January
January is the Monday of months. It's cold and dark. There aren't many movies out that aren't scraping the bottom of the barrel of ideas. Good new music is hard to come by. I don't feel like doing anything except hibernating in my bed. The gym is way too full (but will begin to taper out in the next couple weeks). But yet, the illusion is everything will be a fresh new start. A time to hit the reset button and start over.
America is a crazy place to be right now and I find myself angry quite a bit because this isn't the America I want to live in nor do people remember the foundations of America to begin with. Obviously I want to avoid discussing this further because while it may be the time to say something, this isn't the space I want to use. I always begin the year feeling like the possibilities are endless and this year finally everything will fall into place. But the truth is just a month in and I'm already feeling defeated.
Since it is my blog and a representation of me and my life, I'll just say maybe everything I believed about a lot of things isn't true. How is it that I continue to be hopeful and believe there's better out there yet I can't seem to make it happen for myself? I try to contribute the most I can to my universal bank but when I want to cash out and finally get something in return it just never shows up. It just keeps getting harder and more frustrating. I'm tired of feeling like I'm standing at a fork in the road but constantly making the wrong decision. The road just takes me back exactly to the same place as before. I hate to call it an existential crisis, but why does it feel like everything I've ever believed in is false? Maybe it's just the people I choose to put my faith in who keep letting me down...
Enough of the boring stuff. Here's all the stuff I think you need to check out right now. If you made it this far, congrats. You are a real trooper.
Read This: Forgive Yourself for Not Being Perfect. Then Do It Again Tomorrow. an essay by Liz Welle. Given what I said above about the state of my life, maybe it's time to give this a shot more.
Eat This: Steak Tacos with Cilantro Radish Salsa. I made these a couple weeks back and they were delicious even just the steak without the salsa.
Try This: Dry Brushing. Reduce the appearance of cellulite and increase the function of the lymphatic system by dry brushing. It's a quick way to relax before a shower and it makes your skin look and feel healthy.
Listen to This: Darling by Real Estate. Real Estate always makes me think of warmer temperatures driving around in my car with the windows down. Something I long for during winter...that is until spring really comes. Plus it's brand new music! #blessed
Buy This: Reformation Anjela top. I'm obsessed with this romantic looking Reformation top. The sheer detail is perfectly on trend for those of us who aren't really willing to take the full Kendall Jenner route to sheer tops. Not to mention how dainty and feminine it looks.
Watch This: Materialism: A Documentary of Important Things. As human beings we accumulate a lot of things and as someone who is utterly fascinated (and slightly annoyed) by the HGTV show about tiny houses, I found this documentary incredibly interesting. It covers the various ways people approach living a minimalist lifestyle in their own ways. Whether that means building a space that caters to their needs, living in a tiny home (or two suitcases), or just having a 33 piece wardrobe, they examine different ways to embrace a simpler way of life. Experiences and live over mass consumption of material goods. It's streaming now on Netflix, but I'm just not quite sure I'm prepared to give up my closet for just 33 pieces.