Hello my darlings,
Would you look at that? It’s FEBRUARY. 2021. February of 2021. Does that feel wildly strange to anyone else? I have no sense of time anymore.
It’s been snowy here in Maryland but Mr. DitL are lying low, drinking hot chocolate, social distancing, reading good books and eating some good food. We treated ourselves to a box of fancy chocolates from Godiva (they deliver!) in honor of our 11 year dating anniversary the other day and we still have a few left. There’s nothing like truly good chocolate, is there? I’m a huge fan.
I’ve been feeling more hopeful now that I’m seeing my loved ones start to get the COVID vaccine but I’m also terrified reading about the new more transmissible variants of COVID. I do have some optimism about the new year, but I’m also feeling so drained by this prolonged time of danger that we’re still enduring.
How are you doing? How is February finding you?
I hope that you are all keeping warm and taking care of yourselves as well as you can.
xoxo,
Becky
What I’m reading:
Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo (Amazon/Indiebound): I read this whole series a couple of years ago when I was really sick and I have almost no memory of it. I love this author’s other books (review here) and I am excited to get to experience this series again for the first time! It’s grittier than the Grisha Trilogy and I don’t think it’ll replace those earlier books in my heart, but it’s still top notch Fantasy.
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow (Amazon/Indiebound): my mom bought me this book a while ago and I completely forgot to read it until now! I’m only a little ways in but it’s absolutely beautiful and wildly creative. Also Fantasy, of the dreamy fairy tale variety.
Internets:
Product Descriptions Are as Important as Product Photos. I’m mentioned in this fantastic article from JCK Magazine!
I’m still not over the incredible coats on display at Biden’s Inauguration. Read about badass power coats at Vogue here and on the Washington Post here.
Tsarist Russia’s Feminist Intelligentsia. Archive shows medieval nun faked her own death to escape convent.
The Boldly Feminine Gaze of Hiba Schahbaz. Schahbaz’s large-scale paintings, on view in her latest exhibition Dreaming, assert the right to claim and occupy space as a woman.
Meet The World’s Highest Freestanding Chocolate Fountain.
These are the best 30 Body Positive books you can buy. A fantastic list from Book Riot.
Roam the Galleries of the Metropolitan Museum via Augmented Reality.
The museum collaborated with Verizon to launch the Met Unframed, which allows you to navigate through a dozen digitally rendered galleries and view nearly 50 works from the Met’s collection.
Curiosity du Jour: Inside Out Handbags of Yore. This is all about chatelaines!
Book images via UnSplash. This post contains affiliate links.
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“The Ten Thousand Doors of January” is on my list to acquire/read—glad to hear it is good.
great links…can’t wait to check into these. i think chatelaines are terribly practical even today, not to mention potentially gorgeous little things. we should bring them back, like belt pouches, which have made a sort of limited comeback, at least in certain circles. “fanny packs” were never as aesthetically pleasing as proper belt pouches, and far less customisable. a small pouch for a phone and some cards/cash plus a chatelaine suits me well, i think…
It’s beautiful so far! It has that dreamy vibe of a fairy tale that’s a little bit scary, like a true old school myth. I’m looking forward to reading more of it with some tea as soon as I finish up my work for the day.
xoxo,
Becky