Rattling Those Pots & Pans

Heyyyyy! I hope everyone is doing well! I didn’t do a check-in for March because, honestly, I forgot. (Whoops.) I was dealing with a few things and struggling a little emotionally, and no one wants to read about that anyway.

However, my April has started off great! I’ve been spending a lot of time with family and I did an interview with an artist that I’m a pretty big fan of (which will be posted next week), so yeah. I’m killing it right now.

I wanted to mention a few things I enjoy outside of music – and it’s mostly because I’m going to post some pictures below and I wanna give the background for them 😏

If you’ve been following/visiting the blog for a while, then you already know I love to read. I also play video games, explore cemeteries, and try to find nature trails to walk with my mom. But what I have been doing quite a bit of lately is cooking.

Both of my parents are fantastic cooks, as are my brother and sister-in-law. My grandmothers were, my aunts on my dad’s side, a couple of cousins, my best friend… You get the point. I’ve been around delicious, and almost exclusively homemade, food my entire life. Obviously I’ve spent time in the kitchen. But recently, my brother and sister-in-law have been letting me experiment. I haven’t done anything, like, out there, creatively, yet I’m proud of a couple of meals I’ve fixed, or contributed to, over the last few weeks.

I’m not gonna lie: it’s really basic shit at the moment. I did help my brother and his wife make pasta from scratch a while back. I like being in the kitchen. It relaxes me. I’m going to continue to learn and try new things, so y’all should prepare yourselves for more food blogs 😄

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2026 [March]

I read eight books this month! I feel pretty proud of myself, ha ha. Oh, and after re-reading Odd Thomas because of my coworker, I am now going to finish the entire series because she insisted I should. It’s fine, as long as they aren’t all as heartbreaking as the first one…

Anyway, here are my reads and ratings for March!

1. An Unwanted Guest (Shari Lapena)

Rating: 3/5

2. The Homewreckers (Mary Kay Andrews)

Rating: 3/5

3. We Have Always Lived in the Castle (Shirley Jackson)

Rating: 4/5

4. The October Society: Season Three (Christopher Robertson)

Rating: 5/5

5. The Good Girl (Mary Kubica)

Rating: 4.5/5

6. Sleep Tight (J.H. Markert)

Rating: 4/5

7. The Lost Village (Camilla Sten)

Rating: 5/5

8. Forever Odd (Dean Koontz)

Rating: 4/5

***

I am currently reading Brother Odd (Dean Koontz) and Stay in the Light (A.M. Shine).

Progress: 19/80

Life in Color [January/February 2026]

Hey, y’all! I hope 2026 is treating you kindly. For me, personally, it’s already been a weird year. More ups than downs, if I’m counting, but man, the lows are…low.

I started – and binged all of – “Alice in Borderland.” I’ve fully dived into this year’s reading challenge. Mostly, though, I’ve just worked. I have some concerts on the horizon, both big and small, which keeps me going.

Anyway, I just wanted to hop on and check in and share a few photos I snapped in January and February. Haven’t taken a lot of pictures in March yet, but I have two shows in the next week and a half, so I’m sure there will be a deluge of images by month’s end, ha ha.

January

My BFFs’ cat, Church
Pork loin wrapped in bacon, smoked by my brother 🤤
My BFFs’ other cat, Autumn
My brother and sister-in-law’s cat, Hanzo
My brother and sister-in-law’s other cat, Lucifer

February

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2026 [February]

February was a slow month for me. I only read four books. Well, five, actually, if you count re-reading Odd Thomas. (I was showing solidarity to a coworker who was reading it for the first time but knew it would break her heart because she’d seen the movie.)

Anyway, here are the books I completed! I’ve gotta get back on track in March.

1. Society of Lies (Lauren Ling Brown)

Rating: 3.5/5

2. Local Woman Missing (Mary Kubica)

Rating: 3.5/5

3. Neverwhere (Neil Gaiman)

Rating: 4.5/5

4. People We Meet on Vacation (Emily Henry)

Rating: 3.5/5

***

I am currently reading The Homewreckers (Mary Kay Andrews) and An Unwanted Guest (Shari Lapena).

Progress: 11/80

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2026 [January]

It’s the first reading challenge post of 2026! I’m so excited: this is one of my favorite things to do for the blog.

My goal this year is 80 books, and I think I’m off to a good start. Below are the books I read in January, along with my rating of each.

1. Slashing Through the Snow (Jacqueline Frost)

Rating: 4/5

2. The Very Naughty List (Michael D.A. Clarke)

Rating: 3/5

3. Beautiful Ugly (Alice Feeney)

Rating: 3.5/5

4. Daisy Jones & the Six (Taylor Jenkins Reid)

Rating: 3/5

5. I Know You Saw Her (Ann Girdharry)

Rating: 3.5/5

6. Candy Cane Murder (Joanne Fluke, Laura Levine, and Leslie Meier)

Rating: 3/5

This was actually a compilation of three short stories, and the second one by Laura Levine is what earned the book 3 stars. The other works weren’t terrible, but hers was the best.

7. Sally’s Lament (Mari Mancusi)

Rating: 4/5

***

I am currently reading Neverwhere (Neil Gaiman) and Society of Lies (Lauren Ling Brown).

Progress: 7/80

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2025 [Updated 12/31/25]

So, I missed this update in November. I was super busy with all the Thanksgiving shenanigans and starting plans for Christmas. Anyway, I completed my reading challenge! In fact, I read three extra books.

Survive the Night (Riley Sager)

Rating: 4/5

Chasing Magic (Stacia Kane)

Rating: 4/5

Frightmares (Eva V. Gibson)

Rating: 4.5/5

The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde)

Rating: 4/5

Little Fires Everywhere (Celeste Ng)

Rating: 3.5/5

Murder at the Pumpkin Pageant (Darci Hannah)

Rating: 3.5/5

Forget You Saw Her (Noelle W. Ihli)

Rating: 4/5

Trappings, Turkeys, & Thanksgiving (Tonya Kappes)

Rating: 3/5

The Engagement Party (Darby Kane)

Rating: 3/5

The Cotton Candy Massacre: The F-F-F-Final Chapter (Christopher Robertson)

Rating: 5/5

Every Single Secret (Emily Carpenter)

Rating: 4/5

The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Robert Louis Stevenson)

Rating: 4.5/5

We Are All Guilty Here (Karin Slaughter)

Rating: 4/5

***

I’ll see y’all next year!

Progress: 77/75

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2025 [Updated 10/31/25]

Happy Halloween!

I felt like I didn’t accomplish much reading this month, but as it turns out, I did. I finished eight books! Maybe it was simply that I expected to knock out a few more Halloween-themed cozy mysteries. Or maybe it’s because it took me so long to get through Jane Eyre

Anyway, here is what I read in October, complete with my ratings.

***

Don’t Look Behind You (Emily Kazmierski)

Rating: 3.5/4

The Girl from Rawblood (Catriona Ward)

Rating: 4/5

Suicide Forest (Jeremy Bates)

Rating: 3/5

Listen for the Lie (Amy Tintera)

Rating: 4/5

Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë)

Rating: 2/5

What Lies in the Woods (Kate Alice Marshall)

Rating: 4/5

Eat, Pray, Hex (Tara Lush)

Rating: 3/5

Pretty Girls (Karin Slaughter)

Rating: 4.5/5

***

I am currently reading Survive the Night (Riley Sager) and The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde).

Progress: 65/75

It’s Been A While

I haven’t shared a life update with pictures in ages, it seems, so here we go!

I turned 38 back in August. I was spoiled by my BFF and her husband that weekend. They took me to dinner, then I crashed at their place and did nothing but eat junk, watch movies, and swim. (Oh, and indulge in her fantastic cooking!) It was a much needed break from reality and did wonders for my depression. When we went out, I got dolled up and, honestly, I looked cute as hell. So cute, in fact, that we were barely inside the restaurant before a waitress ran over to tell me how cute I was. Lol.

My two work besties showed up, as well, which completed the perfection that weekend was. I spent Sunday with my parents, who bought me a red velvet cake. Then, on Tuesday, one of my older coworkers left a homemade lemon cake for me. I felt very loved.

In early September, I attended the Carbonstone show in Birmingham. They opened for Julien-K, Spineshank, and The Union Underground. Hanging out with Corey and Chrystal again was a balm to my soul. I also got to meet Ryan Shuck and Amir Derakh from Julien-K. I almost chickened out, but Chrystal made me say hi to Ryan when he walked past their merch table, then Ryan was like “Come over here” and led me to their merch table. I bought a vinyl of my favorite album, Death to Analog, and we took a couple of selfies. It was an extremely good night, capped by my college football team winning their game.

And now, it’s October. My favorite time of year – spooky season – is here. Which means, of course, that I’ve been living on fall drinks from Starbucks and Dunkin, and my mom and I have been exploring local cemeteries. Our most recent day out was spent at Athens City Cemetery. We actually have family buried there, but we kept our ventures to the older graves.

October, November, and December are my favorite three months of the year, even if Christmas doesn’t excite me the way it did as a child. This year, though, my brother and his wife are back in Alabama, so maybe Christmas will regain some of its magic!

Hope all of you are doing well ❤️

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2025 [Updated 9/30/25]

September has been a productive reading month for me! I have added a few fall- and Halloween-themed cozy mysteries to my TBR list, preparing myself for my favorite time of the year. And, of course, I’m still sticking to my original plan and going for the classics that I have yet to read (though I did not finish one this month).

Here are the books I read in September.

Hour of the Pumpkin Queen (Megan Shepherd)

Rating: 3/5

Sacrificial Magic (Stacia Kane)

Rating: 3.5/5

Lock Every Door (Riley Sager)

Rating: 2.5/5

They All Fall Down (Roxanne St. Claire)

Rating: 3/5

It Began With a Lie (Michele Pariza Wacek)

Rating: 3.5/5

Killer Content (Kiley Roache)

Rating: 4/5

The Girls Are All So Nice Here (L.E. Flynn)

Rating: 4.5/5

***

I am currently reading The Girl From Rawblood (Catriona Ward) and Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë).

Progress: 57/75

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2025 [Updated 8/31/25]

I think I’m back on track, at least with my reading challenge updates! Since I posted the catch-up blog on the 6th, I have finished six more books, including another classic (The Wind in the Willows).

I am very excited because we’re creeping ever nearer to fall and there are a few books I’ve been saving, ones that I feel are best read curled up under a fuzzy blanket with a candle burning and a mug of tea in hand. I can’t wait!

The Last One at the Wedding (Jason Rekulak)

Rating: 3/5

Friends Like These (Kimberly McCreight)

Rating: 4/5

I Think I Was Murdered (Colleen Coble/Rick Acker)

Rating: 3/5

A Cornucopia of Murder (Michele Pariza Wacek)

Rating: 4/5

City of Ghosts (Stacia Kane)

Rating: 4/5

The Wind in the Willows (Kenneth Grahame)

Rating: 3/5

***

I am currently reading Sacrificial Magic (Stacia Kane) and Hour of the Pumpkin Queen (Megan Shepherd).

Progress: 50/75