What I’m Into: February 2015

General Highlights:

Here in Memphis, February has been a month of endless winter. We’ve had one ice and sleet event after another, finally culminating in actual snow on Wednesday (although nothing stuck north of the Mississippi state line). My SAD is in full force and I can no longer remember the feeling of sun on my face or what my arms and legs look like under their two or three layers of clothing. Spring, please come soon.

I listed my house for sale on February 13! I’ve had six showings and (update!) one offer, which I didn’t feel good about and decided to decline. But I’m still encouraged to have this much interest so quickly during a time of bad weather, and I still have a strong feeling that I’ll be on my way before too long. Fingers crossed.

I went to Paoli Peaks, Indiana to ski for the first time in 19 years, and I didn’t die!

My first post at Memphis Type History went up! I have another one pending, and a lot of ideas in the pipeline – it’s just a matter of people getting back to me.

Tiger basketball season is winding up. With one more home game remaining, we’re 17-11. Rough year to be a fan, although I probably needed a break from my Jimmy Fallon-in-Fever Pitch-level obsession.

(image source)

Reading:

My page count was comparatively low in February. My favorite read was Perfect Scoundrels, the third book in Ally Carter’s series about teenage professional thieves. Love.

Watching:

My friend Ashley and I saw American Sniper as part of her impressive pre-Oscar cramming weekend (she went to four nominated movies in two days). I’m still sorting out my thoughts about it; not to diminish Chris Kyle’s bravery or patriotism, but from a gut level, I saw it primarily as a story about addiction. I’d love to discuss with a group.

Music:

The only new music setting off my radar this month was Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud,” which I heard for the first time on the Grammys because apparently I live in a cave. But I can’t replay it excessively like I do most songs I love – it’s too swoonworthy for my tender heart right now. If I ever get to dance to this with a man I love, I will die happy.

As usual, you can listen to my ever-expanding 2015 playlist on Spotify.

Video:

I shared a shorter clip on Instagram, but here’s the full video my brother took of me skiing!

Travel:

My parents and I took our traditional President’s Day weekend trip to visit my brother in Evansville. Before going skiing, we ate at Larry Bird’s restaurant, 33 Brick Street, in French Lick, Indiana. (What better place to be on Valentine’s Day??) The food was delicious, signed jerseys were everywhere, and my Tigers were even playing on TV!

Around Town:

One night, my parish (small group) ate dinner at Trolley Stop Cafe and then went to an art show at Crosstown Arts where one of our guys was exhibiting. It was a great, Memphisy evening. I fell in love with this piece by Yancy Villa-Calvo.

Making:

I learned to fit a non-fitted T-shirt and cut a scoopneck from a too-tight crewneck (here’s a second tutorial), and now no shirt is safe from my scissors. I had a little fun with an old-school shirt my friend Myla Smith gave me from a Valentine show she played YEARS ago. It was perfect for Singles Awareness Day!

Wearing:

I decided it was time to buy a second, more fun pair of glasses, so I ordered some green cat-eyes from Zenni Optical. In the end, they cost about $50 because I’m practically blind, but that’s still not bad. I like them and they’re much more lightweight than my Warby Parkers.

Beauty:

Having run out of the Almay foundation I’ve used for a while, I tried Rimmel Stay Matte mousse foundation and like it a lot! I’m excited to see if it holds up as well in more humid weather.

My complexion has gone rogue, so at a friend’s recommendation, I picked up an activated charcoal face soap from Bartlett Soap Company in my neighborhood. It’s made my face feel much better (although I’m still breaking out a little. What gives?). They also gave me a wonderful citrus soap for being a new customer. I’ll be back!

Random Happiness:

♥ My brother surprised me with these canvases he designed. One photo is of my grandfather’s canal in Miami and has random words inspired by my post about deciding to move into the city. The other photo is one he took in Alaska several years ago, with lyrics from a song they sing at his church. I’m so touched that he wanted to do this for me.

♥ Allegiant Airlines announced this week that they’re coming to Memphis and bringing a nonstop to Ft. Lauderdale starting at $66 each way! I seriously almost cried tears of joy onto my Twitter feed. This could be life-changing for my South Florida/Memphis dual-citizen family. If the prices hold, we can practically go to Miami any time we want. No more hedging over $500 fares.

♥ I renewed my passport and am now free again to leave the country at a moment’s notice. I’m working on going to Greece in the fall!

♥ I watched the Super Bowl at Alanna’s and thoroughly enjoyed Katy Perry’s halftime show.

♥ My pastor has been on sabbatical for three months (about half the time I’ve been attending my church), and he returned last Sunday. The rest of the staff has been killing it in his absence, but I’m still excited to have him back.

♥ House showings are a great excuse to indulge in flowers. Peach likes them too.

Pinterest Quote of the Month:

On The Blog:

Right before listing my house, I posted the final before-and-after shots from eight years of renovations.

For fun, I shared about how I put together my new Filofax planner. I got my ideas from another blog post, so I figured other organizational geeks might enjoy it!

I’ve felt extra sensitive and weary of my singleness this month. I talked about it right before Valentine’s Day (resulting in such a vulnerability hangover that I almost decided to take the post down) and discovered that selling a house and being single produce some similar emotions.

On the faith front, I talked about my Lenten commitment to start practicing a daily Examen. I also addressed our tendency as Christians to assume God is always teaching us a lesson. I’m trying to overcome this.

Posts I Loved:

♥ My friend Lindsey gave men some great tips about what not to do when dating over 30 (especially online)!

♥ My friend Becca kissed Facebook goodbye, and now she’s back with fascinating thoughts on her reasoning and experience.

♥ Amena Brown Owen at Storyline: What to Expect When You’re Least Expecting. This was very timely for me, and I plan to write about the same topic soon.

♥ Glennon Melton and her friend Amy requested letters from readers about their deepest fears and pain. Throughout Lent, they will read these letters to bear witness to people’s stories, and then burn them – the theme is, cool ashes can’t burn us. This moves me deeply. I know I link to Glennon a lot, but she’s quickly becoming one of my role models. One post at a time, I feel like she’s giving me a vocabulary for my purpose in this world.

♥ Random thoughts from Ashley Hackshaw on writing and living well: When Life Opens Up.

♥ Elisabeth Klein provides the exact advice I would give to any woman who came to me with this question: Should I Stay Married or Can I Divorce?

♥ LOL of the Month: Leigh Kramer’s If Your Life Was a Hallmark Movie. Spot on.