How I met his mother… and life lately:)

After two weeks of unintentionally disappearing from the internet, I’m back…and I think I have a pretty good excuse.

I met his mother! And thankfully, it went really, really well.

I finally met my boyfriend’s mom after almost one whole year of dating. It went so much better than I could have ever imagined. It was so much fun getting to play tour guide in my little seaside town. I absolutely loved getting to show her some of my favorite antique stores, although I didn’t really find much myself aside from some fun stickers and ephemera for scrapbooking! I'll include a photo I took of one of the sticker books (Extraordinary Things Sticker Book by Maria Rivans) I saw at a cute local boutique that I totally regret not buying! Of course, my boyfriend's mom was mainly here to visit my boyfriend, but we got along so well that if anything, he was like a third wheel at times haha. 

We shopped and ate way too much, but it was such a good time. It worked out perfectly that she loves seafood since we’re right near the beach. We got to enjoy some of the best food I’ve had out at restaurants in a while: coconut shrimp, shrimp scampi, crab-stuffed shrimp…ugh, it was so good. You might as well call me Bubba Gump. 

Luckily, she liked everything we tried that was on the itinerary I made (I LOVE planning out trips and such), and we got along instantly. I feel so blessed by the fact that I don’t have to worry about having a future monster-in-law lolll. She is definitely not the type who feels like you are stealing her baby boy away from her and taking all of his attention, which I am very thankful for.

In other news, life lately has just been plain busy with work and homework. Emotionally, I’ve been feeling a bit stressed and overwhelmed, especially at work. I almost feel like I can’t catch my breath sometimes, so having this weekend to go out, do fun things, and be around great people was amazing. 

I’ve really been trying to focus more on self-care lately and the different dimensions of self-care (physical, emotional, social, intellectual/creative, and spiritual) and how I can incorporate each one into my life. 

Last week, my boyfriend and I went to church together for the first time. It was also the first time I’ve been to church in, well…I don’t know exactly how long. The peace and calmness it brought me, and even the way it brought us a little bit closer together, made me realize that I’ve really been neglecting my spiritual wellness and want to do better. 

It felt like coming home. I truly felt the presence of the Lord. 

I have a weird work schedule, so it can make being off on Sundays difficult, but I’m hoping to attend church services more regularly, with my man, of course ;).

With love and hoping you’re all doing well,

Evie 

p.s. You can always feel free to reach out to me on here or via TikTok (@eviebythesea623) if you need someone to talk to ♡

Book Nook #1- Soooo… I Finally Read Twilight! ☾↟𖠰

First off, welcome to Book Nook! This is where I’ll be yapping about the books I’m reading, sharing my thoughts and very important™ opinions on them, and probably oversharing 📖🧸

Okay, hold on tight all y’all spider monkeys…

Books: The Twilight Saga- Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

Whewwww. Getting through the entirety of the Twilight series sans Midnight Sun (I have it, but I needed a break y’all. Saving it for this fall!) was no joke. This took ya girl MONTHS. And I’m a pretty fast reader. 

They’re pretty lengthy as you go on, much like many other book series, trilogies, sagas, etc, but I actually really enjoyed taking my time with them and getting to deep dive into that universe. I thrifted all of these except for one of them (I was disappointed in myself for doing that because I’ve been trying to collect them all via thrifting for YEARS), but I was ready to finally read the series instead of just staring at them on my shelf waiting for fall.

I really enjoyed the depth of characters in the books in comparison to the movies, especially Bella, of course. I feel like you get to understand her so much better through her thoughts, which made some things that happen in the movies hit a little differently. I’m Team Edward ride or die, so it was painful to read Jacob’s POV, not gonna lie. I know there are people out there who love Jacob, but unfortunately I am not one of them. Jacob, respectfully, please leave.

This saga is what I started the year off with, soooo it’s kind of hard to come up with specifics now when it comes to the content, when comparing what happens in the books to the movies. There is just SO much that happens across four books. And because I grew up with the movies being such a huge part of pop culture, I inevitably found myself comparing everything to them.

The nostalgia of it all was probably one of my favorite parts. The movies are ICONIC. The vibes? Immaculate. The Pacific Northwest setting? Yes (but for a vacation, I’m a beach girl that loves the sun at heart). The moody colors? Yes pleaseee, I know we all love the color grading in the first one, I think New Moon’s is pretty good too. The soundtrack??? OH, THE SOUNDTRACK. That is what really drew me into Twilight. I love music, and the scores and soundtracks are peak.

Teenage me never related to anything more than Bella in New Moon. As someone who has struggled with anxiety and depression, I felt so seen. The way the months passing by are shown in the books is just so impactful, and the movie counterpart was done beautifully.

When I was little, and the movies were big, I wasn’t really into them because I was too young, but I vividly remember the Breaking Dawn movies being in theaters when I was with my family going to see something else (probably an animated movie or Transformers or something). And now here I am, years later, finally having read the books.

The gist months later after reading: Mike can take a hike. Jacob is somehow even worse than I thought from the movies (not Taylor Lautner though, we love you Tay Tay <3, our Sharkboy 4 ever). And there were an ENORMOUS amount of typos throughout the books. To be honest,  I don’t know how they got published this way, especially because of how popular they are! Maybe newly printed versions have been corrected, since my copies are obviously already older, except for the one. Although I will say, it got better book by book.

Overall, I’m really glad I finally read them. Was it a commitment? Absolutely. Did it take me forever? Yes. Would I do it again? Ummm, ask me after I read Midnight Sun lol.

Mid Year Goals?!

 Who says you have to wait for the new year to make some changes? I’m hoping that writing down a few of the new things I want to try on here will help keep me accountable, and also open up the comments for any much-appreciated tips! 

1. Baking!!!

I really want to get into baking (and cooking too but baking excites me more because I love making pretty things). If this doesn’t show how much I love my man and how he’s converted me into a certified lover girl, then I don’t know what does lolll. This man has me wanting to bake PIES for him. Despite how much I love summertime (it’s my favorite season), it’s insanely hot right now. Like way too hot to be turning on the oven, so this is something I’m thinking I’ll get more into in the fall. 

As a girl who grew up religiously watching Cupcake Wars on Food Network, I can’t help but always see these cool, beautiful creations and think, “I could totally do that.” Meanwhile, I have yet to even successfully make pancakes from scratch. Haha

2.  Making collages/trying decoupage/scrapbooking more!!!

I have a junk journal, but it’s literally bursting at the seams, so I’m hoping a spiral-bound scrapbook will work better! 

Other goals: 

1. Spend less money on Depop (it’s a newfound addiction, I swear)

2. Hit fewer curbs when driving🫠 (pretty girls hit curbs I don't make the rules)

3. Finally finish reading current book I’ve been reading for the past two months. 

I feel like when you’ve seen the movie version of a book first, it can make it so much harder to get through the actual book. At least, that’s what’s happening in my case right now. Maybe I will finish this beach read before the summer’s over. Idkkk. No promises ✧˖°

Evie ♡

Welcome to Evie by the Sea! ⋆˙⟡

 Hi! 

Welcome to Evie by the Sea! 

I’m so excited to be starting this blog. I’ve always wanted a place to write down and share my thoughts about all of the little (and big) things going on in my life and that I think make life special. I’ve especially wanted a platform to share thoughts and poetry on! On this blog, you can expect to hear all about the books I can't put down, beauty products I'm obsessed with, pretty things I've found while shopping/thrifting/antiquing, places I want to go, movies I'm watching for the thousandth time, and all the little thoughts that don't seem to belong anywhere else!

I’m so glad you’re here! 

Evie♥