Another summer month down, one month closer to Halloween! End of July is always so bittersweet as we try to rush in last minute vacations and late night plans before school and work are taken seriously again. This month was honestly filled with so many events and sun kissed memories! We’ve braved through the peak of the heat (hopefully) and we can all enjoy our last month of summer love. If you’re looking for lowkey August plans, check out some of the things I did during July!

Darling Jack’s

I’ve mentioned this restaurant a couple of times on my blog and I can finally say that I’ve dined here! This is part of the long row of restaurants located on 13th and Sansom, near Barbuzzo and Prunella. Typical tight space with limited seating, but such a cozy and romantic vibe. My friend had won the second place prize of an all paid date at my Valentine’s Day Brunch and we finally picked a place, Darling Jack’s. Usually in my reviews I talk about the most important aspects, vibe, service, reservations, food, and drink. However, since this was a “date night” I really just focused on being in the moment. However, I do remember the food and drinks that we ordered and we were not disappointed. We had ordered the homemade mozzarella sticks, pepperoni pizza, and mushroom pizza. Everything was such a good portion and we did end up taking some pizza home with us. But it was a one of a kind very thin crust pizza that i’ve never seen around Philly before! I had also ordered the cabernet sauvignon since that always a go to for me and it was really delicious and paired well with everything we ordered. Then my friend got a zero proof ginger soda which was also delicious for the non-alcoholic badies! They also had a couple other zero proof options. Then we wrapped up the dinner with their lemon olive-oil cake which was a first for me and it was absolutely delicious.

Dating Show

So this was a little crazy. It is exactly what you expected, my friends set up their living room with a sheet in the middle of the room and the lucky bachelorette on one side and the 7 contestants on the other. The there was the audience, yes there was an audience of like 20 people who sat on the other half of the living room. I had prepared a charcuterie board since the bachelorette was making some special cocktails for the event! She had made a rose sangria and some vodka cocktail. It lasted a few hours and honestly it was a pretty fun experience and everyone really seemed to enjoy themselves and got silly with the event!

Kitten Yoga

Near the end of the month, the animal refuge I volunteer with was invited to bring kittens for a kitten yoga event. It took place in Fishtown at the Amrita Yoga Studio located on 12th and Frankford. The studio was so gorgeous and felt very peaceful. The upstairs room we did the event was super spacious as well, allowing plenty of room between each of the participants to properly hold each form. The teacher was super nice as well, she didn’t touch anybody to move their body into a form they possibly couldn’t hold (which is a pet peeve of mine). She reminded me of my pilates teacher that I see twice a week, just very open to people and how their bodies may only hold certain poses and not to stress if you need a minute to relax before moving onto the next form.

Show’s I’ve watched

So I’ve picked up a fantasy sci-fi show that just came out, Nautilus. I’ve heard about it from my parents and was told its inspired by “20,000 Leagues Under The Sea”. I was all for it since I love underwater adventures and have always had an obsession with deep sea diving and stories. The show is currently streaming on amc+ (specifically bought it so I could watch the show) but they to have a week free trial if you’re up for the challenge! The show is about a peculiar group of former prisoners who take up the challenge of driving and protecting the Nautilus submersible from the greedy rich men who want to use to to kill people instead of using it for its original purpose, adventure and to learn more about the deep sea. The show currently has one season and ten planned episodes that are around 50 minutes long.

Movie’s I’ve seen

I really get brought to tears at just the mere thought of the movie. I saw Superman on the fan premier night and it was absolutely incredible. Our little happy go lucky farmer boy is so back! And he is more “woke” than ever apparently. But can we really be surprised that Superman’s kindness, generosity, and open-mindedness is being called “woke.” I wrote a whole blog post on why we should be more like Superman with his empathy and journey on finding purpose. Superman has always been a symbol of hope and protection and he stayed true to it through and through. Superman radiates that small town farmer boy with a heart of gold that he wants to leave the world a better place than how he found it. So of course, during the current era of hate and chaos in America, a movie about an illegal alien (yes, Superman is an illegal alien you’ll be okay I promise) being kind and putting lives before his own is considered “woke” and dangerous. When you see it, it’ll make more sense on why kindness has become punk rock.

Book’s I’ve read

Okay so we’re back on the book grind again. I’ve started a couple and finished one this month. I finally finished “The Will to Change” by Bell Hooks. One of my favorite authors and is an academic who is very accessible to read. I never get lost in her writings and it always clicks for me. I also walk away from her books with a new perspective and feeling like I’ve learned a lot about a new topic. This book digs deep into the world of patriarchy and its effects on boy’s becoming men. It also highlights how it controls women and how they treat men. Hooks always does such a good job on saying the truth, that while women are victims of patriarchy there is also plenty of times where we become to perpetrator of it towards boys.

Then with having started the new Nautilus show on amc+ I decided to swim a little deeper into the original story, “20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.” Now I’m just in the very beginning so there’s not much to say other than the portrayal of The Nautilus. If you don’t know, The Nautilus, is the actual name of the submersible a majority of the book takes place on. But so far in the beginning, British ships are claiming it to be some giant fish, possibly a whale, in attempts to hunt it down.

Continuing my underwater mysteries and obsessions, I’ve also picked up “Moby Dick” since I’ve never read it and have only known the basic premise. But I got the illustrated version that looks like its for children, which I don’t know why you would want your kid to read this, but nonetheless it’s a book that’s iconic that I haven’t gotten to read!

Thank you so much for reading! Have a wonderful day!