I hope you’ve enjoyed the weekend. Mine has been super low-key with lots of dog walking, some yoga practices, time at the gym, a trip to the farmers market and a visit with my little guy.

I went to the farmers market on Saturday after training a client at the gym. While the winter market is much smaller and has less to offer than the spring/summer/fall markets – I still love to go. It’s nice to pick up some fresh veggies and local meats and to support my favorite local farmers year-round. This time of year, I typically only visit building A and stop to see my friends at Bluebird Farm (veggies, meats), Colfax Creek (meat – especially bacon, pork products and eggs), A Way of Life (veggies), Windy Hill (meat) and Hoffman Heritage (veggies, meats).

I got carrots, mixed greens, rainbow chard and kale-ini from Bluebird Farm. William said the kale-ini is like “broccoli kale.” Kale florets (aka kale buds or kale flowers) are the bolting, flower stalks of kale plants. Here’s an interesting article if you want to read more. I plan to sauté them and they’re reported to be rather tender and sweet.

It will be my first time trying kale florets and this is just another reason I love the off-season market! A chance to try different things and chat with the farmers about them.

I also picked up beets, cilantro and radishes from A Way of Life and bacon, hot Italian sausage and eggs from Colfax Creek – they have the BEST tasting eggs.

Finn is with his dad this weekend but I did receive an updated that he loved his first lacrosse experience! He’s been doing ninja gymnastics classes this year and will start swim lessons again in March but we’ve really been wanting to get him into a team sport. He did soccer shots last year at school and this spring we’re trying a Strong Start lacrosse program that’s designed to introduce boys ages TK-3rd grade to lacrosse through fun drills and games. He’ll do a series of seven Saturday clinics. I was so happy to hear that he enjoyed the first session and can’t wait to see him in action next week.

Alrighty – let’s jump into what I’ve been reading, watching and listening to lately!

READING

I’m off to a slooooowwwww start with reading physical books in 2024. I’ve read two books that I’ve loved but have also had a few that I struggled with for weeks before finally giving up and DNFing.

Here are the two I loved! 

• Don’t Forget to Write – I randomly discovered this one through Kindle Unlimited and what an unexpected joy it was. I absolutely adored this book and flew through it. Since I read it I’ve been seeing it pop up a lot on Instagram and on other blogs so I think it’s gaining popularity. Don’t miss this one!!!!!! A really special story and very uplifting for women.
• First Lie Wins – saw a few people I follow on Instagram recommend this thriller and it did not disappoint. Finished this one quickly and the pace and story kept me engaged the whole time.

Did Not Finish – The Seven Year Slip (this one has great reviews on Goodreads so I may try it again at another time), The Starfish Sisters and started The Fury last week and can already tell I won’t be finishing it because from page one I can’t stand the narrator.

On my list to read next…

• Started this Abby Jimenez short story last night and it’s already making for an easy breezy segue between books.
• On the fence about whether I want to read Ashley Audrain’s new book, The Whispers. The Push absolutely enthralled me so I think I’ll give it a go.
• I picked up a hardcover copy of Reckless Girls in a Little Free Library in my neighborhood. The reviews look eh but I did like Rachel Hawkins’ book The Wife Upstairs.

Honestly…I am feeling a little directionless when it comes to books at the moment. Would love to hear what you’ve enjoyed lately and what’s on your to-read list.

WATCHING

• Beckham – I realize that I am late to the game on watching the Beckham docuseries but it was SO GOOD! I loved that it was only four episodes so I dove all in and finished it in a matter of days. I admittedly knew very little about David Beckham (or soccer) going in and found the whole thing very fascinating from his upbringing and how hard his dad pushed him towards soccer to his rise to fame to his relationship with Victoria – all so fascinating. And I very much enjoyed the commentary from Victoria.
• Ted Lasso – I started Ted Lasso in season one when everyone was talking about it but tapered off and never finished or watched again for whatever reason. I recently decided to pick it back up and it’s just the best. I really like how much more depth there is with Ted’s character in season two and all the discussion on mental health. I am still scratching my head about the Beard After Hours episode – that was trippy. It’s hard to pick a favorite character but I really love Roy and Rebecca (and of course Ted) and I detest Nathan Shelley. His character makes me so uncomfortable.
• American Nightmare – this three-part docuseries was just bananas. Truly unbelievable on so many levels. If you even sort of like true crime, I recommend it.
• Love Is Blind Season 6 (Charlotte) – Love Is Blind is one of those shows I watch in the background while I’m doing other things but rarely get too excited about. I was interested in the current season because the cast is from the Charlotte-area and part of it was filmed in Charlotte but I’ve yet to determine if I’ll make it to the episodes shot in Charlotte because it’s SO BAD. What a train wreck.
• Air – I LOVED THIS MOVIE! It was directed by Ben Affleck and follows the history of sports marketing executive Sonny Vaccaro (played by Matt Damon). The movie shows how he led Nike in its pursuit of the greatest athlete in the history of basketball, Michael Jordan, and not only turned around Nike’s fledgling basketball department but changed the face of sports marketing and how athletes were compensated.

swinging together at the playground today – he’s just so sweet and snuggly

LISTENING TO

While I might be having a dry spell with books, I’m certainly not with podcasts at the moment. So many good listens for you here.

• Science-Based Tools for When You’re Stressed, Obsessed or Overthinking with Dr. Jenny Taitz on Ten Percent Happier
• Ed Mylett: #1 Habit to Become and Expert at Time and Energy Management on On Purpose with Jay Shetty – this episode was FIRE! So many great takeaways.
• Do This To Become More Confident: 5 Truths You Need to Hear with Jamie Kern Lima on The Mel Robbins Podcast – my first time hearing anything from It Cosmetics founder Jamie Kern Lima and powerful stuff!
• Free Yourself from Codependency to Experience Liberated Love with Kylie McBeath on The Mark Groves Podcast – I put this episode on one Sunday night when I was putting away laundry and changing the sheets and wow – it stopped me in my tracks. The conversation was absolutely beautiful and I can’t wait to read their new book Liberated Love when it is released in April.
• The (real) Secret to Happiness: Attachment, Craving and Enjoying Life on Being Well
• Stephanie Wittels Wachs: When Life Gives You Lemons on Everything Happens
• Esther Perel on the One Thing That Will Improve the Quality of Your Life on Ten Percent Happier
• Why Sober Life is the Luckiest Life with Laura McKowen on We Can Do Hard Things – if you haven’t read Laura McKowen’s book We Are The Luckiest – it’s a good one.
• Internal Family Systems: Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with Dr. Richard Schwartz on Being Well
• The Unexpected Way Amanda Built Community on We Can Do Hard Things (so so so so so good on asking for help)
• The Art of Self-Healing: How to Transform with Yung Pueblo on The Mark Groves Podcast – if you follow Yung Pueblo on Instagram or have any of his wildly popular books, you’ll like this one.

QUESTIONS 

What sports are your little kids playing and liking? 

Let’s chat books – what have you read lately and liked? What’s on your list?

Favorite show, movie, documentary that you’ve watched recently? 

Favorite Ted Lasso character? 

What podcasts do you listen to regularly? 

(Sorry I had a lot of questions today! Let’s chat in the comments!!!!!!!)