Five Favs: June

Before we get any further into July, let me back up and do my June favorites and apologize for a week plus of silence. I definitely over-estimated my ability to get back into the swing of things while majorly jet-lagged. June was a fun but hectic month with lots of travel and experiences that I will remember forever. Let's get to it.

Freddie Falls in Love

[Source]

The month began with seeing a friend perform in the dance show "Freddie Falls in Love." I love watching dance shows but was a little worried about my ability to sit through 90 minutes without words given that I didn't know the story ahead of time and knew nothing about this production, or past productions. Any worries I had were silenced the moment the show began. The cast was magnetic and the soundtrack, a compilation of well-known hits, perfectly carried the show, complementing the plot in a way that made you feel like these songs were actually made for this show rather than to be sung by the various bands and artists who had released them over the years. 

Summer Jams

For me June, and the beginning of July (and probably a good part of the rest of the summer, have been all about Betty Who's cover of "I Love You Always Forever" and Justin Timberlake's "Can't Stop The Feeling." The original "I Love You Always Forever" was one of my favorite songs when it was released and this cover transforms it but also reminds me how much I love the original (and what a totally cheeseball song it is). Are you in a bad mood? Put on JT now. Better yet, watch the music video because it's charming AF and starts in a diner! You're welcome.

Renting a Car

When I see this picture I hear Aladdin saying, "Do you trust me?" to Jasmine. [Source]

I hit a major milestone in June: I rented a car for the first time. While legally I have been able to rent a car for a few years now, I had no reason to do so until the middle of the month when I was attending an out-of-state wedding. I was pretty nervous about it- driving an unfamiliar car on new-to-me roads, do I pay for the full tank of gas, what insurance option do I pick, what if I can't work the radio/AC/etc. I'm happy to report that the car rental, driving, and return all were easy peasy. A silly marker of growing up? Of course. Do I feel more like I'm a big girl now? Of course! (No, not really, just mildly more so.)    

Orange Is the New Black

So this is where you've been Jason Biggs. [Source]

Is this how that Internet Tweeter thing works? I know, I know, Orange Is the New Black or OINTB as the cool kids say, is not new. Still, I just began watching and was instantly hooked. I even went so far as to look into whether or not I would be able to access Netflix in Croatia and Italy so that I wouldn't have to wait almost two weeks to get back to it. (I could but by the end of each day I was so tired that I would fall asleep shortly after Regina Spektor stopped singing the theme song. #netflixbingefail). Now that I'm back in NYC, I am part-way through Season 3 and debating whether I should slow down to make it last longer or speed up because I need to know what happens next. #firstworldproblems

Croatia & Italy Trip

At the end of June, I had the privilege of going to Croatia and the Lake District of Italy with my parents for 11 days. After over a year of no real vacation or time away from the great state of NY, I needed this trip, badly. Getting out of my routine, experiencing something new every day, I forgot what that is like and how refreshing it is. To do this in one of the most beautiful parts of the world that I've ever been to with my parents made it all the more special. At 29, I don't usually spend such a prolonged time with my parents, especially as one-on-one time. To have this time, was really special and I don't know if it will ever happen again. Croatia has been a bucket-list trip for me for several years now and to see Christo and Jeanne-Claude's "The Floating Piers" in Italy was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Poor future trips, you have a lot to live up to, although if you have brownies in your country, you've got some edge.

When in Italy, souvenirs for friends at home = pasta; arches in Dubrovnik, The Floating Piers.

What were your June favorites? Or, you know, some for July since this is so late?