Not A Very Summery July Recap 🌞

Life should feel like Summer but it really doesn't haha. Which is ok because, I don't really like Summer anyway~ Even tho I don't have a break, I feel like work has slowed down a little this month. I was worried at first but, I decided to enjoy it and have some time to myself, spend that time doing some pendings cuz I know in August, life will go back to normal.

One of the things I was the most happy about was finally having Sarada (my car) back. And yeah, I know I can move around using public transport and, I was lucky that my sister lent me her car to go to work but, having it back gives me a lot more freedom to move around safely. It still needs some things but, those aren't urgent and, of course I'll do my best to get them fixed as soon as possible.

This month was my mom's birthday, we called it Mili Fest this year and we basically had small bday things throughout the month and the official celebrations on her birthday week. Since her bday was on a Wednesday and it's a busy day for everyone cuz of work, we turned wine night into a birthday dinner where we gave her part of her pressies and had cake. And on the weekend we took her out for lunch and had a game afternoon at home after that with some drinks, snacks and, more pressies.

I feel like, blogging wise, July was so slow. I wasn't inspired enough and didn't think I had a lot to share. I didn't want to push it and ended up sharing just one post a week instead of my usual 2 posts per week. Oh well, hopefully next month my motivation and inspiration will be back.

Somethings that made me happy on the most random days were some unexpected pressies I received, the first one was a end of the school year gift from one of my students, she gave me some chocolate, a hand cream and a sweet note. I love written notes! There's something super special about them. The other was from one of my neighbors. She wanted to thank me for picking her parking permit while she wasn't here and he gave me a cute pocket mirror and some figs. I've only had figs in syrup from stores before but, talking to my friends, they gave me the idea to try making them myself and, I did. They turned out better than expected. I'm proud of myself, hehe.

And, speaking of making food, this month I've been trying to make a bigger effort in the kitchen, whether it is only for me or to share with others. That includes making iced coffee as my second coffee of the day when I need an extra caffeine boost. I'm obsessed with banana milk coffee now, it's is fun and delish!

Fun fact about me, I don't like banana but, I love banana artificial flavor, so yeah, I'm a big fan of the korean banana milk. Although lately, I've been obsessed with their melon milk. SO GOOD.

Now, let's talk about some of the things I watched and read along with some favs.

When it comes to reading, I'm proud of myself for reading 2 things in a month, and I say things because one was a manga, which to me still counts as reading something but, I can't count it as a book. Can I?

The first one was The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo. I think I could've read it faster but there were weeks where I couldn't dedicate as much time to reading it as I wanted to. And the manga was Junji Ito's Cat Diary: Yon & Mu which I received as a birthday pressie back in June. In this house we love Junji Ito and cats so, it was perfect! So different from his other works but still really good! Especially as someone who loves and has cats.

Moving on to TV, I finally finished watching Sold Out On You, it was a fun watch and it's a short drama, idk what took me this long to finish it. It had a little bit of everything, romance, 2 people with trauma helping each other out of love, comedy and a little drama. As expected, it made me cry, hehe. 

I also finished my beloverd Full Metal Panic IV rewatch. Again, idk what took me this long~ Watching it again, I noticed animation isn't that great in this season. Which is weird cuz even Fumoffu had a better one and it was an older season. I guess I was just biased the first time I watched it. I enjoyed it nonetheless. After reading the FMP! Collectors Edition 3 novel, I realized SO many things were not showed in the anime, I'm glad I got to read it before rewatching it.

I've been watching Asian horror, including: Tales Of Terror From Tokyo And All Over Japan The Movie (and also the anthologies, which are also compilations of short stories), Stigmatized Properties, Ring of Curse and 3 Doors of Horror. I'm planning to make a shows and movies post so, I guess I'll talk about them a little bit more there but, they were good. Not super scary but, defo entertaining.

Defo one of my highlights when it comes to TV was the premiere of Bleach Thousand Year Blood War Cour 4 which was my most anticipated show this year. If you've been around here for a while or know me, Bleach is one of my favorte anime and has a very special place in my heart. Sadly, apparently it'll be the last season and a part of me is just not ready. So far I've only watched 1 episode cuz they're releasing one each week but, it did not disappoint. It was defo worth the wait and the hype.

I'll close this post with some other favs of the month, that now that I think about it, it's mostly food, haha.

Not too long ago I saw an add showing Kopiko Coffee Candy and how popular it was in Korean drama, I got curious because they said, since it has caffeine, it can give you a small energy boost. At the end of last month, I randomly found them at the supermarket and, thay have become a favorite of mine. I keep them in my work bag, regular bag, in my office and even in the car for whenever I feel I can use some extra energy. They really taste like coffee since they are made with coffee bean extract grown on volcanic soil. I've tried the two versions, the cappuccino and black coffee. Both are great! I even gave my mom a bag of them as a part of her bday pressie, hehe.

This next one might be a little random but, I had my first pan de muerto of the year! In Summer. Cuz even tho it's a November traditional bread in my country, it's never too early to enjoy it. Haha. I love a little Autumn something in my summer so, no complaints. I love the traditional one but, I'm always happy to try new versions of it and, this time I found one covered in white chocolate with gummy bears on top. So fun! It was filled with cream cheese. It make my Autumn girl heart happy!

Lastly, is the Nescafé Espresso Concentrate which has been great when it comes to making my iced coffee at noon. It's made with a rich Arabica blend and it saves me some money cuz I can make many drinks with just one bottle since I only need 50ml of the concentrate and 250ml of cold liquid of choice. It's strong!

There's also a vanilla concentrate I haven't tried. Maybe I will since I really liked this one.

And, I think that's it for this monthly recap. Can't believe half of the year has already gone. We'll see what happens next month, all I know is, I can't wait for Fall to be here.

See you next time~!💋