Life
I am definitely feeling like time in flying in the city as we try to appreciate and enjoy each moment before we move, while also taking time to go to NJ for visiting with friends and family. It’s feeling like a lot is on our plate right now, so I can’t even imagine what our next season will look like, but I’m excited!
Living our daily Upper West Side life looks like having lots of pizza and taking many walks in Riverside Park.
Over the long July 4th weekend we visited the Intrepid Museum and played some very competitive matches of ping pong.
Casey came to visit for a weekend, so of course on the Friday she arrived we had to take a tour of the Google office and enjoy lunch 🙂
I was gifted a Bowery Boys walking tour for Christmas and I decided to do Carl Raymond’s Edith Wharton Gilded Age tour – it was so fun! I loved getting to see the sites, hearing the stories, and seeing one of my favorite podcasters in person.
A HUGE highlight of this month was Joe cooking a pasta dish and him eating and actually enjoying it. For people who know Joe, they know this is a big deal. He’s not a pasta lover and I’ve been patiently waiting since we met for him to see the light. It’s finally starting to happen.
Speaking of good meals, I got together with my friend Jessie for a tasty “breakfast for dinner” dinner and with Tina for fresh pasta. It’s been a delicious month.
Austen had her bridal shower this month and it was so fun to celebrate her! She did a fantastic job with the decor and food, and I loved getting to give her a sentimental gift from years ago in our friendship.
We ended the month going down to the beach to visit friends and family. This was the first time my bump made its appearance completely bare and I felt more comfortable than I expected!
Books
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I loved All the Light We Cannot See, so I had high expectations for this novel and it did not disappoint! It is a unique read as you move back and forth in time, including well into the future. I love story lines that are interconnected and Doerr’s writing kept me completely hooked.
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This book had been on my list for a while, and I loved getting to read it after going to the Vermeer exhibit at the Rijksmuseum. It’s a nonfiction work that explores the life and discoveries and art of two Dutch men: Vermeer and van Leeuwenhoek.
Van Leeuwenhoek was an experimenter/scientist who was fascinated by using microscopic lenses. I didn’t think that this part of the book would interest me as much as reading about the painter Vermeer, but I found myself looking forward to when the chapters would turn back to van Leeuwenhoek!
If you have any interest in Dutch history, scientific discoveries, art, and the personal trials and tribulations of men, you’ll enjoy this book.
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This is my third time reading Jane Eyre and I find myself appreciating new elements of it each time.
When I first read it, I viewed the novel as a terribly romantic love story.
When I read it a second time, I found it to be a feminist encouragement for women maintaining self respect in all circumstances (especially romantic ones).
When I read it this third time around, I found it to be an exploration of independence and principle, with flawed characters and exquisite prose.
I can’t wait to read it a fourth time a few years from now to see how it changes again!
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This is a book where absolutely everything goes wrong, but those are the kinds of books I tend to love best. The novel goes back and forth in time, as well as changes narrators much later on to a memoir of the main narrator’s grandfather. You follow identical twin boys through life – one is “normal”, the other is mentally ill.
There are a lot of upsetting, horrifying storylines, but it is all told with such empathy and realness that it didn’t turn me off. I would not recommend this book if you’re looking for an uplifting read. I would recommend it if you want to be completely immersed in a life that is likely very different from your own, yet somehow you find yourself relating to the characters.
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