January Favorites

2018 is here, girl. With. A. Vengence. Annnnddd I am ready. You are ready. WE are ready. Bring it on. 

January is an interesting month. For many it marks a fresh start. It also is cold and snowy for us here in Wisconsin. So, while it can feel refreshing, It also can drag on when you're just waiting for warmth and sunshine! 

Today, I'm bringing you my favorite things this past month and maybe they can bring you some warmth and happiness as they have me. 

Movies/TV:

We'll start with Movies. We only really watched one movie this month and it was more than enough for us! 

The Greatest Showman was phenominal. Alexa and I LOVE musicals so we were bound to love it anyway. The story was inspirational and heart warming with a side of some drama. I highly reccomend this movie especially if you love the fun of musicals. I can tell you we will be purchasing the movie and the soundtrack (because yes, of course, we will be belting this music in the car)  Also, I kind of love Hugh Jackman! 

There are quite a few TV shows that I watch when they're on or when they come out on Netflix. 

The Good Doctor This was the first season of this show and it was phenominal. Honestly, I cried a lot. I totally recommend it. I love the autism angle they have to be inspiraitonal and relativley realistic. Freddie Highmore is a fantasitc actor! It's definitley one of those shows that are a "feel good" show and I can't wait to keep watching!

Riverdale is back! I have mentioned this show before and I love it because it takes me back to my Veronica and Archie comic days! Now, I know that it's not the same as the comics. There is a dark edge which I kind of really love and I like the characters a lot. 

Black Mirror is baaaccckkk and we were ready to be shook. BUT I'll be honest... I know that this is supposed to be a favorites but this season was eh for me. The last episode was probably my favorite but the other ones were hard for me to connect to as they are supposed to make you evaluate where life is going. 

Alias Grace I was addicted. I finished this in a weekend. I love shows and movies that are period pieces. There is just something about a different time period that intruiges me. Especially when it's about women and their struggles etc. This was no exception. It follows the story of Grace who is convicted of killing her boss and his lover. I highly reccommend. 

I have soooo many shows, movies and documentartys on my "list" on netflix, but i'm curious - what are your favorites. Let me know!

Planning:

I'm planning my 2018 to be filled with Abundance of all things good! But for real, I do sit down and try my best to get my following year down on a calendar. It makes for a smooth year and a better idea of how to handle the following months. 

I am also planning some home makeover things that we're hoping will happen in 2018. Bathrooms specifically since they desprately need an update! Thank heavens for pinterest!

Reading:

This month I was able to consume 2 books. One I read, the other I listened to on audible. 

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi-

This was officially my first good ugly cry of 2018. If you have experience with cancer taking a loved ones life this book could be depressing or cathartic. For me, It was cathartic. I was sad, but I was also happy and I loved to learn more about the person and what and why they lived prior, during and after cancer. He helped me put things in perspective and also inspired me to really live. I highly suggest this book for anyone who likes memoirs. It's a quick read and will likely make you cry. 

1984 by George Orwell -

 A lot of people read this book in high school for a literature class. I was not one of them but I have always wanted to read it because I believe the content was good. It's a book that has made it's way into the "classics" category. I do have to say that i'm thankful that I listened to it on audible rather than trying to read it. It was a little dry, very descriptive and I don't know that I could have gotten through the content by reading. That being said, I actually really enjoyed this distopian story. I think there was a lot of insight on what George Orwell thought of our world. 

Listening:

I drive 30 mintues to and from work each day. I typically never listen to music becasue on my commute it's just the DJs talking or the same songs I've heard all day. Instead I listen to audiobooks or podcasts. This month I listened to The Black Tapes. It was so. fricken. good. If you like crime/paranormal stuff and like the idea of listening to a story on the radio then you will serisouly be just as addicted to this podcast as I was. I highly reccomend!

Beauty/Personal Care:

Winter time brings cold and dry skin. Our house is notoriously dry which is seriously detrimental to our skin health. BUT I have found THE best lotion! I recieved this in an Influenster box for review a long time again and have really been using it a lot in these winter months and really am seeing how well it works! Luke and I both are absolutely in love with it! Our skin has been the best this year than it has in the last 8 years. 

Home:

I took down all the Christmas decorations the first week of January. Which, in honesty was an accomplishement in itself. I did keep some of the "winter" decor that wasn't christmasy up because otherwise January would be pretty boring. You can check out my decor below! 

 Family & Friends:

This month has been fun with little adventures. Of course It wasn't as busy as last month but we still had some fun. In the beginning of the month Alexa and I went and saw RENT live at the Overture Center in Madison with Jackie. It was AMAZING. We really enjoyed our time and visiting with litle Miss Lily could have been my favorite part!!

She. Is. So. Fricken. Cute. I can't even handle it honestly. I can not wait to go back and to hold her some more! 

Anyway, RENT was amazing. It was the 20th anniversary touring show and I am so happy we went. The talent is amazing, the storyline is amazing. If you ever get to see it I highly suggest it. If you can't see it before then go watch the 2005 Movie. It was almost enitrely the original cast of RENT when it debuted on Broadway in 1996. PHENOMINAL. After the show Jackie and I introduced Alexa to her first Sushi experience. She was a little into it until Jackie called the Nori, which I had been just calling lettuce, "Ocean Lettuce" which then made Alexa realize it was seaweed. Here's a snap of her before she realized that and was still smiling! 

A couple weekends later we did go up to Luke's mom's house with Alexa and her friend. We had a blast and did a lot of winter adventure things like sledding, making snowmen and chilling inside with no cell service, no cable... just us and the northwoods.

We decided to stay with the Snowman them and we let the girls make their own snowman pizzas! They really actually enjoyed making the pizza and it tasted pretty good too!

Then in the morning we decided to continue to stay with the theme and made snowman pancakes in the morning too! I love bringing a little celebration and fun things to the months and seasons. It seriously helps making life more enjoyable!

I love  the start of the new year and I'm glad that we've made an effort in my home to bring celebration to every month, every season and every day to make the cold dark days easier to cope with. 

I hope your Januray was just as magical as ours! 

xoxo,

Nikki