Footnotes: Turning Thirty-One, Charleston, and Other Things I Loved in October

And what I'm most looking forward to next month

Hey, sometimes a girl wants to talk about more than just books! So, welcome to Footnotes, a monthly rundown of all my off-the-page side quests—places I went, the shows I binge-watched, things I bought, and more.

• Hello, thirty-one! Libra season has come and gone, and I’m stepping into a new year with more clarity. Turning thirty-one feels like moving on from a rushed first draft (i.e., my twenties) to a thoughtful revision of a story I now have the tools to tell well. The need to prove myself is easing, making way for a deeper sense of purpose and intention. I’m learning to embrace myself fully, find joy in the mundane, and savor the small moments in an effort to reclaim my “zest” for life.

• A week in Charleston, SC. Speaking of my birthday, I spent a week celebrating solo in a city that (somehow) also feels like a charming, small town. The people were lovely. The weather was great. I visited a new bookstore. I ate a lot of tasty seafood(!), and as my mom heard a thousand times on the phone, I received a ton of compliments on my outfits! (Shoutout to Nuuly!) I was smiling and glowing all week and cannot wait to visit again.

  

  A birthday biscuit from Callie's Hot Little Biscuit and my sparkly birthday shoes.

• I (finally) posted on TikTok! On my personal TikTok, that is. (My day job is actually in social media, but posting things for a brand is so much easier.) I’m constantly snapping photos and filming videos, but actually hitting “post” isn’t my strong suit. Thirty-one is about embracing it all, though, right? So we’re fighting past the discomfort, ignoring our inner critic, and just posting the damn content. It’s funny how I find the courage to do this the second TikTok is about to get banned.

• More pottery. Readers need non-reading hobbies, too. One of mine? Pottery! I'm so happy I could finally carve out time this month to handbuild a practical little initial coaster set. Complete with bubble letters. Very excited to glaze them and see the final product.

Charleston, coasters, and carbs.

• Soup season… It’s still way too hot in California for my taste, but nonetheless, I kicked off soup season—with lasagna soup. I used this recipe. Super easy. Super flavorful. And that ricotta topping? *chefs kiss*

• And a pasta bake! Are you sensing a theme? I love carbs. I also made a simple chicken alfredo broccoli pasta bake. It only took twenty minutes in the oven after, you know, cooking the chicken, boiling the pasta, and steaming broccoli. So maybe closer to 45 minutes total. Whatever. It was good.

A great month of TV shows!

• From (MGM+): I binge-watched this show and am finally caught up on the latest season. It’s about a group of people stranded in a creepy town that imprisons everyone who enters. Oh, and they’re hunted at night by monsters. It’s an entertaining horror/sci-fi/mystery—heavy on the mystery part. We’re three seasons in and are (seemingly) no closer to getting any answers. Admittedly, it’s frustrating, but I'm in too deep to stop watching now.  

• Tell Me Lies (Hulu): Is there a support group for people who watch this show? Should we start one? Because I’m still trying to recover from this show's sophomore season. (So is everyone on TikTok, apparently.) Stephen (Jackson White) and Lucy (Grace Van Patten) are still weirdly obsessed with each other and toxic as hell. All the other characters are still making unbelievably terrible choices (except maybe Pippa? She wasn’t that bad this season.) And yet, I’ll never stop watching. That cliffhanger? UGH. Yeah, give me a third season now, Hulu.

• Nobody Wants This (Netflix): Adam Brody! Adam Brody! Adam Brody! Need I say more?

• I randomly found these cute orange-print pajamas while shopping for something completely unrelated on Amazon.

• I love mini-travel products, but not all my favorites come in small sizes. So, I grabbed two of these sleek, little refillable travel bottles, each powered by a fancy airless pump.

• A super invisible and light SPF from Hyper Skin.

• This cute little “book money” pouch from The Tiny Tassel, a colorful boutique located in downtown Charleston.

• This very cozy and colorful Anthropologie cardigan that received all those aforementioned compliments during my birthday trip.

• I didn’t need it, but I had to get the Kindle Colorsoft. Now, I just need to find a case for it…

• And because you can never have too many colorful pens, these just arrived from Papier.

I’m very excited for November, as I’ll (finally!) be seeing one of my favorite singers—Nao—live in Los Angeles! Show prep involves a re-listen of all her music, including this single from her upcoming album. If you’re unfamiliar with Nao, I highly recommend starting with this Tiny Desk episode on YouTube.

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