to start the sequel because I just couldn't wait.

The sounds of the neighborhood in the morning as the walkers take advantage of the early light.

The crunch of puff pastry on the top of a chicken pot pie.

A mess of tan lines on my right shin where I inexplicably forgot my sunscreen in the weirdest pattern.

Peaches and cream for dessert.

7/31/25

Everything I Read in July 2025

1. Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman - My book club read this graphic novel this month. I felt like it was one of the best discussions we've ever had and there was so much we found thought provoking and moving. It is very intense and I've thought about it a lot in the weeks since. I definitely want to read Part II.

2. Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett - This was so fun! Emily is a professor writing a comprehensive guide to faeries and her colleague Wendell might possible be a faerie himself. Emily is charming and adorable, and the faeries are mischievous and a little bit creepy. I just started the second book in the series and I'm already loving it as well.

3 & 4. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion vols 5 & 6 - You know the drill - these books are just perfection. I'm obsessed and I've been telling anyone and everyone about them. I need to buy the hard copies; I definitely want them in my library.

BONUS. I didn't finish one book this month - The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl. Reichl wrote 2 of my favorite memoirs and I absolutely adore her food writing. This one is fiction, and unfortunately, it did not work for me. I gave up in about Chapter 5.

7/29/25

Mom & Dad's

I spent the last week at my parent's house in Texas. My brother and sister-in-law were there as well with their kids for a little summer break, and I left feeling completely full of love for this wonderful family I get to be a part of.

We didn't do anything especially grand. I worked several days from my dad's office and admired all of the tchotchkes and books on his shelves, and noticed all of the supplies he's gathered for his hobbies. We took the kids to the splash pad and fed them crackers and fruit snacks. I let the kids take pictures on my phone, resulting in the masterpiece above. I took my mom shopping and she hemmed my brother's pants. We took the kids to Dig World to play on construction equipment. I played swords and shields with my nephews and we pulled out Canasta after the kids went to bed.

I was perfectly at ease the whole week.

That's basically always how I feel at my parent's house, and I feel so grateful that that's the case. It's a place I know well, even though they haven't lived there long, and routines that I remember from growing up. My parents are just wonderful and I love getting to visit them. Every time, it feels like a relief to walk through the doors.

That's what I want for my home as well: to feel it is a relief to be there.

While I'm working on it, I'll savor every visit to Mom & Dad's.

7/13/25

6 Things

I got sick last week and I've been completely thrown off my routine. Four days in my pajamas will do that to me, so this weekend has been a bit of a reset. I did a bunch of chores around the house, ran a slew of errands I was putting off, and I'm feeling much more like myself. I've had more than one summer cold this year and I'm just sick of it.

Wimbledon is over, and I'm already sad about it.

Big Dreams, Small Spaces with Monty Don is the best show. I certainly don't have a green thumb (I managed to kill my bonsai tree this summer) but this is my comfort show where people create beautiful home gardens. I watch it on YouTube and I got my parents hooked as well.

Speaking of parents, I'm headed to Texas in a little over a week to visit my parents and I'm so excited to see them.

I set a goal this year to visit the neighborhood pool 20 times this summer. We are officially halfway to my goal.

My friend and I attempted to go to a musical last night - we got to the theatre in our seats when they announced that the building temperature was not safe for the performers. After 30 minutes of hoping the theatre would cool down, they canceled the performance and we just drove home. 3 hours of chatting with a friend is not a bad way to spend the evening, even if you were banking on some entertainment.

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