Ultimate Coffee Date: October 2023

Welcome to another Ultimate Coffee Date! Only a couple months left of this year left?!

Ultimate Coffee Date: October 2023

If we were having coffee/tea today, I’d tell you that…once upon a time, I got to see Kina Grannis in a concert in Philly. I found out she would be touring in San Francisco last month so I snagged a desk to work at WeWork for the day so that I’d be able to make it there in time.

Her mom was unfortunately diagnosed with a rare bone marrow cancer and they’re trying to find a donor right now so that she can receive a stem cell transplant. All it takes is a cheek swab!

If we were having coffee/tea today, I’d tell you that… I also saw The Rose in concert earlier this week! (They’re a Korean alternative rock band!) I’d only heard of em’ recently from my friend (aka the counterpart to my Fat Girl Wednesdays), but it was a lot of fun!

I also recently went to a Lifestyle Medicine conference and the food was glorious!

If we were having coffee/tea today, I’d tell you that…I set a goal earlier this year to read 20 books for the year and somehow managed to surpass it (I guess joining a book club has helped! :P ), so I’ll be sharing my book mini-reviews + linking up with Lauren over at Shooting Stars Mag on Tuesday for her “My Month is Booked” linkup!

This past month, I finished reading…

• The Paris Apartment, by Lucy Foley – A “locked room” mystery about a woman who goes to crash with her half-brother at his apartment only to find him missing + all his neighbors seem vaguely hostile and extra shifty. It’s harder for me to enjoy a book when I don’t like or relate to any of the characters. The story felt somewhat convoluted  and perhaps just longer than it had to be, but I did still finish it.
• Hello Sunshine, by Laura Dave – A fun and quick read about a culinary influencer who seems to have everything going for her – a ton of followers, best-selling cookbooks, an awesome husband, an upcoming Food Network deal…until she gets hacked and ends up losing everything. I liked how this delved into what it’s like to try to be yourself and “real” in this current day and age. I very much miss when it was just posting to post and things felt more authentic and not so “curated” on social media.
• A Pho Love Story, by Loan Le – A modern-day YA book rom-com between two feuding Vietnamese families with restaurants across the street from each other. It was really cool to see a book with so much Vietnamese representation! Due to my trip to Vietnam earlier this year, I have extra love and adoration for Vietnamese food and the descriptions of food in here made me super hungry.

I got to go to a Yelp Elite event recently too — yay for free food! <3

See past ultimate coffee dates here!

(Link-up with Coco @ Running with Perseverance & Deborah @ Confessions of a Mother Runner!)

End-of-Month Recap

• Check out one of our other hikes from Shenandoah National Park — Dark Hollow Falls!
• I used to live right next to the Greenbrier State Forest but due to study guilt, only really ever hiked 1  trail (Youngs Nature Trail) while I was living there. Better late than never though – I went back last year and hiked the Rocky Ridge Trail!
• I went back to the New River Gorge National Park to hike the Long Point Trail, which has super pretty panoramic views of the New River Gorge Bridge!
• Another fun trail that’s a great workout in the national park — the Kaymoor Miners Trail!