January Wrap-Up

January blues, what I read, and what I loved this month

As January comes to a close (finally, amirite?) I’m reminded of this quote that I think describes the month of January perfectly:

“It’s been January for months in both directions.” - The Pear Tree by Kaveh Akbar

January always feels like the longest month, made even moreso this year by the sheer number of things Donald has fucked up in his first two weeks in office, and I feel like I’ve aged 30 years since January 20th alone. Though I consider myself to be a reformed winter hater, I can’t say I wasn’t a little bit glad to see the end of January, if only to get the chance at another fresh start. By the end of January, the New Year’s Resolutions we set mere weeks ago start to look impossible, and many people give up altogether, forgetting that there are plenty of new beginnings in the year ahead. January 1st is not our only chance to “get our lives together” for the entire year. Each new month, each new week, each new day provides a new opportunity to reinvent yourself, reevaluate what’s important, and start again.

And so, for me, February 1st, and the beginning of a new month is a good time to look back at my goals for the year and reevaluate them. Are they still attainable? Relevant? Bringing me closer to the person I want to be? You are allowed to change them, you know. Let me say that again. You’re allowed to change your goals!!! At any time, for any reason. The person you are on January 1st is not necessarily the person you are on January 31st–or in April, or August, or November–and that’s okay. Your goals are supposed to work for you, not against you. If you need to reevaluate and lower some of them, or eliminate them altogether, that’s okay!

Before I look to the month ahead though, I want to do a recap of the first month of the year to give it a proper goodbye.

What I loved in January:

1. This Howdy! cup from Anthropologie. I quite literally haven’t used another cup since I bought this one. I am obsessed, and I want the whole collection.

2. Herby chicken meatballs. I almost never use a recipe to cook, but I loosely used this one this month, and they turned out so good.

3. Drinks from PLANTA Queen in Chicago. I’ve been here twice, and both times the food has been great, but the cocktails have been INCREDIBLE.

4. Blue Bottle Nola cold brew is a favorite every month, but I had to get some to bring back home with me on my trip to Chicago last week. I need them to open a location in Detroit please!

5. Noah Kahan’s first two albums. I got on board with Noah’s music when he released Stick Season (as I think many of us did), but lately I’ve been really into Busyhead (specifically False Confidence and Mess) and I Was/I Am (specifically Animal, Caves, and Someone Like You).

6. My two favorite books from the list below this month were The Bookshop by Evan Friss and The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue. You can find my monthly reading wrap-ups on my TikTok for more in-depth reviews!

What I read in January:

1. Disappoint Me by Nicola Dinan

2. The Boy with a Bird in His Chest by Emme Lund

3. The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

4. One Piece volumes 19-21

5. Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

6. The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue

7. The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore by Evan Friss

8. The House of My Mother: A Daughter’s Quest for Freedom by Shari Franke

9. The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemison

10. I Who Have Never Known Men by Jaqueline Harpman

Fun fact/conversation starter:

Every week I’ll leave you with a fun fact or a conversation starter that I find interesting. Feel free to answer in the comments or use it to get the conversation going at work, home, or wherever!

What is your ideal appetizer sampler?

Ideally this is 3-4 items, and they can be specific things from any restaurant or just general apps. For example, mine would be mozzarella sticks from Arby’s, whipped ricotta from Miss Ada in Brooklyn, and samosas.

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