It feels as if Christmas and the New Year celebrations were decades ago, January has certainly been a lonnnnng month! To celebrate the month finally coming to a close, here are a few of the things that my family and I have #LikedandLoved throughout the past three-hundred-and-one thirty-one days.
New Years Day
New Year’s Eve was spent keeping the kids entertained with a variety of movies, rounds of karaoke, and games with genuine cash prizes which certainly spiked their interest. We then celebrated the arrival of 2023 by sharing a meal and a few drinks with our family before carrying out the post-Christmas cleanup. It felt great to get to transform the house from chaos to clean, though I miss the festive decor, particularly the twinkly lights that brought cheer during the dismal dark days.
Swish Stationery
One thing I love about the new year is the new stationery. There’s nothing quite like starting afresh by filling out a blank diary/ journal for the year ahead.
New Tumble Dryer
2023 began with a bang, quite literally, as our tumble dryer bit the dust only moments after toasting the new year. We’ve since replaced our dated and delipidated dryer with a brand new A-rated condensing tumble dryer which according to the documentation provided claims to be efficient and environmentally friendlier to run. Here’s hoping our energy bills agree…
The First To Die At The End
Nothing quite beats losing yourself in a book, especially when the story is as gripping as Adam Silvera’s series based upon the phenomenon of ‘Death Cast’. I’m not entirely sure that I’d be all that happy to be telephoned on ‘my end day’ to be notified of the occasion, though having witnessed first-hand just how short life is, I could imagine that knowing ‘when the time might be’ could prove fairly useful for some. As I said, it’s a gripping series and most definitely worth a read!
It Takes Two
Having had my arm gently twisted by my husband whilst out Christmas shopping, I took the plunge and downloaded ‘It Takes Two’ from the Nintendo Store.
It Takes Two is a co-op game for the Switch (and various other platforms) that is based on the story of a not-so-happily married couple who decide to divorce. Their younger daughter is devastated by the news and after casting some strange spell on her dolls her parents somehow take their form and have to work together to carry out a range of tasks and challenges in order to make it back to their daughter to save the day.
It’s been years since Paul and I have gamed together and though we lost far too much time to this game, it was great fun carrying out the various challenges and tasks together.
Birthday Scrabble & Snacks
My Father-in-law celebrated his birthday this month with a family chippy and some very serious rounds of Scrabble. Though I’m pretty sure my husband cheated his score somehow, lots of family fun was had.
Super Spanish
I’ve spent the past month brushing up on my Spanish with DuoLingo and having completed forty consecutive days of quizzes, tasks, and tests I managed to advance to first place in the ‘Emerald League’. Whilst this means nothing in terms of my learning, I was personally proud of my progress.
Super Storage
After almost ten years of use, E’s pretty, pink, plastic, storage tub sadly cracked and broke thus I ordered a replacement storage solution for the kids ever growing Lego collection. This gorgeous grey basket arrived less than twenty-four hours after clicking ‘purchase’ and we love it! It is really soft and super easy for the kids to drag around the living room so that they can entertain themselves by building whatever comes to their imagination.
New Year New Bag
With the arrival of a new laptop for work purposes I felt it wise to buy a more secure, padded, sturdy (but stylish) bag for the new year. Rather than opt for the stereotypical black laptop bag, I decided to find something a little funky with a splash of colour.
Beautiful Bedding
With the sub-zero temperatures seeming to loom on forever more, I decided to treat Paul and I to a fluffy, fleecy, champagne-coloured duvet set for our bedroom. I’ve never been as comfortable nor as warm in bed, though I have a feeling that our daughter E will also want for something similar.
Thanks again for reading my blog – I hope that you enjoyed reading what I have #LikedandLoved throughout January.
If you fancy sharing some of your own #LikedAndLoved points from the month then why not join in either through your own blog post or by leaving a comment below, I would love to hear what you #LikedAndLoved this month!