January Recap, pt. 1

I made a promise to myself earlier this year that I would post more joy on Instagram. Instagram is notoriously a place where doom scrolling can eat up so much of your time and leave you feeling sad and depressed. I wanted to change that and remind friends and anyone who follows me that it doesn’t have to be that way! Post more of what makes you happy. I think we could all use more happiness these days.

So, here are some photos from January that I shared on my Instagram feed! Turns out we did a lot of things, so I’ll post a pt. 1 and pt. 2.

We finally had our family Christmas celebration - complete with Christmas crowns. 👑

My brother-in-law made challah French toast and it was delicious!

Chocolate milk on the ferry. ⛴️

Painting in the kitchen always seems to last about five minutes max, but those five minutes make her happy.

Lily saw this gay mannequin at the store and said, “It’s daddy!” 😽

I’m always down for Chinese take-out, especially if it’s from a Szechuan place.

Visited the bug museum in Bremerton. My dad told me “Boris the Spider” is a song by The Who. The more you know. 🌈

Still thinking about how strange gecko feet are. 🦎

Are sea monkeys popular again?!

Checked out Trattoria on the island and loved the saffron veggie pasta. 😍

I love when the seals pop by to say hello when we’re out for a walk on the island. 🦭

Mushroom hunting in the yard is a great way to kill time with a busy toddler.

Aquarium fun with friends. 🐙🦈🪼🦦🪸

Teaching Lily about some influential women via a card matching game. 👯‍♀️

Living my best old lady life on the ferry: puzzles & bird watching! #blessed 🦆

Went floating in a hot tub boat in Seattle! 10/10 would recommend. 🧖‍♀️

Just in case you were wondering, Portage Bay Cafe is in fact still excellent, even after all these years. 😘

I will never get used to the gorgeous ferry sunsets. 🌅

Birthday & Chinese New Year brunch at Din Tai Fung. Red envelopes and fun gifts from yun yun.🧧🥳

I don’t always feel like getting out of my car on the ferry because of laziness, so here’s a shot of the space needle I took from the driver’s seat. 🌅

Julie came to visit and Lily demanded she take out her nose ring! I have a similar photo of Julie and I looking at each other when I was her age and she was Lily’s age so this photo makes my heart weep! 😭💕

Bagels from the best place & a chilly, wet walk down to the water. 🌊

I love clear winter days when the mountains are out. 🏔️

Monster Jam!! I can’t believe I went to a monster truck show, but it was awesome and Lily liked it, too. She brought her camera to take pics. Big fan of the lady drivers. 🦈

I almost felt guilty eating this adorable fox cookie. Blackbird has the best sweets.

Drove up to Kingston and played Connect 4 while eating chocolate ice cream.

After Adam’s 30-mile bike ride, Lily wanted to go for a bike ride, too. He couldn’t say no. (He’s not like other dads… he’s a cool dad.) 🚴🏼

Lily waiting for her triple shot of espresso at the Starbucks reserve in Seattle.

Pony birthday party. 🥳🐴 Lily was in heaven! Australians know how to party. They even had ferry bread!

Seattle at night is just as pretty from the ferry as Seattle when the sun is up. 😻

Whew, that was a big photo dump, and that didn’t even cover our trip to California at the end of the month! Pt. 2 coming soon… Would love to see more of what makes you happy in 2025! ✨