Field Notes: January
things I did, wore, used & read in the year, I mean month, of January!
Goodbye January, see you never (although, honestly, I think February is actually the worst/hardest/longest/coldest/most difficult, but at least it’s shorter!). I love getting little glimpses into other people’s (especially people who’s content I consume on the reg) lives/habits/loves/etc - and that is exactly the purpose of this edition — a little glimpse into the past month - what I did, what I wore, what I loved. Especially highlighting things that made my life just a teensy little bit better in the very first month of the year. Here we go!
On the Calendar…
It is hard to believe that the month of January started in the Dominican Republic enjoying tropical weather. The term “distant memory” has never been so relevant! We came back from our trip, and extended holiday break with VIGOR! I spent a solid amount of time cleaning and organizing our house post-holidays, as nearly none of that happened in the couple days between Christmas and our departure. It’s something I need to do around the start of every year, and it always feels so good to have a place for everything and everything in it’s place (for exactly one second, but that is not the point!)
We did a little “Favorite Things” party in January with a group of my college girlfriends, and, I have to say that I’m obsessed with the fact that we have moved this celebration to January. What started as trying our best to navigate the scheduling nightmare that is the month of December, turned into something that is so wonderful to look forward to in a month that kind of drags. We had pizza and snacks and wine and shared our favorite things from 2024. One fun thing we did was have everyone bring 2 items of their favorite thing so everyone went home with 2 treats! I went home with this cookbook and immediately cooked 3 things (sesame noodles, ginger chicken & cucumber salad if you were wondering!) from it for a dinner party we hosted the following night! I also got some fancy cherries that my husband has been making cocktails with. (Ps: my contributions were this underarm soap that I am obsessed with and believe makes my deodorant work SO MUCH BETTER, and the Hanni Shave Pillow!)
Winter weekends can always feel challenging — we want to get out of the house, and be outside, but probably not for too long, but we also don’t want to be inside with a ton of other people and their germs. It’s challenge! My oldest is finally old enough to do ski school at the mountain closest to us (frustratingly they don’t offer ski school to kids under 6, I suppose it is a question of having enough instructors!), and so our Sundays are ski days now. He takes a lesson, either my husband or I take our middle daughter to the magic carpet area, and we all ski together afterwards. We’ve had to drag them off the mountain the past few weeks. Skiing with little kids is a lot of work to get going, but being able to all ski together (almost all of us, next winter Willa will be 2.5 and we’ll get her going!) is worth the slog to get there!!
Museums have also been our best friend! I was recently reminded that a) a lot of museums in the Boston area offer a family day one weekend a month & have free entrance, and b) our library offers passes to all the local museums/aquariums/parks that make it either free or significantly discounted to get in.
Our ideal weekends include plans where we do something fun with our kids and see other adults along the way. To make this happen more often, I’ve been working on telling everyone we know what our plans are in case they want to come along or meet up. I’ll literally just say — this is our plan — spam it out to my group chats, and it’s a super low pressure way for people to join in (or, at least I think it is?) It’s no skin off my back if they don’t want to or can’t make it, because we already have our plan, but, if someone else can come, what a treat!
I had my first work trip of the year at the end of January, and it was a good, but whirlwind of a trip. Our whole company convened in Atlanta for a week. Very productive, lots happening, lots of people time…pretty par for the course for a big work event, but it took a lot out of me.
I went back and forth on how long I would stay at the meeting, and ended up deciding to come home late Wednesday night. I wanted to see my kids Thursday morning, be there to help my husband + welcome a new nanny that is helping us while our full-time nanny is visiting her mom for a few weeks. It was great to get home, but I also didn’t get home until after midnight on Wednesday night. I was in the air when the new broke of the plane crash in DC which was a pretty crazy thing to watch unfold when I was in the air myself (it really made me wonder why we watch live TV on planes!) I was a shell of a human for several days and found myself with a nasty cold that lingered for almost a week. I was not alone - most of my co-workers came home with various illnesses and ailments. I’m finally over it but whew. Ready for sick season to be over!
Wearing…
Getting dressed in January was fun and a good reminder of how much I have in my closet. I relied heavily on my favorite things (as I always do throughout winter), wore them in lots of different ways and wasn’t afraid to re-wear things A LOT (looking at you, 90s Pinch Waist Jeans!) I haven’t quite captured everything I wore, or favorite outfits, both of which are on my list, but you can see my first week of outfits here, as well more work + life outfits in this post.
Probably no surprise to anyone, but I wore a lot of my winter coat (still would love to add a second to the mix, still have not pulled the trigger on this!).
Especially in the bitter cold (which January really was!), I wear a long-sleeve ribbed shirt from Gap that I love, nearly everyday, as a first layer. I have 2 white and one black, and when I’m wearing them almost everyday, I found I needed to wash way more than usual, and wished I had one more, but it’s a great shirt (and $17)! I like it because it works great as a layer, the ribbed fabric feels luxe, its $17, washes well, and I can also wear it alone:
True validation of how much I have in my closet was the fact that I felt like I had an abundance of options when I was preparing to pack for my work trip. I had to narrow things down and truly felt like I was “shopping” when I finalized my outfits and packed them all up. Not that long ago, this would have felt completely impossible!
I’ve been on the hunt for a new work bag for awhile, but I really felt it this month. When you’re wearing the same coat and same 2ish pairs of shoes when it’s freezing and snowing for days on end, wearing a bag that just feels all function and no form is just not fun. I want my work bag to bring me joy! I use it everyday! A lot of us are in the same boat - I wrote about big(ish) bags last year (many of these would be great work bags, some might be on the smaller side!), have exchanged tens of instagram DMs back and forth with many of you, and I’ve been searching - I saw this new Tory Burch Release this week and really love it! I plan to do a big refresh of this piece in the next few weeks since I have clearly defined my criteria, and found some new contenders in the process. In the meantime,
did a good roundup of options right here!Using
While my “no-buy” January didn’t include any rules that officially extended it into anything other than clothes, I didn’t buy much outside of some very basic re-buys. These things aren’t new, but are things that have become important pieces in my day-to-day routine that I use and love and think you should know about.
Supporting my Skin Through Winter Weather: Winter is a drag on my skin. Aquaphor is my best friend and I slather it on top of my tretinoin + lotion most nights to just survive. I was gifted a few products from Outset late last year, which included their face oil which is wonderful. I was shopping at Blue Mercury (one just opened locally) a couple weeks ago and she was nearly sold a $200+ face oil, so I gave her my outset one to finish + test and will be rebuying for myself. It’s light enough for daytime, and non-greasy but works!
Wearing Setting Spray Everyday: One thing that I started doing recently, is wearing makeup setting spray almost everyday. I had never owned my own makeup protector product or spray until I randomly bought a sample bottle while waiting on line in Sephora about a year ago (If you never add any of the many samples from the cart checkout line to your cart— we need to talk AND I need you come with me on all future in person visits to Sephora!). I had been using it for nights out and the occasional special event, but recently, decided - why would I not want to use it everyday? I don’t wear a ton of makeup, but, what I do wear, I certainly want to last the whole time I’m wearing it! It’s been a nice addition to my routine. I just finished my bottle of Urban Decay All Nighter Spray (I think a sample size is a great place to start for this type of product!) of this guy. Not married to it, but I liked it - I’m thinking I might try this next (intruigued by the fact that it is both toner + setting spray!
ZIIP: I was gifted a ZIIP last year, used it periodically, and am now back to using it regularly. It’s wonderful, I love it. I alternate between using it at night and in the morning. They say to use it 5 days a week - I aim for everyday and always forget twice so it’s working for me. If you need more info, you need to read
of Hotline Skin deep dive on the ZIIP (Jolie, I hope you get enough credit for the best newsletter name ever) review. It is expensive, I recognize that, but if you are looking to add something + it’s in your budget. I recommend - you can use code CTZIIP for 10% off. I have used this as an alternative to the branded gel, and it does the trick. Per the recommendation of TIBAL, I am now trying out this Tula mask as my conductor gel & I really like it!Hair Stuff: Thank you to everyone who has asked about my hair routine. I am not an expert, I will do my best to pull something together with a little more info because I think how to take care of your hair for people who don’t know what they’re doing is actually relevant! You can see what I use on normal rotation here. My hair lacks natural volume, and so I’m always looking for a product that helps address that. I like this volumizing blowout spray, but recently ran out and while looking for a replacement (reading 100000 paged of reddit recommendations!) I stumbled across this spray and OKAY. YES MA’AM this product works!
Caring for my sweaters with the Nori Sweater Shaver. Is this a lot to spend on a sweater shaver? Yes. I recommend waiting for a little discount, or finding something similar - you can spend less for sure. I like the way it looks, sue me. Either way, An fabric shaver is actually a game changer. I still have a cashmere comb for my more delicate knits, but this gets pills out of bulkier knits and coats and is so satisfying to use! For whatever reason, I am more likely to use this for a quick refresh than my sweater combs!
Reading (and listening!)
The highlight of my reading in January actually started in December — I have an extended member of my family who has a novel that will be published in 2026, and I got to be a beta reader for her, as part of her story centers around sisters who grew up in and around the Boston area, and it was so fun! The book is so great and what a treat to get to read something in this context! I’m not sure if I can share the book, actually, but I will when I have more info to share!
God of the Woods was awesome. I really enjoyed it, and I was surprised by the twists although I will say I really didn’t like the main one - kept hoping that there would be one last twist that proved it was actually a red herring.
I will always read an Emily Griffin, and The Summer Pact was a fun read - light and happy - I read it beach/poolside and that was perfect.
Wives Like Us by Plum Sykes had been on my list for a long time. It was very entertaining and enjoyable.
The Sicilian Inheritance was also on my list for a long time. This was SO DIFFERENT from what I was expecting, I enjoyed it more than I thought I might. My husband’s family is from Sicily, and we spent some time there exploring before we were married. It made me want to brush up on my history of the island! I found the book to be a nice mix of history and thrill, plus, left me in awe of so many of the women!
That’s all for today, thanks for reading! I hope you’ll stay tuned this month as I have lots planned - including bringing back my “Too Many Open Tabs” inspo series, as well as a wrap-up from my no-buy month, and more outfit inspiration/ideas.
ICYMI
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Ok this just pushed me to finally buy God of the Woods - I’ve had 3 DNFs in a row so in a major book slump and I’m getting over my social media saturation of GotW!
I have that Gap layer in a bright blue and this is a great reminder to grab one in white. It's such a good base!
I am currently reading God of the Woods right now! I don't read mystery/thrillers often, so I am really enjoying it!
I carry a backpack to work, but am toying with the idea of a tote. I just don't like feeling overwhelmed on one side, lol.