Perhaps it's because February seems like the "dead" of Winter (although not so much this year...) but man, it seems like I sat around doing a whole lot of reading and binge-watching this month...

Books I Couldn't Put Down

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr - A blind French girl and an orphaned Nazi boy anchor Anthony Doerr’s sweeping novel of German occupation. While the stories seem divided, bit by bit sections begin to fall into place as the story progresses while larger themes of loss and isolation play out through the characters' fixations with radio waves, gemology, and shell collecting. Part historical fiction and part finely crafted tale, this book is mesmerizing from cover to cover!

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood - This story takes place in a dystopian society in the near-future in what was once New England; women have no rights, they are not even allowed to read. The story is told from the perspective of Offred; a woman who serves as a handmaid, a bizarre function where she is placed in a high-ranking officials house in order to conceive and bear a child for his family. The story is interspersed with Offred's memories from her previous life when the government had not yet been overthrown and offers a counter to the strict regime she currently lives under. That brief plot summary might sound...strange...but the book was fascinating and I sped through it in days!

Books on the Shelf

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah - Another WWII era book that's waiting on my shelf; this book revolves around two sisters during WWII and I've heard great things about it.

Victoria by Daisy Goodwin - The novel that the new PBS series Victoria is based on; the show is fascinating, so I'm sure the book won't disappoint!

Hitler's Forgotten Children:A True Story of the Lebensborn Program by Ingrid von Oelhafen - I'll admit, I'm already more than halfway through this biographical tale of a woman who discovered that she was a product of the SS horrific Lebensborn Program; which I knew nothing about until watching The Man in the High Castle.

Must See TV

Legion -David Haller was diagnosed with schizophrenia at a young age, and has been a patient in various psychiatric hospitals since. After Haller has an encounter with a fellow psychiatric patient, he is confronted with the possibility that there may be more to him than mental illness. Perhaps he might be...a mutant? Not quite a superhero...but not quite normal... This show is a branch of the Marvel universe, directed by Noah Hawley (who does another show I love, Fargo) and is certainly one of the most unique and colorful shows I've watched in a long time. Can't wait to see what happens...

Also...who knew Matthew Crawley played crazy so well? Ha-ha!

Movies I'd Watch on Repeat

Loving - What an excellent movie! I noticed Loving had finally arrived at a theater here in town and there were only five seats left; so even with those seats being on the two front rows, I snapped a seat up! The movie tells the story of Richard and Mildred Loving; the couple at the center of the 1967 Supreme Court case Loving V. Virginia. The case is considered a landmark case; it invalidated laws prohibiting interracial marriage, and affected not just the state of Virginia but 15 other states. The story and the love between the Lovings is what makes this movie so touching and wonderful. Go see it if you get the chance!

Binge Worthy

A Series of Unfortunate Events - Honestly, I was completely drawn into watching this because I love Neil Patrick Harris! I read all the books in the series about the Baudelaire orphans when I was younger and I watched the movie with Jim Carrey - which was thoroughly disappointing - but seeing that NPH was involved in this version, I decided to give it a chance. This series captures the dark comedic tone of the books so much better and I devoured all eight episodes in just four days. I loved this take, thought the casting was great...especially the casting of Patrick Warburton to narrate the tale as Lemony Snicket!

Stranger Things - I finally, finally jumped on this bandwagon and wow...so much 80's nostalgia! The story follows four friends living in Indiana in 1983; when one of the boys goes missing, the whole is turned upside down (literally) for the boys as they search for their missing friend and encounter forces much larger and more powerful than they imagined when playing board games in the basement! The kids are hands down what makes this show; the suspense and jump scares were fun and I can't wait to see where season two will go.

The Man in the High Castle - What would the United States look like if the Axis Powers won WWII? That is the storyline that The Man in the High Castle posits to it's viewers and honestly; it's pretty terrifying. The United States has been split between Japan and Germany; the East coast is now the Greater Nazi Reich and the West coast is the Japanese Pacific States with the neutral zone lying somewhere along the Rocky mountains. The man in the high castle is a shadowy figure that encourages the resistance by releasing videos that show how the world might be different were the Axis powers not in control. Certain parts of the show are dark (in the Greater Nazi Reich, cripples & the ill are burned on Tuesdays...) the plot and story lines are intriguing and thought provoking. I sped through the first two seasons and now I'm waiting to see what season three will have in store.

Should I go ahead and admit that maybe I have too much time on my hands? Ha-ha!

Tasty Treats

Edible Arrangements - FOR THE WIN! My little sister absolutely got the jump on me and surprised me with a gorgeous (and delicious) Edible Arrangement on Valentine's Day. I cannot lie, that heart-shaped pineapple was gone within about five minutes of getting that bad boy unwrapped! The strawberries I managed to spread out over three days and they were so yummy!

What I'm Looking Forward To

Game of Thrones (in Concert) - One of my awesome friends gifted me with a ticket to see Game of Thrones in concert at the Verizon Center on March 1st and I am so excited for this! The most exciting aspect of the concert is that it will be conducted by Ramin Djawadi; the composer of the music from Game of Thrones. It's definitely something to look forward to in the extra long gap between seasons six and seven!

Girls Mountain Weekend - I'll be spending a long weekend in the Smokey Mountains with one of my lifelong best friends, Nickolee and I cannot wait! This trip has been in the works for over a year...because we had planned to do this last year, but unforeseen circumstances derailed our plans...but we prevailed and rescheduled for this year! You see; when we graduated from high school many moons ago, we went to the mountains...so we're recreating that, ha-ha! I'm not 100% sure what we'll do, but I know the food will be good and the company will be the best...and really, that's enough for me!

Oh...we were such babies...

Beauty & the Beast - Oh. My. Goodness. I have had a countdown for this movie on my phone for over a year and it is SO close! I bought my tickets weeks ago (with the commemorative glass), I've already pre-ordered the soundtrack and I can almost guarantee you that I'll see this more than once. Beauty and the Beast is hands down my very favorite Disney movie, Belle is my spirit animal (pun also intended) and Prince Adam is the BEST Disney prince... I just could not be more excited to see this! *sigh*

Spring - It has been unseasonably warm this past month (with some freak snow showers in the midst of it all) and I have had absolutely no problems with that! I'm really hoping that even though that pesky groundhog predicted 6 more weeks of Winter, maybe he was wrong. I'm hoping that the sun will keep shining, the trees will start to bud and Spring will arrive a little earlier than usual.

Five on Friday

Oh Friday - how I love to see this day arrive on the calendar. Also; how in the world is this the LAST Friday of February?!? Does anyone else feel like they blinked and this month is gone? Trust me - I'm looking forward to Spring just as much as the next person, but do you realize that almost two months of 2017 are already done? It's crazy!

One. Spring - Alternatively this could be labeled "blue skies" because almost every single day this week has been spectacular! Gorgeous blue skies, a smattering of little wispy clouds floating along on a gentle spring breeze and the temperature hovering around 75. IN FEBRUARY. Also...in NORTHERN VIRGINIA. According to my Timehop; this time last year it was raining and two years everything was frozen solid!

Unfortunately the weather doesn't appear to be sticking around through the weekend, so I'll have to try to enjoy as much as I can when I get off later today!

Two. Emma Watson & Dan Stevens - Honestly, I think I've covered how excited I am about this movie and really what I want to say is "how does Emma Watson always look so amazing?!?" She and Dan Stevens look like real life royalty in these pictures from last night's London screening of Beauty & the Beast. That dress is absolutely stunning, she looks phenomenal and Dan Stevens isn't too bad to look at either! *wink*

Three. Posh - Have you heard of Perfectly Posh? Posh; for short, is all natural and made in America, cruelty free and perfect for pampering yourself. They offer amazing hand creme, lip balms, chunks (a big ol bar of soap) body butters, body scrubs, specialized skin and hair care, the list honestly goes on and on...

A friend from high school recently became a consultant and she sent me some samples. After trying them out, I ordered my own products and I've fell in love. I decided to host a party because who doesn't love a change to get some potentially free goodies? As I mentioned above, the company is cruelty free, all the products are naturally based and have no fillers, everything is made in the USA and they even have vegan options!

If you want to check it out, do so here: https://www.perfectlyposh.com/EliseDickerson/

Four. The Oscars - I normally enjoy watching the Academy Awards each year; I love looking at all the glamorous dresses mostly, but I'm torn about watching this year. I am 100% done hearing about politics and I feel that; given how other awards shows have already panned out, this will just be another avenue for political ranting.

I watch movies as an escape of sorts and while it may seem childish and/or like I'm putting my head in the sand, I'd just prefer the Oscars be about the glitz and glamour of the red carpet and the magic of the movies - and not drag the crazy political state of the world into it all. I'd also prefer for La La Land to win big because I adore that movie! I also really enjoyed Hidden Figures too!

Five. Nationals Baseball - A mainstay on this weekly posting from late-February through at least October; there are only thirty-eight days until opening day and just forty-six days until my first visit to Nationals Park for the 2017 season! The Nationals are still making moves, even though Spring Training started a week ago and just this morning it was officially announced that the Nationals had signed veteran catcher Matt Wieters. Matt isn't coming far - he was a member of the Baltimore Orioles before today - so now he's just inside the Beltway, ha-ha! Here's hoping the addition of Wieters will open up for some other moves...because the Nationals still need a closer...and we only have thirty-eight days!

That's all I've got for this edition of Five on Friday - hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Out & About

Another week and weekend come to an end; February is speeding by, but then I am convinced that with each year that passes...time certainly moves faster! The work week was fairly placid; the middle of the week slump was broken up by a sick day at home on Wednesday when I woke up feeling not quite right...

The latter part of the work week was marked by the crazy weather showing up on Thursday morning after Wednesday was a balmy 70 and breezy. I spent Wednesday afternoon walking the neighborhood with my pup in flip flops and short sleeves, only to have to put on snow boots and an ankle length coat and skirt patches of ice on the sidewalks on Thursday afternoon.

I think it's fairly safe to say that while Watson (and myself...to an extent) like the snow just fine, my feelings will not be hurt if Winter makes an early exit and Spring continues to show itself earlier than usual. Last year I was fine with snow but this year; for some reason, I am craving sunshine and warm breezes and longer days. I'm ready for Winter to make it's farewell and not have to worry about it again until at least late October... I think Watson agrees with me; he looks positively daunted by the prospect of sliding along the icy sidewalk...

Friday started with an absolutely glorious sunrise - which of course, I took pictures of...breathtaking, right?

I was busy for a large chunk of the work day - but my work day also happened to end at 3:00 instead of 5:00 and so I started my weekend early! It's kind of become a thing that I go out to eat with my parents on Friday night and after a bit of relaxation on my couch, I freshened myself up and out we went. The meal was good and then I spent the rest of the evening being a grade A bum! Because what else are you supposed to do on Friday night?

I feel like this would be the best time to share some absolutely adorable pictures of Watson that were taken over the weekend. I'm sure some would say I take way too many pictures of my dog, but I'm convinced there is no such thing! And with a face that cute, how could I possibly not take ALL the pictures?

Saturday I did the whole sleeping in and sipping of the coffee and even shared my breakfast with Watson while watching Legion...because I need just one more show to watch, right? The weather made yet another turn toward Spring and I opened up the windows and let the sunshine and spring breezes into the house.

I got myself together around 3:30 and headed into town to meet my friend Melissa for some long overdue girl time - we went poking around in Old Navy, Home Goods and Target with a break in the middle of the shopping (mostly of the window variety) for supper at Chili's. Fun fact about our Chili's visit is that at one point Melissa mentioned her sweet tea didn't seem to actually be sweet and instead of offering to get a new drink, our waitress just said "oh no - it's because we are getting to the bottom of the pitcher..." Nothing says A+ service like being told you're drinking the bottom of the barrel, am I right?

We laughed it off and went on about our business; discussing babies and men (boys), hair cuts and clothes and pretty much anything and everything you could think of...mostly we just had a good time enjoying one another's company and eating (too much) delicious but also in no way good for us fried food. Our evening out resulted in me returning home with a duster from Old Navy, a new make-up palette from Target and a thankful heart for having such a wonderful friend to spend time with!


Sunday I slept in - although not as late as I'd hoped to - and then sipped my coffee and passed the morning with my sweet pup. I chose not to go to church; I knew I'd be showing up and going at it alone and some days I'm totally fine with that and other days I'm just not...quite there. The social anxiety comes and goes and I just wasn't quite feeling it on Sunday and so I suppose I let it get the best of me, but it is what it is and it's over and done with now.

I scooted off to the movies on Sunday afternoon to see Loving - the only seats left were on the first and second rows and I couldn't convince anyone that it wouldn't be so terrible to sit that close - so I went on my own! I had no clue but once I arrived, I realized I'd plopped down right in the midst of a showing put on by the local film club and I was greeted, handed my very own booklet, the show times for the movies they were highlighting in February and even persuaded to be in the group picture! Who knew?


The movie was wonderful - if you have a chance to see it, I'd encourage you to go! The screening I saw even had a lawyer who spoke before the film started and it was all around a really neat experience. I made my way home under cloudy skies, fighting the wind all the way and holed up for the rest of the evening and really can't report too much more of excitement. I watched a little TV (The Man in the High Castle) and read a little bit (The Handmaid's Tale) before crashing and thus bringing another weekend to a close.

It was so wonderful to have plans again and get out and about! I don't know what it is about Winter that lends itself to staying home, bundled under blankets just being lazy but I'm ready for there to be more on the calendar...more to do and see and go to... perhaps that's part of the desire for Spring? The desire to be out and about more?