Connecting the Dots: February
6 books, 4 shows, 2 home projects, and a partridge in a pear tree
What a month February has been. Between weird weather, my daughter catching the flu, me suffering from one ailment or another seemingly every day this month, the post-holiday-letdown, and the whiplash of starting to look ahead to summer plans, I have felt out of sorts for the past 28 days.
When the temperature finally crept up to an acceptable level this afternoon, I told Luke I was going for a walk because I felt like I hadn’t been outside all month. This wasn’t a total exaggeration—when I look at my 1000 Hours Outside app, we have been outside approximately 40 hours this year. For someone with a goal to beat her outside time from last year, those numbers aren’t great.
All winter I’ve felt this push and pull between what I should be doing and what I actually want to do.
What I should be doing: forcing us to go outside every day, no matter the weather, no matter our energy levels. Not watching shows and movies so often in the evenings.
What I actually want to do: bundle up, stay warm, hibernate in my house, and stay cozy at all costs.
These desires have warred within me for the past two months of the year until I finally had an epiphany—winter is made for staying warm. If bears hibernate and birds migrate south for warmer weather, why am I feeling guilty about seeking warmth as well?
I decided to embrace hibernation mode and when I came across a post from Naptime Kitchen on Instagram calling February the “PMS of the calendar year”, I felt seen and heard. She ended her post by saying, “You aren’t crazy. You are February-ing.”
So if you, too, have felt a little out of sorts this month, no matter the reason, here’s you reminder that warmer days are approaching and you are not crazy for feeling a little (or a lot) irritable these last few weeks. It’s February’s fault, not yours.
February hasn’t been all bad, though. Not by a long shot.
We took a weekend trip to the Texas Hill Country on what just so happened to be an unseasonably warm weekend. We accepted an impromptu invitation from friends for a day at the Great Wolf Lodge indoor water park. We had lots of fun embracing every bit of Valentine’s goodness we could. Luke took our daughter to their first daddy daughter dance with our best friends. We reminisced on 15 years together as a couple (dating anniversary, not marriage). And we really embraced the indoors with lots of fires, movies, puzzles, Magnatiles, and dress up.
I also soaked up lots of good entertainment, did a few projects around the house, and started a new hobby, so let’s dive in!
Reading Roundup
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Format: Physical book
Listen. Anyone who has read this book will understand that it has taken me all month to determine its proper rating. Since I read the preceding two books in the Empyrean series a year ago, I spent the first-third of this book asking myself, “WTF?”. I finally found my bearings during the last two-thirds but when I got to the last page, I quite literally thought I had a botched copy of the book. I thought the printer had left off more pages. The ending was so abrupt I wouldn’t so much consider it a cliff hanger as a WHAT JUST HAPPENED?? But as time has gone on, I keep thinking about it and understanding more as I watch bookstagrammers break it down. I’ve landed on 4 stars because I’m already counting down the days (months, years) until book four. Note to self: refresh your memory before diving in next time.
NPR Laughter Therapy: Funny For a Living by NPR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Format: Audiobook
I could sense myself falling into a book drought after finishing Onyx Storm and trying to slog through two books I ultimately decided to DNF (more on that later), so I did a quick search for funny books available on Libby. I found this one and its short listen time (around 3 hours) sold me. This book was more like a podcast because it was mostly comprised of previous NPR interviews. Overall, I felt like there was too much focus on comedians of the past and not enough on current comedians. However, it was an interesting look at the evolution of comedy and I enjoyed a peek into different philosophies of humor.
Here Be Dragons: Treading the Deep Waters of Motherhood, Mean Girls, and Generational Trauma by Melanie Shankle: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Format: Physical book
If you were to ask who my writing idol is, I would tell you Melanie Shankle, no questions asked. The way she effortlessly weaves heart and humor into her stories is masterful and while I’ve always had a dream to write, she is the first author who made me believe I could do so in my own authentic voice. I’ve read all of her books and have been a long time listener of her podcast, The Big Book Cast. I’ve always sensed she had a tense relationship with her mother, so when she announced her latest book would cover their fraught relationship, I couldn’t preorder fast enough. Beyond satisfying my curiosity, though, Here Be Dragons is written in Melanie’s signature style of humor and heart, but is even more heartfelt and raw than her other books. The way she tells hard stories without being exploitative and with a soft heart is quite the feat. She also talks about her own motherhood journey and her daughter’s experience with mean girls in high school, which is an encouragement to all of us raising daughters. I cannot recommend this book enough.
Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Format: Audiobook
I’m embarrassed to admit that before reading her book, I had very little knowledge of Ina Garten. I knew her husband’s name was Jeffrey, that she had a show called Barefoot Contessa…and that’s about it. But everyone has raved about her memoir, released in October of 2024, so I placed a Libby hold and was delighted when it became available sooner than expected. Ina’s book is not only an interesting peek into her life, but such an inspiration to take creative risks and an encouragement to take the time to figure out where your passions lie. I feel so creatively rejuvenated after reading this, not to mention more connected to her after hearing her story. Another book I can’t recommend enough.
The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston: DNF
Format: Physical book
As part of my challenge to read more books I already own, I picked up my copy of The Seven Year Slip. I love magical realism so I expected to love this, but despite my best efforts, I just could not get into the story. The characters didn’t feel believable or relatable and something about the writing style didn’t hook me. I know lots of people love this, so I’m curious—if you read it, how did you feel?
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain: DNF
Format: Audiobook
Another book I picked up for this challenge was Quiet. I’ve already started and stopped it once years ago, so this time I decided to try the audio version. I didn’t necessarily mean to DNF this book, it’s more that I forgot about and when I received the Libby notification that it was due back, I decided to let it go rather than renew. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this book and the subject matter interests me very much, so I’m not closing the door forever, just putting it down for now.
Entertainment Honorable Mentions
Neat: The Story of Bourbon
Luke recently accepted a new job with a company who primarily supplies bourbon. This new endeavor serendipitously coincided with my newfound infatuation with bourbon1, so when he learned about this documentary (released in 2018, streaming on Fandango at Home), we were both excited to watch. Not only was this an informative look into the history of bourbon, it was also surprisingly sentimental and inspiring. Neat highlights the stories of several different bourbon aficionados and watching how their passion and creativity play out in different ways, and the relationships forged over the common love of something, was touching to watch. This was a great date night at home watch. Bonus points if you enjoy some bourbon while watching.
Band of Brothers
I’m probably the last person in the world to have watched this miniseries from 2001, but I finally got around to doing so. Luke had seen it before but we watched together and it was eye opening/embarrassing how much I did not know about WWII before watching. While it’s not my typical genre of entertainment, I’m glad I watched and feel more educated having done so.
SNL 50
I may not be a die hard SNL fan, but I did make watching the 50th anniversary episode appointment tv. I thought it was so well done and made me nostalgic for the cast of my youth.2 I loved the “Alien Abduction” skit (though I so wished Ryan Gosling would have been in it) and the “Scared Straight” skit. Adam Sandler’s song was incredibly touching, as was seeing Aubrey Plaza make her first public appearance since losing her husband. While there were a few misses, overall, I thought it was executed beautifully.
American Murder: Gabby Petito
While I’m not an avid true crime fan, I do remember this case because it took place right around the time my daughter was born. On a newborn sleeping and feeding schedule, I found myself scrolling my phone more often than before, so I followed the developments pretty closely. But another hallmark of the newborn phase, brain fog, caused me to forget a lot of the details, so I was interested to watch this three part docuseries. It’s a tragic story—made more tragic by the body cam footage of her and her boyfriend being pulled over and questioned by police just days before her murder—but I was thankful for a “resolution” (if you can call it that), unlike a lot of true crime stories which leave you with more questions than when you started.
Full Swing Season 3
Luke and I have been big fans of this show since season one, so we were excited when season three premiered this week. I’m not a golf girlie by any means, but I’m all about golf culture—riding in a cart, sipping a drink, wearing a cute outfit, and getting a tan. That’s all golf is about right? Watching this show has made me more invested in the players and have a passing interest and understanding of what’s going on whenever Luke puts golf on the tv. This season is only seven 45 minute episodes so it was pretty easy to knock out in a week.
Bravo/Peacock thoughts
Traitors: Justice for Carolyn!!! I was rooting so hard for her to go all the way and felt truly heart broken for her when she was sent home. The only thing to make her departure worse was Danielle’s insane over the top reaction while wearing that ridiculous hat. She must be stopped. I’m hoping and praying Britney will be the one to do it.
RHOP: This week Karen Huger was sentenced to two years in prison with one year deferred for her DUI. And by DUI, I mean her fourth DUI. It will be interesting to see where her future goes with the show. I hope she and Bravo truly prioritize her recovery over her return. After how riveting the reunion has been without her, I’m not sure we need her back. As for the reunion, I’m dying to know what TJ told Eddie on that FaceTime call…
RHOBH: Honestly, I’m kind of bored. Nothing exciting is happening. I keep forgetting to watch the episodes the night they premiere, or even the next day. I did enjoy the trip to Augusta and diving deeper into Sutton’s relationship with her mom, but as for the big group dynamics, I’m not totally interested.
Come on In
Last month I shared how we rearranged our bedroom, which in turn meant we would be switching sides of the bathroom, since my side of the bed now aligned perfectly with the door leading to Luke’s side. With my daughter shipped off to my parents’ house one night, we dove into this undertaking. I underwent a massive closet and bathroom cabinet overhaul last year, so it really wasn’t too much of a feat for me to change everything over. My husband, on the other hand, had not so recently combed through his belongings, so it was more of a purge for him. Overall the project was pretty easy and there’s nothing like reorganizing your closet to remind you of all the clothes you own.
We also finally put our wall decor back up after the big rearranging. The wall with the woven plates needed repairing from where the tv was previously hanging, so it took a bit to bring everything back together. This mirror replaced the full length mirror I had owned since college (!!!) and was a steal from none other than Sam’s Club! I love a good deal.
All in all, I’m so pleased with our bedroom refresh. With the exception of a few items, we were able to use what we had to brighten up the space and give us more room. I’d call it a success!
Gadgets and Gizmos Aplenty
For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to learn embroidery, but have always found an excuse to not. I didn’t think I would be able to understand how, didn’t have the time, and didn’t want it to detract from my main creative outlet, writing, among the chief excuses.
But after going through The Artist’s Way and now going through Walking in This World, my view on creative endeavors has shifted. I now see that having more than one creative outlet enhances the others, it doesn’t take away from them. And after a friend of mine told me about a beginner’s embroidery kit she purchased, I finally decided to give it a try. I purchased this kit from Amazon and spent the weekend watching YouTube videos of all the stitches. I’m still very much learning, but the fact that I was even able to take this first step has given me more confidence than I expected. I’m excited to keep learning! Pro tip: If you purchase this kit, go ahead and save yourself the headache and purchase this pack of needle threaders separately. The one included in the kit is garbage and made me want to give up on more than one occasion.
As part of our bedroom makeover, I lost the jewelry cabinet I’ve used and loved for years. In our old house, it hung perfectly inside of my closet. In our current house, though, there is no place for it in my closet or bathroom. For the past few years I had it hanging in our bedroom but if I was going to give our room a facelift, I wanted to do it right, which meant the ugly cabinet had to go. I scoured the Internet for jewelry storage and was baffled to find so few functional options. How is everyone storing their jewelry?? Really, I want to know. I asked some friends and everyone had the same issue as me—they don’t know what to do either. Eventually I settled on this necklace, earring, and ring holder3 and these bracelet tubes. So far, they are working well. I will report back with any notable updates as time goes on.
In Case You Missed It
My friend
wrote this beautiful piece about the lessons she’s learned in life, as well as OCD recovery, through being open, exposure, and putting herself in the path of light as part of my craving//connecting series.I shared some practices which are bringing me life right now and how they tie into my word of the year.
In honor of Valentine’s Day, I took some time to list 28 things I love.
To celebrate 15 years together, I thought about how Luke and I say “I love you” these days. I also went down memory lane with some old photos, which is always a delight.
As always, I hope these words make you laugh, inspire you, encourage you, or simply provide a brief respite from the weight of the world while you read them. If you think they would do the same for others, would you share with a friend? When it comes to encouraging writers, sharing truly is caring.
To be clear, you will not catch me drinking bourbon neat. The documentary walks you through how to conduct a proper tasting and I concluded I decidedly like my bourbon mixed into a cocktail, thank you very much.
Will Ferrell through the Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Jimmy Fallon, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Andy Samburg eras, in case you were wondering.
Peep that “true love waits” ring. I don’t know what to do with this relic. It feels wrong to throw it away, but like, why am I holding onto it? Maybe someone will curate a museum exhibit of early 2000’s church culture and I can donate it there.
I always look forward to your monthly letter! I love the image of February being a PMS month and to embrace hibernating.
I feel like every time I read your monthly letter, I walk away with even more books to add to my TBR, excited to pick up reads by both Melanie Shankle and Ina Garten. Also I love that you're trying out embroidery.