unlike november, which felt like it lasted a year, i’m pretty sure i blinked and december was over. between marathon weekend, two trips, and christmas, the month flew by.

december highlights.

starry nights / a christmas carol at theatre memphis / st jude memphis marathon weekend / awesome week in london and barcelona / hello, dolly! at the orpheum / quick trip to key largo with chrystal and pat / another few days with sol the pup

december books.

december was a light reading month on my end: i only finished 1 book in its entirety which brought my 2019 total to 31 books [6 more than my initial goal of 25].

futureface: a family mystery, an epic quest, and the secret to belonging by alex wagner. i am a sucker for any book that promises intrigue, and this one certainly delivered. alex wagner’s tale of her journey to discover the hidden stories in her heritage was interesting, educational, and eye-opening. the child of a “generic white” father and a burmese mother who grew up never really fitting in anywhere, wagner set out as an adult to uncover family secrets and prove – mostly to herself – that she is actually the future of humanity. she has a very unique voice, and it often felt like i was sitting next to her listening to her narrate her story. i loved it.

currently reading: brené brown’s rising strong. i closed out 2018 with daring greatly, so it seemed only fitting to stay on theme.

the best things i watched.

season 3 of the marvelous mrs maisel! i love amazon’s original series, and i was so excited when season 3 released.

on my flight from london to boston i watched espn’s 30 for 30 episode of pony excess which tells the story of the ncaa giving smu football the death penalty in the late 1980s. i knew bits and pieces of the story, but i learned so much from the documentary.

on my flight from boston to atlanta i watched blinded by the light. directed by gurinder chadha [of bend it like beckham fame], this tells the story of javed, a young muslim boy growing up in luton, england, in the 80s. he loves music and poetry and dreams of getting out of his small town and seeing the world, but he has to balance that with the dreams his immigrant father has for him. i really enjoyed following his adventures, and i loved learning that it’s based on a true story.

katie and i saw knives out the weekend before christmas, and we loved it. it’s a dark satirical whodunit, so it’s not for everyone, but i thought it was brilliant.

and finally, i rounded out the month with amazon prime’s 8-part series modern love. i really enjoyed each of the short stories, and i especially loved that it was also kind of like a love letter to new york city. can’t believe it took me so long to finally watch it.

the best things i saw on the internet.

journalist colin woodard has identified 11 different cultures dividing the united states.

emily nussbaum’s best tv shows of 2019.

all the languages spoken in new york city in map form.

the universal language of kids’ games.

katie couric’s piece from 2017 about navigating the holidays amidst loss and hurt.

ashlyn harris and ali krieger got married and the pictures are beautiful.

i can’t believe i’m typing this, but happy 2020!

xx