15 Things: February

Feb 15, 2025

Happy February (even though we’re already halfway through the month, sorry). Here are my 15 things of February.

How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang. Beautiful debut novel from Kuang that I absolutely devoured. For fans of Emily Henry, tender romance, and well-written, multidimensional characters.
Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle. This was a weird and fun one. Scary without being too haunting. Very interesting story from a very unique author.
Actual Air by David Berman. This is David Berman’s only published collection of poems, released in 1999. I’ve read a lot of poems from this on their own over the years, but decided I wanted to buy a copy and read it all the way through recently, because I love Silver Jews, and I’m glad I did. His story is heartbreaking, but his writing is a true gift to the world that will live on forever, thankfully.
From “Self-Portrait at 28”
Orion Sun Live at WNXP. Whew, what a voice. She is so lovely and this is a wonderful live session. (I’m biased because I work at WNXP but it sounds and looks beautiful and I think everyone should watch it.)
Severance. I want to yell about Severance 24/7. All I do is scroll on Twitter and watch Severance fan edits. The show is perfect and this current season is insane. Helly R., I love you!!!!

I’m beating a dead horse here, but I really love my Kindle.
Yoga! I’ve been trying to get back into the swing of taking yoga classes again. 2019 into March 2020 (lol) was the last time I did it regularly (and frequently), and I didn’t pick it back up once the yoga studio I went to closed in 2020. I love how it makes me feel and am working very hard to fix my brain (lol #2), and this is helping quite a bit.
Speaking of yoga, the Aerie Real Me High Waisted Crossover Leggings AND Bike Shorts are great. When I say I need something to be high-waisted, I am not joking. The waistband should be inches from my neck, frankly. BUT, along with being high-waisted, I need whatever leggings or bike shorts I’m wearing to not slide down my stomach or move around when I work out. This is extremely important to me because I am insane, and these are the only ones I have right now that stay in place for me. It’s a real soft fabric, not a lot of that “athletic” feeling fabric, and I love them.
These sweatpants from Old Navy. Uh oh, she’s writing about Old Navy again! I’ve decided that I really don’t like the jogger style pair of sweatpants, the ones that have elastic around the ankles, so I’m currently in love with these. They’re wide-leg, high-waisted and stretchy. Extremely comfy. 10/10. Old Navy never does me wrong.

“R&B” by English Teacher. I dove back into their debut LP This Could Be Texas recently because of their recent WNXP live session. They’re great, and this whole album is perfect. “R&B” feels a lot like “C’est Comme Ça” by Paramore, with the same kind of talky-droney-guitary vibe. Big fan.

“Big Mike’s” by Dijon. Some of the most visceral and heartbreaking yearning I have ever heard in a song. I think I’ve listened to this 100 times in the last two weeks.

“Safety Pin” by Hockey Dad. Not sure where I stumbled across this band, but they’re an Australian group that put out an album called Rebuild Repeat last June. The whole LP is great, but “Safety Pin” is my favorite song on it.

Here’s my February playlist:

No Prince Required by Fine’ry. Yes, the Target brand. Big fancy. I think it’s supposed to be a dupe of Princess by Killian. It’s warm and spicy. A little gingery and ambery. Not my normal kind of scent, but I really love it.
Bergamot Bond Sensorial Body Wash by Cyklar. This is just straight up bergamot, which is one of my favorite scents. This is Claudia Sulewski’s skincare brand, and both of the scents I’ve smelled — Crescent being the other — have been heavenly.

I’ve been going crazy on electrolytes lately. I know, very exciting. I’ve realized that I’m not actually that hydrated, despite drinking a lot of water every day, so I’m trying all the different powders to see what actually makes me feel hydrated. So far, the Body Armor ones might be my favorite.