I believe I’ve officially been writing these “What’s New” posts for two years now! I started them because I really wanted to have something consistent on the homepage of my blog, and I thought it would be fun to have a monthly check-in that was a little more personal than my more topical posts. For anybody who reads these every month (thanks. by the way!), you are probably sick of hearing me talk about my writing goals, exercise goals, and crazy video game backlog every month. But it’s a really fun post for me to write. Plus, if I ever get bogged down with real life (like I have been lately) and fail to write many blog posts in a month, I know that at least I’ll do this one, and I’ll feel good about it. =)

Last month I started exercising more, ran a 5K in super-hot weather (for me, anyway!), tried some Hellblade with my boyfriend, played the new episode of Telltale’s second season of Batman, went to a music festival, and watched the most intense season of Game of Thrones ever. My friends/family are placing bets on who is going to make it to the end of the show versus who’s gonna die. So the month was busy and really perfect that way. I had just enough energy to enjoy it all, and lots of memories were made!

Now that September is here, I would normally be in full-on fall mode. I go crazy for cooler weather, peppermint drinks, holiday music — all that goofy stuff that comes in autumn and winter. But this month I’m taking a trip to a Hawaii, so I feel more like I’m gonna be closing the summer with a bang. I’m excited to go somewhere I’ve never been before, and a tropical vacation sounds like the ideal way to forget about the rest of the world for awhile and decompress. I want to be like a puffer fish and deflate myself.

Other things I’m excited about:

Destiny 2 — Like so many others, I played the original Destiny to death. I love that game, but I just ran out of things to do. Which means I’m so, so ready for Destiny 2 and all the improvements it may bring. Warlock mode!

Halt and Catch Fire — This is one of my favorite shows ever. The first season was a little cheesy in spots, but season 2 hooked me. It’s 4th and final season has just started, and I’m excited to see how everything wraps up with these characters I’ve come to really care about. Cameron Howe especially is one of the most interesting depictions of someone who is a true creator — artistic, genuine, brutally honest, a little self-involved, egotistical but also super vulnerable about her work. Plus, being set in the 80’s (and now very early 90’s) is a fun nostalgia trip with some great music, and I love exploring early online chats, gaming, and the birth of the internet through the characters’ jobs and pet projects. If you haven’t watched the show, I highly recommend it. (Feel free to skip season 1 if it’s not your bag.)

Cooking — Last month I tried to eat healthier, and a big part of that was finding a couple of recipes that fit my diet (and that were also easy to make). I always find that I feel best when I am eating a lot of pure, low-carb foods — not totally Whole30 or keto, but sort of like their casual cousins. Who let me eat a burrito and a slice of cake every weekend. So I found a really easy recipe for coconut shrimp stew that I made three times, which pairs perfectly with a crisp white wine since I am also totally training to be a wine snob someday. Now I’m looking for more tasty recipes, and I have to say, after trying Blue Apron for awhile, I’m finding it a lot easier and more interesting to make up my own meals! (Blue Apron is awesome, but you’re pretty restricted in what they send you, and the recipes can be surprisingly involved. They usually took me at least 40 minutes.)

Novel Writing — I’m still doing that. Not much else to say, but it’s coming along and really fun when I get in the flow.

Other than that, I have Uncharted: The Lost Legacy and Undertale on my list of video games I’d like to play soon. I don’t know whether I’ll get to them this month or not, but I hope to play them before the year’s out! (At my pace, that means I’d better get started ASAP.) I’m also still playing Persona 5, which is one of those games that is super satisfying to sink many hours into at a time… but it’s so crazy-long, I don’t have any goal in mind of when I’ll finish it. I’ll probably be playing it on and off for months, and I’m totally cool with that.

What are you guys up to this month? Are there any new video games coming out you’re excited about? I also don’t know what movies are out this month, so I need recommendations!

— Ashley