Final Fridays: For What It’s Worth!

Number #23

Honestly, I didn’t mean to skip January and thought long and hard about skipping February! But, I thought that would be a bad habit to get into, and Lord knows I have plenty of bad habits! So, I’m going to try to put in what I remember of January along with February. I do track some things in my calendar, but then I frequently forget. But, here goes!

What I’ve been reading…

I read some really good books these two months and some not so good ones! The Marlow Murder Club was one of the good ones. I thought this was the same author who wrote the Thursday Murder Club series, but it isn’t…not that that matters. I like when spunky older women are the stars of the show, and this was that kind of book! Somewhere Beyond the Sea was not as good as The House in the Cerulean Sea. I’m not exactly sure why, but it just fell a bit short. I still think it’s a beautiful book, just not as wonderful as the first. Honestly, I had to look at the Goodreads summary to even remember Summer Romance. It’s one of those girl meets boy at bad time, boy likes girl, eventually boy and girl are together types of books. I hope I didn’t spoil that for you, but we all know these kinds of books, right?

I love Amor Towles’ writing; I really do. This is an anthology of sorts. The short stories are not very short. I did skip one because I just wanted the book to be over. The remainder of the book could have been a separate book, and I think I would have really liked that. There were unanswered questions, and I like books tied up in neat little bows! The Long Walk is semi-controversial. There are some who say it’s a true story, but this person didn’t write it. There are others who say it’s really an amalgamation of stories told as one long one. All I know is I kept thinking, “How did they do that?” It’s a dark yet sorta hopeful kind of book. Swan Song is supposedly Elin Hilderbrand’s swan song (see what I did there) as a writer of fiction about Nantucket. I almost always enjoy her books. I like how characters from previous books are usually in the book I’m currently reading. All I’m going to say is…I hated the ending.

What I’ve been watching…

Hahaha!! We waited until after Christmas to watch Christmas movies. I remember reading The Best Christmas Pageant Ever with my special ed students. Some of the humor was over their heads. This movie was really good…Nigel couldn’t wait to watch it every night. We only watch TV for about 45 minutes a night though he has it on all.day.long! He likes the background noise and rarely really listens or watches it. I really liked “The Red One,” too. I think it’s partly because I still want so badly to believe in Santa Clause and partly because I like Dwayne Johnson (though he’s always The Rock to me). I am not a fan of Ray Romano, but I loved this series. It’s full of little twists and turns you just don’t see coming. The only thing that bugged me was Lisa Kudrow’s hair. It looked so stiff.

I loved “Nobody Wants This!” I really like Kristen Bell, but I didn’t know Adam Brody. I am pretty sure it’s been renewed for a second season. OK, we binged “Younger” if binging means it took you an entire month! It was like a train wreck…you just can’t look away. The premise of the series is that 40 year old Lisa can’t get a job in publishing after staying home to raise her daughter. Her husband has left her, and she needs to make money. So, with the help of the deliciously delightful Debi Mazar (who just talks and I laugh), Liza decides to pose as a 26 year old graduate from Dartmouth and is hired at Empirical Press. I just couldn’t believe people were buying her story. She’s constant lying and then having to cover up those lies with more lies. And, it’s so obvious she’s doing that. Plus, c’mon…short skirts and showing belly meat does not a 26 year old make! The luminous Miriam Shor steals the show for me in so many ways…those necklaces for one thing! We recently started watching “Legacies” after watching a few minutes of “Nosferatu.” I decided that was a hard no! “Legacies is probably another teen or tween series about supernatural kids living at a school. It’s a little bit like “The Magicians” but maybe nicer, if that makes sense. We are still in season one of four (I think) seasons. After Nigel goes to sleep, I’ve been watching the old “Project Runway” shows. I wish it was still on, unless someone knows something I don’t!

What I’ve been working on…

As I announced in my last Final Friday in December, I was accepted into the docent training program at Newfields. It is not as easy as I thought it would be. We meet every other Saturday with lots of reading about art history and history, period. This Saturday, I have to give a four minute presentation on a piece of art. I have a mentor and have now met with her twice. The second time was to run through my presentation. The two other women for whom she is a mentor asked if they could tag along. I was glad to have an audience as I will have to present in front of 8-10 people Saturday. As I was talking, one of the women told me I was over four minutes. I appreciated that because I have a feeling we will be cut off at four minutes. I finished my presentation, and my mentor told me it was perfect, exactly what I needed to do. The other lady told me I was all wrong…I was only supposed to be asking questions. A bit later, though, she told me I was going to intimidate everyone because I was a natural. Mixed message, right? So, I went home that day and rewrote it and have been practicing it. I will have a full post about my training sometime in the future. As for other things I’m doing, that will be in my Bucket List follow up.

What I’ve been buying…

Honestly, I have no idea. I think I may have bought another Zuri shirt dress, but that could have been before January. I did try, really, really hard, to do a Frugal February and made it all the way to the 22nd! I broke down and bought some Adidas Sambas (which I’ve been wanting) and two (or maybe three sweaters). I also used points to buy a shirt dress (I do love a shirt dress) from Banana Republic. Does that even count?

Where I’m going…

I really need to get going on this trip to the UK with my youngest. I need to see if Memorial Day would be better for him as he would, maybe, have an additional day off.

What I’ve been wearing…

The weather has been frigid so I’m usually in layers of tees, sweatshirts and heavy wool socks, snuggled under a throw! Here are some of my featured outfits from January and February.

Wrap it up, Marsha!

Well, that was a bit much, right? I am going to really try to do a March Final Friday. I just need to be better at organization and work on this post throughout the month! So, can we talk? Is the weather in your neck of the woods a bit like a roller coaster? Have you watched any of these shows? What did you think of the books…read any of them? Please leave me a comment or two, and we can talk. I promise to respond as soon as possible. See you next year!

Thank you!

I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for reading, commenting, subscribing or emailing. Please feel free to share my blog with friends if you think they’d enjoy it. If you’d like to follow me on Instagram, you can find me here.

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Where you can find me:

Linking up with Nancy’s Fashion Style,  Fine-Whatever, Is This Mutton, Shelbee on the Edge, Chez Mireile, Suzy Turner, and Away from the Blue as well as Deb’s World and A Fresh Cup of Coffee. I also link up with This Blonde’s Shopping Bag, Doused in Pink, I do deClaire, Mummabstylish, Style Splash and Elegantly Dressed and Stylish as well as the Senior Salon Pit Stop (Esme’s Salon) and Slices of Life. Please check out these wonderful ladies and their blogs! I also am a co-host for Ageless Style on the third Thursday of the month and Songful Style on the last Monday of the month. I co-host Traffic Jam Weekend every Thursday with Melynda, Lisa, and Sue. I also host Final Fridays on the last Friday of the month as well as 10 on the 10th on the 10th of the month! I do hope you’ll check out all of these blogs and link parties!

Featured favorites from last month…

And, now, it’s your turn!

Please link up your favorite posts, DIY, baking, gardening, fashion…you name it…as long as it’s family friendly! Link up with me, visit a couple of others, and leave a comment or two! No worries if you don’t have a blog, just look around! You may find a new blog just waiting for you!

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