Coffee Grinds 12: The Golden Bachelorette will save us all

plus, wedding season, Margo's Got Money Troubles, Fall scents, Crime Junkie, and the best urban explorer YouTube channel

This week I’m obsessed with: Autumn weddings, scenic road trips, firepits after dark, and delis in new cities.

It’s been a rough week; we’re going to start there. I won’t get into it, but if you’ve seen my notes lately you know—I’ve been going through it. That said, I’m doing my best to keep living and in that, I’m proud to bring you the latest Coffee Grinds. By the time you’re reading this I’ll be on my way back from a beautiful Fall wedding in Lake Placid with one of, if not my oldest friend. I can’t wait for the mini vacation.

I hope you have a lovely Sunday and find some new favorites within the walls of this newsletter. 🖤

📚 Reading Recs:

• Ghosts by Dolly Alderton: I listened to this one on audiobook and loved it. It's heartwarming and character-driven, with friendships and family struggle at the center.

• You're Not Doing It Right: Tales of Marriage, Sex, Death, and Other Humiliations by Michael Ian Black: An oldie but a goodie. Look, I adore Michael Ian Black. Since his Stella days and all the way through one of my favorite podcasts (hosted by MIB) called How To Be Amazing (highly recommended, he interviews creative greats like Elizabeth Gilbert, Kevin Smith, and even Neil deGrasse Tyson and Ina Garten.) I’ve been a fan. This book is funny, sure, but it’s also really tender, and really heartfelt. I adore Michael Ian Black and I adore this book.

substacks I loved this week:

• Chapter Two: You've Got Male by

  cara alwill
  (For all my friends who get nostalgic over AIM, just like me. A/S/L anyone?)

• The Mr. Darcy Project by

  Livvie

• In LA, Love is Essential: Part 3 by

  E.M. Gallagher

• the divorced woman i'm obsessed with by

  lindsey peters berg

• cause darling i'm a nightmare dressed like a daydream by

  Madeline Paige

• My Top 10 Gilmore Girls Episodes by

  Cassie

🫶Love

• This Chanel Coco Mademoiselle (Intense) perfume —I already owned Chanel Coco Noir and in my search for an Autumn scent, I found this. It’s just divine.

• This dress I bought for a wedding: I have NEVER work sparkles before but this fits like a DREAM.

• Sticky Notes & the feeling of progress: is there anything more satisfying? I bought all these fancy (read: different shape/color) stickies for editing my book and it’s been SO much fun!!!

• This other dress I tried on for the wedding and ended up buying just because it’s so cute.

🍿Watched:

• The Golden Bachelorette: FINALLY!!!!! I won’t spoil anything but oh my gosh this was SO wholesome and sweet. Really excited for this one. Also is Jack the Caterer secretly from when Michael ran The Bear?

• This Urban Explorer YouTube channel: I came across Expedition Theme Park while looking up the history of Ontario Place. It’s been such a joy ever since. Does anyone remember that site Opacity? I was obsessed back in the day. It’s like that, but with the history too.

• Southern Charm S9: It’s such trash, what can I say. It’s my happy place.

🎧Listened:

• Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe: (72%) I love this book. I’m eagerly awaiting the Apple + adaptation that stars Elle Fanning (who also narrates this audiobook).

• Crime Junkie Podcast: Soooo much Crime Junkie has been listened to on our 5.5 hour each way trip to Lake Placid for the wedding. I love it.

✍️Wrote:

• To All The Friends I've Loved Before: 09

• Edits of the next chapters for my next beta reader round—I’m very, very behind on submitting these, but almost there!

🔭 Looking ahead:

• Work is currently still eating me alive 😩😩😩 BUT this is the thick of it and this is just how press campaigns go. There’s always a nice calm to the start of them, followed by a feeling of drowning for about a month and then the calm hits again. Usually, I stagger campaigns so that releases aren’t happening too close together but sometimes, like now, it’s unavoidable and you just have to go with the chaos.

• Next week I plan to work on more book edits—my goal is 3/4 of the way through by end of next week which is….ambitious but do-able. Coincidentally, this is also the space I like to live in.

• And lastly, my plan is to write more on Substack. I’d like to continue doing at least one post a week in addition to Coffee Grinds, maybe two. We’ll see. Fingers crossed!

Have a happy Sunday :)