|The Monday Post| #43 – The January Review

February 3, 2020 by MP

“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.” ―Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Part I: January

One of the reasons why I continue to do these monthly reviews is to reflect back on the previous month. Far too many times I am so busy and so into what is coming next, that I never take the time to sit and appreciate all that has happened. In order to prep for these posts, I always look back at previous monthly review posts so I can follow the same format. For example, I just looked back at the May 2019 Review (which was the first one I did) and had all the feels seeing the twins so small, what I watched, listened to, and top blog and Insta posts. I also like to notice how the posts vary just slightly from month to month, depending on what worked and what didn’t from the previous month. I think this is a good example of how there is no cookie cutter version of life – life happens to everyone differently and changes from time to time but what matters is how we deal with it and adapt to it.

With that said, here is your January review 🙂

What’s New

I started a new series this year called Plated. This is partly due to the fact that I am constantly searching for new recipes and I am really trying to get back into cooking more at home. I used to cook a lot (pre-twins) and am finally finding a groove that allows me to be more in the kitchen. Check it out – click here.

IGTV

I finally made another video for IGTV. I recorded my super quick and easy make up for work – remember, I am trying to find time wherever I can, so cutting time out of my makeup routine is important. Click here to go to my IGTV page.

Collabs

Katy Moms Network: Meet A Mom

This was so fun! What a way to start off the year. I’ve stated before that one of the benefits of blogging is being a part of a community. And the Katy Moms Network community is incredible. Full of strong, smart, funny, beautiful women, some with full time jobs, some stay at home moms, and others somewhere in between, being their first feature of the year really motivated me to be the best I can and keep bringing you the content and tips and tricks you like!

Click here to read the article.

Tulli Accessories

Their motto is “If it doesn’t make you feel fabulous, don’t do it, don’t buy it, don’t wear it, don’t eat it, and don’t keep it.” I felt like this went right along with my goals for the year, so gave it a shot. I tried out the sugar exfoliating scrub which leaves my skin soooo soft and smooth. The face massage roller increases blood flow to activate increased collagen production to the skin and helps with anti-aging, and the back massage muscle roller is perfect for end of the day relaxation after a day of sitting with inadequate posture at work.

R & Co

R+Co is a collective of some of the most forward-thinking, rule-bending hairstylists in the business. They are a think tank of editorial and salon stylists and educators. Their products are formulated without parabens, sulfates, mineral oil, or petrolatum. They are vegetarian, cruelty-free, gluten-free, and color-safe. I LOVE the way my hair feels and smells after using the Television Perfect shampoo and conditioner.

Smile Brilliant

The Smile Brilliant Giveaway came to a close and the winner was notified. Thank you to everyone who participated! I still love my Smile Brilliant at home teeth whitening system.

Rem and Tee Boutique

I was so lucky to partner with Alex from Rem and Tee Boutique this month. Not only does her online boutique carry feminine, trendy, and in style items, they are also perfect for work and affordable!

Top Items by Sales

This is something that unfortunately I am going to phase out. Reward Style and Amazon no longer “talk” to each other so I do not get a break down of what items are sold, but instead just get an overall Amazon number. And because so many of the items that are sold come from Amazon, it is really hard to give this accurately; however, I am considering doing a “Top Items by Sales Minus Amazon.” I don’t know….what do you think?

Books

A Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory – a super cute love story about an American and Englishman falling in love while on holiday….and the Englishman works for the Queen 🙂

The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton – a story of murder, mystery, thievery, art, love, and loss. Set in both 1862 and current date, you travel back in time as the story starts to unfold.

Series/Movies Watched

A lot. No wonder I’m not getting through as many books as I’d like 🙂

Brittany Runs a Marathon

The Report

I started the goop lab, You, The Irishman, Troop Zero, and Generation Wealth. the goop lab is super weird, I can’t get into YOU, The Irishman is like 3.5 hours, I couldn’t get into Troop Zero either, and Generation Wealth reminded me too much of Sarah Koenig’s voice in Serial. I’ve heard incredibly great things about all of these shows, so don’t let me deter you from watching them. I will probably go back and finish The Irishman and You.

My Favorite #Workwear Look

Blouse is old, skirt is old, but click here for shoes, headband, phone case, watch band, bag.

Fave Songs

Hands down Kinfolks by Sam Hunt. Runner up is Juice by Lizzo.

Fun Things/Events

January was a pretty chill month. Recovering form all of the holiday festivities meant keeping it pretty chill at home. I did a lot of cooking, watched a lot of tv/movies (as seen above,) and journaling.

One Sunday, my mom and I took the twins to lunch at Mia’s Table. The weather was perfect for sitting on the patio, and the twins got to run around afterward.

I finally got my office in order. After two months of being in the new house, I realized it was time. What it actually turned into was just putting things up where they belong because I had been using the office as storage. Click the pic to take you to my tips for home organization projects.