July Recap // ft. lots of traveling, riverdale, & I made a cake for harry potter!!

July happened way too fast.

I know this is such a typical thing to say, but I genuinely can’t believe (and don’t want to believe) that it’s August. The month when school starts. The month when dance starts. The month that seemed really, really far away until I woke up and realized it’s here.

If you couldn’t tell, I have mixed feelings about August. On one hand, I do like fall and I’m eager to get back to dancing, but part of me isn’t ready to trade the freedom I had in summer for homework and studying. But this post isn’t about me wishing summer could start over again, it’s about recapping my July!

July was a quintessential summer month. I did a lot of reading and blogging, went on a short trip, spent a lot of time with my family and friends, and overall enjoyed not having to adhere to a specific schedule!

It was slow and fast and lovely all at the same time, so without further ado, let’s get to the post. 😉

I didn’t get to read *as* much as I did in June, but that’s okay! It was still a better reading month than I ever have during the school year. Thank you summer.

Overall, I ended up reading 11 books! Since I was traveling a little bit this month, I found that I often read multiple books in one day during a road trip and then would go a while without finishing a book, then binge read again.

I only reread one book this month (Foolish Hearts), which is good for me. I also read two fantasy books, something else that I consider an accomplishment!

I haven’t reviewed any of these books yet (I may have gotten very behind on reviews, oops) but I definitely will be reviewing a lot of them in the month(s) to come! I haven’t yet decided if I’m going to review Red, White, & Royal Blue since it is an adult book, but in case anyone was wondering, I did think it was just a phenomenal as everyone else seems to think. 😉

How I Did on July Reading Goals:

• Read 10 books ✅ yay, I exceeded
• Go to the library ✅
• Post once a week on bookstagram ❌
• Stay active on bookstagram ✅ my most active month yet, I think!
• Read 3 fantasies and a book of 1 other genre besides contemporary ❌
• Clean out my Goodreads TBR ❌ I should do this soon…

My August Reading Goals:

• Read 8 books
• Go to the library
• Post 5 times on bookstagram
• Clean out my Goodreads TBR
• Buddy read??

I’ll be starting school just a couple weeks into August still in denial about this so it’s going to be harder to keep up with my reading goals, but I’m determined to do my best! I’m hoping the schoolwork won’t hit really hard until September, and even with my busy schedule, I want to make staying on top of my reading a huge goal.

I truly wish every month of blogging could be like July was for me.

This was my one full month of posting twice a week regularly, and I have to say, I love it! Being able to put out more content and interact more was seriously the best. Sadly, I start school in a mere 15 days, so I only have two more weeks of this summer schedule before it’s time to return to once-a-week posting and potentially less interaction.

But! I’m so happy I got to have this month, because it was amazing, thanks to y’all. I was able to post 8 times (I only missed one day) which is one of my all-time highs for posting!

• June Recap + July Goals // just your typical recap post, a lot like this one but with a ton of different words, of course.
• My 2019 Book Blogger Award Nominations // spreading all the book blogger love for the amazing awards that May is hosting this year!!
• 5 Fictional Friend Groups I Adore // screaming about groups that are #squadgoals and will always have my heart!
• The Controversy of Hyped Books // talking all things hyped books and how they affect our reading, the pressure, and my relationship with them!
• Answering All Your Q&As!! // I finally answered all the questions y’all asked me back at the beginning of June, and it was the most fun ever.
• Book Recs With Lily @ Sprinkles of Dreams for Hermione, Luna, & Ginny // the dream collab with one of my best blogging buddies, the lovely Lily!
• 5 Things No One Tells You About Blogging // my form of blogging advice that hopefully is unique and could help any new bloggers out there.
• What I’ve Been Reading Lately // five mini-reviews of YA novels that I’ve enjoyed and that I think you would, too!

A few fun blogging things happened this month that I’m still screaming about, so I figured, why not scream about them in this recap, too??

First of all, I was able to collab with the utterly amazing Lily to do book recommendations for Harry Potter characters. I did a post about the Marauders over on her blog, and she did a wonderful post about Hermione, Ginny, and Luna (literally. all. icons.) on my blog! I love collabs and Harry Potter and Lily, and it was an honor to have her on my blog.

Secondly, I was nominated for two (two??) book blogger awards, and I seriously can’t thank you enough.💓 Every time I read a post where someone nominated me, I truly felt so much joy and love and (not going to lie) I teared up every time.

I really can’t say thank you as many times as I want to!! (Clearly I will try though.) So…thank you, you’re all amazing, I love you, and there’s a gif of Taylor Swift saying it too because you all deserve to hear it from her, too.

How I Did on July Blogging Goals:

• Mostly stay on schedule ✅ I love me for saying ‘mostly’
• Do a tag ✅
• Bookish discussion post ✅
• Blog hop MORE ✅
• Do some blogging housekeeping things ❌ that’s a goal for early August!

August Blogging Goals:

• Blogging housekeeping things
• My exciting posts I have planned *waggles eyebrows*
• Do a tag, finally!
• Some mini reviews, too
• Stay on summer schedule until I go back to school
• Blog hop as much as possible

As I said earlier, I will sadly be posting less this August and in all the months to come, due to reverting back to my normal blogging schedule. I also think that I’ll be much less active in the later part of August, but come what may.

Thank you all again for the most wonderful July here on the blogosphere!

Life this month was, to say the least, very summer-y.

I did lots of reading, lots of relaxing with friends, some traveling, and discovered a lot of new music that I’m now obsessed with. A few of my highlights included:

• Visiting my grandmother’s house. I was able to visit my grandma this month! I had a really great time at her house (we watched lots of Golden Girls + Frasier, which I love), ate good Southern food, and I got to see my friend who lives near her. It was just a really relaxing trip, plus we got to do real fireworks! (It’s illegal where I live to set them off yourself.)
• My trip to Nashville! I went to…Nashville?? It was tons of fun and I do have a post coming about it soon, so more details to come on that. 😉
• Taylor Swift’s new song came out!! The Archer is officially my favorite song on Lover so far. The lyrics are beautiful, utterly Taylor, and I am in love with it, okay?? Just. wow. gonna go listen to it now.
• I made a cake for Harry Potter. This actually happened today (me, writing a post the day before it gets published?? no, this can’t be), but in honor of Harry Potter’s birthday, my older sister and I recreated the cake Hagrid gives Harry. It was delicious AND fun.

The difference between our cake (left) and Hagrid’s cake (right)?? Nah, no difference whatsoever…ahem. I feel as if I should become a professional cake decorator after this breakthrough in cake design.

• I watched a lot of Riverdale. My best friend and I are watching Riverdale together (we’re only just started on season 3, so no spoilers please!) and I really love it! Yes, I’m a scaredy cat so I sometimes get creeped out, and yes it can be really unrealistic, but I love the cast and the characters and I’m really invested at this point.
• Also Queer Eye! Only the most heartwarming and adorable show on Netflix…if you’re not watching it, go watch it!!
• Hanging out with friends, again. I know right, I’ve said this in a lot of recaps recently, but it’s so true!! I’ve gotten to hang out with a lot of friends this month (and have gone to our local coffee shop way too many times) but it has been!! the!! best!!! I love my friends so much.

I really have my fingers crossed that August is going to be a good month for me. I can’t lie, I’m nervous for going back to school and part of me is dreading it, but the other part of me is hoping that it’s the start of a good year?

I also get to start back to the dance season (and fall is my favorite semester for dance because of our company’s fall show!) and I’m beyond excited to see my friends every day again and dance with them. Plus, I do have a couple more weeks of freedom to do any last-minute summer adventures, so I have that to look forward to!

There we have it, a recap of my July. I can’t believe I’m writing this post and that July is over. Actual insanity. Overall, it was a really nice month, and I’m hoping that you had a great month as well! There’s most definitely a lot to look forward to in the month ahead of us.

Here’s to a wonderful August and a wonderful day for all of you!✨

How was your July? Tell me about it! Do you like the new Taylor Swift song? What show are you obsessed with? Did you celebrate Harry Potter’s birthday, or was that just me? I’d love to talk with you in the comments.

Credits for the image in my featured image >> Photo by Maddi Bazzocco on Unsplash