Welcome to February! Hopefully this short month is full of love for all of you. But before getting to that, I wanted to take a look back at our life lately for January. I did a lot of reading, Claire celebrated her birthday with friends, and Avie leveled up in swimming again. Here is our Life Lately January and what we have been up to.
Books I’ve Read
- One of Those Faces by Elle Grawl– Harper Mallen escapes her abusive childhood by running to Chicago and becoming an artist. But when a young woman who looks eerily like her is killed right outside her apartment she is forced to confront her past. This suspense novel kept me turning pages, but with so many antagonists, it became a bit confusing and convoluted at times. I wished the resolution was a bit neater. Interesting idea though. 3.5/5
- The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis– In 1952, the Barbizon Hotel used to be a women’s only club, but over 50 years later it’s turned into a condo and the long ago guests are nearly forgotten. But rumors of one guest involved a deadly skirmish find their way to current resident Rose Lewin. As a journalist, she is determined to find out what really happened. This was fascinating and I loved the dual storyline. It really kept me guessing until the end. I enjoyed the characters and how they grew throughout the story. 4.5/5
- How to Be Awkward by Amanda Turner– This book is a collection of essays focused on the awkwardness of her life and actions. focused on the awareness of her life and actions. Haven’t we all felt awkward at times? I related to Turner on so many levels. I really enjoyed how each chapter is an essay on an awkward situation or topic. Turner is absolutely hilarious in a completely lighthearted, self-deprecating way. This book is a perfect alternative to the typical romantic beach read-and far funnier. 4/5
- Anatomy by Dana Schwartz– Hazel Sinnett is ahead of her time and wants to be a surgeon. Jack Currer is a resurrection man who’s just trying to survive in a city where it’s too easy to die. Hazel needs Jack to obtain her bodies on which to study. Together they uncover something sinister occurring in Edinburgh. I really liked Hazels’ headstrong nature and unwillingness to take no for an answer. I’m looking forward to the second book. 4.5/5
- The Indigo Girl by Natasha Boyd– In 1739 Eliza Lucas is sixteen years old when her father leaves her in charge of their family’s three, highly mortgaged plantations in rural South Carolina. Upon hearing how much indigo dye is selling for, Eliza believes it’s the key to their salvation. Eliza sets out to restore her family’s fortunes. This was actually included in my audible membership. I loved that it was based on true events and characters. It was a fascinating read about a strong woman who shaped the course of history. 4.5/5
- The Comeback by Lily Chu– Ariadne Hui is a lawyer who loves routine, but when she meets Choi Jihoon through her roommate, she begins to reevaluate her life. I needed a light read after some more in-depth suspense novels. This was definitely that, although the main character’s stubbornness did begin to irk me after a while. 3/5
- Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith– Strike and his partner Robin are hired to solve a case of cyber bullying of the creator of a popular online cartoon that culminated in murder. I’m so glad I was able to read this finally. It was fantastic. The characters are well rounded and interesting. The plot always leaves me guessing. 5/5
Products I’ve Tried
- Prospector Popcorn– Not only is it SUPER DELICIOUS with many wonderful flavors, this company’s mission is to create competitive and integrated employment for people with disabilities! Yummy snacks and all for a good cause make a happy tummy and happy heart! We all enjoyed the flavors especially the Buffalo Cheddar and Belgian Chocolate Toffee.
- PB2 Foods Pantry Mixes- These pantry mixes have all been a HUGE hit at our house. My girls gobbled the muffins down-2 dozen in about 4 days. They taste really good with a little bit of peanut butter on top. We really enjoyed the cookies and the brownies, too. Since the mixes are plant based, there are instructions to make them vegan or not. I’ve tried both ways and honestly like them either way. My kids don’t notice a difference. They are healthier for you and have a bit more protein and fiber.
- Voremy Brush- This detangling brush is pretty incredible. My girls have a lot of thick, long hair. That combined with lots of swimming and running around=tangles. Claire is really good about sitting while I brush it out and style it for her. Avie needs convincing and hates getting tangles out. This brush has helped a lot. It really does get the tangles out faster and more easily with less pain. I love how the curve fits around your head.
Recipes I’ve Made
- Garlic Bread Chicken Pot Pie– I save all of my stale bread/buns, and bread crusts. Why? They are great for casseroles or bread crumbs. I just stick them in a ziploc bag in the freezer and use them up when it’s full. I had some cooked chicken to use up and the bread and found this recipe. It is phenomenal! It used up so many things from my fridge and tasted amazing. I love the crunchy garlic bread on the top!
- Bananas Foster French Toast Bake– I had leftover waffles still from Aveline’s birthday. Last month I made Egg Nog French Toast Bake and this month I transformed the last bag into Bananas Foster French Toast bake. It’s a toss up to see which is better. They are both pretty easy, filling, and VERY good!
Currently
- Loving- We finally hung the stained glass window we got from Matt’s parents in the guest bedroom. It’s one Matt, his dad, and grandpa salvaged from an old church. It looks so beautiful!
- Feeling- I’m feeling really happy about finally using these cork lid jars I got last year. They are so cute but I wasn’t sure where or how to use them. I finally got the brilliant idea to use them as a candy centerpiece for Valentine’s Day. My entire family are fans! How would you use these?
- Posting– I’ve really been trying to tailor my posts to multiple ways to wear items more often. It’s more work, but I think it is more helpful and more fun to read!
- Receiving- We were the unfortunate recipients of TWO new furnaces at the very end of 2022. One was completely broken. The other was on its last leg with the prognosis of 1 year or less. Since they were about 30 years old so we ended up replacing both. Ouch. After lots of unexpected additional expenses in the past year I’m hoping we don’t receive any more surprises like that for a while!
- Seeing– I’m finally seeing some snow! It was borderline bizarre how little snow we had until this past week. The kids have been enjoying playing in it. Hopefully we get a bit more and are able to go sledding.
Family Updates
- Claire- Claire continues to love swimming. She has been working on trying to dive. It’s such a mind-over-matter skill. Claire did well on her 1st semester report card. She got all As and 1 B. She celebrated her birthday with a Flamingo Spa themed slumber party with 4 of her friends. Claire also did a fabulous job selling Girl Scout cookies and sold over 300! Now we must deliver them. 🤪
- Aveline- Avie continues to make progress with swimming and leveled up to Glider 3 at Goldfish! She had a play date this month with one of her very good friends that is now in kindergarten. They don’t get to see each other as often so they had a good time.
- Matt & Me- After many pleas from the kids, we had a New Year’s Eve sleepover with some good family friends. Two of the girls are close to Claire’s age and one is very close to Avie’s age and then they have an adorable almost 3 year old boy. It went really well and we all had such a great time! Hopefully we will be able to do something similar in the future.
JANUARY GOALS
- List 10 more items on Poshmark– Done! I actually got just over 20 posted and sold 2 already.
- Take an afternoon for myself- Halfway. I booked a spa treatment for Monday afternoon.
- Look into passports for girls–
- Choose family photos- Done. I have at least one photo from each year we have been married. I hope to create a photo wall going down the stairs to our basement eventually.
- Read a nonvirtual book- Done! I read Ink Black Heart and it was over 1000 pages long!
February Goals
- Organize basement storage room- I have the storage room is fairly organized. However, it could use about 30 minutes of work.
- Plan a date night- We used to be so good, but haven’t been able to get back on track after the Covid mess.
- Decorate secretary cabinet- I got this gorgeous secretary cabinet and really want to decorate the upper shelves. It’s right where I work so it’s always staring me in the face.
- Work on blog income- I need to write up my blog income from 2022 for taxes.
linking up with WHAT’S UP WEDNESDAY & Overflowing with Thankfulness
