June Mishmash

It's coming to you late because I flat out forgot to put it together! Hi! :)

Jun 30, 2024

Hello friends. This month went by so fast I almost forgot to write this up!! Summer is here and I'm loving it. Have already been to two Swimplys (pools you can rent by the hour!), and really need to clean up the backyard so it’s actually usable.

Food!

Food food food. What can I say about food this month? I made a delicious bean salad with some green baby lima beans, a simple lemon vinaigrette, and lots of mix-ins: artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, slivered onions, feta cheese, pepperoncinis. It was pretty dang tasty!

Books

You can shop all my recent reads here: https://bookshop.org/shop/michelleflook (Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.)

I finished 7 books this month, all fiction! All but one of these (the Book of Love) I consumed via audiobook.

Fiction:
- Tom Lake by Ann Patchett was my favorite this month, an excellent audiobook read by Meryl Streep. Just a lovely story, would be a great beach or vacation read.
- Hot Springs Drive by Lindsay Hunter is a story that starts with a dead body and then proceeds to tell what lead up to the dead body. It's well done, with very rich characters and great pacing. This would also be a great vacation read!
- The Guest Lecture by Martin Riker is an interesting book, and a rare instance of a female character written convincingly by a man.
- The Book of Love by Kelly Link is a very long book. I started reading it in April! I had really high hopes, had seen a lot of hype about this one, but I wasn't blown away. I did really like it! An interesting premise and likeable characters, lots of magic.
- Parade by Rachel Cusk is an interesting book. I'm not sure I enjoyed it on audiobook as much as I would have if I had read it. It explores many themes (art, artists, womanhood, etc) in a unique way.
- Humor Me by Cat Shook is sort of a rom-com, with a hefty dose of grief, and a main character that had to grow on me. It has a lot of heart and a happy ending.
- The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks is a dark apocalyptic story set mostly on a train. Very atmospheric and interesting!

TV/Movies

We jammed through Hacks season 3 (MAX) and it was good
Julio Torres has a new show on MAX, Fantasmas. I am absolutely obsessed with Julio Torres, and his weird fascinating creative brain. We have only watched two episodes of Fantasmas so far, but I can’t recommend it enough because I believe that Julio is a creative genius.
Tell them you love me (Netflix) is an upsetting and disturbing documentary that I watched recently. it’s just movie length, but packs a lot in.

Projects!

I released my first quilt pattern, and have my shop all set up. I'll be selling quilts and patterns there! Check it out: MichFlookMakes.com
Speaking of my quilt pattern, it's called Oceanfront and here's all three of the samples I made. The baby-size pink and purple one is for sale!
I made the June block for the Sweet Potato Quilts Block of the month club, and here are January thru June all together. Halfway done!
I sewed up this quilt as a pattern tester for another student from the Pattern Written Academy. It's called All Roads Lead Home and you can read more about it and buy it HERE! I think I am going to sell this one too.
I haven't quite finished my Lemon Blossom quilt from the mystery sew along, so I'll share it next month.

Miscellaneous!

We celebrated Matthew’s grandma’s 90th birthday! I made cupcakes, kids swam in the pool, and it was great to see everyone.
Matthew, Remi, and I went to the coast for 5 days and it was great! Our rental had a sauna and a hot tub, we both brought projects to work on, and sleeping in every day is the best.