What I Loved This Week (76)
I'm all about a Lusty Tennis Novel, a true crime masterpiece and the best drugstore beauty buys this week.
Things that Make me Happy! is a weekly newsletter with recommendations of cozy things that bring me joy. If you liked this issue, click on the heart button! That’s the biggest praise you can give me. You can also buy me coffee here if you’d like.
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Instructions to enjoy this newsletter: Grab a beverage of choice, sit somewhere cozy, blanket highly suggested, and enjoy!
📚What I Read and Loved
The Winner: This book had me at “Lusty Tennis Novel,” a description I read from the NYT review. I read the book in two days, even extending my nonnegotiable 10 pm bedtime; that’s how good it was. Think of it as “The Graduate” on a tennis court in a very wealthy corner of Cape Cod. What’s not to love about that? - The perfect book about quiet luxury and privilege to end my summer reading season (which was superb!)
Conor O’Toole has never been anywhere like Cutters Neck, a gated community near Cape Cod. It’s a sweet deal for the summer: in exchange for tennis lessons, he receives free lodging in a luxurious guest cottage, far from the cramped Yonkers apartment he shares with his diabetic mother.
In this oceanfront paradise, however, new clients prove hard to come by, and Conor has bills to pay. When Catherine, a sharp-tongued divorcée, offers double his usual rate, he soon realizes she is expecting additional, off the court services for her money, and Conor tumbles into a secret erotic affair unlike anything he’s experienced before.
Despite his steamy flings with a woman twice his age, he simultaneously finds himself falling for an artsy, outspoken girl he meets on the beach. With cautious, strategic planning, Conor somehow manages this tangled web—until he makes one final, irreversible mistake.
📺 What I Watched and Loved
How to Die Alone: I’ve been a fan of Natasha Rothwell since The White Lotus S.1 (SHE DESERVED THE SPA MONEY) so I was first in line to watch her new show. The first episode was extremely dark and not funny, and I didn’t want to continue, but I powered through. On episode 2 onwards the comedy started to shine through. If you like dramedies like Shrinking, this is for you. (Hulu)
Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter This is how you do a true crime documentary. I had no idea about this case, so it made it even better to see that case was resolved (and then some). I was in awe of the birth mom and everything she did to find the truth. Also, I hope I’m mistaken, but I’m sure we’ll hear more about the guilty party in the documentary. What a creep!!
💕 Micro-Joy
All the 30+ women I know are into an “Eat more protein” quest, and yes, it’s not easy. 1 gram of protein per every pound you weigh is a lot of protein. A hack I’ve been loving is to have iced coffee with a protein shake vs almond milk each morning . I really love the taste of it (extra sweet).
✅ To do List
Read the book, and get excited for the movie after
Movies we can’t wait to watch this Fall
The Mother of all fall round-up lists
🕵️♂️ Hack of the Week
Using AI to plan a trip: A guide via
🐰 Rabbit Holes I Went Into
Since reading The Great Alone, I dream of doing this
The beauty of rest stops, a deep dive
Kids: how to instill love for reading (so hard) via
and making them love independent play (even harder)THE best drugstore buys of 2024
🧜🏼♀️ Articles and Bits I loved
Could you go a year without buying anything new? via
The Stanley Girlies have LOST THEIR MINDS
I’m pretty sure this is a dream that came out of my brain because this is all I’ve wanted to
Being awkward is totally ok! - signed, the most awkward person in the room (me!)
Too much TV AHHHH!!
😄 Free Happiness
PS. I’m a one man operation so please ignore the typos and grammatical errors
👋🏼 Classifieds
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You literally write about everything I'm interested in lol
I SO wanted to love The Winner but couldn't get into it! Will definitely try How to Die Alone - good to know the first episode is dark.