January 2016 Picks
What Megan was planning, drinking, and watching this month
Guys. GUYS. 2016 is off to a great – and very busy! – start. While it’s a little discouraging to feel like it’s one month into the new year and I’m already running behind, that’s only because there’s so much to do and even more to be excited about.
Below, the picks that had me on the move in January 2016:
PLANNING FOR
Plenty of travel. I already had a packed schedule with a family trip to Disney World at the end of this month and the Super Bowl beginning of next, when the opportunity to go check out a resort in Mexico came up…with the only caveat that the trip had to be in January. With only one weekend free, and getting back two days before leaving for Florida, I said…absolutely. As we know by now, balance is not my strong suit. Leaving a day before Blizzard Jonas hit, I cooled my heels in the sand before coming home to snow, only to leave two days later for the Magic Kingdom.
WATCHING
My new fave show, Mr. Robot! …Well, okay so I’m not actually watching the first season of this computer thriller (right? ish?) show YET. But that’s only because I started watching West Wing – again. My Netflix willpower is no match for the allure of one Joshua Lyman, but I’ve recently become enamored of the show’s star, Rami Malek, so I feel like that’s kind of like watching it? (ish?)
The young actor has demonstrated great style in his leading man stint so far, and as I clumsily explained to my friend while watching him walk the Golden Globes red carpet earlier this month, “I like how his…undereyballs are….bulgey?”
And this is why I write – and not talk – for a living.
DRINKING
A lot of juice and very little booze.
With not much forethought, I decided to undertake a VERY loose “Sober January,” which meant a couple glasses of red wine at dinner one night, and only a little while traveling as I caught a winter cold (because of course I did) and was not really trying to mix daiquiris with DayQuil.
If that part wasn’t so intentional, I was at least eating healthy on purpose this January. I did not one but two cleanses earlier in the month because you know your girl loves her some cleanse time. The first was a three-day hybrid of protein shakes, green juice, and vegetable soup from Chef V, which I liked a lot. It was nice to have variety with the soup and shakes, and the drink came in a portable container, making it easy to lug to the office each day. The second was my go-to January Pressed Juicery cleanse. With five juices, an almond milk, and two cleanse waters daily, I’ve never been so hydrated. Confession time: I had half an avocado on the morning of day two…
WEARING
Not jeans, that’s for damn sure!
You guys absolutely crushed No Jeans January, with so many of you (more than 230…and counting!) sharing pictures on social media of your super stylish denim-free looks.
I’m definitely going to make it a yearly thing for purely selfish reasons – the 30-day wardrobe challenge challenged me! Editor Brittany can attest: I wear jeans a lot. Like, a lot a lot.
So to have a reason to look at my existing closet with a fresh set of eyes and certain restrictions was hugely helpful. I discovered so many new and interesting ways to wear the clothes I already owned, and never felt underdressed for a last-minute meeting or get-together.
LISTENING TO
Bowie, obviously. And I discovered indie-folk band Devil and the Deep Blue Sea this month. I saw the trio perform at Rockwood Music Hall here in NYC (a great venue for live music if you ever have the chance) and immediately went home and favorited them on Spotify. If you like folk music and lyrics that seem both olden time-y and utterly of the moment, check them out.
TELL ME:
WHAT WAS ON YOUR MIND THIS MONTH?
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Planning – Relocation to Vancouver and possible holiday back to the UK and a weekend in Vegas
Watching – Making of a murderer.
Drinking – Kombucha juice and Rave coffee from Canmore in my Nespresso.
Wearing – Uggs with chinos, Uggs with jeans. It’s bloody cold up here.
Listening – lots of deep house, tropical house, Bieber and loads of Deerhunter and sort of lo-fi surf rock like Beach Fossils and Bleeding Knees Club.
What’s in Vancouver, Vinnie?
might be relocating so checking out a job there. It’s all part of my big plan, I’ll make regular trips to Seattle and Portland and try to find my American wife, then I can emigrate to the States and work in a Starbucks in Santa Barbara and get a few hours of surf in before work in the morning.
you gotta have dreams Meg
Planning: My sister asked me about Japan over the weekend, so hopefully, something materializes in the next couple of months. Thinking of SXSW and/or Parahoy! as well, so that’s in the drawing board.
Watching: Younger. My childhood crush Hilary Duff is ❤️. Ditto to Sutton Foster, who was awesome in the gone-too-soon Bunheads.
Drinking: Just enjoyed two days of West Coast’s best Philz Coffee before the up the price next month. ☹
Wearing: No jeans, of course!! Note to self: get some black twill non-jeans to give my non-jean looks some edge.
Listening: Daya’s “Hide Away” is awesome! I’m starting to dig Alessia Cara as well. And that Fall Out Boy/ Demi Lovato collab rocks!
Playing: GTA: San Andreas for iOS. Here’s to Rockstar ups the standards for the next GTA ports to iOS. (And hopefully, they actually DO port all of the GTA franchise as well.) Love the throwbacks yet ain’t a fan of the awkward controls in a smartphone.
My sister has been talking to me all about that show! Is it really that good??
You bet!
What appeals to me personally is that second chance narrative for Sutton Foster’s character. Namely, “What do you do when all you know falls apart and you’ve been out of the game (personally and professionally) for quite some time?” More importantly, it’s interesting to see how she navigates this new world of #typicalMillennialstruggles. Very light-hearted stuff with a tinge of pop-culture references and supremely rootable characters.
And even more importantly, it answers the question, “So what’s Lizzie McGuire up to these days?”
haha
I second Younger! Great show.
Man, who knew what I was missing out on?!
Planning: My move to San Antonio in April. I’m moving to my company’s headquarters for better job opportunities and to be near family. I haven’t lived near family other than my mom and dad since I was 6 so this will be a change. I’m also getting restless and ready for a change of scenery. I’ve been trying to see everything in Tampa while I still can.
Watching: Friends on Netflix. It’s easy to binge and a nice distraction from the stress at work. I started a new job that is not easy and I’m not sure it’s a good fit so this allows me to mindlessly binge without having to think. Also Veep & Game of Thrones because I have HBO free for 3 months which means I have HBO GO free and I want to put that time to good use.
Drinking: Beer but no more than my usual amount. The Tampa Bay area has so much great beer to offer that I can’t help myself.
Wearing: My new Allen Edmonds brown wingtip bluchers I got during the seconds sale! They filled a big gap in my shoe collection. Also lots of cold weather stuff because the cold finally hit Florida in the past couple of weeks.
TJ, that’s really exciting – congrats on the impending move! What kind of dress code are we talking about at this HQ?
Thanks. Same dress code, casual. I’m gonna play it conservative until I feel out the vibe but I assume it’s the same as the office I’m in now. They have a pretty strong corporate culture across all branches.
Go in strong, I say. You could join an HR committee and propose your very own company jeans-free month-long challenge! really endear yourself to your new co-workers 🙂
Haha maybe. I’m looking forward to rubbing shoulders with the people in the departments that I want to work in. I’m going to figure out what they’re like and endear myself to them. I’m hoping to feel more settled so I can go back to school and get my masters.
I did a juice cleanse for three days this month, and I wanted to die. Like, literally wanted to end my life. I have a serious, committed relationship with food.
Josh | The Kentucky Gent
http://thekentuckygent.com
haha, yeah that’s the worst part about it. You just start missing chewing…
Disney – neat! That ought to be great to see all the kiddos ooh and aah at Pluto, Mickey and the gang. Good thing you got some decompression time in Mexico before going into the big park!
Drinking: Plymouth gin. Summer’s coming! Also thinking oh geez get in shape because…
Thinking: European holiday. I got an email from my friend in Luxembourg and she basically ordered me to go to Europe this year. Okay, I guess… thinking some combo of Iceland and France, possibly a quick Barcelona jaunt. Ham!
Doing: a swim class. I can putter around a pool, but until Saturday was never able to do the breathe/face in the water deal. There’s lots of room to improve.
Listening: Ziggy Stardust, one of two perfect rock songs (along with Road Runner).
Oh yeah, they loved it. Exhibit A:
Ah, perfect. A big smile like that makes the trip worth every haypenny.
Planning – some decent trip with the family in the next 12 months. Lobbying for the UK, kids seem keen on France we’ll likely have a good time either way but I would like to hit Regent Street again too.
Watching – the Last Kingdom on Netflix (it’s heritage right?) and some EPL soccer. Looking forward to the NASL pre season. Also Pokemon with the kids before Netflix drops it in February (those twoips!)
Drinking – the single malt Dad and my father in law got me for Xmas. Staying off the beer as the decent cheese my mother in law left behind went straight to my middle
Wearing – no jeans! Chinos are still I struggle for me so I realize I am going to need to splash out on a really good pair. Suggestions? Wearing more ties now and no jean january has blossomed into “Suit Day” with the millenials and a couple of us Gen X guys at work. The Tie Bar owes Megan some advertising money!
Listening to- Motorhead. You miss Bowie, I miss Lemmy.
What is “Last Kingdom?” Haven’t even heard of it!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4179452/ – awesome Dark Ages Netflix show, If you liked Marco Polo this is the next logical step. As an English person this took place is one of the most significant period in our history so I am especially big on it.
Planning – Miami this weekend! Wish you were coming too 🙁
Watching – old Grey’s Anatomy. I started rewatching, with the intention to drop off after season 3. I’m in season 6 and just keep going…eek
Drinking – coffee. Rho stopped napping and thus is driving me crazy. Also, I sip Kava tea at night versus the usual beer or wine, and it gives me nearly the same buzz without the sluggish start in the morning. I highly recommend it
Wearing – sweats. More work-from-home days = more jammies. Again, please don’t judge.
Listening to – a mega-playlist of every song played on Grey’s. First show to really nail music direction. Also, the Theory of Everything score – so beautiful.
How was Miami??
Epic! You were missed. I’m still recovering.
this weekend I will be ‘masterflixing’ – Netflix and chill alone. That’s a new one lol
Megan, where to start…
#nojeansjanuary was a great idea. It was a fun challenge and prevented the wearing of jeans as an often lazy fallback. I am all for you bringing it back again.
The images from the resort in Mexico – pretty stellar.
That’s a solid look in the pic above. Nice work.
On a somber note, a lot of cancer/disease related thoughts on my mind this month. Aside from legends like Bowie and Rickman passing (and Celine Dion’s family members), I have two very good friends of mine with brain cancer, another I know with serious cancer, and a close friend of mine passed a little more than a week ago really just from fighting a number of maladies including pancreatic cancer. Cancer is a real scary killer.
It’s tough to see good people go from this world – especially young ones. It’s a reminder to really enjoy what you have and the life you live, if only in small moments. We are all trying to achieve our goals and grind our way to the things we want but there has to be a balance with enjoyment and thankfulness for living.
I see you’re heading or have been to Orlando. When is SG coming to Miami?
Thanks for all this Noa. Appreciate your sharing, and know my thoughts are with your friends struggling through hard times.
And no plans for Miami anytime soon but I heard it’s snowing in NYC, so maybe I need to organize a quick trip for Feb…
It looks like I’m cutting it close as I wrap up the month. So keeping with the theme –
Planning – planning my February getaway to Mexico, adding on a few days in Merida to get a sense of the city. Something new is always appreciated.
Watching – Elementary; I’m a Sherlock Holmes fan and I really appreciate this version as a counterpoint to the BBC’s Sherlock (don’t get me wrong, I like that one too but having to wait so long between seasons is hard) Good character studies and the plots are interesting; not to mention who isn’t fascinated by a Rube Goldberg machine?
Drinking – A variety of fantastic local craft beers, having the Beer Grotto within walking distance makes it too easy.
Wearing – This time of year its sweaters and flannels. I like the nordic and fair isle patterns of my sweaters mixed in with the plaid flannels; they’re keeping me warm!
Listening – David Bowie. He has always been my favorite. His artistry and ability to continually innovate has been amazing. I gravitate to his older music, specifically I’ve been listening to his Hunky Dory and Low albums a lot. Blackstar is haunting as his farewell.
Listening part 2- lots and lots of vinyl. After restoring a turntable I’ve been spending a fair amount of time in some great record shops and listening to records. What I like is the deliberate nature of playing a record, I find I pay more attention to the music. I’m listening to a wide range of artists but the most recent addition has been Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings.
So there is it and I’m ready for February.
“those undereyeball bulges” … Love it! I have them and have passed them on to my daughter. On her they are beautiful. I never like them until her.