TV Show: Summer Camp Island
This is one of my all-time favorite comfort shows. Unlike most cartoons (or really most TV Show these days), this show is so gentle and soothing. It follows two best friends, Oscar and Hedgehog, while they’re away at a magical summer camp led by three witches. The show has everything; musical yetis (with one voiced by Elijah Wood), ingenious elves, talking trees, dancing aliens, a shark who’s a licensed therapist, and a friendly moon. It’s pure magic!
Books: The Silmarillion Collector’s Edition
I tackled J.R.R. Tolkien’s world-building behemoth, The Silmarillion, a few years ago, and I’ve always wanted to give it a re-read. While strolling through Barnes and Noble, I found this edition and had to get it! It’s got this beautiful blue hardcover with the Two Trees of Valinor and the three Silmarils perfectly highlighted. The inside is fairly straightforward with a colorful map and decently-sized text, but the spine is flexible enough to lay flat which is perfect for all the note-taking I plan on doing. It’s even got a built-in bookmark. I feel like a Tolkien scholar walking around with this!
Coffee: NesCafe Gold Espresso Instant Coffee
I’m a coffee fiend. Whether hot or cold, flavored or unflavored, I’m into all the robust dark-roasted coffees. For the past few years I’ve been making pour-over coffee each morning which, while effective, does take a little time and clean-up. As I approach the hectic summer season, I was looking for something quicker and stronger. I found this NesCafe Gold on YouTube Shorts and O. M. G. it’s amazing! Just two teaspoons, some boiling water, and you have dark, rich, espresso-like coffee that even has a lovely crema on top. Perfect for iced lattes or my fave almond milk lattes. It is on the pricey side, but it lasts a while and it’s way cheaper than hitting up the drive-thru line.
Hobbies: Cat Full of Spiders Tarot Deck
In preparation for a trip to Planet Comicon in Kansas City where I planned on meeting the incredible Christina Ricci, I purchased her tarot deck, Cat Full of Spiders. I’ve always had a love of tarot, and this deck is so fun! It highlights a lot of her movies, but in subtle, secretive ways. I’ve done some deep digging into each of the cards to find all the meanings and references. And meeting Christina was so awesome!!
Streaming: Dropout
I stumbled on Dropout from seeing random YouTube shorts and thought I’d try the full subscription. Their content is amazing! It’s hilarious and random, but also really thoughtful at times and such a great company. I love shows like Game Changer and Make Some Noise which both have a “Whose Line Is It Anyway” improv vibe. The Dimension 20 series is also great, especially the season called “Burrow’s End.” Highly recommend giving Dropout a try, even just for a month. It’s worth the money!