Why in the world did January feel like it was a whole 365 days long? Gracious, I’m glad to start a new month. My January ended on a less than stellar note due to a rough week at work, but I did manage to find some things that I truly loved.
Simplified Planner
First, I’ve got to bring it up one more time- The Simplified Planner. It has been such a fun thing to work through each day. It’s only a bonus that it’s so pretty. It truly functions exactly as I need it to, and I love it. You can read a full review here. I’m pretty sure there’s still a discount code available and only a few styles of 2019 planners left.
Books
I had a good book month (for me…I know some of you can mow through some books, but I’m a slow reader). I listened to two audiobooks that were on Reese Witherspoon’s book club list. If you’re looking for some good reads, pick something from her list. She’s not let me down once. My picks for January were The Last Mrs. Parrish and Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows. That last one sounds a little, well, you know, and it did have some blush-worthy moments. Don’t listen to it around little ears! However, it had some real heart and drama and was a fascinating story. The Last Mrs. Parrish was a great one, too. It also had lots of drama and one crazy chick. I recommend both.
Then I had some serious conversations with some girls I work with at Wisteria Cottage, and they convinced me to start Outlander. I’ve owned it for a while now, but I was always intimidated by the length of the book (850 pages). At the urging of these girls, I began the book. I’m taking it slow, but I really like it, and love that each book is a season of the show. Can’t wait to read the first book and see it come to life on screen.
The last one I started in January was February’s book club pick which happens to be another Reese Witherspoon book club pick, Where the Crawdads Sing. I’m not very far yet, but I’m really enjoying it.
Movies/TV/Netflix
Toward the beginning of the month I had the opportunity to catch a weeknight movie with my parents and aunt, and we saw Mary Poppins Returns. I loved the original so much, and I love, love, love Emily Blunt, so I knew that I wanted to see this one on the big screen. I don’t really know how the reviews came in for this one, but I thought it was delightfully fun. Meryl Streep was fantastic, and Lin Manuel Miranda was such fun as Jack. It was visually lots of fun, and the music was good, too. And Dick Van Dike even made an appearance. What I loved most was how sassy and funny Emily Blunt played Mary Poppins. She was always a little cheeky, but she amped it up a notch and was very sarcastic. That’s one of my love languages…sarcasm. 😉 I thought it was great.
On the snow day that we had at the end of the month, I watched a lot of Netflix…shocker, I know. *There’s that sarcasm.* I watched the Gaga: Five Foot Two documentary because I can’t get enough of her lately. I’m dying to watch A Star is Born again, so I’m listening to her music all the time. And I figured if I wasn’t doing anything, I might as well watch the documentary about her. It followed her during the time she was preparing to perform at the Super Bowl half time show and while she was putting together the Joanne album. It was interesting, and I learned a little bit more about who she was. She seems pretty cool, and she’s so crazy talented. One of my biggest regrets is quitting piano. I would give anything to play like she can.
After the Gaga documentary I had to keep going down my Netflix rabbit hole, so I watched The Taylor Swift Reputation Stadium Tour. And it. was. a.ma.zing. I used to be a self-proclaimed Taylor Hater, but I’m digging her Reputation album, and I’ve even started listening to her old stuff. Am I too old for T. Swift? Don’t answer that. I’m listening to a playlist of her now as I type. It’s a good show, and I kind of want tickets to her next tour.
Okay, last TV thing…I love TV so much. I finally finished Mad Men. I didn’t love how it ended. I don’t think I totally get it. Or maybe I just didn’t want it to end that way. I’m not sure. I need my Mad Men friends to explain to me why it ended this way. Or point me in the direction of an article that explains it all. I’m not mad I watched the show. It was incredibly written, and the characters were so complex and flawed and I loved them. Help me understand!
Date Nights
Aside from our regular Taco Tuesdays, Paul and I had a few extra fun outings this month. First we saw Black Jacket Symphony sing songs from The Eagles at The Ritz Theater. If you didn’t get season tickets this year, please consider getting them next year. I don’t know what the lineup is yet, but I can tell you that the support for our local theater is incredible. It’s one of my favorite things about living here and living downtown.
We also got to see The Mule on a random weeknight thanks to the $5.00 weeknight ticket prices at The Edge. We both liked the movie a lot. Paul maybe a little more so than I did, but it was still quite enjoyable. Clint Eastwood will never not be perfection in a film. Paul’s not the biggest fan of going to the movies, so I always document when we go. I’d say we’re off to a good start if I got him to go in the first month of the year. I’m trying to get him to go see The Upside. I think it looks funny, and I think he’d enjoy it. Who’s seen it? Maybe I’ll get twelve movie dates this year with him. #goals
Random Loves
I made a purchase of some Chocolat Blu shoes from Wisteria Cottage this month. They are the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever worn. I’m not kidding. I’ve owned comfortable shoes before, but I’ve never owned shoes that I could wear all day and not feel the need to take them off as soon as I walk through the door. They’re actually on my feet right now and have been since 7:00am. I LOVE THEM! They are seriously worth every penny, and I hope to add to my collection. They’re amazing.
We had a Snow Day. Which happened to just turn into a Rain Day. In defense of giving us a snow day, it was unbelievably cold for our part of the country, and we did worry about frozen roads and getting children to and from school in such conditions. Turns out it was just fine, and I enjoyed my day off. Plus I got to vote and wear a cute beanie.
Remember how I mentioned in my 2018 favorites that we were really enjoying cooking with and eating deer meat? Well, I’m glad I like it because Paul got himself a 200+ pound deer. He’s also pretty excited to get a European mount and thinks we’re going to put it above the TV. We’ll see about all that, but I’m mostly concerned with the fact that we should probably invest in a deep freeze. For real though, I’m proud of you babe. He’s a good one, and I can’t wait to see where he’s going to live.
One of my other favorite things about 2018 is our friendship with Chad and Stacey. They have opened their home to us many times for a guitar pull and/or party, and we are so happy to call them friends. Paul is clearly a huge fan of Chad’s guitar playing and his singing. And my father-in-law playing alongside Chad is icing on the cake. Two of our favorite musicians in one picture. This particular guitar pull was this past month, and it was one for the books. Even the kids got involved at one point. Such talent.
I’ve been missing my Louisiana family and traditions lately, but when I saw a friend on Instagram shared that she had made her own king cake on Epiphany, I knew I had to try. The recipe comes from Catholic All Year and is essentially a few cans of cinnamon rolls (the good kind) baked in a bunt pan and covered in icing and sugar sprinkles. And because we didn’t have a baby to put in the cake, I shoved a golf tee in mine. I’ve gotten it both times I’ve made this cake. It’s really delicious and keeps well for several days in a cake dome. It’s even better if you heat it up a bit to remelt the icing. I keep saying I’m going to attempt to make a real king cake with filling. We’ll see…stay tuned.
Finally, I’m still loving my oversize wall clock. You can see more on that here.
January proved to be a pretty great month despite how long it seemed. How was yours? I hope none of you were sick with the flu. It has been a huge deal here in Greenville, and I hope all of you are steering clear of it. I’ve managed to dodge that bullet so far. Thank you, Lord! I live in a haze of Lysol at school, so I’m hoping I’m keeping the really bad germs away. Prayers for all of you dealing with it now. This flu season will end soon even if it feels like it’s lasting as long as January seemed to. Tell me about your January in the comments and let me know if you have insight into Mad Men. PLEASE! Have a good one, y’all.
