I hope everyone had a wonderful start to the new year!
Did anyone else feel like January was a long month? It seems like it’s been ages since I’ve done any of this stuff mentioned in the beginning of the post! The rest of the year probably will fly by. It always does for me.
Daily Life
January 1: My friend, Louise, and I had lunch together at The Eastern Peak since we haven’t seen each other in a few weeks due to busy schedules.
We split the Calamari Salt & Pepper [Deep-fried calamari stir fried with onions, bell peppers, garlic, and special spice mix], and it was a good choice! So delicious and flavorful.
and we both ordered the Crispy Pork Combo [Crispy pork belly and roasted pork topped with sweet red sauce, sesame seed, cilantro, bok choy with oyster sauce, and a boiled egg. Served with of white rice.]
It’s one of my favorite dishes, and it was just as good as I remembered it!
January 4: I was craving the agua fresca from Sweet Sofia’s. I need it at least once a week, but I try to restrain myself.
January 9: I put Darby on his back like this, and he stayed long enough for me to get a photo!
I wish he’d lay on his back more because it’s so funny!
January 10: Darby and I went to Petco so he could buy some birthday gifts for Honey and Birdy! We didn’t find anything for him, but we hit the jackpot with the clearance items!
January 12: My friend from college, Jennifer, was in town visiting family, so Alexis and I got to hang out with her and her sister, Maggie!
Alexis came to visit me around 2 PM. I made some of the cheese and pepperoni croissants that we used to eat when in college, then we went to The Well for coffee!
Once Jen and Maggie arrived, we took a Lyft to head to Inchin’s for dinner. Having to waste my Vegetable Biryani and Chicken 65 nearly crippled me since we were going to bar hop on Broadway afterward.
I didn’t pay attention to the time whenever we went to Broadway, but we went too early because the first bar we went into had people who were 40+ years old.
All the lights from the signs and cars were pretty to look at.
The first place we went into was Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row. It was packed! Only Jen and Maggie ordered a drink.
The second bar produced similar results, only with less people in it. I think it was Honky Tonk Central, but I can’t say for sure. We just walked around there for a few minutes, then left.
Third time’s the charm, we headed to Luke’s 32 Bridge. Around this time, it was late enough for people our age to show up. I liked this one the best!
People watching was pretty fun.
It was super windy, but not as cold as I expected it be. After we got a Lyft, we hung out at my apartment and just chatted!
January 13: I started my morning off with a strawberry, mango, and blueberry smoothie! I’m still on my smoothie kick.
Darby had a corgi meetup at 12 PM to celebrate the January corgs’ birthdays!
He always manages to find Birdy and Goose right away! I am incredibly shocked that he kept the party hat on his head long enough to take some photos!!
We stayed for almost two hours, and Darby was the last corgi to leave! It’s the only way I could get him to focus on me to take those photos. He moves around so much it’s hard to keep track of him!
After we got home and had a late lunch, we went to K&S World Market. I wanted to try to find the Buldak seaweed I’ve been telling my friends about. Sadly, I didn’t see any, but we did find kimchi seaweed and other Buldak items!
I am excited about the Buldak dumplings, and I regret not buying the Buldak fried rice. I had to stock up on more of the Buldak black bean noodles, and I am excited to try the Buldak snack ramen!
For dinner, we went to Ninki with our friends, Kylie and Zach! They recently got engaged, but we were exchanging Christmas gifts and catching up!
The hibachi chef was entertaining, and I’m glad he didn’t make it awkward by trying to talk to us all too much because we’re awkward people.
Unfortunately, I paid for this fun weekend for a few days later because my eczema flared up again, and it was brutal and incredibly irritating. This time, it was on my throat and upper neck area.
January 14: SNOW! ❄️
Unfortunately, due to the flare-up, I didn’t get to take Darby out in it, so Stephen had to for the whole week! Stephen only worked half a day, which was on Thursday, then work sent everyone home because of rain and it freezing over.
January 18: Our neighbor’s dog’s birthday was the previous day, and they gave Darby some pieces of cake!
He wolfed them down. Of course, he had one a day. Still dieting. Successfully? We’ll find out next month!
January 20: I was getting restless inside the apartment, and my eczema calmed down, so I wanted to go to The Well for coffee. We went to Publix for groceries afterward.
I got an iced Cuban; so yummy!
January 23: I’ve really taken to looking on Facebook Marketplace. There are some pretty great finds! There was someone selling Taylor Swift’s Wonderstruck perfume for essentially $5!! It was $10 for two perfumes. That is such a steal, especially considering one this size would be at least $50 on some sites!
Also, I just saw where a 3 ounce empty bottle is selling for $30; what the heck!
The other perfume that was sold as a package deal was Britney Spears’ Private Show. For $5, why not?!
The lunatic part of me went to buy this from someone who lives an hour and 20 minutes away. It was a fun little road trip for myself! I even tried a coffee shop in one of the towns I passed called Bold Wind Coffee Bar.
The inside area was cute. They had a propagation section where you take a cutting, leave a cutting.
January 27: It was a busy weekend for us! Since the library I typically go to has damage from a water leak and it’s closed for eight weeks, I had to go to another location. This one was pretty fancy!
This library was huge, and I found so many other books that aren’t in my library! I was super excited.
Afterward, we checked out Half Price Books. I found three new books that I’m excited to read soon!
For dinner, we went to Sichuan Hot Pot with a few people from the corgi group!
I didn’t get a good photo of the meal, but it was yummy! It was a lot less intimidating than it seemed at first.
January 28: I’ve been eyeing some roll top desks, and I have finally acquired one! We met a couple at the Factory in Franklin. Zach let us use his truck to transport it back to our apartment. The color is not as vivid as it appears in the picture, but it’s still a lovely color!
I was a little frustrated because the top would get stuck when closing the desk, but after a few days, it was seamless! Stephen also ordered me some bees wax, which I haven’t used yet, so I have that covered if it gets stuck again.
While we were in Franklin, they had an Honest Roasters Coffee!
I tried their peppermint Cuban, and it was a little too milky and the peppermint wasn’t as strong of a taste as I liked. Boots still has the best peppermint Cuban!
January 29: I went to Sweet Sofia’s again for the fresas con crema and agua fresca!
Books
- A Question of Guilt by Jørn Lier Horst
- synopsis: In 1999, seventeen-year-old Tone Vaterland was killed on her way home from work.
The police – desperate for a quick conviction – deemed the investigation an open-and-shut case and sent her embittered ex-boyfriend, Danny Momrak, down for murder.
Her family was able to grieve. The public felt justice had been done. The streets were safe again.
But twenty years later, William Wisting receives an anonymous letter suggesting that the wrong man was convicted, and worse yet: the real murderer is still out there.
Thrown into a terrifying race against time, Wisting must find the sender and catch the real killer before they strike again.
But nothing is as it seems. And as Wisting disappears further into a dark past of secrets, lies and murder, his own life is threatened . . .
Can he find Tone’s true killer before it’s too late? - genres: crime, mystery, Scandinavian literature, Nordic crime, thriller
- rating: 3.5
- This was my first Scandinavian novel and I enjoyed! It was a bit slow paced, but it was interesting to see how different the same trial was done years later after new methods and technologies were invented.
- There were many red herrings and goose chases, but it tightened the crime and solidified who the true murder was.
- synopsis: In 1999, seventeen-year-old Tone Vaterland was killed on her way home from work.
- The Girl Who Was Saturday Night by Heather O’Neill
- synopsis: Nineteen years old, free of prospects, and inescapably famous, the twins Nicholas and Nouschka Tremblay are trying to outrun the notoriety of their father, a French-Canadian Serge Gainsbourg with a genius for the absurd and for winding up in prison. “Back in the day, he could come home from a show with a paper bag filled with women’s underwear. Outside of Québec nobody had even heard of him, naturally. Québec needed stars badly.
Since the twins were little, Étienne has made them part of his unashamed seduction of the province, parading them on talk shows and then dumping them with their decrepit grandfather while he disappeared into some festive squalor. Now Étienne is washed up and the twins are making their own almost-grown-up messes, with every misstep landing on the front pages of the tabloid Allo Police. Nouschka not only needs to leave her childhood behind; she also has to leave her brother, whose increasingly erratic decisions might take her down with him. - genres: Canadian literature, historical fiction
- content warnings: A LOT of them
- rating: 4
- a million similes ✔️
- chaotic, outlandish behavior ✔️
- messed up characters ✔️
- The Tremblay twins were wild and provocative. Instantly, you can tell this is a Heather O’Neill novel, and I’m always wondering where the story will lead and how it’ll end.
- Always prepare for gritty, crude behavior when reading one of her novels.
- This one was I was slow to get into, but I enjoyed it!
- synopsis: Nineteen years old, free of prospects, and inescapably famous, the twins Nicholas and Nouschka Tremblay are trying to outrun the notoriety of their father, a French-Canadian Serge Gainsbourg with a genius for the absurd and for winding up in prison. “Back in the day, he could come home from a show with a paper bag filled with women’s underwear. Outside of Québec nobody had even heard of him, naturally. Québec needed stars badly.
- The Guest List by Lucy Foley
- synopsis: On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It’s a wedding for a magazine, or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed.
But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. As the champagne is popped and the festivities begin, resentments and petty jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. The groomsmen begin the drinking game from their school days. The bridesmaid not-so-accidentally ruins her dress. The bride’s oldest (male) friend gives an uncomfortably caring toast.
And then someone turns up dead. Who didn’t wish the happy couple well? And perhaps more important, why? - content warning: suicide, self-harm, bullying
- genres: mystery, suspense, thriller
- rating: 3.5
- It took me a few sittings to get into this book. I wasn’t eager to finish it, but I did manage to finish a little over half of the book in one sitting once things started happening.
- A little baffled why it’s called “The Guest List” and that the tagline is you’d kill to be on it. This did not seem like an iconic wedding people would desire to attend. Is it because it’s on an island and the wedding is of a reality TV guy and woman who runs a popular magazine? They didn’t seem like the couple, though.
- I did not expect a bunch of mid-30-year-old men to be reminiscing about high school. Talk about peaking. You’d think this would be about college kids with the crap they pulled, but nope. The guys were obnoxious.
- There were too many red herrings as a way to create suspense, and most of them didn’t work well for me.
- I saw one of the twists coming, and it was interesting to see how many lives were connected because of the same person despite individual events happening many years apart.
- I’m glad “the victim” ends up dead.
- synopsis: On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It’s a wedding for a magazine, or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed.
- The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
- synopsis: Jess needs a fresh start. She’s broke and alone, and she’s just left her job under less than ideal circumstances. Her half-brother Ben didn’t sound thrilled when she asked if she could crash with him for a bit, but he didn’t say no, and surely everything will look better from Paris. Only when she shows up – to find a very nice apartment, could Ben really have afforded this? – he’s not there.
The longer Ben stays missing, the more Jess starts to dig into her brother’s situation, and the more questions she has. Ben’s neighbors are an eclectic bunch, and not particularly friendly. Jess may have come to Paris to escape her past, but it’s starting to look like it’s Ben’s future that’s in question.
The socialite – The nice guy – The alcoholic – The girl on the verge – The concierge
Everyone’s a neighbor. Everyone’s a suspect. And everyone knows something they’re not telling. - genres: mystery, suspense, thriller, crime
- rating: 4
- This was a lot more enjoyable than The Guest List, and I was more interested in it. I loved the twist of how all these people are connected!
- Since I’m learning, it’s fun to translate the simple French phrases.
- The plot had a bit of a dark reveal, one connected to a main character, and Jess had no idea what she was getting into when she was searching for Ben.
- I did find the ending to be a little unbelievable, but it was a pleasant surprise to find out the fate of a character, and it ends on a happy note.
- synopsis: Jess needs a fresh start. She’s broke and alone, and she’s just left her job under less than ideal circumstances. Her half-brother Ben didn’t sound thrilled when she asked if she could crash with him for a bit, but he didn’t say no, and surely everything will look better from Paris. Only when she shows up – to find a very nice apartment, could Ben really have afforded this? – he’s not there.
- Miracle Creek Angie Kim
- synopsis: A literary courtroom thriller about an immigrant family and a young single mother accused of killing her autistic son, Miracle Creek is a powerhouse debut about how far we’ll go to protect our families, and our deepest secrets.
In rural Miracle Creek, Virginia, Young and Pak Yoo run an experimental medical treatment device known as the Miracle Submarine. A pressurized oxygen chamber that patients enter for therapeutic “dives,” it’s also a repository of hopes and dreams: the dream of a mom that her child can be like other kids; the dream of a young doctor desperate to cure his infertility and save his marriage; the dream of the Yoos themselves, Korean immigrants who have come to the United States so their teenage daughter can have a better life.
When the oxygen chamber mysteriously explodes, killing two people, all these dreams shatter with it, and the ensuing murder trial uncovers imaginable secrets and lies. In Miracle Creek, Angie Kim takes a classic form—courtroom drama—and draws on her own experience as an immigrant, a lawyer, and the mother of a real-life “submarine” patient to turn it into something wholly original, unputdownable . . . real. This is a spellbinding novel by an exciting new voice.- content warning: child abuse, child death, sexual assault
- genres: crime, thriller, mystery
- rating: 4.5
- This was such an interesting story! I finished it in just a few sittings. The tragedy is awful, and I cannot imagine what going through that type of thing would be like.
- There are so many different POVs, but it was easy to keep track of them. Kim did well with creating a voice for each character.
- The characters felt like they could be people in real life, so I like that they have flaws and vulnerable moments.
- I’m not familiar with autism therapies, so it was nice to learn a little bit about them. The trial was especially fascinating, and I couldn’t read through those scenes fast enough!
- The ending is a bit ambiguous for some people, and I really wish one character faced some consequences because it seemed like that was never known to the public.
- synopsis: A literary courtroom thriller about an immigrant family and a young single mother accused of killing her autistic son, Miracle Creek is a powerhouse debut about how far we’ll go to protect our families, and our deepest secrets.
- Verity by Colleen Hoover
- synopsis: Whose truth is the lie?
Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish.
Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity’s notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn’t expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read. Page after page of bone-chilling admissions, including Verity’s recollection of the night her family was forever altered.
Lowen decides to keep the manuscript hidden from Jeremy, knowing its contents could devastate the already grieving father. But as Lowen’s feelings for Jeremy begin to intensify, she recognizes all the ways she could benefit if he were to read his wife’s words. After all, no matter how devoted Jeremy is to his injured wife, a truth this horrifying would make it impossible for him to continue loving her. - genres: thriller, romance(?), mystery, suspense
- content warning: child abuse, self-harm, attempted abortion
- rating: 4
- I read the version with the bonus chapter. I got to admit, Colleen Hoover really knows how to get people hooked on a book. The conflicting side to choose the manuscript or letter as the truth? That was pretty brilliant, and it seems like most people are on Team Manuscript. I am actually on Team Letter, though I feel like there are lies in both.
- If we’re rating what Hoover intended, which is for the truth to die with Verity, she succeeded and gets 5/5 for that. However, to get technical, I’d give it 3.5/5 because we’re in a bubble and only know about a few characters. I feel like if Lowen talked with other people, some things could have been cleared up, such as have a conversation with Verity’s editor.
- Also, the bonus chapter kind of solidifies my feelings about the letter being more truthful.
- Maybe I’ll add to the already thousands of reviews about this book, but there are a few things to discuss further about it.
- Overall, kept me hooked and guessing, and the dark elements of child abuse were quite disturbing.
- synopsis: Whose truth is the lie?
- The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan
- synopsis: Set in San Francisco and in a remote village of southern China, this is a tale of American pragmatism shaken, and soothed, by Chinese ghosts. What proof of love do we seek between mother and daughter, among sisters, lovers, and friends? What are its boundaries and failings? Can love go beyond ‘Until death do us part?’ And if so, which aspects haunt us like regretful ghosts? In 1962, Olivia, nearly six years old, meets Kwan, her adult half sister from China, for the first time. Olivia’s neglectful mother, who in pursuing a new marriage can’t provide the attention her daughter needs, finds Kwan to be a handy caretaker. In the bedroom the sisters share, Kwan whispers secrets about ghosts and makes Olivia promise never to reveal them. Out of both fright and resentment, Olivia betrays her sister — with terrible consequences. From then on she listens to Kwan’s stories and pretends to believe them.
Thirty years pass, and Olivia is about to divorce her husband, Simon, after a lengthy marriage. She is certain he has never given up his love for a former girlfriend, who died years before. Kwan and her ghosts believe otherwise, and they provide Olivia with ceaseless advice and pleas to reconsider. But Olivia has long since dismissed the ghosts of her childhood and the wacky counsel of her sister. Just as Kwan anticipates, fate intervenes and takes her, Olivia, and Simon to China. In the village where Kwan grew up, Olivia confronts the tangible evidence of what she has always presumed to be her sister’s fantasy of the past. And there, she finds the proof that love endures, and comes to understand what logic ignores, what you can know only through the hundred secret senses. - genres: historical fiction, Asian literature
- rating: 3.5
- This took me some time getting into it, and I admit to my eyes glazing over some of the earlier stories Kwan was telling Olivia in the beginning, but I got enough of what was going on to keep going. I became more invested after a hundred or so pages, then I was curious to find out what would happen!
- Kwan was a wonderful, loyal person. She remained herself even as she began her new life in America.
- I’m a bit bummed we don’t find out Olivia’s father’s actual name. I wish that would’ve been cleared up, but I like how Kwan’s stories tied together with the present.
- I liked the contrast of Kwan adjusting to America and Olivia navigating China.
- I didn’t know how this story would end. I think I’m satisfied with it overall, though I am a bit sad.
- synopsis: Set in San Francisco and in a remote village of southern China, this is a tale of American pragmatism shaken, and soothed, by Chinese ghosts. What proof of love do we seek between mother and daughter, among sisters, lovers, and friends? What are its boundaries and failings? Can love go beyond ‘Until death do us part?’ And if so, which aspects haunt us like regretful ghosts? In 1962, Olivia, nearly six years old, meets Kwan, her adult half sister from China, for the first time. Olivia’s neglectful mother, who in pursuing a new marriage can’t provide the attention her daughter needs, finds Kwan to be a handy caretaker. In the bedroom the sisters share, Kwan whispers secrets about ghosts and makes Olivia promise never to reveal them. Out of both fright and resentment, Olivia betrays her sister — with terrible consequences. From then on she listens to Kwan’s stories and pretends to believe them.
TV Shows/Movies
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023)
synopsis:
Since the chickens escaped from Mr and Mrs Tweedy’s Farm,[a] they have settled in an idyllic sanctuary on an island in a lake, where they can live happily, safe from humans. Ginger and Rocky start a family with a hatchling named Molly. The rats Nick and Fetcher visit periodically with supplies.
Molly grows into an adventurous 11-year-old, whom Ginger and Rocky try to protect from the outside world. The appearance of trucks and construction on the mainland concern Ginger that another chicken farm is being built, and with her more cautious perspective as a parent, she leads her community in better hiding themselves.
Molly’s curiosity draws her to sneak away to the mainland, where she is saved from being run over by a teenage chicken named Frizzle. The two friends stow away on a truck full of chickens being taken to Fun-Land Farms, which looks appealing to them. Ginger and Rocky form a search party with chickens Babs, Bunty, Mac, and Fowler; they give chase and find that the “farm” is a highly-advanced poultry processing plant bristling with security systems.
Wikipedia
I was actually excited to watch this, and Stephen actually stayed awake for this one. We both agree that it may be better than the first one.
I am sad and want to know what happened to Mr. Tweedy.
Definitely watch for the fun of it.
The Curse (2023)
synopsis:
The series explores “how an alleged curse disturbs the relationship of a newly married couple as they try to conceive a child while co-starring on their problematic new HGTV show, Fliplanthropy.”[10]
Wikipedia
Stephen wanted to watch this, and it was not what we expected, but it’s entertaining!
It’s funny, weird, on the nose, and just overall interesting. It’s a lot more intense and crazy than expected.
The characters are a bit insufferable and I wouldn’t rewatch this series again, but stellar acting, especially from Emma Stone!
iCarly (2021)
synopsis:
Nine years after the finale of the previous series, Carly Shay has returned to Seattle, where she shares an apartment with her roommate Harper. Carly’s older brother Spencer has become a wealthy artist after accidentally creating a renowned sculpture. Following two divorces and a failed tech start-up, Freddie Benson has moved back to live with his mother, accompanied by his adopted 11-year-old stepdaughter Millicent. All main characters live in Bushwell Plaza, the apartment building where the original show was set. When Carly decides to relaunch her iCarly webshow, she receives mainstream attention with the help of Spencer, Freddie, and her new friends.
Wikipedia
Since Stephen has a free trial for Paramount+ so we could watch The Curse, I’m finally able to watch the iCarly reboot!
My goodness, it’s cringy as heck, but it works since the old show was also. It’s a nice break from the real world and watch this for fun.
I am bummed there isn’t a fourth season because the end of season 3 is a cliffhanger!
Music
Nobody’s Born With A Broken Heart (2024) — MacKenzie Porter
I don’t know when this album comes out, but there are some songs already available to listen to!
I’ve only played them once, but I like them all so far!
Orders
January 8: One of my opal rings showed up!
I ordered this one from the same Etsy shop as the marquise one I purchased a few months ago.
January 31: I ordered my dad some coffee pods from Angelino’s Coffee last year, and I saw that they have some coffee concentrate. I decided to go for it. I haven’t tried it yet, so I’ll have to update that later once I try it.
