My January & February Favorites. All of the books you need to read, the podcasts you need to listen to, and the products you need to buy.
My January & February Favorites: Books
It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
It took me a while to get on the Colleen Hoover train, but once I did, I didn’t want to get off. I wouldn’t say her books are literary works of art, but I love her writing and she creates characters that are so relatable and so easy to love. This book was so good. I immediately fell in love with Lily and easily became so invested in her story. Here is the summary:
Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town where she grew up—she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. And when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life seems too good to be true.
Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head. But Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his “no dating” rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place.
As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan—her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.
It Starts with Us by Colleen Hoover
Because I loved It Ends With Us so much, especially the love story between Lily and Atlas, I immediately started the sequel.
Lily and her ex-husband, Ryle, have just settled into a civil coparenting rhythm when she suddenly bumps into her first love, Atlas, again. After nearly two years separated, she is elated that for once, time is on their side, and she immediately says yes when Atlas asks her on a date.
But her excitement is quickly hampered by the knowledge that, though they are no longer married, Ryle is still very much a part of her life—and Atlas Corrigan is the one man he will hate being in his ex-wife and daughter’s life.
For a Glory and a Covering: A Practical Theology of Marriage by Douglas Wilson
I’m working my way through this list of marriage books, or at least trying to read the best ones out of that list before my wedding in May. I’ve found that a lot of the books I’ve read so far pretty much all say the same exact thing. So, I especially liked this book because it took the idea that marriage is a picture of the Gospel to a deeper and more practical sense. Douglas Wilson gave real-life ways of how a marriage should look and be to truly represent the Gospel well.
The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God by Tim Keller
This is probably the most popular Christian marriage book out there. And that’s for good reason. He lays out what marriage is and why God created it in a basic and understandable way. He explains its purposes, its importance, its magnitude above all other earthly relationships, and several other topics within marriage itself. I love how it not only teaches you about marriage, but also teaches you about God and the Gospel in a very deep and theological way.
The Duke and I (Bridgertons, #1) by Julia Quinn
Just like with Colleen Hoover, it took me a while to get onto the Bridgerton train. And again, just like with Colleen Hoover, once I got on I didn’t want to stop. I love historical fiction books, especially when it involves high class and/or royal families. The settings and aesthetics within those books are always so appealing to me. They take to you to a completely new world and I love that. That’s one of my favorite parts of reading fiction novels. This one had all that and a great romance. What more could a book-lover ask for? Here’s it’s summary:
Simon Basset, the irresistible Duke of Hastings, has hatched a plan to keep himself free from the town’s marriage-minded society mothers. He pretends to be engaged to the lovely Daphne Bridgerton. After all, it isn’t as if the brooding rogue has any real plans to marry – though there is something about the alluring Miss Bridgerton that sets Simon’s heart beating a bit faster.
And as for Daphne, surely the clever debutante will attract some very worthy suitors now that it seems a duke has declared her desirable. But as Daphne waltzes across ballroom after ballroom with Simon, she soon forgets that their courtship is a complete sham. And now she has to do the impossible and keep herself from losing her heart and soul completely to the handsome hell-raiser who has sworn off marriage forever!
The Fruit of Her Hands by Nancy Wilson
This is a book I think all Christian women should read. In it, she goes through several key parts of the life of a Christian wife. I love pretty much everything Nancy Wilson (and her husband Douglas Wilson above) puts out. I’ve gleaned a lot of wisdom from her on how to be a Godly woman and wife. I especially love her podcast Femina where she gives a short lesson to Christian women on different topics and characteristics they should embody.
Men are Like Waffles, Women are Like Spaghetti: Understanding and Delighting in Your Differences by Bill Farrel
I love books that explain the biological, emotional, relational, and psychological differences between men and women. Our differences are so fascinating to me. I really enjoyed this book, however, I also found it a little repetitive, stereotypical, surface-level. I wish the author would’ve dived a little deeper into the differences he pointed out. The science behind our differences is what I enjoy learning about the most, and this book didn’t really have that. I have several other books on my TBR list that dive into the key differences between men and women, so I’m really excited to read those soon. It’s so important to go into a marriage with those things in mind. It helps you understand your spouse so much better, and in turn you can love and respect them so much better as well.
Nonetheless, I do feel like I learned a lot from this book. The idea is that men are like waffles because they have a ton of different boxes inside their brain for each part of their life, and no two boxes overlap. On the other hand, women are like a bowl of spaghetti. All of their thoughts and every aspect of their lives are intertwined ins their minds. There were several times while I was reading that I found myself laughing out loud, either because it reminded me of myself or because it reminded me of Chris. It helped to make things make sense in my mind of why he and I do things the way we do them, and why we don’t always see things in the same way. I thought I was crazy, but it turns out I’m just a woman (haha).
Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover
The last book is another Colleen Hoover. Although I didn’t like this one as much as the It Ends with Us series, I loved it. The story line broke my heart, made me laugh, and made me so happy all throughout the book. Here’s it’s summary:
After serving five years in prison for a tragic mistake, Kenna Rowan returns to the town where it all went wrong, hoping to reunite with her four-year-old daughter. But the bridges Kenna burned are proving impossible to rebuild. Everyone in her daughter’s life is determined to shut Kenna out, no matter how hard she works to prove herself.
The only person who hasn’t closed the door on her completely is Ledger Ward, a local bar owner and one of the few remaining links to Kenna’s daughter. But if anyone were to discover how Ledger is slowly becoming an important part of Kenna’s life, both would risk losing the trust of everyone important to them.
The two form a connection despite the pressure surrounding them, but as their romance grows, so does the risk. Kenna must find a way to absolve the mistakes of her past in order to build a future out of hope and healing.
My january & february favorites: products
Young Living Thieves Whitening Toothpaste
A good natural and fluoride-free toothpaste is hard to come by. I used this one a while back, but ended up trying a few others when this one was out of stock. None of the other toothpastes even came close to being as good as this one. With the others, I felt like my teeth weren’t getting cleaned at all. That is not the case with this one. Unlike most natural toothpastes, it foams nicely, leaves my mouth feeling minty clean, has a normal toothpaste-consistency, and makes my teeth look a lot whiter without having to use whitening strips. Plus it has a similar price point to other natural toothpastes. Overall, I could not recommend this toothpaste enough. Check out this post I wrote a while back if you’re wondering why I use natural toothpaste rather than the typical Crest or Colgate.
Dry Brushing
I’ve always heard how good dry brushing is for you and for your skin, but it wasn’t until recently that I tried it out for myself. Needless to say, I’m hooked. Not only does it feel amazing, but it also makes my skin look so much clearer and smoother. Here are some of the benefits of dry brushing:
- Stimulates & aids in draining the lymphatic system
- Exfoliates the skin
- Helps the body detox
- Increases circulation & energy
- Helps to break down cellulite
I linked the one I use above. There’s nothing special about it. It’s just the one I liked the best on Amazon. I dry brush my whole body (always brushing towards the heart) right before I get into the shower. Since it exfoliates your skin, it’s good to do it before you shower so you can rinse all the dead skin off. I have somewhat sensitive and dry skin, so I usually only do it three-ish times a week. Find what frequency works best for you, and go from there!