Things I'm Loving for January

January is a time for new beginnings right? So what better time to share a few of the new things in my life I'm loving. With the exception of the pens and the nail polish, the other items were Christmas gifts so double points for the givers.




How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

1. Paper Source Calendar It was about this time last year that I realized once again I had forgotten to buy a calendar to adorn my office desk (you know, the one I spend half my life on). It seemed sort of silly to buy a calendar after the year had started so I just used the free fundraising calendar someone at work had dropped on my desk. I spent the next 11 months looking at badly exposed photos of animals I didn't particularly have any interest in (I'm looking at you cockatoos). Now that I have something beautiful and functional. Morale of the story: Don't look at cockatoos.

2. Puffy Coat I have never been one to wear a super warm coat. I tend to run on the little warm side but more importantly the eskimo look isn't very flattering on me. But last years polar vortex got me reevaluating and I was lucky enough to find this coat under my tree this Christmas. Just like clockwork the temp plummeted shortly there after and I've been loving this coat every since. Sure, I look like a giant cub scout trapped in my sleeping bag but I'm as snug as a bug in a rug. If you are a cute coat person like me, do yourself a favor and get one of these mamma jammas for the colder days.

3. CND Vinylux nail polish Stop the presses people! This stuff is magic. It actually stays on my nails for an entire week no matter what I do to it. Hugely impressive for me since I generally have a half chipped away manicure in 24 hours or less.  And since I can not paint my own nails to save my life (imagine an orangutan icing a wedding cake you'd have a good idea of my skill level), this is especially wonderful as I'm not completely wasting my money.  No base coat but you will have to use their top coat.  If you like pretty nails, run to get this stuff.

4. Sakura Pens What can I say? I love new pens. I'm not particularly good at drawing but I like to doodle. I don't even let myself into the pen aisle of any store unless I must.  But I treated myself to these after seeing them so often on other blogs and they are great fun.  They come in all sorts of different widths which makes doodling almost feel like science.  

5. Fujifilm X100T Camera If it wasn't obvious from my previous posts here, I'm very attached to my camera.  I have dragged a giant DSLR all over the world with me and I think the effort is worth it.  All that said, I've always wished for a smaller option - especially now that I'm also lugging a 2 year old and all of her stuff with me everywhere - that would serve as an in between for when I don't need all the functionality of a SLR but I still want a quality shot. I tried this before with a Nikon1 but wasn't happy with its shutter speed. Thankfully I have a very sweet Santa that knows I've been searching for the holy grail and gave this to me.  I'm still learning how to use it properly but so far I'm really loving it.  It's reasonably fast for its size and has a good bit of function without the heft. It could never be a full SLR replacement but that is to be expected at a fraction of the weight. Plus it looks super retro and cool.

So there you have it - what I'm loving in January.  Do you  have any favorite things this month you want to shout about?  I'd love to hear it.