Juliana Moves

I’ve been reading a lot of newsletters lately. It’s sort of comical to me how casual newsletters and Substack are basically just… blogs. Don’t get me wrong – I love it! I am a big fan of reading relatively short-form blog-style posts. Somehow it is more interesting (and often inspirational) to me than watching a video or listening to a podcast. A part of me feels like writing something down requires slightly more care and effort. Maybe, maybe not. All that to say, I thought it would be fun to do a weekly update in the style of many of the newsletters I’ve read recently. Enjoy!

What I’m…

…Reading: I just finished The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart and give it 4 out of 5 stars. It is a fantasy novel unlike any I have ever read. It almost feels too big for its britches, but right when I thought I was over it there was a plot twist! It’s a trilogy so I’ll be curious to see how it holds up. I’m also reading Sixty Meters to Anywhere by Brendan Leonard and Excellent Advice for Living by Kevin Kelly. Reading by the pool has been my go to activity lately.

…Eating: Greek chicken bowls – AKA homemade Cava. I made these for Patrick and I the other week and we made them again this weekend! I skewer and grill some chicken marinated in a lemon garlic marinade from Wegmans. Then I serve it over jasmine rice with cucumber, tomato, tzatziki, hummus, olives, feta, and chickpeas! You could also grill some red onion and bell pepper. So easy and super delicious!

…Wearing: Asics Novablast 4 – a running shoe, of course! I just got these new road shoes because my Hoka Arahi 6s are wearing out and I didn’t love the New Balances I had purchased. The Asics have an 8 mm drop, which is the largest drop I’ve tried since transitioning away from zero drop. So far, I really like them! They’re comfortable but still feel solid underfoot.

…Listening to: Raye’s My 21st Century Symphony (Live at the Royal Albert Hall) has been on repeat for me. She is ridiculously talented and I love every single song. I listened to the album three times in one day a couple weeks ago. I also have been enjoying this Summer Jazz playlist. I love smooth jazz for working and general background music. I also like this Jazz for Autumn playlist, but figured I might as well try to get with the season!

…Drinking: Homemade shaken espressos. We recently started saving some glass jars for this purpose and it’s such a nice treat. I like to pull my espresso directly into the jar, and some chocolate syrup, tons of ice, and then shake it up until it gets frothy. Pour it into a larger cup and add some milk of your choice and voila! 

…Thinking About: Organizing our bedroom. I feel like the bedroom is the last place I think about getting organized or visually pleasing because I spend such little time there. We also have two closets now and the smaller one is full of random boxes that I’ve yet to go through. I want to get that done but it’s hard to commit time to it when it’s so beautiful out!

…Excited For: A weekend getaway to West Virginia! Patrick, Erica, Derek, the dogs, and I are all headed to West Virginia for a fun weekend getaway. I am hoping to swim and hike and trail run and generally adventure around. The heat dome is hitting our area at the same time, but West Virginia should be deliciously cool-ish. I can’t wait!

What about you?!