Recently Enjoyed Things | February 7, 2025

Enjoying some unsupervised home projects.

BIG weekend over here. My husband goes on an annual skiing trip to Winter Park every February and while he is away, I always tackle a house project. Uninterrupted. Unsupervised. Unapproved. And before you feel indignant for my husband, rest assured that he doesn’t mind. Imagine coming home to a fully completed house project that you’d didn’t have to do a lick of work for!

Furthermore, 9 times out of 10, he doesn’t even notice. This is the appalling part. I painted half our room charcoal gray (feature wall!) a few months ago and he still hasn’t said a word about it (!!!). Two years ago, I painted our hallway that same charcoal gray and hung three huge ass pictures of our family and I swear, it was maybe two weeks ago that he gestures at them and says “is this new?”

And if that doesn’t convince you, if he’s around while I’m doing it, he’ll have…..commentary. Like, make sure you really sand that well before painting it. Or you’re doing two coats right? Because I think this spot could take another hit. Meanwhile, he’s not holding a paintbrush. Just commenting.

Look, he’s a good guy, he just can’t help himself, but having him comment on my work-in-progress is like having someone over my shoulder while I take a test - it’s not ideal. So I wait patiently for him to leave. I’ve managed to get my entire house painted over the years. I’ve had my wood floors refinished. I’ve had carpet installed. I’m a gal who can take action and I know my window is small, so I get after it.

So, while he takes risks this week on a ski hill in Colorado, so too do I, in the aisles of Home Depot. This weekend is sacred to me and I am so excited!

My office is my priority this weekend and here’s a look at it in its current condition. I don’t hate it here, but it’s ready for some zjush.

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But first, some housekeeping: there’s some affiliate links in here. But aren't they everywhere? Anyway, if you click on something and buy it, I might earn a commission at no cost to you.

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Recently Enjoyed

Reading

I’m passionate about reading and sharing books that are readily available at your library and don’t feature a waitlist 47 people long. So these are rarely new, hot releases, but if you’re intrigued, there’s a good chance for instant gratification at your library.

• A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles // Did everyone read this six years ago? You betcha! I found it at a thrift shop a year ago and had it on my hefty TBR pile ever since. No rhyme or reason to finally picking it up, but I did and I’m glad. The writing is effervescent. Our main character, The Count, is a delight. Witty, charming, and, I imagine, handsome. I’m only a few chapters in, but already enjoying it.

  • The gist: The year is 1922 and an aristocrat is under house arrest at a boujee hotel in Moscow. He’s directly across the street from the Kremlin, who have made it clear that if he walks out of the hotel, he’ll be shot. Luxury or not, imagine the cabin fever!

  • Related: my favorite key feature of any good book - there is a film adaption that you know I’ll be watching as soon as I finish the last page.

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Shopping

• House Projects // I hung a mirror last weekend and now I think I can do anything - ha! A couple things I ordered this week so I can attack other smallish projects over the weekend: heavy-duty command strip hooks for my entry way (no more coats on the floor!), screen cleaner (my TV is a hot mess!) and a gamble, Restore-a-Finish to perk up my wood cupboards. We’ll see how that last one shakes out!

• Related: I’ve recently decided that I need to make my home office more of as sanctuary. You know, dim lights, a flock of candles, and more specifically, a desk that fits everything I’m working on. Including that puzzle. I’m swapping my boring desk for a whole ass dining table, and just ordered this one. If I gotta work, I’m gonna enjoy it.

• Switching gears - spring wardrobe // I’m getting the itch to ditch (lol) my leggings and thick socks and layers of hoodies. I can’t do anything about the weather, but I can start dreaming about these linen pants (all the colors!) and this midi shirt dress that meets my favorite genre of workwear (comfortable, but looks suspiciously profesh). I’d put a belt on it, but that’s just me.

• Cheeky, cute t-shirt.

• ⭐ Some good sales at Abercrombie this weekend. I like this red sweater (but there’s a bunch of colors) + these jeans. I really feel like A&F grew up with me, like I was the target demographic in 2006, and I’m still the target demographic today. If only Aeropostale had gotten that memo. I’d still be doing the same loop at the mall today.

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Recent Saves

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Sending You on Your Way

(Interesting things I found on the internet this week)

• ⭐ Wondering how much of your favorite caffeinated bev you can enjoy before you die? Look no further than the Caffeine Calculator to determine your lethal dose.

• You guys, we finally have a date to count down to if you love White Lotus as much as I do. February 16th is officially the most important thing on my calendar. S2 was far superior to S1, in my opinion, and I’m hopeful that S3 continues in that direction.

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Last Week - In case you missed it:

Feeling bad for myself, tbh.

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PS -

I’d love to see you over on Instagram. You can find me at recentlyenjoyedthings.

I’m also talking books, beauty, and style over at recentlyenjoyedthings.com

Here’s a few things I wrote about recently:

• January Favorites // the top ten from the dumbest month of the whole year.

• Three Really Good Books

• Everything I liked and recommended, all in one place.

And if you enjoyed today’s newsletter, would you consider subscribing? I aim for one newsletter a week, and usually on Friday, so if I may be so bold, it’s a lovely treat for you inbox, just before the weekend.