little sparkles from January
the first edition of a monthly series! yay!
today is the first day of February! we made it through the first month of the year! and we should congratulate ourselves on that together, because it was a really tumultuous one (to say the least)!
let’s make February sparklier than January was, yeah?
since this Substack doesn’t really have any rhyme or reason other than sharing things I feel like sharing, I had this idea to introduce a monthly installment called “little sparkles from [each month]” — a sometimes short, often sweet, always sparkly journal entry dedicated to sharing what made the past month sparkly.
I’m sure we’ll refine it as it goes along, but as of today, it doesn’t really have a set form or shape that I want it to take. for right now, I like the idea of just sharing my running list of things & thoughts that made my month cute and twinkly.
the goal of this newsletter is to get my sparkle back little by little, and what better way to do that than to share the little sparkles from each month? then, at the end of the year, I’ll have a 12-part anthology to track a year’s worth of progress on this sparkly journey.
and, if nothing else, I get to share happy things with you – and I think we could all use a little more happiness in our months.
for today, I think I’ll split the ⭒ little sparkles ⭒ into these categories: reads, watches, listens, and other sparkly things. almost like a monthly R.E.P.O.R.T. of sorts!
now let’s dive in, with stars in our eyes ⭒˚.
P.S. — I followed a similar format at the end of my last post, if you’re interested in reading another list of miscellaneous sparkly things!
sparkly reads ⭒
tbh, I haven’t done a crazy amount of reading this month (bc I’m still working on breaking my phone addiction). hopefully this keeps me accountable to read more next month, because I’m really itching for a good book after this little slump I’ve been in.
btw — I’ve ditched GoodReads for the woman-founded Fable app, and I’ve really loved the social media vibe to it while also giving me fun data about my reading habits. come follow me here if you like that sort of thing!
a little late to the party, I read Sunrise on the Reaping this month, the THG prequel that follows Haymitch’s journey pre-, during, and post-Games. since Haymitch is one of my favorite characters of the whole series, I was really excited to dive into his story, but I found my expectations to be slightly unmet. however, it was an immersive story and it expanded the narrative in a meaningful way. 3.5 stars!
for years, I’ve followed the Christian creator & writer Whitney Pierson Lowe on Instagram because I find myself aligning with her thoughtful, fair, loving, and biblically-rooted takes. in the midst of political divide, I often find myself echoing her sentiments, landing somewhere in the middle. when I found out she released a devotional called Called Back To Who You Are, I bought it without hesitation, not even knowing what it was about. when the book arrived and I read the summary on the back cover, I was wonderfully shocked at how much I needed to hear the sentiments on the pages. I’ve been slowly reading it, aiming for a chapter before bed each night, and it’s already given my soul a much-needed lift.
in the midst of a Substack scroll, I came across one of the loveliest posts I’ve gotten to read on this app: “i used to stay in unkind places” by Isabella, author of the publication Cry Baby Club. I was so struck by the unrestrained rawness, the freedom to feel, and her poetic writing style that felt neither forced nor performative. I saw myself reflected in her words, and even when I couldn’t relate, I empathized deeply. this is my favorite thing about language and writing and words and daring to express: connection. I’m grateful this post found its way to my algorithm for the deep inspiration and fullness it gave me. I immediately followed Isabella and I can’t wait for more of her words to grace my feed.
another one of my favorite creators, Jenna O’Brien of Feeling! Magazine, wrote a piece called “Things To Do When You Don’t Feel Good” this week. I’ve followed Jenna for years and I feel like I’ve grown up with her and felt pain alongside her. my sparkly journey is in large part inspired by all of the shiny, creative, joyful content she so gracefully creates. her post this week came at a time when I truly wasn’t feeling so good, and it instantly made me feel more seen, inspired, and less alone. she has a way of knowing exactly what content I need to consume.
here are some reads that I hope to get into next month:
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins — this is the only book in the THG saga I’ve yet to read, and it’s because I started it a while ago and simply couldn’t bring myself to keep turning the page. I saw that the film was recently added to Peacock (I think?), and since I just finished Collins’ other prequel, it seems there’s no better time than the present.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin — it’s been on my TBR for 2 years at this point, and I only haven’t started it yet because I’m deeply terrified of how good it is and how it may alter the course my life forever.
They’re Going to Love You by Meg Howrey — infatuated with the cover art of this one, and deeply intrigued by the synopsis. feels like the perfect read for winter.
And Now, Back To You by B.K. Borrison — one of my top reads of 2025 was Borrison’s First-Time Caller, a rom-com set in Baltimore (in my home state!) and inspired by Sleepless in Seattle (one of my favorites!), which had me kicking my feet by the pool for a week straight. I was deeply obsessed, so I have high hopes for this upcoming sequel with one of FTC’s beloved side characters.
sparkly watches ⭒
with the Oscars so close (I’ll never forgive the Academy for snubbing Wicked: For Good, btw), my TBW list is greater than ever. but, like every other month, I found myself in my regular reality TV whirlpool — making time for the occasional movie here or there if I could find the time. hoping to venture into watching Hamnet, Eternity, and Sinners soon so I can do my Oscars homework!
the best show on television, The Traitors, is in full swing and I think we all need to say thank you to Peacock for continuing to give us our weekly dose of Rob Rausch & Lisa Rinna. the last two episodes were some of the best of the entire series, though nothing beats the Bob The Drag Queen vs Boston Rob roundtable of season 3. it’s not often I say this, but I’m rooting for the Traitors. we’ll see how it shakes out!
I’m continuing with my RHONY journey, and I’ve made it to season 4 — where Bethenny sadly is not on my screen, and Kelly Kiloren Bensimon sadly is on my screen. I’m enjoying every episode of this insane show and find myself loving almost all of the women for some reason or another (except I am now ready for Alex & Simon to depart, and one-season-wonder Cindy is contributing nothing). and what if I told you I loved Jill Zarin with all my heart, what would you do then?
though I shared this in my last post, it’s worth mentioning again: I watched the film adaptation of The People We Meet On Vacation this month and have no notes. I truly believe it is the golden standard of sparkly things. rom coms are so back & yearning is hotter than ever — and we have Emily Henry to thank.
I went to the theaters (!!!!) to see The Housemaid and found it to be a fabulous film as well! my bar is often high for a book-to-movie adaptation, and though they didn’t stick closely to the source material, I thought the changes made for a thrilling movie. Amanda Seyfried is just wonderful in everything she does.
along with the rest of the world, I finished the final season of Stranger Things this month and I’m now left with a Steve Harrington-shaped emptiness in my heart. my best friend / roommate Hannah and I stayed up until 5 in the morning to binge the final few episodes, and I lovingly refer to that ill-advised decision as one of my “now-memories”. we subsequently got sucked into the #conformitygate conspiracy theory, which we now realize was a massive waste of our time and energy. but what fun we had in the moment!
sparkly listens ⭒
as a public service announcement, my spin instructor played “Yoü and I” by Lady Gaga as a recovery song this past week and it reminded me that it’s the best song ever made. like, ever. so I’m here to remind you too. you’re welcome.
this month I learned that not only does Finn Wolfhard make music, but he makes really good music. he quietly (or maybe not so quietly, idk, I just found out about it) released an album called Happy Birthday last June and it came across my desk this month. it’s been on repeat for me, the perfect soundtrack for just about anything: working, cooking, taking a shower, getting ready, feeling hopeful but in a really cool way. my favorite tracks are “Choose the latter”, “Everytown there’s a darling”, and “Objection!”.
I have the horrible habit of obsessing over a song and listening to it endlessly until I eventually get sick of it. I’m only human! this month’s fixation is “Don’t Delete The Kisses” by Wolf Alice, and to my great pleasure, I’ve not grown sick of it yet. I think this might be one of those songs that I could never truly grow sick of, because it’s just so good. I am sincerely hoping that’s the case.
since moving to this noisy city, I’ve needed atmospheric music to help me get my nonnegotiable 8+ hours of sleep. I’ve bounced between brown noise, Headspace sleep meditations, and even slowed + reverb Animal Crossing songs. but nothing knocks me out harder and faster than this Reiki healing music video has. I don’t know what science there is to this, but I put this on every night, set a sleep timer for 15 minutes, and genuinely knock out within 30 seconds. like witchcraft.
it’s also been a really good month for my playlist-making obsession! here are some highlights from Jan:
my sparkly year — a mix of songs that make me feel sparkly (or make me aspire to be more sparkly), along with various songs that I’m really loving right now.
poppy wright IS the vision board — it’s like if you took the PWMOV Robyn airport scene and created an entire playlist out of it, with some friends-to-lovers inspired tunes interspersed throughout.
steve harrington’s girlfriend — yes I know I have a problem. when I’m feeling extra parasocial and want to be transported into the 80s (or into the fictional world where Joe Keery is my boyfriend), I put this bad boy on.
other sparkly things ⭒
as it is every month, spin class has been my lifeline. it’s one of the sparkliest things in my life and I’m so grateful to move my body in that way. I can’t imagine what one-year-ago me would say if I told her we would be 100 rides deep into CycleBar in just 6 months. she’d probably laugh in my face. but I’d tell her to trust and believe, because it’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to us.
in what may be my quickest turnarounds of seeing a recipe and making it, I saw this “Japanese cheesecake yogurt” Reel a few weeks ago and got the stuff to make it that night. “make it” is an overstatement, it’s really just putting Biscoff cookies in yogurt, closing the lid, and stuffing it in the fridge to soften slightly. I add a little vanilla protein powder to the yogurt, and I prefer my cookies just slightly hard for a little crunchy texture. and it is one of the best things I’ve ever eaten.
one of the sparkliest things I can imagine is a pair of cute white cotton underwear for every day of the week. even sparklier than that are these undies that have the days of the week embroidered in them — in French. give me 5 packs plz.
this weekend, instead of spending my Friday and Saturday nights scrolling social media, I called my long-distance friends. and it was exactly what my soul needed. it’s the start of what I hope will be a new routine to pick up the phone and chat with my favorite girls when I have a little spare time. nothing hits like rehashing the same 3 stories over and over again with your BFFs since high school.
I’ve never been the biggest robe wearer, but I got this Hommey robe for Christmas and it has become my entire personality. I look forward to my showers just to wrap myself in this afterwards and lay on my bed with all my skincare marinating on my face. there’s just something so adult about a robe.
sparkly inspo ⭒
I have a Pinterest board called “a sparkly 2026” (duh!), and even though its primary function was to collect images for my yearly vision board, I find myself adding to it daily. my algorithm has just been sooo good, I need a place to store all of the inspo.
as part of our monthly sparkles, I figured it would be fun + vibey to share a snippet of that Pinterest board each month as a visual scrapbook of what’s fueling me each month (there will be many photos of Joe Keery in your future with this monthly installment. trust).
here’s a little snapshot of what’s moving me as we go into February:
star-shaped everythings, the perfect chunky pink knit sweater (that I have yet to find), quotes and more quotes to fill my brain with lovely thoughts, glitter in any form it can possibly come in, Joe Keery and I’m not sorry about it, and celebrations, big & small.
and that’s all we have for January sparkles, folks! ⭒˚.
I think this will be a really fun segment to share at the end of every month. it’s going to keep my eyes open to what’s making each day a little bit sparklier so I can remember to share it with you later.
and how lovely it is to have something pushing me to take note of the lovely everyday things.
can’t wait to see what sparkles February will have in store. xx
