January 2021 | Monthly Faves
Ahh, it's been a hot minute since I've done a Monthly Faves. I'm baaacccckkk *she says in haunting voice.*
The thing is, I used to put in SO much work for my Monthly Faves posts. I'm talking hours. And there's not anything wrong with that per se, but I realized that if I'm devoting such time to smaller posts, I won't be able to devote as much time to the bigger posts—or create them at all apparently.
This whole blogging thing is NOT something you become adept at overnight, let me tell you!
But alas, a fresh year, a fresh start. Here were some of my faves in January (ft. cool new categories 😎).
Note: this post may contain affiliate links.
Favorite TV Show: Gilmore Girls
Gilmies, Gilmies, Gilmies!!
One of my best friends, Morgan, raved about this show. It's an older one, so I'm very late to this fan club. Finally, I started watching it.
It was the show I'd watch on my own. You know—there's a series you watch with your mom, a series with your partner, and then a series of yours that you watch on your own time. I had this playing while I worked on my Etsy orders (read more about that here) as background noise, but I watched it pretty closely.
Then, THEN, guess what happened? Thomas watched a few episodes with me, and what did he have the audacity to do? He claimed it as OUR show now, so I couldn't watch it without him!
We dedicated hours to watching it every night and even appropriated a cute nickname for it—that's how you know it's one of our faves, when we throw an "ies" at the end (The Vampire Diaries became "Vampies," for instance). We actually just finished the series too. Bummer!
Song: "driver's license" by Olivia Rodrigo
I mean, who doesn't love this song? Or perhaps a better question, who doesn't get their favorite tunes from TikTok? (Those who don't use the app are probably rolling their eyes at me... yeah, yeah, whatever). This song is huge right now.
I also really liked a few others. "Slow Dancing" by Aly & AJ (yes, they're back!). "Stunnin'" by Curtis Waters ft. Harm Franklin (this was by far my feel-good song). "Prisoner" by Miley Cyrus ft. Dua Lipa. "Judas" by Lady Gaga.
Food: Olive Garden copycat tiramisu
Original Recipe: Chef Pablo's Olive Garden™ Tiramisu
This stuff is pure gold. I almost don't want to share the recipe with you because I treasure it so much. However, it wasn't my recipe to begin with, and on top of that it's a copycat recipe, so I have no right keeping it from you. *inward sigh*
Mom and I made a keto-friendly version for her birthday too—more like a mousse. Maybe I'll have to share that with you too someday.
Drink: Iced lattes
I guess this isn't specific to January, but I just love making my own coffee beverages from home. Carissa from TikTok (@carissareese1) inspired me so much these past few months that I ended up purchasing my own cappuccino maker from Target ($29 for that matter—talk about a STEAL) and mimicking her Starbucks copycat recipes, making adjustments of my own as I go.
Such a money saver compared to purchasing drinks from Starbucks, Caribou, and DD every day. I even use a Starbucks cup for the "authentic experience" (more like the boujee experience?).
Book: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
I don't know that I'd consider The Night Circus a fave book by any stretch, but it's the only thing I've been reading, so I felt I should include it. It's honestly either very interesting or very dry. I've heard from the members of my book club who are ahead of me that it gets better, so I carry on reading it. If nothing else, it's definitely unique!
Memory: Indoor skydiving
I really enjoyed getting to go indoor skydiving at iFLY with my mom on her birthday. It was something on her bucket list, and she LOVED it. She talked about it for days after and showed pictures and videos to all her friends and coworkers. And as fun as I thought it was, getting to witness her having so much fun was the most rewarding part. She deserved it. :)
Accessory: Apple Watch Series 3
My sweet Thomas got me an Apple Watch as a Christmas gift. I really love it. I've worn it almost every day, which I've never done with any watch before. I like how it tracks my activity and sleep patterns, which inspires me to be better about them. It's also convenient for subtly checking notifications at work, as well as for answering calls while driving.
And, it's just cute. I mean, changeable wristbands? Yes please!
TikToker: @rippahhhhhhhhhhh
If you are a Vampire Diaries fanatic, this is a great account to follow. A lot of h's, I know. But they make some very attractive videos of the characters, as well as post great interview clips with the cast members.
App: Prisma
I should honestly choose TikTok as my favorite app every month because apparently my Tok obsession isn't changing any time soon, but for the sake of not being redundant, my other fun favorite app was Prisma. It's a photo editor, yet it has more unique styles of filters than other editing apps. It's also free!
For example, I took one of my favorite selfies from the month and applied the "Femme" filter to it. Here are the before and after results:
I also tried the "Mosaic" filter and check out how COOL the results are. I adore how detailed and geometric they turned out. Literally, my irises even became mosaic'd (new verb? LOL). And my hair!
Amazon Purchase: SEASUM leggings
I bought them. THE leggings. You know, those leggings.
You don't know them? I call them the "TikTok leggings" because there's a common trend on TikTok where people buy them and record their partner's reaction, but they're actually from Amazon by a brand called SEASUM. There are other brands that sell identical ones too. They're known for making your booty POP. That they did. 😏
(The photo below is the one they use to advertise with. It's a litttttle ridonkulous, but they give you the right idea I suppose).
Change: best friends moving back!
Two of our best friends, Camille & Seth, moved back to Minnesota. I'm so looking forward to spending more time with them again because we missed them, even for the short period of time they were gone. I am obsessed with their baby, Cameron, who is now around 9 months old. He's just the CUTEST. In fact, if you've been following my blog long enough, you might remember seeing him featured in a number of posts.
Since I don't have my own kids, I cherish my role as his "Auntie" Farrah. ❤️
Achievement: video receiving over 5k views & 800 likes
I occasionally post videos on TikTok, but I was pleasantly surprised when one I made of Val, my cat, reached 5,681 views & 870 likes (and counting!). It ain't much, but compared to my previous high of 59 likes, it was something. 😂
That's it for this month! I guess there was a TikTok theme, huh? I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm not... 🤷
If you ever have any suggestions for categories to feature in these Monthly Faves posts, let me know.
What were your January faves??
SIMILAR POST RECOMMENDATION: July 2020 | Monthly Faves
SEE ALL MONTHLY FAVES: Monthly Faves
Until next time...
