Since I lost my job, I had to switch down a couple notches of some of my favorite beauty products – not that I was at the top of the line to begin with, but it felt weird spending $30 for moisturizer when I wasn’t making any money. But I found some great replacements! I love the Triple Nutrition conditioner from Garnier. Nikki hates it but she doesn’t have dry hair like I do, if you have really dry hair? THIS STUFF IS AWESOME. I also love the Maybelline mascara (COLOSAL VOLUME) because it goes on well but isn’t a pain to take off. It doesn’t smear too much either if I forget I’m wearing it and start rubbing my eyes. Finally? The moisturizer I started using is the Wal-Mart generic version of Cetaphil and I love it!!! It’s affordable and it’s not greasy at all!
My kids started watching The Good Place the first season and I was not into the premise but after seeing them really get into it I gave it a try and I have NO REGRETS. This season was a little slow to grab me but it’s still amazing. They launched the podcast this year and I love listening to it after each episode because you get a lot of behind-the-scenes treats. The best way I’ve heard the show described is: The smartest dumb show on television. You’ll be laughing at fart jokes and questioning morality all in the same episodes. It’s great.
Also? My heart is back with Black’ish. I got really upset at the end of last season when the show started tearing apart the parental relationship but this season everything is GREAT/normal between them so I’m back to loving the show.
Finally – I loved the reboot of She-ra on Netflix. I swear I watched the original but the reboot stirred up zero memories of it so maybe I didn’t, but either way I loved it. Wesley watched it with me, he was just as hooked!
Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse was my favorite family movie of the year! And I don’t necessarily mean “kid” movie, I just mean that if you struggle to find a movie your whole family will enjoy – THIS IS IT. It was hilarious, it had mind-blowing comic book animation adapted beautifully for the screen, and it had a KILLER soundtrack. It is out now! Go see it!
I didn’t watch a lot of movies this year but I saw a few worth mentioning. Crazy Rich Asians was as good as everyone said, although I kinda wish I had waited and read the book first. Same goes for To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before on Netflix which probably gets my top “Kim Movie Of The Year” spot. I also loved the adaptation of The Hate U Give and…I just realized that mainly I watched a bunch of movies-from-books this year because I also watched Dumplin’ and Love, Simon as well so maybe I need to branch out a little more!
I did go to a fun “event” at a movie theater. I love the FATHOM events and when I was in Knoxville one trip I went with a friend to see Puffs which was filmed off-Broadway and is a musical about three Hufflepuffs and what is happening to them during the rest of the Harry Potter series. It was hilarious. If you ever get a chance to see it – it was great!
For you Huntsvillians, I did discover a new favorite restaurant – Pofta Buna at Lowe Mill. It’s billed as “Mediterranean” food and OH MY GOD. I get a Veggie Shoarma and my daughter described it best by saying, “If I had read the description I’m not sure I would have ordered it but it is DELICIOUS.” My husband and I also started frequenting the taproom at OTBX (Old Towne Beer Exchange) and it’s a great relaxed atmosphere. Lots of people bring their kids and their dogs although we’re usually there after Yoga so we don’t bring either. Speaking of Yoga, we have fallen in love with the Lighton Yoga studio this year. I only do the Asanas and Ales class but Donnie does several class there and loves it. If you’re local, she’s moving to the top floor of the old Huntsville Times building in the near year and it’s going to be AMAZING.
Now, let’s talk about apps. I don’t use a lot of apps because my iPhone is the SE so it’s a little slow on processing and it only has 16GB of space (although my family let me order a new phone for Christmas so I will soon have 64GB!!!!) so I only use the most important of apps! If you’re trying to run using run/walk intervals I highly recommend this app. It lets you set them however you want and it gives you a 5-second warning before you switch. Nikki and I are using it now to gear up for our half-marathon and we love it. I also love the PicTapGo app for photo editing! That’s about all I do with my phone anyway!
Okay – I think that’s about all I can think of for new discoveries this year that don’t relate to books. Look forward to the book entry next week!
