It’s
the last day of January. Wow, that went
by fast! I really love the month of
January for many reason, but mostly because after the rush and chaos of
December it’s so nice to slow things down a bit. We had many lazy weekends in January and loved
every one of them. Not running around
from place to place or going to crowed shopping malls is bliss for me. (Did I
ever mention how much I hate shopping?! It’s true : ) Curling up on the couch
and catching up on TV shows or books that I didn’t have time to read over the
Christmas holiday makes me happy.
Sometimes it snowed and other times it was just too cold to go
outside. Either way, January was a
wonderful month of rest and reflection.
Inspired
by: Lately I’m inspired by Art. John
loves to paint and draw. We’ve spent the
last few weekends having art nights.
Basically that consists of him creating something lovely and me scribbling
in a coloring book. For Christmas my
coworker Donna gave me one of those adult coloring books. It’s beautiful and full of inspirational
quotes! I love it! I had no idea how therapeutic
it could be. John and I talk about the colors and the patterns and give each other’s
opinion on things. It’s so much fun! There is nothing I love more than doing
things with John anyway but doing something we both love makes it even
better.
Watching: Are you watching Victoria on PBS? I’m only 2 episodes in and I’m completely hooked! If you watched The Crown, then you will no
doubt love Victoria. After all this time
I am still mourning the loss Downton Abbey and desperately seeing something to
fill that void. Speaking of…..I watched
the SAG Awards Sunday night. The Downton
cast was nominated for best ensemble in a drama series. They did not win but it made my heart sing to
see the whole cast reunited once again! YAY! Its award season and I am an award
show junkie! I drool over the gowns and cry at acceptance speeches. Oh how I love a good acceptance speech! I’m also watching Vikings on The History
Channel. It’s pretty good. I have to
balance out my Real Housewives somehow! (that’s just real talk : )
Listening to: I’m a tried and true podcast listener. I keep meaning to write a blog post about my favorite podcasts because I listen to them all day long at work. My all time favorite is The History Chicks. Every episode is a biography of a great woman (i.e. chick) in history. It’s hosted by two friends – Beckett and Susan. Their casual talk makes you feel like you are sitting with two of your best girlfriends, having a chat over coffee. Each episode is so interesting and informative. I’ve enjoy learning from these ladies! Some of my favorite episodes have been the wives of Henry the VIII, Zelda Fitzgerald (who I found out shares my birthday), Julia Child, 1950’s Housewives, Marie Antoinette, Catherine the Great, and many, many more. Their most recent biography was on Lucille Ball!!! Anyone that knows me knows how much I adore Lucy so I couldn’t have been more excited to hear this two part episode. It was fabulous!!!! By end I was in tears (again..). So good! I believe Lucy is episode 82 so if you are history nerd like I am check out their podcast. You will not be disappointed!
Reading: I always have a stack of books on my
nightstand. Sometimes the books are due
back at the library before I’ve had a chance to even open them. I’m trying to be better about that and make
more time for reading. Over Thanksgiving
my mother in law (who is an avid reader) recommended The Nightingale by Kristin
Hannah. I finally got around to reading
it a few weeks ago. It was excellent! Its a historical fiction novel that takes
place during WWII. I could not put it
down! The next book in my pile, which I
have not started yet but hope to this week, is All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. I’m also very interested in the
book that everyone seems to be talking about lately… The Little Book of Hygee –Danish Secrets to a Happy Life. I’ve
heard such amazing things about this book.
Have you read it? I’ve got it on hold at my library.
Eating:
Ok, this is an easy one…Everything! Lazy
January weekends mean eating comfort food.
We are making and eating pizza like it’s our job! Saturday night has become homemade pizza
night in our house. Mainly because it’s
quick and easy and everyone loves it. I
bought a basil plant at the beginning of January (to make it feel like spring
in the kitchen…lol) so I’ve been adding fresh basil leaves to everything. So good with chopped garlic on pizza. Roasted chicken, turkey dinner,
burgers, apple pie, blueberry muffins….you name it, we’ve eaten it! This week I’ve really been craving banana
bread so I definitely see that in our near future! And tonight is Rob’s birthday, which means
cake!!!
I made this yesterday....
...and we’ve all been staring at it for 24 hours. Tonight we get to dig in! Birthday weeks always mean special treats. Tonight we will celebrate at home just the three of us with a small dinner and cake. Saturday night we are going to my parents for chicken parmesan and on Sunday we are going to my in laws for dinner. It’s also the Super Bowl and people are going just a little bit crazy (a good crazy) that the Patriots are playing! If you're from where I'm from, that means a lot!
I’ve never really been into football but I do enjoy a good nacho dip….so I’ll be watching! :)
I made this yesterday....
...and we’ve all been staring at it for 24 hours. Tonight we get to dig in! Birthday weeks always mean special treats. Tonight we will celebrate at home just the three of us with a small dinner and cake. Saturday night we are going to my parents for chicken parmesan and on Sunday we are going to my in laws for dinner. It’s also the Super Bowl and people are going just a little bit crazy (a good crazy) that the Patriots are playing! If you're from where I'm from, that means a lot!
I’ve never really been into football but I do enjoy a good nacho dip….so I’ll be watching! :)
Drinking: I’m still drinking my lemon water in the
morning. I love it so much that I feel
my body craving it. It’s been a nice way
to start cold January mornings. I take
my steaming cup of it back to bed and drink it while I sit under my covers
looking out the window. I say my prayers
for the day and enjoy the peacefulness while it lasts. I follow it with coffee
of course, but I feel better each day. I’ve also discovered a new tea that I
love. It’s Bigelow Lemon & Ginger
tea. I have a cup every afternoon with
lemon and a drop of honey. It’s delicious. I think it may have helped me fight a cold at
the beginning of the month and I’ve been drinking it ever since. I keep a box in my desk at work so when 3:00
rolls around….it’s tea time. Yaaay!
Dreaming:
a getaway weekend! Rob and I would like to take John on a mini vacation in late
February/early March. Just a long
weekend somewhere to break up the monotony.
We were thinking about maybe going to Florida or someplace warm. When we asked John about it he said he didn’t
want to fly, but go on a road trip to a hotel with a pool. We realized that he doesn’t care about where
we go, just as long as we are together…in a hotel with a pool! Kids are very
easy to please. We are thinking maybe New Hampshire or Vermont. We’ve always loved road trips and it’s been
awhile since we’ve been on one. Time to
pack the car with sandwiches and hit the road.
We are only in the planning stages but I’m excited. It’s always nice to have something to look
forward to. Especially in the middle of
winter!
So
there you have it: My January in a nutshell.
Tomorrow we turn the page to February.
The month of love. The month
where I get to decorate with pink hearts and none of the boys in my house can
complain about it.