Five Things to Tell You Vol. 28
NO KINGS, books, coffee, and more!
Well, hello there! So happy to see you today!
Today is June 14, 2025, and I am in Madison helping remind our leaders that there shall be NO KINGS IN AMERICA ~ I hope you were able to find a local event to attend!
I could have attended the event in my own city, but now that the oldest is in Madison, I have a perfect excuse to protest at the state capitol instead. It’s me and the girls in our matching shirts … the guys are at a Brewers game, which is also fun but not quite as defiant?
I hope that before or after some peaceful defiance and protesting, you get to settle in with your favorite snack and dive in to today’s newsletter …
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I’m starting off today with the book I read in less than 24 hours last weekend, staying up WAY too late in my hotel room after a concert to finish. It’s one I knew nothing about before reading, and only requested from the library because it was a bestseller on (I think) Bookshop.org and I was intrigued because I had never even heard of it.
The High Dive by Chelsea Fagan was ABSOLUTELY DELECTABLE. It has a stunning setting (yacht on the Mediterranean), thought-provoking premise (a group of college friends reuniting for a bachelor party with some serious wealth and class disparities), and a swoon-worthy tension-filled romance. The setting makes it a perfect summery-vacation read!
In news to no one, parenting is certainly NEVER dull. I now have TWO adult children ~ 18 and 19 ~ and am really just as unprepared for this phase as I was for infants?
At the beginning of June, I had the anxiety-inducing experience of the oldest moving to a new city WITH a job and WITHOUT HOUSING. Her housing for the past year was all provided by AmeriCorps gigs so we (I mean, she) hadn’t had to do this yet. It all did work out ~ she found a sublet (after a WEEK of sleeping on a cousin’s apartment floor) ~ but given that it was her first-ever time trying to find housing, I was involved and (in her opinion) overstepped and stressed her out.
The true mark of how this is all going for me was when I was panicking a bit about the dogs while preparing to go out of town last Sunday ~ I wouldn’t be there Monday morning to walk them! Who would be home in time to let them out!? Please make sure they have food and water and go potty and and and and and …
My son just replied:
“Mom. I know how dogs work.”
HA. Now the oldest knows how housing works. The new graduate has assured me he knows how dogs work.
I need to calm down, they say?
It’s summer and I’m ALL IN on the season, including with my coffee … I subscribe to Wonderstate’s Blend Shuffle subscription, and I love seeing what they send me each month.
The Summer Solstice blend is PERFECT for the season and I was very happy to see it in the mailbox!
This summer I decided it was finally time to catch up with the not-new trend and try out Olive and June nail polish for my toes … and I was so bummed to find out that I didn’t love it like I thought I would. The polish was too thin for me and the brush was SO WIDE. I like a thicker polish and a thinner, more delicate brush, so I went straight back to what I had been wearing (borrowed from the 7th grader). I won’t mess with success!
You heard it here first ~ the cool kids are wearing Sally Hanson Xtreme Wear 459 Babe Blue on their toes this summer.
I’m bookending the newsletter with BOOKS this week!
I tried deviating from the crowd and holding out on this one, but simply couldn’t resist digging into Carly Fortune’s latest, One Golden Summer, last week.
I’m happy to share that this new release is summery perfection; with a wistful, almost melancholy tone. No shenanigans or rom com energy here ~ just a gorgeous Canadian lake, small town, adult issues, and a summer of togetherness and longing. I loved it much more than its book-little-sister, Fortune’s debut Every Summer After, which had a younger storyline and was based on flashbacks.
One Golden Summer finally brings us Charlie’s story (he was a character in Every Summer After), and I fully welcomed the more mature vibes.
That’s all for this week ~ thanks for reading! Please feel free to reply to this email or use the link below to leave a comment to chime in about any of these things, or to share one of your own things ♡
Thanks for stopping by!
I just requested Fagan's first book at the library (a Perfect Vintage) solely because of the cover. And yes, I'm intrigued by her diverse skills in finance, romance, and it looks like hosting is next.
I have not loved any Carley Fortune books (I KNOW) but I will give this a go (on endless waitlist).
AND NO KINGS!
And yay Madison!
Oh, yay! Chelsea Fagan's team reached out last week about her new book and to see if she could get on the show. I am so intrigued by her self-publishing process that she has done with these romance books. So happy to see this was a hit. We had hoped to attend a protest event, but my nephew's graduation celebration is happening at the exact same time. We have to be there in spirit, but I am so glad you shared this so I could check times. Thank you, my friend!
I totally understand about the protest timing, Amy! My youngest had a soccer game during the big ones in April, so I had to prioritize family as well. Maybe the next one will work out for you :-) As for Chelsea, I'm excited to hear what you think of the book! I really knew nothing about her, but thought the book was unique and it sucked me right in - I'm always up for a romance that grapples with class and wealth disparity. I just grabbed her earlier title A Perfect Vintage from the library!