Ultimate Coffee Date: April 2024

Welcome to April’s Ultimate Coffee Date + Fit Five Friday! (It’s my birthday month! :] ) I don’t have much planned, but am happy that my birthday happens to fall on a weekend! If the weather cooperates, I’ll be spending it diving in Monterey and picking up trash in the ocean for Dive Against Debris!

Ultimate Coffee Date: April 2024

I love when his tongue goes sideways, hahah.

If we were having coffee/tea today, I’d tell you that…I recently started doing Sunday morning hikes with a few friends and it’s been nice getting to catch up while getting some exercise in! I brought along a Tofu and he met his first few cows.

They’re having a standoff here…

This is also how I discovered that he apparently does not like going uphill. While we were climbing a hill, he would walk with me, but would take sheepish “Are we really doing this?” glances at me every several steps + was walking slower than we’d ever walked ever…once we reached downhill though, he was all about it, haha.

If we were having coffee/tea today, I’d tell you that…I’ve been going to open houses with friends lately and some of the things on the market (+ their asking prices) are a little alarming. But at the same time, there are also some really nice places out there — good inspiration for potential future remodeling?

This bathroom was really pretty + felt so spa-like!

If we were having coffee/tea today, I’d tell you that…I recently discovered the joy that is…library book sales! Work has been making me kinda miserable lately so some retail therapy was in order and I hit up 3 different sales and came away with 33 books for $35!

Is it going to take me a longggg while to finish reading all these? Definitely.

Do I already have a bunch of books on my to-read list that I haven’t read yet? Absolutely.

Do my bookshelves have enough space? Not exactly, but I can make room.

It was way too great of a deal to pass up + I figure for any of the books I don’t end up liking/loving, I can donate em’ to one of the 3 Little Free Libraries I pass by every day while I’m walking Tofu. :] Win-win!

If we were having coffee/tea today, I’d tell you that…I really liked all the books I read this past month! Everything has been fiction lately because I like having an escape from reality… 

• The Porcelain Moon, by Janie Chang – Set during the final days of World War I, this follows the life of a young Chinese woman living in France + shone a light on the little-known history of the 140k Chinese workers who were brought to Europe as non-combatant labor during WWI.
• The Library of Legends, by Janie Chang – This is historical set in 1937 when the Japanese were bombing China + the students of Minghua University are ordered to flee + walk >1000 miles while safeguarding a 500-year-old collection of myths/folklore known as the Library of Legends
• Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe, by Heather Webber – Small-town charm wrapped in magical realism – this was a really cozy read and made me wish I could visit a town like this. :]

End-of-Week-ish Recap:

• I signed up to do a One Room Challenge and will be attempting to declutter/redecorate my home office/hobby room!

See past ultimate coffee dates here!

(Linking up with Coco @ Running with Perseverance & Deborah @ Confessions of a Mother Runner for  the monthly Ultimate Coffee Date as well as My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and The Running Teacher for Fit Five Friday!)