The January Five

Happy last day of January (and 4th day of the polar vortex if you’re in the Midwest). Even though the temperatures are in the negatives in Grand Rapids, the sun is actually out, it’s not currently snowing, and I saw a rainbow on my drive into the office, so I’m hoping we’re almost out of the horrible weather. I’m starting to go crazy, but thankfully we’re headed out of town for the weekend.

One of my goals for 2019 was to have more consistent and quality posting on the blog. This will never be my full time job, but it is a hobby I like to keep up. I didn’t post as much as I wanted to this month, but slowly but surely I’ll get back to more frequent posts.

Starting today, the last post of everything month will be sharing five things I loved during that month. This is not strictly going to be fashion, but hopefully a nice mix of everything, so let’s dive in.

1.) Becoming by Michelle Obama

I LOVED this book. Regardless of how you feel about her husband, I would highly recommend reading it. I found her story to be interesting, inspiring and compelling, and I learned so much about what life is like in the White House for any first family. Allison is currently borrowing my copy, but I’m happy to lend it out if you’re local 🙂

2.) Grilled Chicken Bruschetta

I have been doing a great job (if I do say so myself) of cooking majority of my meals lately, and I’ve been trying to find new, delicious recipes that aren’t too challenging and make great leftovers. This chicken bruschetta recipe from SkinnyTaste (with my own modifications) is so tasty + simple.

I used her recipe for the bruschetta, but instead of cubing the cheese, I actually put a thin slice of fresh mozzarella on top of the chicken breast as soon as it came off the grill so it melted right onto the chicken. For sides I kept it simple with asparagus and quartered red potatoes roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper.

3.) Fleece lined tights

I bought this pair of fleece lined tights from LOFT because I was getting sick of only wearing pants (and there is still a lot of winter ahead of us). They are amazing. So much more comfortable than regular tights and not see through at all. I actually wore mine under my jeans yesterday because it was so COLD. And I had a friend tell me she layers them under athletic leggings when running outside and now I’m considering wearing them when I ski next 🙂

4.) Lise’s Pieces Rings

I’m not sure how I started following her, but I’ve been following her on Instagram for years. She’s hilarious, real and makes beautiful jewelry. She is a one woman show so her shop isn’t always open, but she updates daily on her Instagram Stories. These are the rings I have:

5.) Free Alterations at Athleta

I learned that my Athleta store does free alterations (which is AWESOME). I know you’re thinking “why in the world would you need to alter workout clothes?”, and I understand it sounds very overdramatic, but I actually got this camo tank hemmed! It now hits me right at the top of my hips. I have a very short torso, and most workout tanks are awkwardly long on me, so I love that I can get it altered for free so it fits better.

If you have any January favorites I should know about make sure to leave a comment below!

Happy (almost) weekend,

xo, Maddy