What I Loved: February 2019

It's time for another round-up of my monthly favorites! I genuinely love being able to gush about what I loved from the previous month. It's fun to discover who else shares my interests, getting new recommendations for similar things and encouraging people to check out (and fall in love with, hopefully) the things that I've loved. Let me know what you've been loving lately in the comments!

Portraits and Dreams | DJ & I had the incredible opportunity to attend a five-hour writing lecture hosted by Maggie Stiefvater at the very beginning of the month. It was incredibly eye-opening to hear Maggie talk about what works for her and to get new ideas for how to approach my own work as well. We both left the lecture feeling really inspired to get back to writing again!

Think Big! A Tiny House Resort (website) | I finally got the chance to stay at a Tiny House last month, which is something I've always wanted to do! We had planned this trip upstate ages ago in order to celebrate Rachel's birthday a little early, but it far surpassed our expectations. The Tiny House was delightful, with all the basic accommodations that any visitor could desire, a lovely view and an efficient, minimalist design. While I don't think I could live in a Tiny House (unless I had a separate Tiny House library), I wouldn't mind visiting again for a weekend (or a writing retreat). 

Peer Pressure by James Bay feat. Julia Michaels | I've honestly lost count of how many times I've listened to this song since it first dropped, but I don't really care because it's just that good. I've nursed a deep love for James Bay for ages now, as I'm sure you know, so anytime he releases new songs, I'm always here for it. This song in particular feels like it's going to be a pivotal part of my current WIP playlist, and I am here for it.

Thank U, Next by Ariana Grande | Speaking of music on heavy rotation, I also have Ariana Grande's latest album on repeat these days. While I haven't loved every single thing she's ever put out there, I can definitely say that I quite enjoy this album. My favorite tracks off of it are Imagine, NASA and thank u, next, though I listen to the entire thing all the way through most days.

Gen: Lock (trailer) | I'm pretty confident that Macky & I started watching this show only this month, and I have to tel you - I am loving it. I never thought I'd say that about a show that centers primarily around robots and wars being fought, but here we are. The initial draw for this show, to me, was the stellar cast: David Tennant, Maisie Williams, Michael B. Jordan, to name a few folks. But I was surprised by how quickly I got attached to the characters and how interesting I find this storyline. I can't wait to find out what happens next!

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (trailer) | It's the end of an era, friends! While this third film isn't my favorite of the franchise, I still had all of the feels while watching the conclusion to the story of Toothless and Hiccup. It's funny, it's emotional, it's beautifully animated and all in all, it's a pretty solid ending for their tale. I would highly recommend watching the entire franchise (and still can't believe it's over)!

Anime Funko Pop! Vinyls | I've been taking a step back from collecting these (*coughs* Harry Potter *coughs*) and really only purchasing the ones I really want for my collections (like Ron on the chess piece, for instance). But in the past month, I've snapped up five new ones, all from animes I love - Kakashi (with the sharingan activated) from Naruto, Renji (in regular form and with his sword in bankai form) from Bleach, and Todoroki and Shota Aizawa from My Hero Academia.

Kingdom Hearts 3 (trailer) | I didn't get a chance to start playing this highly anticipated new game in this franchise until last month, but I'm happy to report that I'm truly enjoying it! Even though the story is still convoluted and hard to follow at times (since you'll have to know about the previous installments too), it's so much fun. I love being back with Sora, Donald and Goofy, and the new worlds I've gotten to explore have really hit the mark for the most part. I'm actually nearly done with it, which makes me a little sad. Guess I'll just have to play everything over from the start...?

Super Mario Party (trailer) | My sisters got their hands on a copy of this game last month, and it's been a great way for us to hang out and spend time together - whether we're competing as a team or competing against each other. We get very intensely invested in the games, you see, and we're quite competitive when we want to be...