Happy Hub: X-Men, Finding Dory, 7/27, & (a lot) More!

Writing this month's Happy Hub felt a little strange. I was so busy towards the end of May that my May Happy Hub didn't end up seeing the light of day until mid-June. In effect, it feels like my June was only two weeks long. Surely that's not enough to fill an entire Happy Hub? (I was wrong. It's more than enough.)

Tunes:

Last month was so jam-packed, I was bound to forget something. It wasn't until one sunny day when Wherever I Go by OneRepublic started playing on the radio that I realized what I had forgotten. I know I can count on OneRepublic for a good time. I actually used the lyrics from this song as a caption for one of my #hairoftheweek posts and when I looked it up on trusty AZ Lyrics, I was blown away by what could only be described as poetry. It's been far too long since their previous album.

It's no secret I'm a fan of The Girl and the Dreamcatcher. They just released a new single and I kind of love it. Make You Stay is a catchy, mid-tempo song that has me moving along in my seat. Not only do I love listening to the song, I also love watching the music video. I'm really liking Colton Tran's work. He's done every TGATDC video and they're all so good. This one is no different. The split screen effect is so cool. It really helps tell the story. They recently announced their EP is set to release July 29th! I'm so excited to hear the rest of what they have ready for us.

I was a little late getting to Fifth Harmony's new album, but saving 7/27 for my summer treat was so worth it. (Note: I did not mean to make this pun. I only caught in on my final read-through. That's just how I roll.) The first time I listened to the album, I forced myself to get through the whole thing but I could not get over I Lied. I actually didn't pay any attention to the seven subsequent tracks because I was so focused on the itch to replay I Lied. Once I had listened to I Lied on repeat for a little over a day straight, I started alternating between That's My Girl and I Lied. That went on for another two days before I felt ready to listen to the rest of the new songs. Man, was I missing out. Pretty much every song makes me want to go back and play it once more before moving on, but then I don't want to miss the opportunity to listen to the next song on the album, either. Dope and Scared of Happy are ones that call to me the most after I Lied and That's My Girl and all the songs they had released prior to the album. I'm doing my best to refrain from naming every song, but if I continue, that's what's gonna end up happening. 

Films:

X-Men: Apocalypse (x)

I think I talk about X-Men enough that, by now, it's common knowledge that they're my fave. The way I can tell if my year is going to be good or not is by checking 20th Century Fox's slate. If X-Men make an appearance, there's a lot for me to look forward to. Luckily, this year is one of those years. X-Men: Apocalypse concludes this trilogy kicked off by Matthew Vaughn in 2011. I am oh so very happy with how this trilogy turned out. This movie was a great conclusion but the best thing is that it didn't feel like a conclusion. We close out Charles' and Erik's arcs but we also get a slew of new X-Babies to carry on the franchise. I'm super ready to sit down and marathon this trilogy and dissect these films. I'm just really eager to see what's coming next. I have some theories but I mostly want to stay in this universe forever. In my opinion, some mutants were gone too soon. Still crying about that. Don't mind me. (Like one of the deaths was necessary to advance the plot but the other was ??? what for???) The Wolverine in this one hurt. It hurt because he was there but the ones who would know him weren't aware. I am so distraught. Old Man Logan cannot come soon enough. ... On second thought, we need to prolong Hugh's stint as Wolverine for as long as possible. I'm torn. X-Men give me a lot of feelings.

Finding Dory (x)

Another highly anticipated (and long awaited!) movie, Finding Dory has been on my list ever since it was announced back when I was in high school. Crazy how that's now a "back when." Although Finding Dory isn't as good as Finding Nemo, there's still a lot to love and it's by no means a bad movie. It's just really hard to live in the shadow of Finding Nemo. I must say that everything was a lot cuter in this movie. From Piper to baby Dory and the otters' cuddle parties, there was no shortage of adorable. There were plenty of laughs, too. This movie was such a good time and I only cried of joy. I only teared up out of sadness and I feel like I deserve some sort of medal or award for that. Truly a feat. (Those last two sentences are reminiscent of another recent Pixar film...) I watched Finding Nemo on Finding Dory's release date in preparation for the new film and it really holds up. Just thinking about this movie is so heartwarming. I'm glad they waited for a good story before making this movie even if it did take thirteen years.

Miscellaneous:

There's a lot under this category this month so instead of adding another paragraph, I thought I'd direct you to my Fan Favorite and Spring 2016 Recap posts where I touched on my induction into Beta Gamma Sigma, a business honor society. It was all very official and I was happy to have my parents and Mikaela there to celebrate with me.

The ticket to the future. (x)

Graduation is kinda a big deal. When I graduated from high school it felt like a given to me. I never imagined a world where there was even the slightest chance I wouldn't graduate. Now that I've removed myself for two years, I've had time to reflect on how much work and stress it actually was. It's amazing that anybody can survive that load. I was caught up in the moment when I graduated but now seeing my brother and our friends (his age) finishing high school, I was overcome with this great sense of pride. They made it! I can see bright futures for every single one of them. How strange that the people you grew up with will actually grow up. I guess that's a feeling I'm going to have to get used to because, for the next couple (almost ten, actually) years, I've got graduation after graduation to attend.

We didn't make too big of a deal out of Father's Day this year. We got together with our family friends the night before for a big dinner and we let my dad dictate the day's events on the day of. It just so happened that all the things we did were my favorite activities as well. Dim sum for brunch, a little exploration in Seattle, some time at the mall, and sushi for dinner. It was a day well spent and a day filled with quality family time.

June Uppercase Box (x)

I was incredibly excited to get this month's Uppercase box. There's nothing quite like getting mail. I'm usually not one for surprises but it's bearable when the surprise is books and bookish things. You can check out my June Uppercase Box Review for a more in-depth look into my thoughts on the box. I have not read the book yet but I made a promise to myself that I would read every book sent to me before the next box comes in the mail. I can't let myself get behind. It's a terrible habit I have. As for the goodies, I haven't used the magnet because there are surprisingly few magnetic surfaces in my house. Magneto controls metal, but is he magnetic? Is his name a misnomer? Have I veered entirely off track? The other goody in the box was the tote bag and I have been putting that baby to good use. The colors are so bright and the quote speaks to me. Never again will I have to balance a precarious stack of books in my arms.

Brunch burger with Applebae (x)

Guys. It happened. Burger #7. I am officially over the hill! I have half a year to get five more in. What am I gonna do after this? Where do I go from here?! I have to set my mildly existential crisis aside for a moment to tell you about this burger. It was about time for me to get going on my burger "challenge" and it had been a while since I visited my Applebae so the stars aligned and led me to this brunch burger. I could do with a different cheese (I'm 100% positive American cheese is only called cheese because it's vaguely shaped like cheese) but adding a fried egg on a burger is genius. There were also hash browns on it and I mean, come on. Hash browns. 

 Potato Corner (x)

It seems that once I have a burger, plenty of unhealthy food is to follow. That can't be good. It happens without fail. Sometimes it's another burger, sometimes it's a couple gummy burgers and a whole lot of tater tots. Out of the blue, my cousins invited me and my brother (along with our other family friend) to a day at Family Fun Center, a local amusement "park" with some activities like mini golf and go karts outside and arcade type games indoors. We accepted because what else were we going to do? Homework? Pssh. We had a good time go karting and trying to win as many tickets as we could. We traded those in for the aforementioned gummy burgers and some sour belts. Family Fun Center is conveniently located very close to the mall so that was naturally our next stop. Potato Corner was the suggested stop for food so we did just that. Tater baby heaven. We carved out some time to shop and eventually met up with the parents who weren't already with us for dinner. Japanese, of course. (It was actually down to Thai and Japanese but Japanese gave us a table first. Early bird gets the party of eleven.) What a fun, memorable day.

This really has nothing to do with me but I'm excited about it nonetheless. The Backstreet Boys are in the recording studio! They've been hard at work posting selfies in a very blue studio (not that you can tell from those edited photos). They're also working on a collaboration with Florida Georgia Line that's set to drop in August. The boys don't collaborate as a group with others often so this is bound to be good. Hopefully this will be enough to tide us over until they finish up their own album.

It's been just over a year since I started xo, Yvette so you haven't lived through an Olympics with me yet. I don't know what it is, but for some reason, I'm extremely passionate about the Olympics. Like, I'm in perpetual tears over it. The hype is year-round, every year for me. As we get closer to August, things are really heating up and many sports are holding their Olympic Trials. I've been having a field day with those. It's a mix of me wanting all my Olympians from previous Games to return but also wanting some new faces and giving these athletes their time to shine. The excitement is building up and I could burst at any second. I'm a real safety hazard, but it's for the Olympics so I'd say it's acceptable considering the circumstances.

Blogosphere:

Another seasons has come and gone which means there's another #hairoftheweek Recap up for your viewing pleasure. There are a lot of cool hairstyles in the Spring 2016 Recap. I feel like I can start to see the evolution of #hairoftheweek. Some of these hairstyles are getting harder but I don't feel as though they are because my skills are getting better as well. I'm pretty proud of these hairstyles. It's seasons like these that make me glad I have a medium to put together this gallery of sorts.


There you have it! That's this month in review! There ended up being a lot more than I expected, but I'm not complaining. I still managed to get out so much despite starting school again in the middle of the month. How has your summer been so far? What's been making you happy this June? I'd love to hear all about it! Thank you for reading this entire post. It was a lot longer than I predicted it would be. Thank you for reading even if you didn't read the entire thing. I know you skipped to the end. That's okay. I forgive you.


Talk to you soon!

xo, Yvette