Monday, February 2, 2015

Music, Books, Miles and Looks of January

Well the first month of 2015 has come and gone.  Usually I say, "where did the time go?" but January honestly kind of dragged by for me!  Don't get me wrong, it was a good month, it's just never my favorite month of the year as we don't get much sunlight and it's just kind of a blah time of year for me.  But I'm excited for February as it will include fun things like celebrating my birthday and a trip to Santa Barbara!

Music:

 

Wherever Is Your Heart by Brandi Carlile - Brandi Carlile has a new album that will be released on March 3rd.  She pre-released this song and I loved it.  I love the folksy sound to her music.  She's such a talented musician; I hope I can see her live in 2015!

Books:

January was a quieter month for me and that is quite apparent when looking at the number of books I read! I read 9 books which is WAY more than I usually read! I also read some really wonderful books so it was a great month of reading! My favorites were the 3 I gave 5 stars to, but you really can't go wrong with any of the books that I gave 4 or 5 stars to.  I am also happy with the diversity of the books I read, which can be attributed to my participation in the read harder challenge.  I'd starred the books that I read for that challenge.

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd - 4 stars
Yes Please by Amy Pohler* - 3 stars (audio book version)
Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher - 3 stars
Drinking:  A Love Story by Caroline Knapp - 4 stars
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie* - 4 stars
The Martian by Andy Weir* - 5 stars
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart* - 5 stars
The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez - 5 stars
Runaway by Alice Munro* - 3 stars

Miles:

While January was a great reading month for me, it wasn't a great running month.  I had some pain in my foot that was caused by a misalignment in my back that pinched a nerve.  So my total mileage for January was 41 miles.  I took more rest days than I normally would but fit in 23 workouts which I feel pretty good about.  I don't like months like January where I work out less as the leave me feeling 'meh' but I also am proud of myself for listening to my body and not pushing it when I know something doesn't feel right.


Looks:

Bleh.  January.  It wasn't as cold here as it usually is but it's still cold and I since I walk to work, I have to factor the weather into my wardrobe choices, which means I didn't wear a lot of dresses and skirts, which are my favorite things to wear.  So I feel pretty meh about what I wore in January.  The only outfit I could come up with that was worthy of sharing was the one below. The tunic-style top is from Target and the bottoms are from a Fix I got this fall.  My office doesn't have casual Fridays so this outfit is probably on the cusp of not being right for work but I just wanted something warm and cozy that day.  And in my defense, there are men who disregard the dress code and wear jeans, so at least I haven't stooped that low with my apparel choices!

20 comments:

Kyria @ Travel Spot said...

Wow, 9 is a lot of books to read in one month! I actually have not read any of your 5 starred picks, so have added them to my To Read list.

I realize that I rarely ever give a book 5 stars. I have a lot of 4 stars and would probably give a lot of 4 1/2 stars, but I don't really give 5. I also truly don't think that lately I have read a book where I have just thought, "That was a one of the best books I have read". I have read books that I cannot put down, but usually because they are easy, quick reads (Like Goodnight June), but none have really made me feel like it was a perfect book. Maybe my expectations are too high? Anyway, I read 5 books in January and was pretty happy with that, as last year I had some months where I only read ONE book!

Becky said...

Woah, you were a reading fool this month! Right now I'm reading Wild - my attention span hasn't been great lately - I started this a few weeks ago, but I really sat down and read for awhile yesterday so I am engaged in the story now and can't wait to finish it.

I feel like January was a push/pull kind of month – part of me felt like it dragged, but the rest of me can’t believe it’s February! February is busy busy for me so I think it might go by really quickly!

Gracie said...

I am often also on the cusp of our dress code! But I kind of don't care. No one is going to catch me - I rarely get unannounced visits because the parking downtown is difficult. The day they open a free garage by my building is the day I'll start wearing my shirts tucked in!

Jeanie said...

I LOVE that top -- I would buy it in a heartbeat!

The Sue Monk Kidd book is upcoming in our book club. Glad you liked it. Lately, I've just been wanting to read what I do (not book club!) So glad to get a good review!

Marlys said...

January goes so fast for me as I am doing tax reports like crazy all month and feel there isn't enough time to get it all done! My least favorite month is March, as it is usually rather ugly out with the lack of snow cover - which we are actually experiencing in January! I am always so tired of winter by then and just want spring to come as fast as possible.

Nora said...

I finished January out with 8 books, which still astounds me! I don't know that I'll be reading that much in coming months but we'll see.

January was... fast and yet slow. If that makes any sense?

Thankfully we have a casual Friday which allows us to wear jeans, but I still wear a collared shirt or great sweater + heels or "work fancy" boots. (Even if it's a day where I'd love to wear a sweatshirt with those jeans, I never do!)

Emilie said...

I've never listened to Brandi Carlile but I love that song so I'll have to check her out! You did awesome on your reading for the month, I'm so impressed! I read 5 books which is a lot for me. I'm sorry you're still dealing with pain in your foot but I guess it's good that it happened during the off-season. Still frustrating though. I actually really like your outfit! My office is so small so the dress code is not enforced so I tend to dress down on Fridays and on days when we have crappy weather. I am loving tunic style tops lately.

Stephany said...

Way to go on all your reading this month! 9 books is super impressive! I wound up reading 7 books myself, which is a solid number for me. It was a busy month, so I'm glad I managed to fit so much reading in!

I'm loving the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge because it's making me read books I wouldn't normally pick up! It's been so awesome so far!

Lindsey said...

I have that Target tunic in green, and I LOVE it. I wear it more than anything else in my closet right now. It's so comfy!

I also read 9 books this month, which is crazy because I didn't read 9 books in all of 2014. I'm so glad I'm making time for it this year.

The Many Thoughts of a Reader said...

Cute outfit! I started out strong reading and then faded. I did more time on the treadmill vs reading this month.

Carolina John said...

We kind of blindly dragged our way through january here as well. Still sounds like your month was more interesting!

Leigh said...

I'm excited for your trip....I am coming with you right? ;)

Charis Faith said...

I'm so sorry you were dealing with foot pain!!! 9 books I awesome! I think it's fantastic that you are able to walk to work but I can kin of imagine how brutally cold that is in January! I'm thankful for casual Fridays and jeans week fundraisers!

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

January flew by for me ... but it helped that we had some really sunny days, and a couple weeks of temperatures above zero!!

Elizabeth said...

You've introduced me to so many new songs/artists....I love that you share these each month :)

Amber said...

I'm so glad you loved The Martian so much! That top looks so cozy and comfy! I love it.

As you know January also dragged for me but I think February will go faster!

Nilsa @ SoMi Speaks said...

January was a terrible month for me in terms of running. My work event / trip really threw me off for much of the month. Somehow, I managed to squeeze in training runs, but not much more (and that's not great on my body when I'm not adding miles during the week!).

I love your cozy work look - seems appropriate for business casual to me. Then again, I don't have a dress code at work, which translates into super casual for everyone.

Kelly (She Wears a Red Sox Cap) said...

I love your outfit! It was super cold here too so I wore a lot of my pair of fleece lined leggings!

I think I read 4 books this month... maybe 5? But you are impressive :)

megabrooke said...

I hear you about January just being kind of a blah month in general! I still think that with your injury, that's really good mileage to get in! Hope you're on the mend soon. And here's to spring being even closer!

Abby said...

Wow, I had such a bad reading month in January! It's quite embarrassing.

I pray your foot is feeling better!! Ugh that's frustrating.

January was not a fun month for me, and I was extremely happy to kiss it goodbye. It went painfully slow, too. Possibly because of the drastic change of having this wind animal living in our house? (aka puppy)