Links | February 21, 2021

Man, it's been a while since I've written one of these. Probably because I'm not up to much of anything. January is so boring. Actually, so is February and March, but Feb has the decency to be short and March usually surprises us with a couple nice days thrown in. 


I'm not complaining though! This actually feels like one of the nicest winters yet and I think it's because I don't have to drive in it or be outside in it. Listen, I'm not here to make light of an actual pandemic, but I personally wouldn't mind an excuse to stay home forever. I'm enjoying a slower pace and the way weekends feel so much longer when I don't feel like I need to go anywhere. 


Actually, I was thinking just the other day how much more connected I am to the people who matter to me. The pace of my pre-COVID life was so much busier and I'd just be burned out from being social. Being surrounded by people all day, talking all day, etc, just made me feel like I needed to recharge by being quiet or zoning out when I got home. Without that, I'm so much more interested in calling my family, or buzzing over to Frankfort just to spend time with Ryan's family. If we can accept silver linings to not great things, I think the shifting in priorities is certainly the shiniest one I'm acknowledging. 


Hot Chocolate Date | www.biblio-style.com

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1 || SPARKING JOY

I normally start with sharing all the posts and whatnot that I've put up the week before, but since I've pretty much retired from Instagram and blogging, I've got nothing. So let me tell you what I've been enjoying instead -


UV Manicure Kit: I love a good Shellac manicure. Lasts for weeks and just looks shiny and good. But, we live in a pandemic and also it is shockingly difficult to find an hour every two weeks for myself + if I do find it, I usually want to spend it on my couch. I decided to give shellac-ing a DIY try and bought this kit with a UV light. Chef's kiss you guys. If you have five minutes and a steady hand, you can have a zillion manicures for the cost of one in a salon. 


Yoga: The sense of invincibility still lingering from my 20's got sucker punched a few weeks ago when I pulled a muscle in my back. I was hunched over and hobbling around like an old lady. Ryan's sister teaches yoga and she stopped by one day and totally stretched me out. By the time she left, I could stand up straight again. I'm hooked. She teaches virtual classes and I've been taking her Tuesday classes ever since. 


Morning Routine: I've got a good thing going. Working from home kicks my former commute off the schedule, so I can sleep in an extra 30 minutes. I roll out of bed around 6am, while my pre-set coffee maker is just finishing up. I light every candle on the main floor and put on a playlist from The Choir of King's College, Cambridge. Then I read until Duke wakes up around 7:30 and we start our day together. He usually perches on the bathroom sink, chattering away, while I start getting ready for work. It's a total delight. 

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2 || INTO IT

A couple of things I've enjoyed looking at recently - 


You are the pilot

Dreamy Reading Nook

Peanut Butter Toast

Mama Tried

Books on books on books

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3 || SHOPPING

I've got a couple of lines on my forehead that are faint now, but I think they'll be where my wrinkles show up some day. I've got a plan when they get crazy - bangs - but I'm trying that ounce of prevention thing in the meantime. I also always get crazy dry skin in the winter and the skin on my nose starts flaking, which is, uh, gross. I started using this line up in mid-January and no flaky nose yet! Honestly, it could be because I almost never go outside, but I prefer the placebo effect. 


Winter Skin Care | www.biblio-style.com


1 | 2 | 3 | 4


The elf Holy Hydration is the real deal. It's unscented, super thick and even Ryan uses it. I like the Neutrogena sunscreen mainly because I think it smells nice. 

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4 || LINKS


I watched the Britney Doc - Framing Britney - twice. It got me thinking about the inordinate number of people in the public eye who seem to lose their damn minds. Lindsay Lohan, Britney, Amanda Bynes, Whitney, etc etc. Just sort of interesting and makes me think that being famous is actually a very heavy burden. 


Three instagram accounts I'm loving lately: GoCleanCo for before/after cleaning videos that will give you tingles. ZillowGoneWild for house listings that will make you wonder why so many have jails in the basement. And PleaseHateTheseThings for the best in home design wtf-ery. 


If you've got five minutes to burn, this listicle made me laugh and laugh and laugh. 


A case for ditching your screen for puzzles. I'm working on this one right now. 


While we were traveling, I wanted to get t-shirts from each of the national parks, but honestly, some shops were filled with tees that are just lame. I was delighted to find this shop that supports the parks and also has very cool designs. 


This is a really interesting piece about how we create routines around things -- in this case, an evening cocktail - that are more about ritual than "needing a drink," and that can be a harder habit to break. I really enjoy reading things written by Jenny Rosenstrach

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5 || READING


I'm in the middle of two books right now -- Shanghai Girls by Lisa See and Ahab's Wife, or The Stargazer by Sena Jeter Naslund. 


There's a great book exchange nearby where I scooped up Shanghai Girls for maybe a dollar (and also the puzzle I linked above for $5) and it's kind of my fun read right now because Ahab's Wife is a more complicated read. A former coworker of mine lent it to me a few years ago and I hadn't read it before he moved on to a new job. I might never see him again, so I figured maybe I should read this book that I now accidentally own. It's quite good, but also written very lyrically and I'm not blazing through it. 

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6 || PLANS


Just about every weekend, I think to myself, maybe I'll buzz over to Frankfort, get some donuts and walk down to the beach. It's still pretty in the winter, I guess. But then I wind up on my couch with a bunch of snacks and I never get up. Duke perches next to me, and we hang out all day, which is its own kind of good. I packed up all his baby furniture for a friend to take and it felt a little bittersweet, but it's also serving as a reminder to soak up every bit of him right now. It's all so temporary. 


And it's such a fun age, isn't it?


Sliding down the bannisters | www.biblio-style.com

If you're curious, the prefacing conversation to this picture was "I'm too tired to walk down the stairs, Mom." 


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