January 2019 Monthly Recap

The first month of the year has come to an end, so I’m sharing my January monthly recap today! 

Highlights

Did January feel like it lasted 7364 days to anyone else?! This felt like the month that was never going to end ha! Needless to say, I’m ready to welcome February with open arms! We started out the new year on a trip with my family. Instead of gifts, this year we chose to do a trip together and it was a great way to make memories! Our trip got off to a bit of rocky start though. On the day we were supposed to leave the fog was so bad in port that the port shut down and no boat/ships could enter or leave! We ended up missing one of our stops, but otherwise the trip was great! It was so nice to relax and ring in the new year in Cozumel!

Once we returned home it was back to reality! Over the last few weeks we have put our Christmas items in storage and organized our house like CRAZY! Nothing better than a fresh, clean start in the new year. We also spent a long weekend in Wilmington, NC which was so wonderful! I’ll be sharing more on our trip next week, but it was such a nice change of scenery. My sister and Nick’s sisters live in the Wilmington area so we got to see them and catch up too! Two weeks ago we ended up having to say goodbye to our family dog, Dingo. It was unexpected and a heartbreaking loss for our family. Dingo was 100% part of our family and it was like saying goodbye to a family member. The loss of him hit our family really, really hard because he went everywhere with us – from work with my parents every day to our beach house in the summer and everywhere in between. Anyone that saw him or met him fell in love with him immediately. Last year he was diagnosed with kidney disease and for a while he was handling it like a champ. And then right around December things started going downhill really quickly. We didn’t quite know how long we had left with him, but we didn’t think we would have to say goodbye so quickly especially since he was only 7 years old. Losing an animal is so hard and I feel like it’s been harder to deal with loss as I’ve gotten older. 

Home

We started off the year by getting organized and getting rid of anything we didn’t use or need. It was a big undertaking (like how the heck did we accumulate so much stuff?!) but it feels so good to not have added clutter. We tackled our kitchen last weekend and ended up getting rid of over 40 cups/mugs/glasses. Most of them were random ones we had when we moved in together, but it was unreal how many we had that we didn’t even know about. It feels so good to have organized cabinets and drawers (and space!) in our kitchen again! I’m sure we could do more, but for now I’m happy with the progress we have made! Anyone else doing #KonMari on their house?! We also ordered new rugs for our living room, kitchen and office. The neutral rug we had in our living room showed everything (aka Charlie’s hair!) and was looking a little worn, so we decided on new rugs and ordered them. We got a matching rug and runner for the kitchen and living room since it’s an open concept. It’s amazing what a little color does for our space. We just got in this rug for our office a few days ago, but we like it a lot!

Books I Read This Month

I was able to read a LOT this month, partly due to our trips and the terrible, rainy weather we had. By far my favorite books of the month were Lilac Girls and Where the Crawdads Sing. Check out my January Reading List to see all the books I read this month. There are some really good ones in the mix.

What I Purchased

–This oversized denim jacket | it’s the perfect lightweight jacket that you can fit a sweater under!
–A cute dainty ring | this will be a great addition to my everyday jewelry.
–These sneakers | They’re on-trend and comfortable!

Fitness

I went to the doctor last month and I found out I had gained about 10 pounds since my last yearly visit – partly from BBG, partly from the holidays, and partly from some medicine. As someone that is 5’2″ I am really self-conscious about gaining weight because it shows a bit more on my frame (aka in my legs). Last week I downloaded the obé fitness app and so far I’m really liking it. The variety of classes and instructors is really GREAT. I have been so sore this entire week and have been happy with the different strength and toning classes I’ve taken! I’m also adding in more cardio in hopes to shed that weight.

Favorite Blog Posts on Life with Emily

–My Favorite Books I Read in 2019
–A Girls Trip to Charleston
–9 Things I Want to Accomplish in 2019

Current Favorites 

• BEAUTY: This rose clay mask has been great for my dry skin! It makes my skin feel SO soft!
• CLOTHING: I have worn this pink sweater a lot since getting it. Would be so cute for Valentine’s Day too!
• TV SHOWS: We just finished watching the season finale of Below Deck and I’m already looking forward to Below Deck Med! We are still watching This is Us and A Million Little Things, but I honestly prefer AMLT! We also watching Fyre Festival Documentaries this month and I’m still in awe at how AWFUL that was handled. A few other shows on my list are Ted Bundy Tapes & Surviving R.Kelly. What are y’all watching now?!
• PODCAST: I just started the Cold podcast and I’m so intrigued by it. Anyone else listening to it right now?
• CURRENTLY READING: I just finished reading Do This for Me by Eliza Kennedy and am debating on what to start next. I’m thinking Educated or The Alice Network!

Thanks so much for reading! I hope y’all have a great February! XO