Captivations is a monthly feature with links, stories, and news that captivated me.
It’s the New Year!
Welcome to the New Year. How was your first month of 2021? Mine was pretty similar to most of 2020. Here are some things that happened in January.
- It snowed! A couple of inches stuck for about 24 hours and it was beautiful! It hasn’t snowed like that in years, so it was a nice surprise. It also reached 80 degrees this month, so that’s Texas for you.
- I started running again. The Austin Marathon moved from February to April, and they’re not offering the marathon distance this year. I had already planned to run the half-marathon this year and now that we’re 12 weeks out, it’s time to start training. Last year after the marathon, I ran about 10 times and worked out a handful of times, so it’ll be fun(?) getting back into shape.
New On The Blog
There are a few changes coming to make sure I’m creating content you want to read and making time for content I want to share.
- The monthly Fearless Wanderlust post has been a way to share travel news and inspiration, but as you know, travel has been on the back burner this past year. This series is going quarterly.
- Also going quarterly is the Flavors of the Month series. Instead of quick mentions, I want to devote time to in-depth features.
- I’ll share travel and food more regularly on my social accounts, so you can find posts on the Facebook page and Instagram. I’ll also be sending out monthly emails with updates, so add yourself to the list here.
- You’ll see more content about Austin bakeries and restaurants! I haven’t done detailed posts on many places I visit, so I’m working on this.
- Updated posts are coming. I update a few Austin posts regularly to make sure all information is current, and I’ll be doing more updates because, in our current time, a lot has changed about whether to provide dine-in and/or take-out service.
- Any other suggestions? What do you want to see on this blog?
What are You Reading?
I’m aiming to read 65 books this year. Where do you get your recommendations? I get them from lists like this one. If you need some recommendations, here’s my recap from last year.
What’s in Your Joy Toolbox?
Creating my joy toolbox is what I need to do ASAP. This toolbox is filled with your go-to activities to bring you joy. We all do this, and go back to things that comfort us. I self-soothe by ordering dessert deliveries. Make your joy toolbox because it is a lot easier when you know these are the things that will instantly lift you up when you’re having a tough day.
Asian Cream Cake
I crave this cake. We ate it on birthdays growing up and I have yet to find somewhere locally that offers it. The origin? Well, it’s an interesting story. This Eater article is a good one.
Food Shame
Speaking of Asian cuisine, this article about being shamed as a kid for eating Asian food around others gives me some sad flashbacks to my childhood. It’s a beautiful thing to be able to stand proudly for your culture.
Giant Letter
Have you seen the Giant Letter art installation in Austin? These annual fictional letters are written to and from a boy named Bobby. There are 10 letters and you can read them here. Here’s a news article to share more about the inspiration behind the art.
Sustainable Suggestions
I’m always looking for ways to create more sustainable habits. I’ve been slowly switching to more sustainable products. Have any recommendations for hand soap and dishwasher soap? I also started utilizing my neighborhood Buy Nothing group and it’s been helpful to pass along things we don’t need anymore.
The Inauguration Poem
It was so inspirational! Did you listen to it and/or read it?
No Finish Line
Having run a marathon, the analogy that there is no finish line is terrible for me, but I like the overall concept. It’s similar to how we should look at our lives – it’s always in progress, always improving, growing, and changing. It’s comforting in a way. You don’t have to stress about arriving somewhere in life at a certain time. You just continue.
Words of 2020
Take a look at this list of words and tell me if you haven’t used any of them! Wow, what a way to summarize the past year.
Media Bias
This chart was helpful going through the election season. Where do you get your news?
Evangelical Upbringing
This podcast episode from A Beautiful Mess resonated with me and I saw many similarities with how I grew up and how I feel about religion today. I’ve referenced in the past that I grew up religious, and I’m still a little hesitant to talk about it here. There were and are a lot of feelings of shame and guilt I haven’t dealt with yet. I think it has to do with the dual feelings of being grateful for the good that came from the experience and yet, frustrated and sad about how my life could have been. This line in the episode hits me deeply: “I didn’t understand how to not be a perfect person and still be a person of faith.” There’s definitely a lot to unpack there!
Tacopedia
Texas Monthly put together this amazing, in-depth tacopedia and you need to see it!
What’s got you captivated lately?
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