five things Friday: slipper selections edition

Still adding some items to my evolving 21 in 2021 list, and a good one occurred to me recently: upgrading my slippers and robe. With how much time we're spending at home, they get tons of use, and I want to feel a little snazzier in mine if I'm going to use them that much. I've been online window shopping, and here are some options I have in mind for keeping my feet cozy: 

 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

I really like wearing shoes, but it's not all that warm or comfy (or perhaps sanitary) when you're around the house all the time - but I just like how they make an outfit feel like an outfit. I feel much more put-together that way. So I started looking for some slipper options that might give a more shoe-like feel. The first pair really does seem to be a shoe, but with the sherpa lining, it would be the perfect house shoe and give a cool loafers vibe to an outfit. In that vein, the second pair would feel a bit more 

There are a lot of slide/scuff slippers that I'm not interested in because they're just so slipper in a way that feels like I'd appear to have clown feet, but the remaining options would fit the bill for being comfy and cozy and easy to slip on, but still have a bit more style - the embroidered pair is maybe a bit more casual slipper than I want, but I can't resist a cute Soludos embroidery; the puffy pair looks much more narrow and streamlined than your standard slipper; and the sherpa pair has quite a sophisticated silhouette too, don't you think?

Might have to ask the UPS guy to bring a few of these to try out - and now to figure out where to find a good robe that I won't swim in...

reading lately: rom-coms

My reading of a personal record 119 books last year was certainly helped along by some quicker, lighter reads - some of those being some fun rom-coms. Enjoyable banter, swoony love interests, and (maybe most especially) predictable endings definitely fit my 2020 reading needs. Here are five that I enjoyed for all of those reasons. They might not be 5-star reads, but they are fun and satisfying experiences in the moment, and so I say they're all worth picking up if that's what you're looking for!

 

You Have a Match

In this YA rom-com, Abby decides to do a DNA test in solidarity with her best friend (and person she's secretly in love with, of course) Leo, who was adopted and is curious about his heritage. But Abby is the one who gets big news from the results: it turns out that she has a sister she has never heard of. And that sister turns out to live nearby and be a popular, shiny-haired, type-A Instagram fashion and wellness influencer - total opposite of Abby, who is much more impulsive and tomboyish, into nature photography, and struggling with her SAT prep. They decide to spend the summer at the same camp to try to get to know each other a little and try to figure out how on earth their parents - who appear to have been really good friends years ago - have never even mentioned the other couple... or the other sister for that matter. Turns out that this is the same camp that Leo is headed to for the summer, and now Abby and Leo really have to face the awkwardness of their one kiss head-on. Definitely got some Parent Trap vibes with this one (which I LOVE), with the sisters at summer camp, their pranks, their trying to figure out how to approach their parents, and their development toward a sisterly bond - and then we've got the enjoyable addition of the best friend falls for other best friend but doesn't want to ruin the relationship romance trope along with it. I loved Emma Lord's Tweet Cute so much that I wanted to read this one immediately when I saw it was coming out this month; this one has quite a different setting, and I thought it interesting how it was quite a different protagonist - one who is really struggling in school and chafing against her parents' academic goals for her, rather than the over-achiever protagonist of the other (and that I feel like often shows up in YA rom-coms) - but it still was very enjoyable in its own way, especially as the sister relationship was a nice complement to the rom-com background.

3.5/5 stars, received an advance e-copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Not Like the Movies

In Waiting for Tom Hanks, quirky and sweet Annie is rom-com movies' #1 fan, and she is just waiting for her own real-life rom-com moment to sweep her off her feet; this follow-up stars Annie's best friend, Chloe, a much more practical and skeptical kind of person who 100% does not believe in real-life happy ever after endings... and she's pretty annoyed that people think she's going to have one with her coffee shop owner boss Nick. She certainly doesn't think she has the time or bandwidth, as someone who is working long hours, baking pies for friends and to sell at the coffee shop, going to school in the evenings, and is alone in caring for her father who has dementia - never mind her secret dream of opening her own bakery. And things unfold from there, as rom-coms do. Some things I enjoy about this series in general: it's quite self-aware, referencing all of the rom-com tropes even as they're happening to the characters, which makes for some fun meta moments; the Midwest setting makes it feel close to home and down to earth, especially with so many cozy coffee shop scenes; there's good sexual tension without too much steam. Overall, a slow-building romance, but a charming escape. 

3.5/5 stars, ordered from The Bookshelf, which introduced me to Waiting for Tom Hanks in the first place

Well Met

I've come to learn that I enjoy the enemies-to-lovers trope in romance/rom-com books, and this is a very fun example with its own twist: the protagonists develop their relationship while working at a renaissance faire. Twenty-something Emily has relocated to a small town to help out her sister after an accident, but it's not like she had that much going on to leave behind (besides a bad breakup). While there, she gets roped in by her niece to helping out at the local summer renaissance faire, where she meets the organizer Simon, and immediately gets off on the wrong foot with him. She thinks Simon is too high-strung and overly serious about the accuracy of the faire, costumes, and participants; he doesn't have time for her carefree approach to things, or her suggestions to implement changes to the traditional faire setup. But when they're both portraying their respective faire characters, they almost become different people, and their outlook about each other starts to change... The banter is great, the scenarios and side characters humorous, and the steam factor pretty high! I also liked how this included the character development that is part of romance novels; in this one, it was particularly satisfying, where the protagonist goes from being a bit unmoored, and definitely disconnected from friends and family, but through the story finds her confidence and her purpose - bonus that this involves some good book nerd stuff, like a bookstore/coffee shop job and an English teacher leading man. Oh, and the renaissance-costumed heaving bosom addition to the relationship tension was pretty good too...

3.5/5 stars, fun enough that I hope to get to the sequel, Well Played, soon!

 

The Switch

Okay, not sure how precisely "rom-com" this one is, but it was such a delightful read, with a dash of romance included, that I decided to include it here. Leena is a 20-something go-getter who has a bit of a meltdown in a high-pressure work situation and is forced to take some time off by her bosses, so she goes to visit her grandma, Eileen. Meanwhile, Eileen has a lovely and full life in her quaint small town with her neighbors, but at 79 she would love to find love again finally after a messy divorce decades earlier - though pickings are slim in a small town. This sets a plot for the two to switch lives for a bit. Leena lives in her grandmother's cottage and takes over some of her volunteer committee duties while she tries to get some needed down-time from her stressful life; meanwhile, Eileen lives with Leena's roommates in London, where they teach her how to get onto dating apps. In the process, both women learn a lot about themselves, make unexpected new friendships, and of course find some love interests too... There's lots of humor and whimsy and heartwarming (though not too sappy) sweetness with the wonderful small town cast of characters and also the lovely community that Eileen builds and brings together in London, but the story also delves into some serious topics and emotions the characters are going through, relating to aging, loneliness, grief. So overall a good amount of depth while still being a great escape, with the bonus of getting to have the rare older female protagonist who is pursuing relationships - I loved Eileen's story maybe even more than Leena's. (Oh, and virtually no steaminess, if you're looking for something with some romance that won't make you blush...)

4/5 stars, picked it up because I loved The Flatshare so much (one of my favorite romance/rom-coms of 2019)

 

To Have and to Hoax

Lady Violet Grey and Lord James Audley are one of those Regency-era couples who have had a true love match - but a couple of years into their marriage, they had the fight to end all fights, and it's been cold shoulders ever since. But when Violet hears that James has been thrown from his horse, she realizes her love for him and rushes to be at his side - only to find out that he's totally fine. This gets them snipping at each other again, and she decides to start faking an illness to get back at him and try to make him have those same worried feelings. But he sees through her plan and actually plays along, which only makes her more mad, and she takes it up a notch. Through their escalating manipulative games they actually start spending a bit more time together again, flirtations ensue, and perhaps they might not hate each other as much as they thought they had... It's a bit unusual in romance plots that the protagonist is actually already married - but the rift in their marriage works well enough to give you all the romantic tension you need (and there's steam too!), plus you get the comedy side of the rom-com with all of the hijinks that happen between the warring spouses. It's a fun romp around Regency England, for sure.

3.5/5 stars, recommend if you're needing something to fill a Bridgerton hole in your life - I'll be turning to this book's spinoff sequel coming in April, myself

Have you read any great rom-coms lately? I'm always up for another good one!

Sharing on Show Us Your Books.

wearing lately: casual cool

Okay, this very basic outfit might not seem like much to write home about (or a blog post about, as it were), but when a girl lives in the same jeans + sweaters, it actually feels a bit novel to pull out black jeans and... a sweatshirt! So I took some photos.

 

I used to own sweatshirts only for athletic wear, but by this point in the pandemic, I have acquired (by mail order of course) a couple for casual wear. Along with everyone else spending all their time at home, I'm sure. 

To take the casual up a notch, I like it with the cool factor of some black jeans along with what my friend (hi, Lesley!) would call "cool-kid sneakers" - I learned this term from her years ago and loved it so much I have used ever since to describe fun sneakers for everyday, non-athletic wear. And how could you not call these ones cool, with their cheetah print?!

five things Friday: inaugural edition

Ah, Instagram has been a joy this week with all of the inauguration photos and quotes from Amanda Gorman's amazing and inspiring poem (not to mention the Bernie Sanders mitten memes). I was feeling good about the hope that this new administration will bring, but didn't even think of the instant social media consequences: doomscrolling converted to happy scrolling! To bask in it a little more, here are 5 of my favorites from the week:

@hellosunshine

@jessicayellin

@thehomeedit 

@jessicayellin 

@nytimes

Also happy to see this week: my most beloved mother posting in her stories wearing her Kamala tee... and now we get to celebrate (from afar - because sadly everyone appears to be getting at least one Covid birthday) her, and her day of birth today! For my mom and all the women who have gone before - who we know really make the world go 'round - so delighted to mark this occasion and milestone for American women this week. Next stop, Oval Office!

around the house: my favorite organizing supplies

I kind of always love organizing, but I'll admit that January always especially gives me the bug... just want to clear out the old, and make everything that's left look all organized and pretty. I've already delivered a big load to the local thrift shop, and feel loads lighter (amazing what a physical release that provides!). Haven't done any new major organization projects yet except for some rearranging in the disaster areas of the basement - working towards making room for that treadmill! - but if you've got the itch too, I thought I'd share some of my favorite organizing supplies and products from other rooms.

In the kitchen, I have used OXO canisters to keep the pantry organized for years - they were a bit of an investment (though, pro tip: sometimes you can find them for a great price at TJ Maxx or Home Goods), but they have held up for nearly 10 years, so they're very worth it! The ones in my baking drawer have labels on top for easy access to everything. And I've done a whole post on my spice drawer organization - pretty much one of my favorite things of 2020.

 

In the playroom, we have tons of built in drawers, many of which are admittedly a disaster inside the drawer, but at least they contain stuff out of sight. For Legos though we've used Sterilite containers for several years, to keep sets corralled separately into their own little bins, plus we've got one big bin for the "creative" pieces that don't need to be sorted separately. Another organization tool we love in here is the art cart, to corral all of our creative supplies in bins and jars in one spot.

 

And in the master bathroom, I am still feeling flush with storage space by the fact of having any drawers at all, compared to having a pedestal sink and zero drawer storage before our remodel. These aren't super heavily organized, but some clear bins from Target and Amazon have served us well to keep dental, skincare, and haircare stuff corralled separately.

A few other bonus items that I really love around the house: 

• Acrylic shelf dividers in our hallway coat closet, which I use to keep my purses standing up nicely instead of being a jumbled mess like they used to be 
• Ikea drawer organizers for dressers, which I use for all of us, especially great for undies/socks, but they also keep Hendrik's clothes contained a bit, instead of just being dumped into full drawers when he does his laundry putting away chores
• West Elm storage coffee table is so handy in the living room to stick extra magazines, remotes, and whatnot that I want handy but out of sight - bonus that when it opens half of it pops up to serve as an excellent height table for eating dinner on movie nights, or sitting with my laptop while I watch tv and type (like right now!)

And now after looking at all of these bins and baskets I'm having a bit of a Container Store craving... Got any fun organization projects you're working on lately?

kid reads: mystery series

Got another round-up of some good kid reads for you here - a set of mystery series that you might not know about, but that your budding mystery reader might enjoy (and always a bonus to have a series when you've got an eager reader, so it's easy to find their next book!). There are of course the classic series like Boxcar Children and Encyclopedia Brown, but on revisiting them I admit I found them a bit outdated, maybe even boring... these ones though get a thumbs up from Hendrik:

Clubhouse Mysteries: starting with The Buried Bones Mystery, this series from the excellent author Sharon M. Draper. Ziggy and his crew of friends build a clubhouse and decide to get together to solve some mysteries. The characters are fun and the tone overall heartwarming (bonus for me is that they are brown children, just living life - that's a kind of diversity I want to make sure to include in my kid's reading life); beyond the mysteries, themes include friendship and helping the community. The books fairly short and readable solo for 2nd grade and up, I'd think. 

The Great Cake Mystery: if you enjoy Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, you're going to enjoy these kid versions along with your little reader - they have Precious as a young girl in Botswana, where we see her detective skills and interests piqued as she solves problems like who ate the slice of cake that went missing from the classroom (helping us learn that immediately blaming the "most likely" culprit is not fair), and where a movie star lion ended up after escaping from a safari camp (in book 2), and what happened to her friends' family's missing cow (in book 3). The writing is great, Precious is a wonderful character, and there's an excellent emphasis on things like kindness/empathy/acceptance on top of the mystery stories. Highly recommend these as read-aloud starting maybe 5-6 years old, and readable solo for 2nd/3rd graders.

Nate the Great: Nate is a kid who loves pancakes, hanging out with his friend Annie, and solving mysteries. He's got the cool detachment of a classic noir detective (and the costume to boot!), and solves neighborhood mysteries like what happened to a missing cat, this is a classic series, but I feel like it holds up - and there are tons of them, especially great for seasonal reading, with titles like Nate the Great and... the Mushy Valentine, the Crunchy Christmas, the Halloween Hunt. I like how it's an introduction into procedural type of detective work, in a fun, kid-friendly way of course - Nate is methodical about gathering clues and thinking through them before reaching his conclusions. Short books that often have fun fact or activities inserts in the back for extra learning/interaction, these are great for beginning readers, and amusing enough for adults too.

Mr. Penguin and the Lost Treasure: Mr. Penguin is an adventuring character with a sidekick Colin the spider, who gets called upon to find a museum's missing treasure (this book), tries to decipher some strange noises coming from an old fortress after he crash lands his plane by it (book 2), and while on a cruise ship for vacation finds something fishy going on (book 3). You know, in the way that mysteries always seem to pop up no matter where a detective is hanging out. The overall tone is quirky, humorous, and fun; the illustrations are very jaunty and eye-catching; and it's got short chapters and fairly large size print, so not too intimidating for a reluctant reader.

Investigators: a graphic novel series (also has a book 2 and book 3 coming soon) about a duo of alligators who travel the sewers solving cases and rounding up crooks that's pretty goofy and bound to have some light potty humor, given that they live in the sewers and all... This is a series that would be good for kids who are into ones like Dogman; not sure it's top-quality literature, but sometimes you just gotta let kids read what they're into in order to get them into reading (and usually all the Dogman books are checked out from the library! That's how we happened upon these a while back, when browsing the graphic novel section in search of a replacement).

These are all great series for early-ish readers, though Hendrik still enjoys them all even if he's reading at a higher level on his own these days - most especially the last two, because they particularly feed his literary interest in adventure stories (here are some of his other recent favorites in that realm!). I've got some other mystery series that I'd like to check out with him soon though, to level up a bit: The Mysterious Benedict Society, Winterhouse trilogy, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library (regarding the latter two: I'm a sucker for books about books/libraries; also, they looks like a puzzle mystery kind of setup, so great for kids who have that analytical/puzzle-minded brain).

p.s. post contains links to Bookshop.org for all books - if you purchase through them, you will be supporting independent bookstores! I also will earn a small commission.

wearing lately: winter staples

I've already mentioned how I'm in the jeans + sweater uniform stage of winter wardrobe-dom, but those aren't the only things on repeat. My winter staples have all been getting plenty of use too - from layering pieces to outdoor gear, here are my go-tos for the season:

Changing up which pieces layer and which jeans go on the bottom, I can make like 10 outfits just out of these favorites. Sometimes I wonder why I have a full closet of clothes... and then February hits and it's still winter and I'm glad for the variety.

What are your winter must-haves?

five things Friday: moment of respite edition

Yet more Covid daily record breaking, the news from last week's Capitol insurrection looking more and more disturbing as more details come out, anxiety about further violence... the world continues to be a lot out there. And it continues to be crucial to balance being involved/informed with maintaining mental health. So, a few ways I have found some respite this week - in case you need help taking a moment to take a breath too.

image

 

1. Ted Lasso on Apple TV+: I heard about this show last year from several sources but never got around to trying it until this week. And what. a. delight. Jason Sudeikis plays a southern US college football coach who seems so clueless yet earnest and somehow gets hired to coach a premier league UK football (soccer) team. Which sets the stage for the wacky but also so charming and heartwarming humor. I smile all the way through the episodes.

2. Home Cooking podcast: Sameen Nosrat (of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat fame) and Hrishikesh Hirway (of the podcast Song Exploder) "help you figure out what to cook (and keep you company) during the quarantine" on their podcast launched in March; their friendly banter and laughs make it a relaxing delight to listen to, and the cooking tips are pretty great as well! I've been enjoying going through the short backlist on this one and reminiscing about some of the early quarantimes cooking trends... like beans and bread.

3. Peloton meditation: I actually had "try meditation" on my 20 in 2020 list and was glad I had just put "try" because it did not work for me. But lately I've been trying out a bit on my trusty Peloton app, and the calming meditations and sleep meditations have been really nice for a little timeout before bed. (I cannot say enough good things about Peloton programming - there's so much beyond the bike, see some other workouts I love here - and right now it appears their free trial lasts for a whole 2 months, so it's definitely worth checking out.) 

4. Kitchen dance parties: the funk of the winter and news cycle blahs somehow made me forget about this excellent escape + pick-me-up: dancing around the kitchen like a maniac with Hendrik. His soundtracks of choice are always Lego Movie 2 and Sing! and they can't help but leave a person a bit re-energized. 

5. Kait's Hawaii photo diaries: If you need a respite from dreary weather or life's anxieties, feast your eyes on Kait's Hawaii photography, like this, this, or this. Our 15th wedding anniversary is next month, and on our 14th I declared that we're TOTALLY GOING TO HAWAII for our 15th and really meant it, but alas... thus Kait's photos are feeling like an extra nice sight for sore eyes this winter.

Hope you're hanging in there and can find a moment of respite this weekend. 

reading lately: in the public eye

Here's a fun round-up of books - from YA to romance to contemporary fiction, they all show what it might be like to navigate life and love while in the public eye... whether there by choice or not.

One to Watch

Bea Schumacher is a fab plus-sized style blogger/influencer, who, after a bit of a Twitter rant about a Bachelor-type reality show called Main Squeeze and its lack of diversity, gets cast as the next lead. The story follows her experience being on the show, which is a fascinating behind-the-scenes of the logistics of filming semi-scripted reality TV, but also a thought-provoking imagining of what it would be like mentally and emotionally to put oneself out there and go through this kind of experience, particularly when having to handle the internet's terrible comments about plus-sized bodies and also trying to navigate what feelings/interactions are real and what are just for the benefit of the audience or the contestant's future aspirations - and having to do it all on camera for an audience of millions. I loved how real this character felt - she's a bad-ass boss lady who is confident in herself, but that can waver as people are nasty on the internet or in person, and also as she finally lets her guard down to let true love in. I don't watch The Bachelor but I found this fun and fascinating both; I think fans of the show would enjoy an inside look at it, but people who are not fans would also enjoy the critiques of this type of show and also the general media/social commentary on body attitudes and diversity. It's smart and interesting, and of course, ends up being a pretty satisfying romance too.

4/5 stars, heard about it from a great author interview on Nerdette

 

Boyfriend Material

Luc O'Donnell is the son of some b-list celebrities who finds himself frequently winding up in the tabloids and not looking so good. Even if he's wrongly depicted by the paparazzi, when some big donors to the non-profit that Luc works for begin to take notice and object, he's in effect told that he needs to bring a "suitable" boyfriend to the charity's gala event, or be fired. His best friend sets him up with Oliver, a straight-laced barrister, who rubs Luc the wrong way and has nothing in common with him - except that they both need a date for a big event. So they strike up a deal, and they figure out ways to get photographed together for Luc to get some good press. But then, spending time together for these purposes... feelings of course ensue. Of the romance genre tropes, this one clearly follows the fake dating/turns out we actually like each other variety, and it's a very enjoyable entry into the category, reminding me of Red, White & Royal Blue. Some of the occurrences and characters in this one are wacky enough to border on farcical, even down to their names (such as working for a dung beetle charity, with a clueless co-worker named Alex Twaddle), which could feel over-the-top but ended up being pretty entertaining and even endearing to me. As with any good romance, you get some character growth along the way, both characters reckoning with the self-doubt or self-sabotage tendencies that brought down their romantic relationships in the past, but still that satisfying banter and swooniness too! Also appreciated the perspective/difficulties the characters face about being the "right" kind of gay and how having to fit certain types of molds to make others comfortable is another kind of homophobia.

4/5 stars, perfect for fans of Red, White & Royal Blue

 

The Honey Don't List

Carey and James are assistants to Melissa and Rusty Tripp, respectively, a home design couple a la Chip & Joanna Gaines who are about to have their new Netflix show release and also head out on a book tour to talk up their book that's all about having a great marriage - but it turns out their marriage is very much on the rocks. The assistants are forced to give up their own vacation week and come along on the west coast bus tour to help keep the peace between the couple and most especially to keep their squabbles out of the public eye. And since neither of them is in a position to quit their job, for reasons that surface from their past, they're stuck playing media damage control. Though they start out with quite a bit of animosity toward each other, neither quite understanding where the other is coming from (Carey is more of a free spirit and has a chip on her shoulder but also occasional plaguing self-doubt as someone who is self-taught in the trade, having been Melissa's assistant for 10+ years and not having gone to college; James is very neat and type-a, and always bristles at any "assistant" title as he's really supposed to be an engineer and values his profession and status, which Carey sees as stuck up), while on the road they start to lean on each other, as the only people who can understand what the other has to deal with on a daily basis - which of course leads to more... I liked it for the behind-the-scenes look (though I sincerely hope the actual Chip & Joanna aren't like this!), similar to how I enjoyed Christina Lauren's Twice in a Blue Moon; it was especially interesting to consider what work happens behind the scenes, to maintain the image of the people who are in the public eye. And of course the romance part was quite enjoyable and satisfying, not too steamy.

3.5/5 stars, breezed through it in 2 days, which is perfect when you're in the mood for that kind of thing!

 

Cleo McDougal Regrets Nothing

Senator Cleo McDougal is getting ready to launch a presidential campaign when her former high school best friend Mary Ann publishes an op-ed saying that Cleo is "not a nice person." Thanks to social media this article starts to get buzz, and Cleo's chief of staff decides that Cleo will go on a type of apology campaign - filmed for posting on social media, of course - to address some of her personal regrets and capture the public's interest in a new way, seeing her as a real person. The idea is to do damage control by addressing some relatable regrets (such as, "I never developed a hobby"), but of course delving into the past brings up lots of deeper things, including the paternity questions her teenage son hasn't quite asked yet, a relationship with a professor she had in law school, how in fact her friendship with Mary Ann broke up and why. And now Cleo finds herself doing damage control on the campaign trail and in her personal life. This is contemporary fiction that's pretty light in tone but with some sharpness/sarcasm (think Abbi Waxman), making for an easy/fun read, but it also has plenty of issues to think about in terms of female empowerment; regrets, where choices lead, and whether we can have redemption from them; double standards we hold for women vs. men in careers, parenting, etc.; and how that plays out in media/public discourse about political figures.

3/5 stars, one of the more successful Amazon First Reads freebies I've downloaded for Kindle

Majesty

In an alternate America where George Washington's family became the royal line of rulers, the country is preparing for its first queen in young Beatrice. All eyes are on her preparation to someday take the throne and even more so on her wedding plans (royal fever on steroids!), along with her partying twin siblings who tend to get some negative press that needs damage control. Can't say too much about the plot specifics of this one without giving away parts of the first book (American Royals), but you should know that if you liked it, you should read this. (And also you should know that you should read American Royals.) This sequel continues the various characters' storylines in what I found to be a quite satisfying way, in terms of the growth and self-discovery of the characters, some swoony romantic moments, and some excellent YA drama; it's also interesting to have the perspective of royals who are living through being constantly in the public eye with particular expectations always being held for them, but not being in that position by choice. Makes you think a little differently about Will & Kate and Harry & Meghan. I also liked delving a bit more into the idea of women and also younger generations making the new policies and norms for a country, finding new ways of doing things and making the country more equitable for all. I read it just before the election in the fall and it was the perfect thing at that time when I was really feeling sick of the old white guys getting to make the decisions - and might still be, given the ongoing political awfulness around here. I was so happy to be living for a while in this version of America and what passes for big political problems/scandals there... YA drama any day.

4/5 stars, devoured it

Like this behind-the-scenes of life in the public eye type of sub-genre (which I totally just made up)? Some other suggestions: The Royal We and its sequel The Heir Affair or Red, White & Royal Blue would satisfy that royals urge; in the realm of musicians, Permanent Record is YA about dating a famous pop star, and Limelight is contemporary about being the manager for one who needs a lot of wrangling, and Daisy Jones & the Six is a whole (fictional) history of the behind-the-scenes of a band; The Book of Essie looks at what it's like to be part of a reality TV family; and Amanda Wakes Up, Campaign Widows, and Rodham might similarly satisfy any interests with regard to this genre and politics.

Sharing on Show Us Your Books.

wearing lately: embellished

 Winter pretty much equals jeans + a sweater for my style, which is practical of course, but sometimes gets a little old. So how about doing the same - but embellished?!

I am thanking myself now for snagging this fun floral embroidered sweater on a great Black Friday sale but saving it until January to pull out, when I was feeling like I could go for something fresh when it comes to my everyday sweater + jeans looks. (Of course, now it's just on clearance in general, so you too can get a super deal on a fun sweater...) Normally I try to avoid buying things just because they're on sale or just because I feel the need for retail therapy, but a discounted sweater is a small price to pay for dealing with a bit of winter blahs, I say.

Below is a little roundup of some additional embellished sweaters that make an outfit feel like more of an outfit without needing any additional work:

Sharing on Trend Spin, Style Six.

5 things Friday: 21 in 2021 edition

For the last several years I have made an annual list inspired by Gretchen Rubin of intentions (rather than resolutions/goals, per se) for things that would bring purpose or joy or connection to the year, rather than just letting time pass me by - as it has a way of doing! But for 2021 I was feeling admittedly uninspired to come up with 21 things.

While I appreciated the things I could do from my 2020 list for the fun and new things and intentional family time they brought to life, there were several items that had to get an asterisk because they became impossible after March 13... RIP, kid-free trip and trying new restaurants/cocktail lounges. I made my peace with that, but it still is hard to think expansively about a new year when it's hard to know at all what it will look like, particularly in the realm of, you know, being able to go out in public. While I'm glad that we're moving past 2020, there's nothing magical about the arrival of 2021; in fact, things out of the White House and at the Capitol got much worse (horrifying, yet not a surprising situation with the years of white supremacy and rhetoric), and the Covid situation continues to worsen, with the hope of vaccines being there but dimmed continually by the poor rollout. Not really feeling it, 2021.

SO. I decided that I didn't have to go 100% in on this list. Instead, I could come up with about 5 items at a time that feel inspiring for the current situation out there. Maybe by the end of the year I'll have 21 items that I want to do/experience/try or maybe I'll have fewer, but either way hopefully will result in some bright spots or satisfaction for the year. Here's my first batch:

1. Give Schitt's Creek another try: so many people love this show, and I am really in the market for something humorous to enjoy several seasons of on Netflix, but when I first watched a couple of episodes last year I for some reason didn't get into it. Going to give it another shot and see if I fall in love!
   
2. Update the fireplace mantel decor: after taking down the Christmas things from the mantel, I felt like putting back the regular decor that I've had for years felt kind of blah this time around. With how much we're home and in our living room, I think this is a worthy thing of some targeted online shopping (whee!). Maybe even sprucing up the insides of the fireplace, which we never build fires in, to have a candle holder + flickering flameless candles and bring some nice light into the dark evenings too.
   
3. Do the RAD reading challenge: I've been doing the MMD reading challenge for a few years, but after mixed results on my picks for it this year I'm excited to try something new. The twelve categories in the RAD reading challenge are quite simple and straightforward, but I like that about it - and I like how Rachel does posts with roundups of suggestions for each category, like this.
   
4. Continue the monthly family movie night tradition from 2020: one of my 2020 list items that was a great success and made for some fun family time was the monthly family movie night. We always make a picnic dinner in the living room (usually homemade pizza) while we watch, and it's fun for something different, especially in these many months of not going out.
   
5. Get a treadmill: I surprisingly don't miss the gym, but while it's cold out, or times when Hendrik has been home full-time (which were rather a lot in 2020) I really missed having access to a treadmill, even just for a little pick-me-up stroll in the afternoon. So I'm going to try to make it happen to get one in our basement - which beyond involving research into which one to get will involve some organizing/purging/rearranging to make space. Worth it!
   

Are you making any type of list like this for the year? I always love reading other people's ideas for theirs.

currently

 

beginning: my photo album of 2020 Instagram photos. It takes me a million years (or 3) to get to Hendrik's yearly album because they're so time-consuming for me to select photos and arrange layouts. But making yearly Instagram ones is so much better because there are limited photo options (which Shutterfly will directly upload from Instagram), and I feel much less (self-imposed) pressure on making the layout perfect, so they come together pretty quickly - and it's super fun to have this tangible illustration of our family's year.

feeling: refreshed, now that the house is cleared out of Christmas decor...and other people. Though I do miss the twinkle lights in the evenings!

organizing: the playroom again, with the influx of new Legos. Though not as fancy as what The Home Edit does, at least we've got everything contained, and Hendrik selected some of his older/easier sets to pass along to other kids.

resolving: to plan some day dates. Pandemic = no babysitters ever since our pod with grandparents broke up. It's not like we're going to go out to a restaurant or anything - but we could be a bit more intentional about treating school as the babysitter on Peter's weekly day off. Maybe some cross-country skiing together for starters? (Photo from a million years ago, on our last kid-free trip, which is the epitome of day dating.)

wondering: how many snow days might be coming our way, and admittedly dreading the possibility. I try to accept winter weather for what it is, because it would be an unhappy life in Michigan if I didn't try. But after a November + December with quarantine, Thanksgiving break, virtual school, and Christmas break, I'm not ready to have a good attitude about weather-related schedule disruptions.

 

What are you up to as 2021 kicks off? Link up a post below to share, and come on back February 3 for what we're currently loving, reading, remembering, sharing, and wishlisting.

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wearing lately: Christmas acquisitions

For the first outfit post of the new year, showcasing a few Christmas acquisitions seemed the obvious thing to do, since these goodies have been on repeat since I unwrapped them: so here we have a gorgeous and oh-so-soft cashmere sweater from my grandma; a perfect go-with-everything delicate necklace from Peter, and nail polish from myself, by way of the Olive + June advent calendar - very fun to try an ombre manicure with some of the mini polishes that came in it.

I paired it all with jeans (what else) and some ankle boots that I occasionally pull out to feel fancy in my at-home days. Which works out just fine because it's too cold/slippery to actually be able to wear them outside anyway. And most of what I want from life is to just be warm.

Which means I am also getting much appreciative use out of these other Christmas gifts as well:

• Heated aromatherapy shoulder pad from my mom.
• Heated mouse pad from Peter and Hendrik (it is AMAZING).
• Solo stove for backyard bonfires from my parents - super fun gift for the family that we got to start using early and have really enjoyed the ability to make a weekend feel weekendy again, even while still at home, where we've been all week... We even managed to have a bonfire + s'mores on December 23, with mild enough weather before the snow moved in. Now it's put away until spring (probably), but we look forward to some more backyard warming fun when things thaw!
  

Anything nice and warm and/or wearable show up under your tree?

5 things Friday: January TBR edition

New year, new books! It's not like the calendar changing to 2021 is a magical cure for what we didn't like about 2020, but at least I have a new stack of good stuff to read as we settle in for another month at home with fingers crossed that we didn't have a bunch of people out there spreading illness last night...

To kick off the new year I thought it would be great to start with a personal growth type book, and particularly The Lazy Genius Way - a bit of inspiration for getting stuff done! But also I feel like I will want to just cozy up in January, so an Irish mystery set in winter will probably be perfect. Can't remember what podcast I heard about Snow on, but sounds excellent and so I snagged it when I spotted a Kindle deal. Also excited to read Red at the Bone from my Christmas gift stack, since I've loved everything I've ever read by Jacqueline Woodson; Outlawed is my January BOTM pick, and a female-centered Western just sounds like a fun change of pace.

Finally, House Lessons - I heard this memoir of renovating an old home raved about on From the Front Porch, and what better thing than to read and appreciate my old home more, while I'll be spending even more time in it this month.

As for my December reading list, choosing books based on Christmas-colored covers was fun, with admittedly less successful results on the actual insides...

• Dear Haiti, Love Alaine: had a lot of promise as a YA book that I would enjoy, with a spunky and sassy teenager uncovering some family history, plus bringing in a setting that I don't know a ton about. But it turned out to be just a little too scattered to really come together in a satisfying way. Sometimes books that tell the story in a combination of journal entries, texts/emails, news stories, etc. work great and sometimes they just leave me feeling like I couldn't connect in. ★★★
• The Postscript Murders: the sequel to a meta-/puzzle-type mystery that I really enjoyed earlier in the year, The Stranger Diaries, this one was just a bit over the top for me in terms of this unlikely crew - made up of a young Eastern European home care worker, elderly man, and former monk - that gets involved trying to "help" the police uncover a killer, in a case where their friend, an elderly lady, was ruled as a natural death. Loved the return of detective Harbinder Kaur from the previous book, but she's only a small part of the story here, with this the cast of characters that while being quirky and enjoyable makes the story much more about them than it is about the mystery. Very little tension at all - kind of like a Frederik Backman romp with a detective involved - so I was a bit disappointed having expected more of a mystery. Pick it up if you want something in the "cozy" mystery category with visits to literary conferences and a few dead bodies (not gory in the least) on the side, but otherwise read the first one, which was much more satisfying as an actual mystery/crime novel. (Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review; publishes in 2021.) ★★★
• The Last Romantics: a family drama about four siblings over the course of their lives. Sort of in the vein of character-driven sibling stories like Commonwealth or The Immortalists, but not good enough to make me like it despite character-driven stories not being my fave. And I really did not like the "current" timeline, which was set near the end of this century when the protagonist is like 104 years old, and that version of the world clearly has some sort of apocalyptic feel, but it's just really vaguely alluded to and doesn't seem to have anything to do with anything. Just a weird and distracting unsettling feeling. ★★★
• Last Tang Standing: this is billed as Crazy Rich Asians meets Bridget Jones's Diary, and I guess it is the latter in that it is written in diary form, but it is much more the former. Andrea is the last remaining unmarried cousin in her Singaporean clan, and she hears no end of it from them; her diary entries chronicle a year of balancing a partner-track law firm position, overbearing relatives, dating prospects, and a fair bit of over-indulging on the booze. Light in tone like Crazy Rich Asians, and plenty of the rich people behaving badly vibes of it. I had just read Kevin Kwan's newest, Sex & Vanity, so maybe I was too close to something similar to enjoy this one as much, but if you're looking for something fun in this vein, it's a pretty good option. ★★★
• Queenie: finally one that was more of a success for me! Strangely enough, the blurbs also compare this one to Bridget Jones's Diary, but this time, purport that it meets Americanah. Not sure how I feel about this description, but Queenie, a 20-something Londoner of Jamaican heritage, was a character I really grew to love as she discovered herself (despite some choices that she made about shirking work duties and questionable sexual encounters on her journey there, which make type-A me squirm) and discovered her voice as a woman and as a Black woman. ★★★★

 

Now I want to know if you've got anything cozy planned for your January reading!