january 2024 recap: virginia, new york and creativity!
hi friends! i’ve been wanting to create a newsletter for awhile as a type of creative outlet and a way to keep my friends up to date with what’s going on in my life. i have a couple of pals who send out newsletters like this and i always found them so inspiring and it made me feel connected to them even if we hadn’t talked lately. what better time to start than at the top of a new year? my intention with this newsletter will be to provide monthly recaps of my life and will include not only what i did but also what media i consumed, my goals, and anything else i think is valuable or fun. who knows what it could eventually evolve into? that’s all part of the fun. thanks for being here.
let’s get into january.
the biggest thing that happened in january was that i moved from scottsville, virginia to buffalo, new york. if you didn’t know, my best friend amanda and her wife welcomed me into their home so that i could live rent free for a few months and shave off some school debt. i put my things in storage in nashville and drove out to virginia in october. i am so grateful for their generosity – i wound up paying off roughly $6k because of this. i was already on the east coast and wanted to go up north and experience a real winter (maybe i’m insane) so when i reconnected with a friend of mine in buffalo, i decided to come stay for a month. i negotiated down a month’s stay at an airbnb (yes you can do this!) and got here mid-month. i had to delay my drive up due to a travel ban because of a winter storm. once i drove up and got settled, there was another travel ban a couple days in. my new york winter experience was HAPPENING. it was my first time scraping such a large amount of snow off my car and shoveling a walkway. verdict is out on if i’d want to deal with snow on a regular basis.
buffalo has been fun. i’ve been inside a lot due to the storm that first week but i have visited niagara falls, eaten some tasty food, consumed great coffee and done a fair amount of exploring so far. i’ll add in some photos below.
niagara falls, hiking in hamburg, downtown buffalo and various buffalo eats
second biggest thing that happened in january is that i worked my final day at my job. i was there for just over a year as a software developer. i’ll keep it short but overall i just didn’t find the work that fulfilling for a multitude of reasons. i may jump back in with another company, though i am more inclined to go for something more design or product oriented just because that’s where my interests lie. i wasn’t sure whether to include this update in the newsletter because i have nothing else lined up besides grocery delivery with shipt (which i did for 7 years pre-development) but i think transparency is super important and sometimes it’s reassuring to know others don’t have it all figured out.
media i consumed
shows
emily in paris. somehow i never watched this? i like how it’s cheesy and predictable but also feel good. i’m also about 3 months into daily french lessons (which i started ahead of my montreal trip last month) so hearing and recognizing different french words and phrases is a fun bonus with this show. i also watched one episode from the new season of queer eye. it remains to be seen if i’ll ever watch an episode of that show and not cry.
movies
c’mon c’mon. this movie made such an impact on me. i somehow missed it when it came out in 2021. it’s such a thought provoking and beautifully shot b&w film. joaquin phoenix is the lead. the film follows him as he spends a couple of weeks with his nephew. their connection is so tender and special. i thought a lot about the human condition while watching this. there are also real life interviews between joaquin and multiple children interspersed throughout the film that were both inspiring and depressing, which is a great metaphor for how life feels. i’d recommend this movie to anyone.
books
a little life by hanya yanagihara. many of my friends have read this book. i am restarting it for the second time in less than a year because it’s that good. be warned: there will be tears and you will be emotionally devastated. but it’s beautiful and raw.
concerts/music
i think this might be the first month in over a year where i didn’t go to a single concert… i went to 22 last year which is roughly a couple a month. but don’t worry.. i have 2 shows lined up for february.
here’s a spotify playlist of some of my favorite songs from this month. :-)
february intentions
prioritize creativity - i’ve been spending more time just creating for fun. highly inspired by two of my favorite humans: @wilow.co and @rachaelrenae. reflecting back on my life, i’ve always loved creating. drawing, writing lyrics, blogging, making bath bombs to sell at the farmers market, pouring into content creation when i posted more about sustainability, cooking new recipes. we are ALL inherently creative. i’m trying to tap more into that and make time for it. one of my most recent and notable endeavors has been picking up film photography last year. i still have so much to learn but i’m so excited to keep growing in that. i’m also learning about graphic design and improving my skills in lightroom and photoshop.
spend more time outside and less time on my phone - hiking is one of my favorite activities and i make it a goal to get lost in the woods on a weekly basis. nature has always been so grounding to me. it’s important that i get outside as much as i can. less screen time goes hand in hand with that. i have daily instagram and facebook limits of 15 min/day. and i often find that if i put my phone away for a few hours and just let myself be present in whatever i’m doing, i accomplish so much more and come away feeling a lot more fulfilled and balanced because i’m not constantly distracted.
develop a consistent strength training routine - this is a broader 2024 goal, but i have been all over the place with strength training. last year i spent a ton of time getting movement in, but most of it was cardio. i do have a beachbody subscription (and coach!) that i love and have completed a couple of muscle building programs with that. i have dumbbells and resistance bands with me when i travel. that feels really good to have in my toolbox but i’d love to focus on basic foundational moves and proper form. i want to walk into the gym and be confident no matter what section i’m in.
film from december’s montreal trip i got back in january :-)
life hacks and general psa
apparently you can use kanopy to watch movies for free (GOOD ones - like A24) with your library card!?
i moved over my grocery shopping list to notion finally. i’m an organizational nerd, so i’m the kind of person who plans out every meal, breaks my shopping list into categories by department with a checklist, and budgets ahead of time so i know roughly what to expect. i am curious if this is something that would be helpful to any of you? if so, i’m going to clean up the template a little and then i can share it in february’s newsletter. lemme know!
currently seeking: friends that want to send postcards every couple of months. low pressure, good ole fashioned postcards with roughly a paragraph written on them. just for funsies. reach out if you wanna be cute & old school.
also important: groundhog phil predicts an early spring!
if you’ve read this far, thank you. we must be pretty tight homies. it’s been so fun to reflect and share these parts of my life with you. i hope you have a fulfilling february and can find some time to pour into things that bring you joy. i’d love to know what goals you have for 2024. you can reply directly to this email.
talk to you soon!
