April 2021 Favorites

April is usually my favorite month of the year. It’s Jesse and I’s anniversary and the weather is starting to get warm. I love the hope and promise of Spring when the world is coming alive again. But this month, I was not “coming alive.” I have PMDD and with that comes episodes of depression. Some months it’s only a day or two and then I usually feel better. This month it was long and hard. When I get depressed I have a tendency to detach from reality and I can’t focus on tasks. This results in me scrolling Instagram or TikTok for hours on end. This usually makes me even more depressed but it’s a hard cycle and habit to break. On top of that, my cousin passed away somewhat unexpectedly and so I’ve just been struggling. I have been talking with my therapist and am managing, but I’ve definitely just been in survival mode. The month wasn’t all bad though. Jesse and I did celebrate 10 years of marriage and I’m very happy to have a partner that is my best friend. I’m hoping for a happier and easier May! Here are a few of my April 2021 Favorites!

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Target

In the past, I’ve felt like I wasn’t a fan of white wine. I’m not sure if my tastes have evolved or if drinking rosé the past few summers was a gateway, but I’m finding myself drinking more white wines lately. The Apothic White Winemakers Blend is crisp and refreshing. It has light fruit undertones, but it’s not overly sweet. It also doesn’t taste oak-y at all. Now that the weather is getting warm, I’m definitely more drawn to this kind of white wine than I am my usual red wine.

Sephora

A few months ago I ordered 6 different travel sized hairsprays to try out because I was unhappy with my usual default. After trying them all out, my favorite of the bunch was Drybar’s Triple Sec Finishing Spray. It’s a 3-in-1 spray that texturizes, volumizes and refreshes the hair. I try to go 4 days between hair washes, so a hairspray that helps revive my volume and acts a bit like dry shampoo is game changing. Plus, it smells really good. I’m pretty sensitive to smells, so finding a hairspray that didn’t stink was a pretty big deal to me.

ABC Shop

It’s no secret that I’m a sucker for a nerdy t-shirt. It’s something that I’ve really embraced in the past year and I don’t think I can be stopped. When I saw that ABC had t-shirts for the iconic bar where the romance of Meredith and McDreamy truly began I just had to have it! Jesse was very confused when I first showed him the shirt until he saw Seattle on it and then he was like “Wow. That’s going deep nerd.” And honestly, that makes me love it even more.

Disney+

Once again, Marvel hit this series out of the park. Much like WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (TFATWS) combines the action of a superhero movie with depth and insight into the characters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. TFATWS was more similar to a superhero movie than WandaVision. There were more fight scenes, more explosions and a whole lot of epic-ness. The show allows for more time to explore Sam Wilson (Falcon) and Bucky Barnes (Winter Soldier) as characters. We finally learn more about Sam’s backstory and his family. We see Bucky struggling with PTSD and attending therapy. We also see how the world is struggling after the “Blip.” Avengers: Endgame focuses on “fixing” what Thanos has done and shows the pain and devastation after he wipes out half of the Universe. However, we don’t have time during the movie to really consider that while many people suffered and lost others, some people were lucky. Tony Stark repeatedly says that he doesn’t want to undo the last 5 years because he has a family and has created a happy life. TFATWS explores the true chaos and heartbreak that bringing back half of the population brought to many people. I’m really loving the depth and exploration that these Marvel series get to bring to the story and the characters. All of this wouldn’t have been possible in a movie, but it makes for excellent TV.

I also have to address one of the main focuses of the show, which is racism and the fact that Sam Wilson is a Black man taking up the mantle of Captain America. This theme is extremely poignant given the current political climate; however, it is not pandering to current politics. Not only is the issue of racism in the United States brought up consistently throughout Marvel comics, but it was always meant to be part of Sam’s story in the MCU. Avengers: Endgame was released in 2019 and if you watch the director’s commentary, the Russo Brothers specifically say at the end of the film that they would love for Marvel to address what it means for a Black man to become Captain America. They believed there was so much more to the story. And so did Marvel. I’m not saying that Marvel did a perfect job at this, but it definitely gave me a lot to think about and educated me further on racial injustice in the US.