January 2025

January was filled with high highs and a few lows. We kicked off the new year at home with a feast of a meal that we shared with our neighbors Bob and Jane. A few days later, we were in the ER with Charlie, who had come down with a terrible virus. That was a pretty scary experience for us — her shortness of breath, lack of energy, and lingering fever gave me some serious pause. Not too long after she’d rebounded, our bags were packed and Ronnie and I were off to Costa Rica, with two other couples we adore for a week of everything beach, ocean, rainforest, and fun. Thank goodness for my MIL, Alleise, who was willing to come and stay at the house with her while we got away from the cold. We ate dinner at the most spectacular restaurant in the world. We returned home to the freezing cold, with temps hovering near -22°F and our furnace decided to die, which just so happened on the coldest day of the year, my first day back to work, and a week where Ronnie had to be out of town from Monday to Thursday for work. Last but not least, I got to spend a day with my besties, Lauren and Kasia doing our Quarterly Strategy session, and finally, I got to meet my bestie Gabby’s twins! One thing I love so much about writing my monthly summaries is how much I realize we pack in to every month when I write them. It makes me so grateful for a life filled with love, adventure, and laughter. Alright, let’s get to some of my favs and finds from the month…



What I read/watched/consumed 

  • Audible: Two books really stood out to me this month — 12 Week Year, which is all about setting goals and executing tjem over the course of 12 weeks instead of 12 months, what I love about the idea is it really holds your feet to the fire around execution (the #1 differentiator between those who wish and those who do). Slow Productivity is also a good one, the ultimate reminder that we need time allocated to actually do work, and with today’s incessant connectivity, it is hard. I’m taking this as the reminder to schedule working blocks into my calendar so I can do the deep work necessary to move the needle on specific initiatives at both work and in my life.

  • Podcasts: Martha Stewart x Emma Grede YOU GUYS. Martha Stewart interviewed Emma Grede. Don’t walk, run! This is such a fun episode. It’s kind of funny how Martha interrupts Emma at parts in the interview and changes gears on her, and Emma rolls with it. It’s a lot of fun and lots of great takeaways in it. Tony Robbins was on TSC Pod this month, I really enjoyed that episode too. He talks about the universal truths of what we all desire and how what we focus on is how we experience life. It was a great mindset shift headed into the rest of the year.

  • TV: We haven’t been watching much adult TV these days, but when we do flip the TV on, we’re doing a lot of Disney+. Most memorably, Charlie and I huddled under a heated blanket when our furnace was out watched Finding Nemo and fell asleep together in bed, that was a really great cuddle and movie night. 

  • Substack: I loved this article about WFH life, I feel like the author really reflects how a lot of people probably feel about WFH. It’s funny, back in 2014, long before anyone I knew had a full-time WFH job, I took one working as a consultant in the natural products industry. After a year, I couldn’t take it, all I wanted to do was get back in the office, and so I did and that is when I joined Narrative Science. Now, as someone who works fully remote all day everyday, I do crave an office environment, yet the inherent conflict in that is my lifestyle — being able to work full time, lead a team I love, in an industry I love, at a company that I love, while also being able to do daycare drop off, pick up, and make dinner, wouldn’t be possible if I didn’t have the maximum flexibility that I do… trade offs. Anyone else wrestle with this?

What I Made 

  • As with every new year, I kicked off 2025 with Blueberry pancakes. There’s no better welcoming of the year ahead then a fabulous breakfast.

  • In Costa Rica, I had the opportunity to whip up some Guac and Ceviche for our peeps. They were obsessed!

  • The weekend before we left for Costa Rica, Ronnie was out of town, so I made some Sausage and peppers and No knead bread and invited my parents over to enjoy it with me. Charlie ate her body weight in the S&Ps.

  • This Chicken pot pie bake and this Chicken macro bowl got Charlie and I through the week of no heat. What I love about these recipes is that you can make them in big batches and then pick at them the whole week. They are hearty, they are warm, and they are delicious!

  • At the end of the month, I treated myself to this creamy, delish, Sedona surprise smoothie. Yum!

What I did 

  • Ronnie’s bday! Ronnie is a January baby and just the most impossible guy to shop for. He is a big whiskey collector, and so this year, I splurged and got him Baccarat harmonie tumblers + custom ice press, and then since he was away on a snowmobiling trip with his buddies for the weekend, ordered in our old city favorites for his birthday dinner when he got back — Poke Bowls, Jet’s Pizza, and Molly’s Cupcakes (Blueberry Cheesecake flavored, of course!).

  • Our trip to Costa Rica really hit all the high notes. We stayed at Los Sueños Oceanclub which is in the same campus as the Marriott, but technically part of a Condo rental group. We liked the condo option so that we could have all our peeps under one roof, with a Kitchen, our own Grill, and proximity to both pool, beach, the marina, and restaurants! Our itinerary included: two days of deep sea fishing, one day at the spa, one day on a private boat rental, and another day on horses and ATVs exploring the rainforest and natural waterfalls. The whole trip was an incredible adventure, but I have to say as a foodie and ambiance junkie, the #1 highlight of the trip was dinner on top of the world at the restaurant at Villa Caletas which was accurately described to me as “God’s Theater.”

  • I loooove Quarterly Strategy Days with Lauren and Kasia — we’ve been doing these now for a few years, and I never tire of hearing how they are progressing on their big dreams and getting to share what I am working on and receiving feedback.  

  • I’ve been waiting to see Gabby and her babies for weeks now, but given our health situation in January, I wanted to be cautious about when Charlie and I traveled to see her. With our health in full swing, I am so glad we got to go snuggle Gabby’s baby boys. They are soo precious, and tiny, and sweet. Agh! It’s just the best seeing one of the people you love most in the world CREATE human life. Wow.

What I discovered/bought 

  • I was gifted these Mighty Patch eye patches by a friend for the holidays, and omg I am obsessed

  • I decided to elevate my at home tea game and splurged on these tea cups and a new electric kettle to take my afternoon tea to the next level!

  • I’m going full tilt on the Camp Caldwell branding of our Happy Hills home — I ordered a custom logo stamp for our disposable white coffee cups, so when guests come over and I send them home with a hot coffee, they feel like they’re walking away with something from a local, hidden-gem of a coffee shop.

  • I manifested a new Sony camera for my food photography, can’t believe that I am so lucky to have received this! and so to go with it, of course, I needed some new plates for my food photography.

What I’m looking forward to in February

  • Work travel to NY with one of my amazing team members to meet with the Exec team at a client site. This client can be a tough cookie, but they have some reallyyy cool brands (including a few they run for one of my fav A List celebrities), so I think it’s pretty stinking cool that we help them grow those businesses. I’m hopeful we’ll be able to deliver some valuable thought leadership that infuses their 2025 strategy.

  • Weekend dates with girlfriends — I get to see besties Tasha and Helena, “The Petite Yaya’s” Alexa and Adri (and Adri’s daughter!), and my longtime friend Liz. Helena and I have a special surprise in store for Tasha that I can’t wait to share with her!

  • Valentine’s day with Ronnie — I got us a baby sitter for the night, and a reso at our favorite restaurant in town! I can’t stinking wait!

  • President’s Day — Charlie’s school is closed, so I took the day off work and can’t wait to have a fun day with her.

  • Work travel to Chicago for our annual sales kick off… including a dinner at Chicago classic, Lou Malnatis! Woo! I’ll get to see my whole team in person for the first time in a long time. I can’t wait to give them all big hugs!

From My Phone

Previous
Previous

1/31/2025 Newsletter

Next
Next

4 Habits to Accelerate Your Career Success