What I’m Into February 2016

Hello from France! I am once again linking up with Leigh Kramer to share some of what I’ve been into this month.

Reading

Not much by way of books, unfortunately, due to luggage constraints. I did read some fun light YA fiction on Kindle, though: Amy Bartol’s Kricket series and Aya Ling’s The Ugly Stepsister. Neither was particularly stunning, but both were diverting enough train ride reads.

Watching

I have spent nearly every evening watching Netflix and cross stitching, so a lot. The Netflix selection in France is somewhat limited, so I ended up doing something I vowed I would never do: binge-watching Friends. I’m now on season 4, and it’s fun enough, though I actually really don’t like Ross and Rachel as a couple (mostly, I really don’t like Ross). I also keep watching for hints of the Chandler/Monica thing, which I know is going to happen eventually, but so far I’m not seeing the writers moving in that direction.

I’m also catching up on a bunch of currently airing television, and my favourites are Jane the Virgin and Superstore (which I just started watching and it is brilliant).

Listening

This French worship song (a riff on Psalm 23) is my new fave right now.

Travelling

I’ve taken advantage of my location on this side of the Atlantic to make quite a few weekend trips. So far, I’ve hit up Augsburg, Barcelona, and Madrid, all of which were lovely (I think Madrid was my favourite, of the three). Don’t let the coats the locals are wearing fool you, Madrid and Barcelona were both delightfully warm for February.

In the coming month, I’m looking forward to heading to Vienna, Munich, Basel, and a brief trip to London to catch a performance of In the Heights (happy birthday to me!). I am also really, really looking forward to seeing my husband again–he’s coming to visit for two weeks in mid-March.

That’s it for me for the month, be sure to head over to Leigh’s blog and check out some of the other submissions.

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What I’m Into January 2016

This month has gone by so much faster than I wanted it to. It was my last month at home for a little while. This Thursday, I head to France to do archival research for my PhD and I don’t get back until the very end of April. I’m a bit apprehensive about leaving my community here, and especially my husband, who will only be able to visit for a few weeks in the middle. But January has been a whirlwind month, as I’ve tried to pack in time with as many people as possible before I go. As usual, I’m linking up with Leigh Kramer to talk about what I’ve been into this month.

Watching

Aaron and I have started watching though The Office together (it’s my first time, his second) and I’m loving it. We even stopped in Scranton for lunch on the way back from our NYC trip this month, although that turned out to be a bit of a letdown. I also saw the New Star Wars movie in theatres and and enjoyed it, although I still think Darth Vader should have used his force ghost powers to set Kylo Ren straight ages ago.

Eating

My favourite thing I cooked this month was this ridiculous caramel banana layer cake, which got all the compliments at our church’s brunch. You can see some of my other favourite things I cooked on my monthly What I’m Into Pinterest board.

I also got to eat some amazing restaurant food while I was in NYC. If you happen to be catching a Wednesday matinee on Broadway, I definitely recommend Pergola des Artistes on 46th street. Their matinee menu is reasonably priced and amazingly delicious. I had the leg of lamb with a red wine and rosemary sauce and Aaron had the spinach and cheese ravioli. We also tried out some pie from four and twenty blackbirds (I especially recommend the black bottom lemon pie) and had burgers and one of those huge fancy milkshakes from Black Tap (good, but I’d recommend waiting until the buzz dies down so you don’t have to wait in line for 40 minutes before the restaurant opens in order to get a seat).

Touristy Things

As mentioned above, Aaron and I visited New York City together for a few days this month. I’d never been, and we were able to find Wednesday matinee tickets for Hamilton at not resale prices back in November, so we got them as a Christmas gift to each other. Hamilton was, of course, phenomenal! I was blown away by just how much of the company was onstage at any given time–I think I nearly gave myself whiplash trying to take it all in. We also ended up getting tickets to Something Rotten (which was a lot of fun) and Fiddler on the Roof (which was a non-stop cryfest, especially since the guy who plays Tevye looked so much like my dad from where we were sitting). We even got to catch up with old friends from Fredericton, who are now living in NYC. We enjoyed our trip and I would definitely do it again sometime, though probably when the Canadian dollar is in better shape relative to the American dollar.

That’s been this month for me. Be sure to head over to Leigh’s blog to check out some of the other submissions.