What We’re Reading and Watching

• I’ve been reading Atomic Habits by James Clear to encourage myself to think about little changes that could help me to reach some of my goals. It can be hard to focus when I’ve got all the girls at home doing remote learning, but this is helping me think about what some of my longer term dreams might be and how to incorporate that into my daily life in a manageable way - E

• I’m also reading Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert after hearing that Becca Freeman reads it every January to inspire her creativity. I loved Eat Pray Love and other books by Elizabeth Gilbert so I was excited to give this one a try. It also reminds me of Untamed by Glennon Doyle, as it’s full of personal anecdotes but also how to listen to your inner voice and live your biggest life. I always want to go write or bake or do something creative after I read a chapter. - E

• I’m finally reading The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett, and it’s great so far. The story centers around a set of twins that grew up in a town where race and colorism are at the core of the community. They run away at 16, with one twin getting married and returning to the town with her daughter, while the other sister disappears and builds a life passing as white. The characters are well developed, and I feel like I can imagine the town of Mallard where they live - I can’t wait to see where the story goes! - D

What We’re Buying

• I ordered the Biossance Squalane and Lactic Acid Resurfacing Night Serum on a whim when I was also ordering the Vitamin C Serum, but let me tell you-it is awesome! It has been great for unclogging my pores and dealing with a bout of mascne that had popped up on my lower cheeks. It says that it’s gentle enough to use every night but I’ve been alternating nights and I still see results after just a week. Right now, Biossance has several deals on sets on their website, so it could be a good time to try out a few new products if you want to check them out. I love the Rose Oil and the Vitamin C serum too - E

• The hot topic in several of my group text messages this week has been what we have on our bedside tables for our nighttime hydration routines, and the Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask is one of the products that most of us are using. I love the taste and texture, and even though I have acne prone skin, it doesn’t end up all over my face and cause breakouts. I also hate wearing lip products under my masks and getting them all over the inside, so this helps me get an extra big dose of moisture at night! Bonus - the mask and a few other products are one of the Sephora birthday gifts for 2021, so you can try the mini version first. - D

What We’re Making

• We made the Flour Shop Rainbow Explosion Cake from Williams Sonoma for Lila’s 13th birthday this weekend and it was amazing! The process was very daunting-they only give you enough cake mix and frosting to do 6 layers in 6 inch pans, and I couldn’t find 6 inch pans, but I read through the instructions and watched the video and it said that you could just use other kinds of vanilla cake mix to make more cake and cream cheese frosting to make more frosting, so that’s what we did. Once we got over that hurdle, everything else went according to plan and the instructional video by Amirah Kassem was extremely helpful. You do have to aggressively pat the sprinkles in to the frosting while the frosting is still fresh and sticky, but after a false start, we had a lot of fun doing it, although the kitchen was completely covered in sprinkles by the end. To be honest, it turned out much more professional looking than I thought it would and it even tasted good! - E

• I am doing my Super Bowl planning and have my eye on a few recipes, including the Crispy Baked Parmesan Tater Tots from Half Baked Harvest, our family favorite, the Barefoot Contessa Buffalo Chicken Wings (the blue cheese dip is AMAZING!). Even though I will just be watching with one friend, we still want it to feel fun and festive! - D