Hey y’all!

It’s Grace, and it’s O-Week! For those of y’all who are not experiencing this small-town-Virginian phenomenon, orientation week at Washington and Lee is quite the time. For me, it means a lot of reading, working out, and attempting to get myself together before classes actually start on Thursday. (But all that is for my next day in the life post, so it could be a few weeks.)

Since I’ve been running around a lot — and consuming a ton of content — I figured I’d share, at the very least, what I’ve been listening to and loving. I used to have Tune Ins focus a bit on screen time and not entirely on music, which I lost for a while because I always forget that TV exists. I had a bit of dead time at the end of the summer though, so I actually have categories to update! Also, I now know how to embed Spotify playlists, so yay for nonexistent computer skills.

Without further ado, here’s what I’ve been listening to/watching/loving.

MUSIC

The Playlists

I have a few new summer playlists I’ve been pumped about. The first series is my usual monthly loves i.e. June, July, August. Then I have one HERO, with a ton of protagonist jams (and Disney tunes) from camp when I just needed some pick-me-ups. I went through an obsession with stripped, bare bones songs.

I also have a playlist BLACK BEAR that fits a lot of my camp vibes. Songs for mountains, songs that make me feel strongly.

The Songs

Run Wild (Hushed) by River Valley Youth
Wicked Game by Ursula Vulpine, Annaca
I Want Someone Badly by Jeff Buckley
home by morgxn
Chemicals (Burberry Acoustic) by Tenterhook
Gamble for a Rose by King Charles
5AM by Amber Run
Aphasia by Pinegrove
Stay (with Alessia Cara) — Petit Biscuit Remix by Zedd
Now or Never by Halsey
I Want to Hold Your Hand by the Beatles
Rise Up by Andra Day
When I’m Away by the Colourist
Time by Canyon City
Drifting — RAC Remix by On An On
Dangerous by Kai Straw
Found by Seramic
Closer by Cape Cub
Praying by Kesha
Come Back To Me by Urban Cone, Tove Lo
Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop by Landon Pigg
Crying in the Club by Camila Cabello
Hold On by The Brevet
Guys My Age — Stripped by Hey Violet
Let’s Go (Remix) by Khalid, Goldlink
We Are One by Tony Anderson
What If She Wants You by John Splithoff
The Nights by Avicii
Say You Won’t Let Go by James Arthur
Broken Halos by Chris Stapleton
Bring Me Home by Sam Martin
Here — 2:00 AM Version by Alessia Cara
The Right Song (feat. Terrell Morris) by Free n Losh
Still (feat. Tunji Ige, High Klassified, & Kris Bowers) by Christian Rich
This Must Be the Place by Iron & Wine, Ben Bridwell*

*Note: if there’s ever not a cover of This Must Be the Place on my Tune In list, there is probably something wrong with me.

SHOWS

I’m not normally a TV person. Truthfully, there are so many books I want to read, and so little time. Plus, I always have to be doing something with my hands, which means I’m terrible at actually sitting down and watching a show without getting all shifty and disinterested. So it’s a delicate balance in being intense enough to hold my (picky) attention but not enough for me to miss something if I look away.

Game of Thrones

This one should be obvious, right? My ma is obsessed with this show, and my brother loves it too. I’ve seen bits and pieces of it before, but never enough to fully captivate me. At the end of the summer — in post-camp death state — some friends got me into it and we finished the first season.

Madam Secretary

My older sister started watching this one, and I love it. You know how normally most political shows are really intense and sweeping and dramatic? This feels pretty light. I love the main character, and it’s done in a way that’s well balanced. It’s funny at times, serious at times, and the perfect show for me to plug into while on the treadmill or doing something else I don’t totally need to be paying attention to.

Outlander

I read the book over the summer and loved it. My one hesitation though was that it was a little slow; it definitely sagged in the middle. My hopes are that I’ll love the show and be able to use that as a substitute for when I don’t have time to slug through another 800 pages. (It’s a fantastic book series, I promise.)

AUDIOBOOKS

I won’t go too in-depth on these because I’ll be reviewing them later, but I’m currently listening to The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee and Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier. Both are British, and both were fun to listen to on the way up.

What have y’all been listening to and watching?

Hey y’all!

It’s Grace, here to talk to you today about dream reading spaces. Around this time of year, I’m always plotting what to put in my dorm room, since I have very little space and/or money. I scour the internet and thrift stores for prints, ideas, rugs, etc,.

When I was little, I’d always take a piece of printer paper when I was bored and create “dream homes.” With squares and labels, usually involving a treehouse of some sort and lots of slides. My Pinterest board is full of my preferred living aesthetic, which I’ve only started to refine now that I’ve realized my taste drifts towards certain corners.

Arhaus talked to me, which inspired me to put together some dream reading spaces. I figured that was the perfect chance to show off some of the interior design trends I lust over. So, without further ado, here’s what I look for in a reading space.

Some Features I Love

Some Spaces I Love

 

My Spaces

When I think of “dream reading space,” I don’t think of some elaborate book fort that I’m never actually going to be able to use for anything else. I definitely think of plopping down on the couch at the end of a long day. I love friendly chaos, but also a certain aestheticism — that it all goes together in a haphazard way, even if it all doesn’t totally match. It’s the Oxford Exchange blood in me.

What’s necessary: hanging plants, a stack of blankets in a basket, thick shelves, a coffee table I can drag towards me, a leather couch!

I love furniture with history — which I may have mentioned before — so I love the etched side table. We have some like that at my house that I’m always commandeering for beverages and book stacks. Plus, I read somewhere that mirrors make small spaces feel larger, and I love the idea of poking around in flea markets to find a funky assortment I can hang up. Most of these are from Pinterest, but this blackened one is from Arhaus.

I also read a lot at my desk, which might sound weird. I love having a good office space — for writing, blogging, editing. All the bookishness that comes along with the actual process of reading.

What’s necessary: coffee & supplies, a sparse-looking bookshelf, a comfy chair, file cabinet, a solid desk, PLANTS, botanical prints, and this gorgeous poster my heart aches every time I see. Props for the mugs being homemade.

I’m actually getting the star map for my dorm room and couldn’t be more excited. You can put a date and place, and the stars shown on the poster will reflect the sky then! How cool is that? I’m hoping to start a collection of them so when I’m older, I’ll have skies from big times in my life. I’m actually so in love.

Finally, the room! I read a ton in my bed — especially when I’m at school — and my bedside table is always holding a huge stack. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m obsessed with anything metallic (especially of the bronze variety), as well as feeling like I’m outside when I’m not. I would love to curl up here and read for a while.

What’s necessary: sweater blankets, a funky mirrored bedside table, maps, windows, a pretty lamp, flowers.

I’m unfortunately a long way away from owning a house of my own (if ever!) and getting to decorate it, but I can do a bit with the little space that I have. For of y’all who are lucky enough to have some living room freedom, you can check out more ideas here on the Arhaus page. In my dorm room, I’m hoping to have lots of different metals, sweater blankets, prints! I know I’ll already have a gorgeously large window, and I’m hoping that’ll stifle the pain of a tiny single. But it’ll be my reading space for the year, most definitely.

What’s your dream reading space?