January ’24 R.E.P.O.R.T
Here’s my January Report, if you will. I am an avid subscriber to MagsMeals Substack because even though we’ve never met in person I feel like I know her and her emails are so fun! One thing she does (that admittedly I don’t think is her original idea but she is who I learned it from) is her weekly “R.E.P.O.R.T.” and I decided I wanted to do it too.
What is REPORT, you might ask? Well it stands for:
What I’m Reading – what books I finished and how I felt about them.
What I’m Eating – anywhere noteworthy we dined out or anything noteworthy I cooked, just a recap of the good food from the month.
What I’m Playing – current songs on repeat.
What I’m Obsessing over – just general recurring thoughts of the month.
What I’m Recommending – anything I think you should try!
What I Treated myself to – cause we all deserve a little treat.
In all likelihood no one actually cares, but I am excited to use this as a little look-back for my own self, hah!
So let’s get to it.
What I’m Reading
This was one of my slowest book months I have had in probably a year. I only read (and technically listened to) ONE book! This is kind of unheard of for me lately. It was “The Right Move” by Liz Tomforde. This is the second book in a series called The Windy City series, though I don’t think you need to read them in order. It was trashy, smutty, and a typical cheesy romance book – but sometimes that is all I need in my life. Would recommend if you like simple and quick romance reads. I liked this much more than the first book of the series, “Mile High.”
Hopefully next month comes with more books. I have been slowly making my way through Throne of Glass, we’ll see.
What I’m Eating
I cannot stop eating cottage cheese again. But it has to be Good Culture brand. And particularly mixed with avocado, everything but the bagel seasoning, salt, and pretzel thins. I also keep eating it with avocado and a finely diced green salad, to which the recipe is below. It’s inspired by Baked By Melissa’s instagram page and all her finely diced salads.
Rough Recipe for this Finely Diced Green Salad:
- Persian cucumbers, finely diced
- Handful of cilantro and parsley, finely diced
- Arugula, again about a handful – also finely diced
- Castelvetrano olives, chopped up
- Juice of a lemon
- 1-2 garlic cloves, minced
- Olive oil, about one good glug
- Salt to taste
What I’m Playing
I was listening to 91.1 WNXP in Nashville and they played the song “Bang” by Melenas. It’s only January but I already suspect it will be on my top Spotify wrapped.
What I’m Obsessing Over
Crocheting! And knitting! I can’t stop doing either. I knit my first tank top. I’ve crocheted them in the past but a knitted garment is usually much higher quality (and SO much harder?!) and I wanted something that will last. Theron gifted me some really nice yarn from Haus of Yarn that I used and I bought a pattern from Etsy. It was fun to make!
My next project is a crocheted giant blanket made of many squares connected as I go. It looked so simple on the website of the pattern. It sounded so simple. Yet I have had to restart the whole thing twice (after getting embarrassingly far along) and I’ve had to pull out SEVERAL squares along the way on this second go-round. Sometimes the simple looking stuff is the hardest!
What I’m Recommending
I have been really into natural wines, particularly Pet Nats, for a while now. But this month I tried some really good ones so this just has to be my recommendation of the month. Not everyone likes these, which blows my mind. But I think they are SO good. I honestly don’t even want to drink much other alcohol anymore, especially not wines. Just give me a fun wine and I’m happy.
January Pet Nat and Natural Wines:
- Weeping Juan by Delinquente Wine Co.
- Tang by Field Recordings
- La Mantis by Santa Julia
- Set e Mez by Mariotti
What I’m Treating Myself To
I treated myself to a linen dress from Rove which I have never bought from before. It’s a cute light green dress that I won’t be able to wear for a few more months but I figured why not get it now?! I also had a fun trip to ThriftSmart on Nolensville Road and found a practically brand new Patagonia zip up for only $20 – which felt like an absolute treat.
Thanks for reading! We’ll see how many times I actually follow through with this in the year 2024, but hopefully at the end of every month. In the meantime, check out some Dinner Ideas if you need them. Cheers!