A lot happened in August! Here we go…

First, brief recap of events I’ve already shared in full posts:

I spent the first week of August co-leading a summer camp program about making videos. It’s easily one of my favorite weeks of the whole year.

I worked on the VMA red carpet preshow with my friends Adam & Sabrina and was in the same room as Beyonce:

I spent a long weekend on Cape Cod with my family playing games, eating seafood, and going to the beach:

And we fell in love with Nickerson State Park all over again:

Okay, now on to the rest of the month!

My sister and I went to Whitlock’s Book Barn in Bethany, CT (not to be confused with The Book Barn in Niantic, where I really want to go sometime). It was just okay — lots of historical and dilapidated books that didn’t really interest me. I did however enjoy their used postcards section; reading someone else’s correspondence (often from decades ago) makes me wonder who these people are. It’d be a great writing prompt to take an old postcard and construct a narrative about the sender and receiver. But I digress.

Then we drove to Indian Well State Park, situated along the Housatonic River near Shelton / Derby. We sat on the beach and chilled out. It was our first time here; we didn’t explore hiking, but that is an option too.

Later that night we met up with my aunt, uncle, and cousin’s family for dinner at our favorite local Greek diner:

It was my mom’s birthday! My aunt Chris made a delicious chocolate cake to celebrate.

Some family pics… this was a very fun night.

The next morning we interred Grandma Trudie’s ashes with a simple, low-key service — just a few words spoken and a song, as we had celebrated her life last November following her passing. We added a deck of cards and some of her costume jewelry to the niche where her ashes join my grandfather’s, who passed back in 2008. They both loved playing cards.

More family memories from the month — we spent time with my cousin Elena and her beautiful family! We had dinner, swam at the beach near their home, and spent time with their two little boys. I wish I had more photos but thankfully El snapped this one:

My dad and I love playing Scrabble, and he usually beats me (can’t believe I’m admitting that on my own blog). BUT THIS TIME I WON! Hence his thumbs down gesture:

My sister and I grabbed breakfast one morning at The Pantry in New Haven — they have a cinnamon roll pancake that is delicious (and only like $4 for a single one).

We also got pizza at BAR in New Haven one night. Delish.

After eating pizza we went to the Criterion movie theater for their $6 movie night on Tuesdays — we saw Mike Birbiglia’s dramedy-about-the-comedy-world Don’t Think Twice (highly recommend), then the R-rated animated supermarket movie Sausage Party the following week (very funny but I was a little disappointed because I went in with high expectations), and then the excellent New Zealand movie Hunt for the Wilderpeople the week after that (loved it).

I heart New Haven for their welcome refugees sign and tiny libraries:

On to New York City… I tried a new Airbnb place when I had to be there a few nights this month and it worked out great. $65 per night for this room in a larger apartment in Harlem, two blocks from the subway. (P.S. if you haven’t tried Airbnb before, use my referral code to get $35 off your first night’s stay anywhere in the world.)

I love Bibble & Sip in midtown for coffee and sweets — I often grab a latte and head to the second floor at Signature Theatre on 42nd between matinee and evening performances to edit photos. (I saw a few plays in NYC but I’m stockpiling them for a full post of reviews next month.)

Yummy Thai food with my friend Shea at At Nine on 9th Ave.:

Not pictured: lunch at Amy’s Bread with my friend Sarah. Their sandwiches are great and I wish I’d had time / room to try any of the desserts on display at their main counter.

But speaking of desserts, I happened to be in the city when Magnolia Bakery offered their peanut butter banana pudding for one weekend only. I LOVE their normal banana pudding (it’s outrageously good — and I’d previously never cared for banana pudding) and I was totally down for adding peanut butter into the mix. It did not disappoint.

I was SO happy to see my friend — and Zeta Phi Eta pledge sister — Blair! It’s probably been 12 years since we’ve seen each other? It was like no time had passed.

Blair had read about The Taco Shop on W. 4th St. because they are known for their generous happy hour — you can get three tacos plus a margarita or beer for $12. We each did two rounds and left full and slightly tipsy.

And then we walked to Big Gay Ice Cream for dessert. Blair got the Rocky Road and I got the Salty Pimp. (I may or may not have spilled ice cream on her skirt while taking this photo. Sorry Blair!)

My high school friend Harmony married her longtime boyfriend Jack, and I was so honored to be there to witness it! They got married at The Palace Theater in Waterbury (very fitting venue considering the years we spent in drama club) and the whole evening was delightful. Here are a few photos from the night…

I loved the opportunity to catch up with friends from high school:

I took a few day trips around Connecticut last month, and I’ll share both of those later this week. In the meantime, here is a glimpse…

The bucolic town of Essex, CT is exceptionally charming. I spent an afternoon walking around and reading by the river.

Another day I walked the scenic beaches of Milford and especially enjoyed Silver Sands State Park:

And I thoroughly enjoyed my Jack-O-Latte (marshmallow with pumpkin and vanilla) at Cafe Atlantique in the center of Milford:

I read the YA novel The Beginning of Everything over this enormous maple scone and latte:

I also tried out Legal Grounds coffee in the back of Books & Co bookshop in Hamden, CT. It’s not my favorite but I’m glad I finally got here to check it out.

And since I’m the self-appointed unofficial coffee shop reviewer of Connecticut, let’s keep going.

I made it down to Las Vegas Lounge in Fairfield — it’s a ways away, but the reviews were terrific, and it did not disappoint. Thumbs up for the turtle latte.

I adore Common Grounds coffee shop in Branford, CT — it’s not far from my hometown, and I love their unique coffee and latte flavors. The vanilla chai latte is especially tasty.

And Koffee in New Haven is always one of my favorites. I got there a few times in August.

That’s it for August. Can’t believe we’re nearly halfway through September already — I’ve got some work projects like up this month in Atlantic City and Las Vegas, with day / weekend trips to NYC and Cape Cod. Happy almost fall!