Happy Hub: Star Trek, Sweeney Todd, Yve Eats, & More!

In my 20 years, it's been a rare occurrence for me to be home for the month of July. It's usually the time when we're off on our family trip. I missed a lot of birthdays this way (sorry July babies). Since I have school this summer, we are stuck at home until the quarter is over. Thank goodness my school is on the quarter system so the school year doesn't start until almost October. #blessed. Until then, I have a lot of moments to maximize and I for sure had at least three this month. It's been a lot of school and cleaning, guys. Enough of my jabber. Let's get to the things that broke the monotony this month!

Tunes:

There was very little in terms of new music this month until the very end and I feel like I haven't had the time to really get into these new tracks from my favorites so we're going to have a short Tunes section this month.

Early this month Olly Murs released his new single. You heard me. Olly Murs is coming out with new music!!! I'd say it's been about two years since his most recent album but lately I've been listening to Ready For Love because it's simply been too long. Turns out You Don't Know Love was exactly what I needed. I'm so hyped about the prospect of a new album, I'd be jamming to this song all day long even if it weren't good. Olly is one of my all time faves so I have been waiting and waiting and waiting for new music. There's also something cathartic about feeling vengeful about someone that doesn't exist. 10/10.

A surprise this month was Hailee Steinfeld's EP, HAIZ. I believe it actually released last year but it was rereleased recently? I don't know what's happening. When I started realizing all of the other music coming out this month weren't even the slightest bit intriguing, I thought I'd give it a shot. I didn't totally love Love Myself when it was first released as a single and that's still true today. The two I really like off the EP are You're Such A and Rock Bottom featuring DNCE. There's also her collaboration with Zedd and Grey called Starving that I really enjoyed. It isn't on the EP but I thought I'd lump it in anyway. Since I only like half of her music so far I wouldn't necessarily call myself a fan, but it was a nice break for my voice. Sometimes you have to take a break from learning Hamilton lyrics.

Films:

Star Trek Beyond (x)

I had never seen any Star Trek properties prior to this month but based on what I knew about it, I was sure I would be a fan of it. There were multiple reasons why I wanted to see Star Trek Beyond in theaters and Anton Yelchin was undoubtedly one of them. There was no way I wasn't going to go support his final film. First things first, I had to catch up on the beginnings of this reboot but more on that in the Miscellaneous section. I was so excited for this movie I could not wait until I everybody was free so we could see the film in theaters. I know some people weren't overly happy with it because it was just a glorified Star Trek episode, but I found that that's exactly what I wanted out of it. A relatively small-scale adventure with the crew on a far-off planet. There were some moments, one in particular, when I had to ask myself if they even had a budget for special effects, but other than that, I was so happy with this film. I'm also really glad Chekov got a bigger role in this film. It hurt my heart every time he was on screen and when his part came up in the Star Trek monologue (you know the one) I just about started crying. I was so relieved they let everybody have a line in this one. Also: Sofia Boutella was great. Case closed. Go see Star Trek Beyond.

Entertainment:

Sweeney Todd @ KR (x)

You can always count on Kentridge for a good show and they continued to deliver. At the Ridge is a community theater (rather than the high school's drama department) but it's directed by the same director. When Steph and I saw Hairspray a few months ago, the back of the playbill was advertising their summer camps, one of which was Sweeney Todd. I had heard of this musical before but when the movie came out in 2007 I thought it was about Johnny Depp selling sweets in a strangely dark setting. I knew better by this point, but I was still pretty unknowledgeable. Nonetheless, I was excited to see this production. I promised myself that I would do some research and listen to the soundtrack but I did not manage my time wisely and spent many hours trying to perfect my (godawful) rapping skills (see: Hamilton). Ultimately, I think it was best I didn't listen to the cast recording because The Epiphany got me good. The cast was phenomenal and I was definitely scared in parts of it, especially during the Ballad(s) of Sweeney Todd. Those actors staring straight into your soul... Oh man. I get chills just recalling the memory. Seeing this production makes me excited for the fall productions to come. I'm sure Kentridge has some fantastic entertainment in store. 

Miscellaneous: 

Backpedaling a little bit, I knew I would love Star Trek, but I just had never gotten around to seeing any of it. Since this year is the 50th anniversary of the franchise (the EMP has a (very expensive) exhibit for the very occasion!), there's a new movie out, and we lost Anton Yelchin this year (and Leonard Nimoy last year), it was the perfect time for me to get caught up. Turned out Steph and Mikaela both needed to catch up as well so there was no excuse for me to not get around to it this month. In fact, since both my friends needed to see them and the best way scheduling would work out would be for me to see them with each of them separately, I ended up watching the two films twice within a four day period. (Did that even make sense?) So now I feel somewhat confident in my knowledge of Star Trek (2009) and Star Trek Into Darkness. Oh, and I was so right about my loving Star Trek. Now I have to find some time to watch the TV series and the first ten films...

Another film I got to watch this month was Zapped. Last year Allison and I watched How To Build A Better Boy (both are DCOMs) together despite our long distance friendship and we somehow never got around to doing it again. Approximately one year later, we're back at it and it was a hoot and a half. I think the recurring technical difficulties and beverage spillage (rule: Allison is a water only zone even if you're across the country from each other) only make our time together more quality. We definitely need to make this type of thing a more regular occurrence.

July Uppercase Box (x)

I was so pumped when I opened this month's box because it was full of things I love. Books (well, just one) and stationary. Honestly the goodies are so cute I just cannot bear to use them. How could I dare taint something so beautiful and perfect with my handwriting or a horrible sharpening job?! Although I have yet to get a chance to read This Savage Song, more reviews are pouring in (since it's actually out now) and they all say it's better than they expected. That's saying a lot. I know a lot of the Booktubers and other bookish people I pay attention to have been highly anticipating this book. I can already seeing a really long paragraph for this book in my August Wrap Up. Click on the link to read more of my thoughts on the July Uppercase Box!

Blogosphere: 

Before summer began, Mikaela and I decided we would try a bunch of new recipes, preferably from a different country of origin each time. This month we managed to work out three times to get together and get cooking. The first recipe was Ratatouille, a dish I've been wanting to make since I saw the movie years ago. We then moved on to Turkey Pesto Lasagna at my mother's suggestion (she suggested the lasagna part). Our final recipes this month were Spanakopita and Greek Orzo Lemon Chicken Soup. So far I've only been getting glowing reviews but I think that's more of a testament to the recipes we chose than our abilities. We have yet to try cooking meat. I guess we cooked the ground turkey but that seems too easy... Sounds like we just have to keep trying new recipes!


What made you happy this month? Have you enjoyed any of the same things I have? Did I miss anything? I'd love to hear your thoughts and help spread the happy. There's going to be a lot going on in August (Rio!) so I think we're going to have a lot to talk about. That is, if I can pay attention to anything other than the Olympics... I guess we'll just have to wait and see how it pans out!


Talk to you soon!

xo, Yvette