favorite things: february 2021

Hello again. I hope this tiny month was kind to you. I hope you texted that person you kept thinking about, and I hope you asked for help when you needed it. I hope you remembered to move the clothes from the washer to the dryer before they smelled like eggs, and I hope you found a reason to wear red lipstick, even if your mask covered it up. I hope one night you turned off Netflix and read a book, and I hope another night you closed the book and watched Netflix. (I’m looking at you Firefly Lane.) I hope you said yes to something that made you smile. I hope you found your keys quickly when you were running late, and I hope you spit in the face of any lie that told you your body didn’t look like it should. I hope you cooked something really tasty, and I hope someone else cleaned up all the dishes. I hope the car next to you saw you dancing at the red light, and I hope it made them want to dance too. And I hope you found some new favorites.

Reading

I read three book this month—The Guest List by Lucy Foley, Glitter and Glue by Kelly Corrigan, and Shiner by Amy Jo Burns—all of which earned a solid 4/5 stars. However, I would not call any of these books my favorites, and if I am to stay true to the title of this post, I will not bog you down with reviews of books I deemed good but not great. I consider them each a worthy read but didn’t have that “please-don’t-end-I’m-going-to-miss-hanging-out-with-you” feeling that I get with a five star book. For my true favorite book of the month, see below.

Reading with My Darlings

The Very Very Far North by Dan Bar-el: This was without a doubt, one of the most delightful books I have ever read with my children. We were thrilled to discover a sequel came out last fall! Even if you don’t have elementary aged children, you want to read this book. You will fall in love with each adorable character, and even if animated voices don’t feel like your thing, I double-dog-dare you to read this without letting your sillies come out. My 8-year-old wrote a review on my Goodreads account that you can check out. (P.S. Teaching your children to write a review on Goodreads that includes a brief summary and opinion is an excellent way to give them real-life opportunities to write and engage as a reader. I have a separate Goodreads shelf called “Charlotte’s Reviews.”) If forced to give a teeny, tiny, criticism of this book, it would be that the chapters are long which makes it difficult to squeeze in one more chapter before bed.

Eating

We have been intentionally eating vegetarian meals 3-4 days a week. We’ve had a few misses—sorry about those Black Bean & Quinoa Tacos, kids—but fortunately, we’ve had even more wins. This vegetarian chili claims it is “actually, the best vegetarian chili ever.” We agree. So much so, that I made it twice this month.

And from our most used cookbook, my children consumed these vegetarian peanut butter noodles like vultures.

Charlotte has decided she is making a new kind of brownie every month. January was chocolate-mint (my favorite!), and this month was peanut butter chocolate. Prepare to gasp as I admit to you that peanut butter and chocolate is one of my least favorite combinations (sorry Reese’s) which is why I was shocked to find myself shoveling a second brownie into my mouth when everyone was in the other room. Well, not that shocked. My point is: these brownies were good. *Note* She used butter, not margarine, and she added chocolate chips to the batter.

What’s Making Me Smile

We actually had snow in Cincinnati this year! Like real, cannot-see-the-grass-poking-out-snow. Two-thirds of the children have reached the glorious age where they can stay outside for hours WITHOUT me. They keep their mittens on, they walk up the sledding hill (read: our yard), and they laugh instead of wail when the sled flips over leaving them face down in the snow. I sit by the window and make the hot chocolate. Amazing.

I am a long time fan of meal planning. It saves both my sanity and my budget, and I would have no idea how to feed my family without a plan. I can’t believe I am about to say this in regards to the year 2020, but I felt like weeks were just flying by, and before I even unpacked the groceries, it was already time to meal plan for the next week. It was exhausting. Enter monthly meal planning of 2021. I now plan for the entire month in one sitting. It has been amazing. Weekly meal planning plus making the grocery list was such an ordeal. Now I can whip out a grocery list in no time since all the planning is posted on a calendar, and since I have done this for an entire two months, I’m obviously committed. (Check back in August…)

You can be sure it will be a rare occasion that I ever show you a favorite things picture from our home. There will be no throw pillows, no light fixtures, and no favorite curtains. I know my strengths; home design is not one of them. I take months (years) to make decisions about even the smallest purchases. When I say I have been looking for a way to store books in the hallway outside of the kids’ bedrooms for a year, I actually mean a full year plus a few more months. But, I love this new wall organizer, and although I wish it was about $100 cheaper, it was time to pull the trigger already. And I do smile every time I walk by it.