5 Favorites This Month [The January Edition]

Here’s 5 awesome things that I enjoyed in the month of January.

❄ TANYA PATRICE ❄

ONE+ Favorite Book –  The Bear and the Nightingale, Katherine Arden. It was recommended in our Goodreads GXO Reading Challenge group for the January Monthly Motif Reading Challenge … and it was so good, it kept me up reading into the long winter night.

At the edge of the Russian wilderness, winter lasts most of the year and the snowdrifts grow taller than houses. But Vasilisa doesn’t mind. She spends the winter nights huddled around the embers of a fire with her beloved siblings, listening to her nurse’s fairy tales. After Vasilisa’s mother dies, her father goes to Moscow and brings home a new wife. Fiercely devout, city-bred, Vasilisa’s new stepmother forbids her family from honoring the household spirits. The family acquiesces, but Vasilisa is frightened, sensing that more hinges upon their rituals than anyone knows.

This book reminded me so much of Spinning Silver, Naomi Novik (and Uprooted – also by Novik) – both of which I love. The author manages to tell a rich, detailed story with an intricate and fast moving plot, and characters that you will love and despise. The characters feel so real, and I went through all the emotions with them – the heartbreak when Vasilia’s father lost his wife – the gruf way that women were treated – ugh! – the love the family felt for each other – and the mistrust of the villagers and most people for anything “too magical”. I’m looking forward to reading more by the author.

TWO+ Favorite TV and Movies Watched – You (Netflix) – Season 2 (also loved Season 1); Bosch (Amazon Prime) – 5 Seasons. It’s relatively slow paced but enjoyable detective series.  The Upside (movie) with Kevin Hart and Bryan Bryan Cranston – I liked it way more than I expected to.

THREE+ Faves for Winter Skin – The Body Shop’s Mango Lip Butter + Nivea Cocoa Butter Body Cream – I actually found both of these in TJ Maxx. I bought multiples of the Cocoa Butter Body Cream because Nivea is a MUST for winter. The lip butter is new to me – and a new favorite. It is thick and just extra luscious.

FOUR+ Fave Activity – We cannot get enough of the board game Azul … even though our youngest son keeps kicking our asses! I first mentioned this game in 10 Things From Us This November – but we’ve played it a gazillion times since then.

FIVE+ Fave Drink – Three Thieves Cabernet Sauvignon – which was #5 on Wine Enthusiast’s Top 100 Best Wine Buys of 2019. This was so damn good, I’m re-buying it again and again.

One thing I wasn’t feeling this month … Olly Restful Sleep Melatonin Gummies … just didn’t work for me.

How was your January? What’s one thing you recommend we read, watch or try soon?