A few pop culture PSAs for your January enjoyment.

Music, TV, books, and recipes that are helping me through the January gloom…yes, Norcal is gloomy, no, this is not me complaining and thus giving you an open invitation to tell me how much worse the weather is in the Midwest ;)

• The playlist “Nancy Meyers’ Kitchen” on Spotify is an absolute delight and has sparked so much joy for me over the last few days. Lots of oldie goodness from her movies, which I have always found to have utterly charming soundtracks. I’ve played it in my own kitchen, as well as my car and at my desk for close to a week, and it leaves me feeling happy and also like watching “Something’s Gotta Give” and “It’s Complicated” on repeat. (Anyone else kind of hate “Julie and Julia?”)

• DJ Earworm’s 2019 mashup is actually pretty good this year, but I really loved his Decade in Review. Also worth peeping: his “2009 v 2019” mashups - a fun eleven-minute ride through some true 2010s classics.

• In the last few weeks, I’ve binged on “Cheer,” “You,” and “Sex Education” on Netlix, “Fleabag” on Amazon (how on EARTH did it take me so long to do this?! It’s utterly luminous!), and…PREPARE TO JUDGE ME…”90 Day Fiancé” on Hulu. Kendra and I are embarrassingly addicted, and it’s got an uncanny way of making me feel so, so good about my personal romantic choices, none of which include falling in love in international chatrooms with language barriers and secret catfishings and hidden sugardaddies. Truly an escapist dream, friends. Coming up next: S3 of “Good Girls,” which premieres in February, along with finishing S3 of “The Crown” and hitting “Mrs. Maisel,” about which I have heard mixed reviews (and am, appropriately, thusly devastated!). Also, throwing it out there, I’m really not loving all the girl-on-girl stupid drama on “The Bachelor” this season, and my picks for top 3 are Madison, Hannah Ann, and Kelley. We’ll see if I’m proven right!

• Book-wise, I blew through Erin Morgenstern’s “The Starless Sea,” which is a beautiful, lyrical, poetry-adjacent second effort that still can’t rival “The Night Circus” in my pantheon. I also finally got around to devouring “Bad Blood,” John Carreyrou’s fantastic exposé of Elizabeth Holmes’s Theranos fraud. Next up: some professional development reading, starting with “Atomic Habits” by James Clear and “The Checklist Manifesto” by Atul Gawande. And just for fun, probably something by Ruth Reichl…it feels like everyone is reading her these days, and you all know I have terrible literary FOMO.

• Cooking! I made a fantastic Chicken Florentine casserole for which you can find the recipe on page 27 of this bizarre digital magazine. Sadly, I burned the pine nuts while broiling the Parmesan crust, but I like to think it adds depth of flavor (proving I can do the mental gymnastics to justify absolutely everything). I’m also living on soup lately - enjoying this low-cal tomato basil bisque, and my perennial fallback, Italian chicken quinoa stew.

That’s all - enjoy this ridiculous brain dump :)

A couple of quick things...

A few different friends have shared this on Facebook lately and every time I see it it makes me positively cackle: 

I love that I have joined the "LOL"s after so many years of life in the "FUCK FUCK FUCK IT'S COLD"s! 

On a less profane note, I actually skipped the Golden Globes this year - in getting over being sick, I honestly completely forgot they were on and spent my Sunday afternoon/evening at Costco and cleaning our bathtub because #glamorous. That said, I loved the #TimesUp movement to wear black dresses on the red carpet. Primarily because black is my go-to for all formal events...oops? 

Favorites of the night included: 

Jessica Chastain's fabulous sparkly back (I have such an affinity for that neckline, too)...

Allison Janney's intricately detailed sleeves - almost figure-skating adjacent, which seems appropriate given her win for "I, Tonya!"

The endlessly elegant Nicole Kidman, who absolutely knocked it out of the park - she is so statuesque and beautiful, and gave such a lovely speech upon her win. 

And I actually adored Elisabeth Moss's chic little 50s-esque number - I would wear that to death. Completely up my alley. Bonus points for fabulous shoes, too!

And my misses...

Yikes, Caitriona Balfe - she's so pretty and this Chanel monstrosity looks like a weird combination of a harness and a garland on a barmaid in the Wild Wild West. 

Margot Robbie's dress, in my opinion, did nothing for her and the embellishment combined with the shoulder poufs and that massive deep V was kind of weird. Not that she isn't gorgeous, it's just way out there and weird for my taste.

And poor lovely Emma Watson - that Havisham-wannabe thing is swallowing her whole. Ancillary thought - are her shoes formal TOMs?

Anyway, I loved all the black because I am a fiend for black dresses and black clothing in general (as I type this, I'm wearing black pants with a white shell and a black sweater/scarf/earrings...eek!). And I thought the dialogue on the red carpet was interesting, although I'm not one to discount the meaningfulness of asking what designers celebs are wearing - those looks are spectacular, whether good or bad, and I think the designers deserve their moment in the spotlight too! 

Of course, couldn't talk about the Globes without a little love for America's apparent 2020 president-elect, Oprah...I'm kicking myself that I missed her speech live, but Youtubing it and reading the full transcript was almost as good. I have such an appreciation for truly eloquent orators - there's something to be said for a speaker, male or female, on any given topic, who truly knows how to work the room and to give a speech, not just to speak. Her delivery was impeccable, and the energy in the room listening to her looked electric. 

Looks like I need to get cracking on watching movies...Oscars are right around the corner, hooray!

Today's noteworthy minutiae.

- Current highbrow music I'm obsessing over: Kevin Puts's "Millennium Canons." Current lowbrow music I'm obsessing over: Flo Rida's "Cake." Make of that combo what you will. 

- I stayed up entirely too late last night with Hal and Matt, neither of whom I had seen in weeks (closer to a month in Matt's case) despite the fact that I live with Hal. My alarm this morning went off mid-dream about Adele trying to perform in an opera. She was not very good, and Hal (in my dream) was not very pleased with her performance. 

- I'm really excited for the Netflix "Anne of Green Gables" series, primarily because I am utterly besotted with the Anne books always and forever. I remember being very young (second grade, probably) and checking them all out from the Lake Marion Elementary library. Because I was the kind of girl-child who judged books by their covers, I tried to start with "Rilla of Ingleside," as it had the prettiest cover...even though that's actually the last book in the series. Once I corrected that little error, I fell hard for Anne and all her adventures, and tend to re-read the series in its entirety every few years or so.

- I'm super ready for spring-like temperatures, as I was flu-stricken through last weekend's gorgeous weather. Last night I switched out my black purse for a hand-me-down hot pink Kate Spade courtesy of Mama, and today I'm wearing a delightfully neon scarf with my usual work uniform of black pants and a chambray. Of course that means that this morning it was in the thirties and I froze all the way into work. Fail. 

- "West Side Story" is on at the Ordway right now starring my favorite Twin Cities theater boy, Tyler Michaels, and I'm pretty sure I need to rush tickets soon. 

- Yesterday I had the most intense, visceral craving for a Ben's Cookie from London. I immediately texted Kaitlin, my Ben's Cookie partner in crime, and we ended up down a rabbit hole texty conversation about crab dip, cat GIFs, and save the dates. Gotta love bestie shorthand.

- PSA: Anthropologie has Volcano-scented hand lotion now (like the iconic candle), J.Crew is 30% off and my favorite striped t-shirt now comes in red (I bought it and my boss made a Where's Waldo joke), and Target has insanely cute shoes right now. You can all thank me later. 

Happy almost-weekend, campers! 

watch this/see this

Two new obsessions lately: 

Of course I'm utterly fixated on "Beauty and the Beast." When I was little, in my mind, I was Belle. No ifs, ands, or buts. She had brown hair in a ponytail, just like me. She loved to read, just like me. She fell in love with a guy when he gave her a library, even though he was kinda hairy and had bad manners. I mean...what's not to love?

It's actually a secret fantasy of mine that someday, someone will love me enough to give me a library...one of the reasons I fell hard for my ex is that he bought me books instead of flowers. UM HI. 

Needless to say, I've already seen Disney's new live-action "Beauty and the Beast" twice in theaters, with a possible third in the works if I can't stop looping the soundtrack constantly. It's a visual masterpiece the likes of which I haven't seen forever...the special effects and digital work are both unbelievable, the costumes are stunning, and the sets couldn't be prettier. The subtle nods to rococo French culture and the original "La belle et la bete" were tiny delights the whole way through. Even the cast hit it home for me...while nobody will go on to win Tonys for their vocal work, they do a completely decent job with some of my favorite music ever, and the new songs, penned by Alan Menken, enhance the score. 

After I saw it Saturday, I downloaded the animated classic via iTunes, and it came with some fantastic extras - including a 20-minute short documentary featuring my future bestie Lin-Manuel Miranda, the writing team behind "Frozen," and Stephen Schwartz of "Wicked" fame. They all group up around a piano and chat with Alan Menken about how awesome Disney music is, and it killed me dead. So enlightening to hear luminaries completely freaking out like children over how amazing it is to work with Disney...I loved it. 

Completely hooked...won't you be my guest and join me so I have an excuse to see it again?! 

On TV, I'm newly hooked on HBO's mini-series adaptation of Liane Moriarty's "Big Little Lies." Starring Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, and Shailene Woodley as moms in Monterey, CA, struggling with marriage drama and children starting school, it's a riveting take on a book I've read several times and enjoyed. The show opens with a murder, but the audience has no idea who is dead or who is the perpetrator...and each hour ticks closer to unraveling what actually happened at the school benefit. 

While Reese is and will always be my fave, Nicole Kidman steals the show as a wealthy, beautiful wife dealing with a dark and twisty marriage. Her performance is subtle and moving, and is tempered by Reese's more bubbly, Tracy Flick-esque take on modern motherhood. 

Add to that the fact that the show is just gorgeous (THOSE HOUSES AHHH), and I'm hooked. It airs Sundays at 8 Central, and there are two episodes left...anyone else watching? 

Speaking of things I'm watching, I need book recommendations...in a total rut lately. Send a few my way!

Lately I'm Loving

Things making me smile/on my mind/causing distraction these days: 

This video of the White Bear Mitsubishi polar bear mascot falling all over the ice trying to film a commercial. I have watched it legit two or three times a day, every day, and it hasn't stopped being funny yet. Gotta love hometown humor. 

Emily sent me this amazing video of Broadway stars Laura Osnes and Jeremy Jordan mashing up songs from two of my favorite musicals, "The Last Five Years" and "Cinderella." Fun fact: Laura is a Minnesota girl - she grew up less than 20 minutes from me and we saw her star in her high school production of "Peter Pan."

Last week Kels sent me a link to Run the Year 2017, a website where a team or individual can sign up to log running 2,017 miles in the calendar year. She and I have signed up together, with one of her co-workers joining us, and I'm super excited to be part of Team Run Like The Winded. This year I'm really focusing on re-setting my habits and setting healthy goals, and I've always wanted to be a runner. With three miles in the books today (which, honestly, was a combo of run-jog-shuffle-walk), I can't wait to push myself harder/better/faster/stronger (ha) tomorrow and in future weeks! 

Pretty sure I'm buying these "Hamilton" leggings to fuel said runs. I saw them on FB today and freaked out a little bit...the sheer variety of novelty leggings they have is enough to make me want to accept that leggings can in fact be worn as pants. EEK!

My mom and I have been committed season ticketholders to the Minnesota Orchestra for a few years now, because we both love classical music and my dad does NOT. When I saw this New Yorker article about what men think at the symphony, I couldn't stop laughing - out loud - at my desk. SO funny. 

And finally, I shamelessly watched "The Bachelor" instead of the first half of the National Championship last night because Alabama makes me crabby. #2013NationalChampionshipNeverForget. So thrilled that Clemson upset them...it's about time the Tide got rolled. In the Bachelor world, however...Corinne going after Nick all night was legitimately an offense worthy of the NCAA. Bitches be crazy, and this is going to be a totally fantastic season! 

Here's to beating the below-zero blues, campers. See you in February!