Photo by Sergey Schmidt via Unsplash

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Wow, July was a doozy. Twenty-something-year-old me would’ve barely made it out together. But I’m thankful for the time (and money) I put aside to invest, grow, and heal myself because it’s made me a better me, and I could tell the difference this month.

Angel and I experienced our first health scare — the serious kind where you visit the emergency room multiple times. While it was scary and stressful, it put into perspective the vows we made each other when we married. “In sickness and in health.” We have one more doctor’s appointment before we get the all-clear, and we would appreciate it if you could keep us in your prayers/send us good vibes.

Aside from the health scare, I stayed home and read a lot — more than I normally do in a month. I also decided to sell a small batch of my crochet cup cozies beginning August. I started crocheting back in May because I wanted to learn how to crochet cup cozies for myself, but the more I shared my newfound hobby on Instagram, the more people requested I sell them. Follow me on Instagram @jessikalynorozco and @disneywithdaorozcos for shopping details coming soon!

ON THE BLOG AND ELSEWHERE

I didn’t post anything new to my blog in July, but I did start working with a designer to refresh my blog to match my rebrand from The Sunday Morning Blog to Livin’ La Vida Orozco. I saw the first draft last week, and it’s very different from what I normally gravitate toward. I’m glad I saved my money to invest in this much-needed change, and I can’t wait to show you what we came up with!

Over on my Disney Instagram, I tried my hand at Disney humor, but I’m not sure I’m good at it. I guess I’m the only one who thinks I’m funny, lol.

I also talked a lot about my celebrity crush, Chris Evans, on Instagram. Like a lot.

After the health scare, I mostly hung out on Instagram Stories or didn’t post anything. And that’s totally fine.

WHAT I READ

I read a lot this month, and getting lost in a few good books was nice. One of those books was Set On You by Amy Lea, one of the best books I have read this year. Sure, it was because my celebrity crush Chris Evans inspired the main male character. But it was also the best story my eyeballs have read since Jasmine Guillory’s The Wedding Date. A must-read, especially for multiracial curvy women.

I also read The Dating Plan by Sara Desai, which I was excited about because I loved The Marriage Game, the first book in her series. Unfortunately, the story felt like it dragged on forever, and there were a few plot holes that could’ve been filled to make the story make more sense. I have the next book in the series, The Singles Table, saved to my TBR list, and I hope it’s much better than The Dating Plan.

Last month, I shared I finished watching Outlander. A friend of mine told me how much she loved the book, so I decided to borrow it from my local public library. I had a tough time getting into it because the show was fresh in my mind. I’m not sure if I’ll ever try to read it again, but it’s on my TBR list if I ever change my mind.

It’s no secret that Jasmine Guillory is my all-time favorite contemporary romance author. When I heard she wrote By the Book, the second book in the Meant to Be series, a re-imagined series about the Disney Princesses, I knew I had to read it. The writing style read different from Jasmine’s other books, and I wasn’t feeling it, so I marked it as DNF.

I finished reading Book Lovers by Emily Henry last week in seven days. Not by choice; It was a “hot pick” at my local public library and could only be borrowed for seven days without renewals. Despite the book’s name and cover art, Book Lovers reads like a coming-of-age family drama. One of my favorite things about Emily’s second book, People We Meet on Vacation, was how much the characters develop over time, and the same is true in Book Lovers. 

WHAT I WATCHED

You all know I’m a creature of habit, and I can watch my favorite TV shows and movies over and over. This month I watched many new shows and movies (I’m so proud of myself). One of those shows was Maggie. I randomly stumbled across Maggie on Hulu and binge-watched it in three days. It’s like a grown-up version of Disney Channel’s That’s So Raven. I can’t wait to watch season 2!

I also — finally! — watched The Broken Hearts Gallery, directed by first-time director Natalie Krinsky and executive produced by Selena Gomez. It was that wholesome, feel-good, coming-of-age story that I love to read in contemporary romance and adult fiction novels. It also made me realize I was sleeping under a rock because hello, Dacre Montgomery! 😍 (I didn’t watch Stranger Things, so he’s new to me.) He had this mysterious aura about him (or maybe that was his character?), and he drew me in with his long eyelashes. I messaged my husband while watching the movie Dacre reminds me of a mix between Collin Ferrell and Robert Downey, Jr. It was such a great story, and I saved it to my Hulu favorites so I can watch it again.

If you haven’t watched The Gray Man yet, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! This movie is the action movie of the summer in my book. Of course, I only watched it because Chris Evans is in it. Also, can we take a moment to appreciate the sassy characters Chris Evans plays? First, Ransom Drysdale — hands down my favorite sassy character — and now Lloyd Hansen?! Here. For. It! 

I rarely watch Amazon Prime Video, but I follow Jenny Han, the author of The Summer I Turned Pretty and the To All The Boys series, on Instagram, and she was posting about The Summer I Turned Pretty series, so I decided to check it out. I binge-watched it in two days. It was the most frustrating and heartbreaking show ever. I cried way more than I would have cared to, and now the book is on my TBR list.

If you follow me on Instagram, you know I watched Thor Love and Thunder. It’s now my new fave Thor movie. Ragnorok was my favorite, but I respectfully pushed it down to no. 2 (sorry, Hulk and Loki). Look, it’s not hard to make me laugh, but I was ROTFL in the theater watching Thor Love and Thunder. In a half-full theater, there was only one other guy in our who was laughing with me (he’s my kind of people). 

We also started watching Umbrella Academy last weekend, but unlike the other two seasons, I had no interest in binge-watching it in one day. I don’t know what it is, but it isn’t as interesting as the other two seasons. I don’t think I’ll even finish it.

So, that was my July! Angel and I are headed to Disneyland for my birthday in two weeks! It’s our first Disneyland trip this year. I can’t wait to finally watch Fantasmic!, World of Color, and catch the last few showings of the Disneyland Forever fireworks and the Main Street Electrical Parade before it ends on September 1. Bookmark my When to Visit Disneyland in 2022 travel guide for key dates if you’re planning a last-minute trip to Disneyland this year.