What's Been Cool? | January

So due to my lack of traveling for the next few months, this blog won't be seeing a lot of posts about far-away places anytime soon. But because of my determination (and New Year's Resolution, haha) to keep this blog alive and running- and also the fact that I just love to write and share things- I found myself thinking: "Hm, since I'm not in the position to run a full-time travel blog (due to various things, the most obvious of which are my being underage and lacking funds), what other kinds of posts do I want to put up? What do I enjoy? What do I enjoy writing about?". I came to the conclusion that I enjoy so many different kinds of things, I might as well just share a bit of everything I love- thus spawning the idea for a new mini-series on my blog called "What's been cool?". I plan on  writing a post like this at the end of every month, sharing things I've been particularly enjoying that month- Books, Films, Songs, Foods, whatever. So without further ado, I present you with the first installment of “What’s Been Cool?”!

 In English class, I'm currently reading a book called "Half-Broke Horses", which is the life story of a woman from Arizona in the early twentieth century. Even though it's a bit more modern than the Little House series, a lot of elements in HBH (The main character teaching in a one-room schoolhouse, the family living in a dugout and on the prairie for a period of time) reminded me so much of Little House on the Prairie that I decided to re-read it. It's been quite a few years since I've last read any of Laura Ingalls Wilder's books, and doing so reminded me of why I fell in love with them as a child in the first place. Any book this good clearly deserves a spot on my first list of favorites. 

One CD I've been loving this month is Moon Landing by James Blunt. I got this for Christmas and it's basically been on repeat since then- In my opinion, it has a perfect mix of melancholy and feel-good, upbeat songs. My favorites are Satellites, Bonfire Hearts, Miss America and Postcards. 

Speaking of music, my favorite song at the moment is definitely "Elastic Heart" by Sia. I didn't think she'd be able to top Chandelier, but I find the lyrics and the Elastic Heart music video so powerful that it's hard to choose a favorite between the two. Sia, keep doing what you do. I'm obsessed. 

The last thing on the picture is "Warm Cinnamon Nights", a.k.a. the best body lotion EVER. It's by a company called Treacle Moon, whose other products I've already been loving, so when I saw this on the shelves I decided to go out on a limb and just get it right away. Needless to say, it was a good decision. The body lotion sinks in quickly (there's little I hate more than using lotion, and then feeling sticky for the rest of the day) and it smells so cinnamon-y and christmassy and good. 

I may possibly have found my all-time favorite tea. It's called New York Chai, and is the perfect blend of lemon and honey and spices with a roobis base. I've been drinking ungodly amounts of this the last few days. Just don't add sugar- it's definitely sweet enough without.

And yet another New York thing: my black and white NYC calender is something else I've been loving as of lately. I have a very thin strip of wall between my window and bookshelf, and a lot of square calenders don't fit, so I'm very happy I found this long one that combines my love of travel, black and white photos, New York City and room decor. 


So that's it for my first "What's Been Cool?" monthly favorites post! I hope you've enjoyed seeing the things that I enjoy, and maybe you'll enjoy some of them too. This was fun to make, and I can see myself making a lot more of these non-travel related post in the future…at least, until I get back into the car, train or sky!

:)