Life Lately - February

Eating - Another tasty month in the books! I received macarons for Valentine's Day from Olivia Macaron; the best spot to get macarons, in my opinion. Their Georgetown location is one of my favorite spots and their macarons are the best! We had brunch on Valentine's Day at the McFarland House in Martinsburg and the food was delicious - I especially enjoyed the mimosa flight and the blueberry crepe! 

I had some delicious waffles with chocolate chips and marshmallows, a homemade grilled cheese and some of the most tasty chicken pot pie... not once, not twice, but three times - at three different places! I had a delicious White Chocolate Raspberry Mocha and to die for Sticky Toffee Pudding. I even tried my hand at making a King Cake and it was a hit! 

Watching - I have been watching all things Discovery+... Magnolia Table, Fixer Upper: Welcome Home and Home Town - I am loving all my home shows! I'm also loving Men in Kilts on Starz; the show follow Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish as they explore Scotland and it's both historical and hilarious. I also started watching a show on Starz called The Luminaries that follows two English people journeying to New Zealand to follow the gold rush in the 1800's. 

Wearing - Unfortunately I've been as cozy with my coat and hat(s) almost all month long because it snowed again and again this month! Thank goodness for cozy sweaters, rubber boots and toasty toboggans to put onto my head so I can wander around through the snowfall! 

Right here at the end of the month I grabbed a cute pair of sandals in anticipation of the warmer Spring days to come. I haven't worn them anywhere except my room, but I can't wait to take them out of the house, ha-ha!

Bought - Well obviously I bought my awesome sandals, ha-ha! I've admired Birkenstocks that look like these sandals time and time again... and when I saw these knock-offs at Target for $22, I snagged a white pair because I don't have white sandals for Spring and Summer! Another knock-off that I took full advantage of is Wal-Mart's Time & Tru brand Cowl Neck sweatshirt, retailing at just $14! It's a dupe for one made by a company called Dudley Stephens... and their sweatshirt retails for $129! I grabbed a black/white stripe combo sweatshirt and then went back for the pink/white stripe combo and the teal/white stripe combo! All three and still less than a third of what you'd pay for the Dudley Stephens! 

Want - I dearly want Spring weather! Longer days... warmer days... all the plentiful sunshine! I want to wear sandals and short sleeves and feel a gentle Spring breeze on my face! As I write that, it's raining and hovering around 45 outside. *blah* However, the forecast for next week has temperatures at 60 or higher - so perhaps Spring is right around the corner?

Reading - I posted all about this on Five on Friday, but I only read three books this month: The Duke and I by Julia Quinn, The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides and The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse. I started The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah just today... so I suppose it doesn't quite count. I hope I can get more reading done in March.

And that's a little of what I've been up to lately - in this month that was February of 2021! 

Five on Friday - Books, Blue Skies & Brevity

Well y'all - February is almost over! I truly cannot believe it because January always feels like it lasts for years and usually February is exactly the same, but this year it's sped by pretty quickly. I am absolutely looking forward to March, if only because it makes my brain feel like warmer weather and longer days are getting closer! 

I don't have a lot to share on this final Friday of February (so much alliteration) but I do a few things - and that's better than nothing. So, shall we begin with some books I've read this last month?

One. The Duke & I by Julia Quinn - This is the first book in the eight (maybe nine) book series that follows the Bridgerton children in Regency Era England as they look for love. After falling in love with the series on Netflix, I knew I had to grab the book(s) and while they proved a bit hard to find - I've finally collected them all. 

I loved the story between Daphne and Simon - and while to book was a bit different from the first season of the Netflix series, all in all it was just a fun and fluffy read. I'm looking forward to reading the second book, which follows Daphne's older brother Anthony... it should be just as fun!

Rating - **** (out of 5 stars)

Two. The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides - I bought this book for a whopping $1 at the annual library book sale here in town, so it was a steal! I'm glad because while I'd seen so many rave reviews of this book... it just sort of underwhelmed me. It is the author's first book and so I'll be interested to see what follows this book - it was good but not great - but my opinion seems to be in the minority.

The story follows a therapist at a mental hospital trying to get a murder confession from one of the patients... but since she was arrested, she hasn't spoken a word. It did have a twist at the end that was interesting but it didn't just blow my mind like I was expecting it to...

Rating - ** (out of 5 stars)

Three. The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse - Confession: I still have about 50 pages of this to read but I am really enjoying it! I've been busy over the last two weeks that I've been reading this and so I think that's why it's taken me so long to get through this! It was an impulse buy at Books A Million in January but it's been a really good read!

The story centers on a sanatorium turned luxury hotel, murders that are taking place at the hotel and the cop that is trying to solve the murder while grappling with her own anxieties from a death in her past. I'm not sure how it will wrap up yet, but it's been a great read so far!

Rating - **** (out of 5 stars)

Four. Wintry Weather - I'm currently looking out the window at blue skies and brownish-green grass but that wasn't the case at the start of this week! Monday morning began with sleet and the snow and then finally... sunshine! The drive to work on Monday was a wee bit hazardous but once I was there, all was well!

The pictures were taken about four hours apart and honestly - it's proof that weather can be weird just about everywhere! It was above 60 on Wednesday and it's supposed to rain all weekend. However - the forecast for the next fifteen days shows temperatures hovering around the mid-50's, so you'll hear no complaints from me!

Five. Weekend Plans - The weather is supposed to be in the mid-60's all weekend... but it's also supposed to rain all weekend. *sigh* I've got dinner plans tonight but beyond that, my weekend is wide open. I want to finish up a book and honestly - just relax. And I'm sure I'll end up doing just that. 

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Y'all have a wonderful weekend and enjoy it while it lasts! I'm so glad to see March on the horizon and I certainly hope this March is filled with good surprises (since last March was not). 

Watson Wednesday

 

Simply living his best life - soaking up the warmth from the fire.

Well that Escalated Quickly

How is it Monday again already? I swear - I feel like I blinked and this weekend flew by! And now there is just one week of February left! January lasted for years and I feel like February has really flown right by. Granted, if that puts me closer to warmer weather - I don't mind even a little bit. 

  

I went back a little farther than the start of the weekend - I wanted to share just a couple pictures from the snow and ice event we had on Thursday of last week. The weather moved in overnight and it did some form of snowing, sleeting or just spitting ice all day long, which meant when all was said and done - everything was frozen into a nice white shell! 

Friday night - in bitter cold temperatures - the family and I made our way to Upperville to have dinner at Hunter's Head Tavern! It has been quite a while since I've been to Hunter's Head and I was thrilled when our waitress announced that the special was the Chicken Pot Pie, which is absolutely the tastiest thing ever! I also grabbed a cocktail called Early Spring (it hasn't made Spring arrive early) and some Sticky Toffee Pudding for dessert - it was to die for! 

Doesn't Hunter's Head look so idyllic in the snow and setting sun? I couldn't resist snapping a picture because it just looked perfectly picturesque.

 

Saturday wasn't too busy but it felt like it just flew by - I had coffee and breakfast; got in my exercise and got dressed and ready for the day ahead. I met a friend for a late lunch and got the most divine Raspberry White Chocolate Mocha afterwards! I certainly wish I was a little closer to the Espresso Bar in Winchester so I could pop over and get another... although that might become dangerous to my fitness goals! The family grabbed Mexican food for dinner and watched The Truman Show as a recommendation from a family friend... we didn't quite get the hype though.

 

Sunday morning I wanted to stay in bed... but I finally drug myself out of the warm covers and had my coffee before catching church online and getting ready for the day. I had brunch/lunch at Regions 117 - and I had what might be the best pancakes I've ever eaten in my life - they were divine and filled with juicy blueberries! The lake was frozen over... and a poor decorative plant outside the clubhouse was also feeling the brunt of the cold weather! 

I ended up being pretty spectacularly lazy all afternoon on Sunday - I actually took an afternoon nap, which I haven't done on Sunday is ages! I chatted with my little sister a bit and then went to dinner with another friend - the food at El Centro on the Walking Mall is always so delicious! I came home in time to watch Home Town and get myself together for the work week ahead. I honestly feel like I blinked and the weekend passed by in a flash. 

Thank goodness another weekend is always on the horizon, am I right? 

I'm So Behind!

 It's Thursday... and I'm just now sharing about last weekend. Y'all - I know. I'm so behind, ha-ha! I've been distracted this week - by life - but in a good way. It's doing some variation of snowing...sleeting... whatever outside my window right now and I'm very over the Winter weather.

It's been chilly pretty much non-stop since I can't remember when - and I guess that makes sense because it is Winter! Friday was no exception but I got some macarons for an early Valentine and that certainly warmed my heart (and my stomach). After dinner out and grabbing food for potential impending Winter weather, I joined a Noonday party online and caught up on WandaVision on Disney+. I cannot stress how good that show it - so excellent!

I wish I could Saturday was really exciting but it wasn't, ha-ha. An example of that would be that I have all of one picture and it's of waffles, ha-ha! I honestly don't remember what I did all day on Saturday, isn't that sad? I know it did some kind of weird rain/sleet thing and so after grabbing lunch and perusing Target a bit, it was just best to be back at the house instead of out on the roads. So - I guess I did remember what I did on Saturday and it was not lot. I did have a S'mores waffle for dinner though!

Sunday was cold - but there wasn't any rain or snow - hallelujah! We made our way to Martinsburg, WV to have a Valentine's Day brunch at the historic McFarland House. The house is a Bed & Breakfast and is quite lovely; the chef has won awards for his cooking and so everything we ate was delicious! 

I got a Mimosa Flight - grapefruit, cranberry and orange - they were all three very tasty! Of course, as you can see... I finished them right up! I especially enjoyed my personal Chicken Pot Pie and the Blueberry Crepe - but everything was good. I was impressed with how they managed to coordinate a buffet type meal while maintaining COVID guidelines - everything went pretty smooth; it worked like a well oiled machine.

After coming home, I took Watson down to the lake and surprise... surprise... it was even more frozen than the last time we took a walk down. Watson hopped and jumped along the stream and had a grand time - so grand that he hurt his paw and so as we walked back home, I noticed he was bleeding! He got a bath and got his foot all cleaned up and we spent the rest of the evening inside, eating Valentines chocolate and watching TV! And looking forward to not having to go to work on Monday - I mean, I looked forward to that. Watson never has to go to work! 

The final picture is the King Cake I whipped up to share with my co-workers! None of them had ever experienced the joy of having King Cake and so I thought I'd make one and introduce it to them! It went over really well and made work on Tuesday a little brighter! 

Watson Wednesday

 

You can tell he's very excited to be taking pictures with me! Ha!

Not Today

 Just popping in ever so quickly to tell you that - on this Friday - I don't have five things to share. I don't even really have one thing to share. It's still snowy, it's still very cold and blessedly this is a three day weekend. I don't have much else to tell right now but maybe after the long weekend, I will. Who knows?

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Y'all have a good weekend and enjoy yourself! 

Watson Wednesday

 

Ooh goodness - I just love this little guy!

Oh Look - More Snow!

You guys. Y'all. I'm telling you right now - Winter is taking revenge this year. I'm telling you. Last year there was very little snow... I mean, it snowed maybe once. Can I tell you that it snowed again this past weekend and there is snow in the forecast for eleven of the next fifteen days. ELEVEN. There is so much snow in the forecast that it's not even fun to say "Winter is Coming" anymore. I'm just over it.

I got off work early on Friday and headed straight home to grab my hat, my Hunter boots and my pup. I took him over to the lake to walk around a bit since it was almost 48 degrees and that's practically a heat wave considering how chilly it's been lately. 

 

There was still plenty of snow in the shade around the lake, especially in the wooded portions of the trail we wandered... and I cannot tell you why, but my dog preferred to walk in the snow. I think that wouldn't be so nice but who knows? We wandered through the woods, along the dam and over to the lake before stopping to chat with a man who rescues Jack Russells - it was a nice little adventure and Watson enjoyed every minute. 

 

I'm not sure why (work has been nuts, maybe that's why) but once I got back to the house on Friday, I didn't feel like doing anything. Not even driving to pick up something for dinner. Thank goodness for Door Dash! I ordered Applebee's, curled up on the couch and then watched WandaVision and the movie Promising Young Woman - which... whoa. It was a very chill Friday night - which was nice! 

Saturday morning I went to get my hair done and that took up most of the morning - as it usually does. I'd planned to take Watson to the Arboretum but the sky clouded over pretty well and the wind picked up and so I wasn't certain I wanted to drive somewhere to walk around. I ended up taking him down to the trail that surrounds the lake and he had a blast!

 

 

A huge section of the lake was still frozen but the small stream trickling out from it was fine - and he leaped across it, dove at leaves and sniffed every twig, branch and bit of forest debris that he could find. I tried to enjoy the brief glimpses of sunshine because they were just that - brief - and the weather was forecasting more snow for Sunday. *Sigh*

I passed Saturday afternoon with adventure walks with Watson, watching Fixer Upper and reading some chapters of The Silent Patient, the book I'm currently reading. I placed a Panera order and Watson rode along with me to go pick it up - starting the ride wrapped in a blanket and eventually creeping out of it to watch the world pass out the windows. The rest of the evening was uneventful - I finished the show Rome, took a bath and just enjoyed the evening.

 

Sunday morning when I woke up - I had a little bit of deja vu. The world was covered in white and snowflakes were falling thick and fast, piling up the snow everywhere! Amazingly, it feel like that until about 11:00 and then, halfway through watching my church service I noticed that the snow had stopped... and then the sun came out! 

After shoveling the driveway and sidewalk and having some lunch, I took Watson back down to the lake trail to explore again - it was like a whole different world, snow everywhere and even more of the lake was frozen! The sunshine meant that it also sounded like being near a rushing river, everything was already starting to melt!

By the time we made our way back up the hill and into the neighborhood, the snow was melting and streaming down the hill in a little river. It continued to do that for the rest of the day... drip, drip, dripping it's way into oblivion. Granted - all of it didn't melt, there is still plenty hanging around to be piled on when it snows this week. 

The final picture here isn't mine - a neighbor took it early in the morning on Sunday morning and shared it with everyone. I wanted to share it here because it's just so beautiful. And I'm trying really hard to see the beauty since there is so much snow in the forecast... but I'm really just looking forward to Spring breezes, green grass and blue skies. Y'all have a good week!