I went from having absolutely nothing to say all month to not having enough space on these photos for all my January commentary. This post is longer than originally planned, but I am making an effort to share more real-life moments more regularly, so I am going for it, haphazard handwriting and all.

First, above: a selfie. I have been trying to share one each time I upload one of these monthly recaps, because I know my face is not nearly as present as it probably should be for a personal blog. It just takes too.darn.many snaps to get a good selfie. As far as I am concerned, I did not land on a good one above, which is why I cropped the background and collaged it that way. But I wanted to share one. So here it is.

Moving on...


Passion conference was amazing, as always. I was on the same team I've been on since Passion 2013, and each year gets better and better. This year, I randomly rode in an elevator with Tim Tebow and did not know it was him until a few hours later. So that was interesting.


I always thought co-ops were for super healthy people who made their own kombucha and grew their own tomatoes, but here I am. A proud, card-holding co-op member. They are small, but they are mighty, and I find myself stopping in at least once a week, so I figured it was time I join.



Raven has been dealing with an inner ear condition for the past few months. Well, just one ear. I had to clean it out with cotton swab multiple times because of all the dried-up blood that had accumulated (yes, it is disgusting. yes, she hates it, but thankfully, she stays still while I do it). The vet saw no real problem when they examined her, but an employee at PetSupermarket suggested I switch her food since she may have developed a grain allergy. After hours of google-searching, I settled on the Costco Brand, Nature's Domain, which got great reviews online and actually costs less than the brand I was buying, for about 10lbs more food! So far so good. She has yet to wake me up in the middle of the night flopping her ears, whereas before, it was a nightly occurrence. I call that a win.



This was my first time ever stepping foot inside a bridal shop, and I enjoyed our experience. My friend gets married later this year, and the hunt is on for the perfect gown. (Fun fact: she was my manager when I worked at Yellow Pages, and now I am going to be a bridesmaid in her wedding. I'm so happy for her and overjoyed at how our friendship has blossomed.)



On this particularly frigid morning, I woke up, looked outside, and saw the icy roads in my neighborhood. It turned into one of the longest WHF days ever. Maybe it was because there was literally no where I could go, but I hard time concluding my workday.

The next day I worked from home again but made sure to close up shop by 4pm. I thought it was an accomplishment until I realized my deadline for a freelance project was also looming, so I still staring at a computer until around 8pm. :/


I can hardly believe I'm about to type this, but... I am... a GREAT AUNT. 

My niece had a baby a few months back, and I had not seen her since. They came over for a bit and I caught up on all the cuddles I was missing. We sat around with my mom and talked about life, money, significant others, future children, pets, furniture... a beautiful mashup of randomness. It was exactly the kind of chat I needed that afternoon, and my greatniece could not look more perfect if she tried. I want kiss the screen just looking at this photo!


This was my second visit to JCT Kitchen, and I can officially confirm it is one of my favorite restaurants in Atlanta. The vibe is so chill and laid back, the service is awesome, the fried chicken is some of the best in town (though nothing will ever top Busy Bee Cafe), and the bar makes an old-fashioned that actually makes me like old-fashioneds. 

Meredith and I sat there for hours, savoring each course and sipping the stresses of our day away. Every January it gets more and more difficult to find somewhere fresh and fun to take her, but this birthday was a low-key home run - if I do say so myself.

(Adopt, don't shop/buy!)

January, you were kinda nice.