It’s been a couple of weeks since I did a proper Friday Roundup – last week I skipped it entirely, and the week before that I replaced it with the Renee Good post. And today I got to it late in the day. So here we are, catching up on what’s been happening.
- Winter Weather Is Coming (Maybe) – Y’all, we had an unseasonably warm couple of weeks here in Georgia, but this weekend we’re under an extreme weather watch. They’re predicting snow and ice – up to half an inch of ice – which in Atlanta means the entire city will shut down. I stopped at the grocery store on the way home from work tonight and the shelves were practically empty. Bread? Gone. Milk? Gone. Eggs? Maybe three cartons left. It’s like everyone in the city had the same panic at the same time. I’m actually hoping we do get some good winter weather. I’m planning on making red beans and rice (the recipe I’ll post on Tuesday), baking cookies, having a fire in the fireplace, and just enjoying whatever we get. We’re well stocked with a cord of seasoned firewood, so we’re ready for it. There’s something cozy about being snowed in when you’re prepared for it.
- The Christmas Tree Came Down – I always leave the tree up until Epiphany (January 6th) even though I’m not Catholic anymore. It’s tradition. I love it when the tree goes up and the house is decorated, but I have to admit it’s also nice to have the house clean and open and anticipating the rest of the year. Fresh start energy, you know? Now I’ve just got to finish the January de-cluttering.
- New Lunch Gear – I used some of my Christmas gift cards to get this cute cooler/lunch bag from REI: REI Co-op Campwell 8 L Folding Cooler. It’s bigger than a standard lunch bag, which gives me room to stash my travel mug and my big 32 oz Hydroflask as well as lunch and snacks. I’ve been using it this week and it’s perfect – keeps everything cold until lunch and folds flat when I’m not using it.
- Speaking of lunch gear – I also grabbed this salad bowl kit from Amazon. The dressing container fits in the lid, there’s a separate compartment for toppings so nothing gets soggy, and the fork stores right in the lid. Game changer for actually eating salads at work instead of just thinking about eating salads at work. I’m going to showcase this and some other lunch planning stuff in a meal prep post coming in February.
- What I’m Watching: The Pitt – I’ve been watching the new season of The Pitt and it’s great. Noah Wyle has always been a favorite of mine – I watched ER religiously in college – and he’s so good in this. I love that it’s only released weekly rather than being dropped all at once for binging. It’s a throwback to my college days when my friends and I would get together every week to watch the next episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. There’s something nice about anticipating the next episode instead of consuming everything at once.
- What I’m Reading: Crying in H Mart – Just finished Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner and it’s such a good book. It’s a memoir about grief and her mother and Korean food and identity and all these things woven together. It made me cry (appropriately, given the title). And it made me want to try all the Korean foods I’ve never had.If you’re looking for something beautiful and heartbreaking and hopeful all at once, read this.
- John Scalzi’s Comfort Watches – John Scalzi did a whole series of December Comfort Watches movie reviews on his blog, and it’s a pretty solid list of 31 movies. Highly recommend both the reviews and the movies themselves. If you’re looking for something to watch that feels cozy and familiar, check out his archives. Good reminder that sometimes you don’t need prestige TV – you just need something comforting that you’ve seen before.
That’s it for this week’s roundup. I hope everyone is staying warm and safe if you’re in the path of this winter weather. And if you’re not, I hope you’re enjoying whatever weather you’ve got.
See you Tuesday with that red beans and rice recipe!
