BOOKS

In March, I read 8 books. My favorite was The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton and my least favorite was Black Girls Must Die Exhausted by Jayne Allen. Some other stats:

• 100% fiction
• 3 print, 2 e-books, 3 audiobooks
• 3.7 average star rating
• 50% diverse

The Many Daughters of Afong Moy (print, owned) ★★★★☆ | You, with a View by Jessica Joyce (e-book, library) ★★★★★ | The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton (audiobook, library) ★★★★★ | The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline (audiobook, library) ★★★★☆ | Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie (print, owned) ★★★★☆ | Heartbreaker by Sarah MacLean (e-book, library) ★★★★☆ | Black Girls Must Die Exhausted by Jayne Allen (audiobook, library) ★★☆☆☆ | Come and Get It by Kiley Reid (print, library) ★★☆☆☆

MEDIA

• Love is Blind, season 6 (Netflix) – I mainly watch this show for all the online discourse. It’s so messy! I even finally signed up for Hunter Harris’s premium substack to get her full thoughts on all the couples, which did not disappoint.
• The Trust (Netflix) – A new reality show where a group of people can choose to share a prize of $250,000 or vote one person off each night to give them a bigger piece of the prize. This was a fun show, but I think there needs to be changes to the format if they try to do it again.
• Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Prime) – I have only watched two episodes of this show, but the goal is to finish season one in April!
• Taylor Tomlinson: Have It All (Netflix) – Bri and I were supposed to see Taylor Tomlinson live in March, but her show was canceled at the last minute. WAH! So instead, we had a girls’ night in. I loved Taylor’s comedy special and was delighted to learn she is bi-curious and I am RIGHT HERE, TAYLOR. LET’S DO THIS!
• Corporate Gossip (podcast) – I talked about this podcast on my last Currently post so I won’t get into too much detail here. I finally got through their entire archive of episodes and now I can’t wait for season 4 to release soon!
• Florence + the Machine, Dance Fever (music) – My album for the month of March. This album came out in 2022, and I enjoyed it! Favorites off the album: Free, Dream Girl Evil, Cassandra, Heaven Is Here, and Daffodil.

On The Friendship Paradox, it was the month of moms! We interviewed Bri’s mom and my mom to learn more about the personalities (Bri’s mom is an enneagram 1 and my mom is an enneagram 9!), raising us, and our relationship today. It was a really fun time!

PURCHASES

• Apple watch – Using my wellness stipend for an Apple watch was an excellent decision! I love it so much and it’s come in handy during those hard workouts at the gym.
• 3-in-1 charging station – My Apple watch came with that very annoying USB-C charger and the only place I could plug it in to charge was my laptop. So I decided to invest in this guy so I could easily charge my phone, watch, and AirPods. It’s not a super-fast charger but it works for my needs.
• Short-sleeve pajama set – When I thought I was going to do an in-person sleep study, the scheduler mentioned that I would need to wear a two-piece pajama set. I mostly sleep in nightgowns these days because they’re comfortable for me. So I bought this short-sleeve sleep set for the sleep study that never happened, and I really love it. It’s very comfy!
• Small countertop shelving unit – I’ve had my eye on one of these small shelves for a while now and am very happy with my purchase. I keep it on my kitchen counter and it fits perfectly under one of my cabinets. I use it to organize my meds, coffee supplies, and other small kitchen items.
• Chip clips – The simplest product but one that brings me a ton of joy. I recently realized my life would be a lot better if I had a good assortment of chip clips to close up all sorts of bags in my kitchen, from frozen veggies to, well, chips. I bought this pack on Amazon and they’re magnetic so I don’t even have to worry about storing them when not in use!
• I’m Dead, Now What! Organizer – Someone asked me to link to the exact “I’m Dead, Now What?” book that I bought, so I’ve linked to the one I bought. Are there better ones out there? Possibly! I went for one that had a nice aesthetic but wasn’t too pricey.

MOMENTS

March kicked off with February book club. (Yes, we sometimes have trouble coordinating our book club meetings with work travel and vacations and other commitments, but we make it work!) We had a murder mystery party and please make sure you properly fawn over my friend Lynn’s beagle, Mugsy, who dressed in a suit for the occasion!

My mom, my stepdad, and I spent a Saturday at the Florida Strawberry Festival, which was a lot of fun. We really enjoyed some strawberry shortcake and some of the rides. What we didn’t love was the ride we went on before we left the festival. My mom and I were seated in a car together but the way the wind moved within this ride, it caused me to lean all the way into my mom and nearly crush her to death. She could barely breathe because she had my entire weight pressed up against her body. And then the ride started spinning in a way that made me so nauseated. I’ve never gotten sick from a ride, but the nausea was so bad I had to close my eyes until the ride came to a complete stop. OOF. I think my mom and I have both retired from carnival rides at this point.

Chip turned 6 on March 16! He’s the best boy. He was such a rambunctious, crazy puppy who would only settle down and sleep if he was in his crate. I remember my mom saying, “I just want him to snuggle next to me on the couch!” Well, now he is a big snugglebug and my mom is his favorite person in the whole wide world. (I can relate!) I can’t believe he’s already six!

I joined Crunch Fitness! I haven’t belonged to a gym since before the pandemic, but I am really glad that my mom wanted to join this gym because I’ve been really happy with my experience so far! We’ve done a spin class, yoga class, and personal training session ($10 with a new membership), and we’re signed up for a HIIT class tonight. We’re trying out as many new classes as we can right now, and having fun doing it.

Sweet Olive had a pediatric cancer walk this month and I was more than happy to attend! (Even if it did make my sciatica act up.) We got to walk around Raymond James Stadium (where the Bucs play) and go onto the field, which was fun! I think Olive had a good time, which is the most important thing.

When our Taylor Tomlinson lady date got cancelled, Bri decided to bring the night out to us. We had the best night in with a girl dinner (lots of dips and crackers and veggies!) and then popcorn and candy for the show (which we watched on Netflix). The best part of this night was that Bri’s friend Roxana, whom she met on a plane a few months ago and is now besties with because that’s how Bri operates, came over and I got to meet her! We are hoping to do these nights in once a month if possible because we all enjoyed our time together so much!

I started seeing a chiropractor this month to help with my sciatica. I am so glad I did this. I’ve had sciatica before and I’ve always just tried to make it go away on my own with heat therapy and stretching, but this time, I knew I needed more comprehensive care. My chiro is amazing and I’m hoping to start seeing results soon!

Lucy turned 3 on March 29th! I can’t believe this little nugget is already three… I love her so much and I’m glad I was able to spend part of my Friday with her. We went out for ice cream and then had dinner (where they had a doggie menu!) so she was eatin’ good on her birthday.

March book club… in March! We had a great time on Saturday. We made candles at The Candle Pour, went out for lunch at a Mexican takeout restaurant, and then wandered around a market for about an hour until our candles were ready to be picked up. Such a fun day out with my ladies!

What’s something you watched in March?

BOOKS

In February, I read 8 books. My favorite was Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez and my least favorite was The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston. Some other stats:

• 88% fiction, 12% nonfiction
• 5 print, 3 audiobooks
• 4.1 average star rating
• 25% diverse

Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez (print, owned) ★★★★★ | Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan (audiobook, library) ★★★★☆ | Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano (print, owned) ★★★★☆ | The Art of Scandal by Regina Black (print, library) ★★★★☆ | A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson (audiobook, library) ★★★★☆ | How to Be Yourself by Ellen Hendriksen (print, library) ★★★★☆ | Morbidly Yours by Ivy Fairbanks (print, library) ★★★☆☆ | The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston (audiobook, Spotify) ★★★☆☆

MEDIA

• The Circle, seasons 1 and 2 (Netflix) – I just started watching this reality TV show on Netflix and I really enjoy it. It’s such a unique concept!
• Love is Blind, season 6 (Netflix) – This show is so messy. Why do I keep watching it?
• The Traitors, season 2 (Peacock) – Season 1 was definitely a whole lot better than season 2, but I’m still enjoying this season and rooting for a Faithfuls win.
• The Floor (Hulu) – This silly game show hosted by Rob Lowe had me hooked in January and February! It’s so easy to follow along with, which I appreciate.
• Surviving Y2K (podcast) – I love a podcast series produced by Dan Taberski, although I didn’t love this one as much as I’ve loved his other podcasts (Running from Cops and 9/12). Y2K was a wild time, though, wasn’t it?
• Who Killed JFK? (podcast) – I didn’t realize there was such a big conspiracy about the JFK assassination! (Where have I been?!) This podcast hosted by Rob Reiner and Soledad O’Brien was incredible and I learned a lot.
• Noah Kahan, Stick Season (music) – My album for the month of February was Noah Kahan’s Stick Season, which came out in 2022. I liked it a lot! Favorites off the album: She Calls Me Back, Homesick, and Everywhere, Everything.

We also released two episodes this month for The Friendship Paradox. We interview our dear friend Mikaela all about being an enneagram 1—it is one of my favorite episodes we’ve done! And we also talked about our attachment styles.

PURCHASES

• A new purse ($24) – I treated myself to a new purse in February and I love it so much! It’s a tiny little backpack that I can wear as a crossbody. I like not having to dig through a bigger purse to find my wallet/keys/phone. Everything is within easy reach!
• Laptop backpack ($30) – The new laptop I received for Christmas is so much bigger than my old laptop, and it meant it wouldn’t fit into my laptop carrying case! Whoops. I went on the hunt for a cute laptop backpack and found this one, which ended up being one of the things I treated myself to for hitting my goals.
• Sterilite Clear View Storage Bins ($4-$6 each) – I love these storage bins because they are stackable and also come with very easy-to-use latches in bright purple. I got a bunch of these in February for my closet reorganization project (6 quart and 15 quart sizes).
• La Roche Posay Glycolic Acid ($44) – I’m trying out this glycolic acid since it’s supposed to remove dark spots and even out skin tone. We’ll see! I plan on using it for a few months and if I don’t see a difference in my skin, I’ll try something else.
• Hanes underwear ($17) – Have you refresh your underwear drawer yet? I used to love going to Victoria’s Secret and picking out a bunch of cute pairs of underwear, but now I just search for a 6-pack on Amazon and call it good. I don’t love the pack I got (I should have gotten the bikini style instead of the hipster style), but oh well!

MOMENTS

At the beginning of February, a group of us got together to visit Parkesdale Market (which is world-famous, apparently, and Barack Obama visited it during a 2008 campaign stop!) for strawberry shortcake and then go strawberry picking. It was such a fun day! I’m ready to go back.

Silent Book Club with my mom is one of my new favorite things! She’s recently gotten back into reading, as I’ve mentioned before, and it’s fun to have another way to connect with her.

Okay, this is a super-weird photo but I had to document my swollen lip after my cavity filling! What a crazy experience. I believe I had an allergic reaction to the topical lidocaine (which has never happened before). It probably also didn’t help that I was chewing on that side of my lip after my procedure and because I couldn’t feel anything, I likely chewed off the top layer of skin under my lip. Oops? Live and learn, friends. (The lip was back to normal size the next morning, although I had a nice little wound under my lip for a few days.)

Bri and I had such a fun Galentine’s Day together! We ordered cheesy bread and pizza and watched Never Been Kissed, a movie I can still quote to this day. Is it problematic? Sure. But did it still give me the ooey-gooey feelings that only a 90s rom-com can give me? Oh yeah.

One weekend in February, I was on dog-sitting duty! Hanging out with my besties Chip and Lucy is truly not a hassle. They are so fun and cuddly and silly. I love being with them! (I always stay at my mom’s house when I watch Chip and Lucy because it’s much easier than having them at my apartment. Sadly, the cats are not very fond of the dogs.)

Lila had her annual vet appointment this month and while I was convinced she had lost weight, she was up by almost a pound. Sigh. I talked extensively with the vet about how to get her to lose weight and it likely comes down to separating the cats while eating. Ughhh. I also talked with the vet about drugging Lila for these vet appointments. It took me fifteen minutes to get her in her carrier and that involved poking her with a broom to get her to come out from under the bed, chasing her around the apartment, trying to bribe her with treats, moving my couch to get her to come out from under the furniture… all the while she is meowing at me so sadly and breaking my heart. The vet gave me a few doses of Gabapentin to hopefully help make her a little more agreeable (read: high) when it comes to things like going to the vet, getting brushed, getting a nail trim, etc.

I had a big stack of books sitting in my closet ready to be sent to new homes. One Sunday morning, I plotted out a bunch of different Little Free Libraries within a 10-minute drive from where I live and went on a fun adventure of finding these beautiful little bookish spaces in my community and adding a few books into each one. It was a delightful journey!

I had another LASIK follow-up appointment and everything looks perfect! I was given the green light to start using my ceiling fan again (hooray!) and also basically “graduated” from my post-procedure follow-ups. My next appointment will be in about another year and from there, I can go every few years for eye checks. I’m still in this weird mode of reaching for my glasses every morning and then remembering I don’t need them, which is always an exciting re-discovery!

What was a top moment of February for you?

The first month of 2024 is behind us, and while January can be a difficult one for so many, it was a pretty good one for me. It was a month of settling into this new year and trying to enjoy myself. I’m pretty happy with the month overall! Let’s take a look back.

BOOKS

In January, I read 9 books. My favorite was Cover Story by Susan Rigetti (review to come) and my least favorite was This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens. Some other stats:

• 78% fiction, 22% nonfiction
• 6 print, 3 audiobooks
• 3.9 average star rating
• 44% diverse

Drunk on Love by Jasmine Guillory (print, owned) ★★★★☆ | The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (print, owned) ★★★☆☆ | White Feminism by Koa Beck (audiobook, Spotify) ★★★★☆ | This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens (print, library) ★★★☆☆ | The Honest Enneagram by Sarajane Case (print, owned) ★★★★☆ | Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale (audiobook, library) ★★★★☆ | Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date by Ashley Herring Blake (print, owned) ★★★★★ | Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (print, owned) ★★★★☆ | Cover Story by Susan Rigetti (audiobook, library) ★★★★★

MEDIA

• Only Murders in the Building, season 3 (TV) – I love this show. I loved it even more with the addition of Meryl Streep and Paul Rudd.
• The Traitors, season 2 (TV) – I already talked about my love for this show in my latest Currently post. It’s sensational.
• The Floor (TV) – I don’t know why I decided to watch this game show hosted by Rob Lowe, but I did and I’m hooked.
• Sweet Bobby (podcast) – I listened to the majority of this true crime podcast series on my way home from Tennessee. It’s insane.
• 9/12 (podcast) – I’ve had this podcast series saved for months and months. Dan Taberski has to be one of my all-time favorite journalists.
• Pantsuit Politics (podcast) – I started listening to this left-leaning political podcast this month and it’s fantastic.
• The Friendship Paradox – This month, we released two episodes! We talked about how we podcast and our hobbies.
• Olivia Rodrigo, GUTS (music) – I loved this album so much. It’s so fun to sing along to!

PURCHASES

• A new iPhone case – I’ve bought three iPhone cases from this particular Etsy shop and I’ve been so pleased with all of them. I like a slim case with a colorful pattern and these are perfect!
• Valentine’s decorations – I’m not someone who decorates for random holidays but now that I have a cute ledge by my door where I can add seasonal decor, I can’t help myself. I bought two little signs from TJ Maxx and a bouquet of (fake) red roses, and they add a touch of seasonal delight to my home.
• New bathroom rugs – I talked about these rugs in a TGIF post, but have to admit again how much happiness they have brought me.
• A new doormat – I usually replace my doormat every year because it’s fun to find something new. This one from Target makes me really happy!

MOMENTS

It’s hard to believe that I was still in Tennessee on my vacation in January, but I was! We kicked off 2024 with a visit to Ober Gatlinburg and snow tubing.

We left Tennessee on January 2nd and the state was most definitely showing off in its wintery glory as we sped through the Smoky Mountains on our way home.

Let’s talk about one of the most delightful moments of January: Meeting Jenny! She came to my fair city with her family and we were able to match our schedules up to meet for coffee on a Friday afternoon. We sat there for over two hours talking about life and books and blogging and football and all sorts of other stuff! I am always nervous before a blogger meet-up (what if we have nothing to say to each other???) but, of course, I needn’t have worried. It was like catching up with a dear friend!

Our book club experience in January was a PowerPoint night! You can see all of the fun topics we came up with! At first, I had no idea what topic I was going to present on, but soon settled on “The 10 Hottest Coaches in the NFL.” As you can see, that’s not the topic I ended up choosing. I had such a fun time thinking of the reality TV futures for my friends!

It was so much fun to sit down with our dear friend Mikaela and record a podcast about what it’s like being an enneagram 1. She was so vulnerable and honest with us, and I think it’s going to be an episode that touches a lot of people. I can’t wait for it to be released tomorrow!

I tried sushi for the first time! Well, the second time—my official first time was on a cruise many years ago, but I barely ate it, so it doesn’t really count. Bri wanted to introduce me to sushi the right way so she took me to a Thai restaurant where she ordered sushi with fried shrimp. And y’all! It was so good! I have been missing out. I don’t know how I feel about raw fish when it comes to sushi, but I’m excited to keep experimenting with cooked options going forward.

I got my nose pierced, which is something I’ve wanted for a long time. I always thought my nose was too big for my face, and I never wanted to draw attention to it with a piercing, but damn if I didn’t want a piercing anyway. And now I’m in a place where I don’t care if my nose is too big… if I want a piercing, I should get a piercing! So I did. I love it and can’t wait to change out the stud for a hoop in a few months!

I finally have a cozy reading chair! I told the story about getting this chair into my bedroom on Friday. I’ve had many different reading sessions in this chair since then and it makes me so happy!