Hi friends, welcome back! January is always my least favorite month. The post-Christmas blues paired with the cold, gloomy weather makes for a long thirty-one days. We were major homebodies and only went out to eat once! Last year was our busiest year in the books, so we’ve enjoyed having a slow start to the year. The weather has also been pretty nasty so we’re especially happy to not worry about any travel issues. In between all the football we’ve been watching, I’ve been reorganizing our apartment and it feels good to start the year clean and fresh!
On to my post 🙂 I’ve been linking up with the first blogger I ever read, Shay Shull, for my What’s Up posts. Each month I’m answering the following questions:
What I’m eating: I’ll be posting my first NYC Foodie Friday of the year this Friday. Lately instead of going out we’ve enjoyed having dinner parties with our friends in the neighborhood. They made us some mussels, clams, and shrimp al Diablo and Chef Jon made a lasagna with homemade noodles they rated 30/10. After such high praise they’ll definitely be welcomed back 😊
I will also toot my own horn (this is my blog so I’m allowed 🙂 ) because I made some of my best peanut butter cookies and dinner twice. I used this cookie recipe although I opted not to roll them in sugar because there is already plenty of sugar in there. I also made some salmon bowls on my grill pan and just used a basic teriyaki marinade. Next time we will add edamame and other fun toppings to our bowl. Lastly, I faced my fear of touching raw meat and made these turkey meatballs. They were quite tasty, but I much prefer rolling cookie dough!
What I’m reminiscing about: the time NYC got absolutely dumped on with snow in 2021 & 2022. We’ve had a few winter weather warnings, but they only produced two inches of snow at most. I just want one big snowfall so I can take more pictures of Central Park.
What I’m loving: my blog! I started my blog in January 2018 and six years later I’m still at it. I’ve experienced a lot of big life moments and I’ve loved sharing it here with you all. I truly appreciate all the kind comments and taking the time to see what I’m up to! Here’s to many more years of Lyssy in the City 🙂
Favorite post of the month: Mount Titlis, the day and the views couldn’t have been any more perfect!
What I’m Up to: I’m almost done reorganizing the kitchen and I think it turned out pretty good! A few before and afters:
What I’m working on: my Switzerland series! It is the prettiest place I’ve ever visited and I love reliving the memories while I work on my posts.
What I’m excited about: we’re going on a Greenwich Village food tour next month that should be delicious!
What I’m watching/reading: we finally saw the Barbie movie and I really liked it, especially the dance numbers. We didn’t love Maestro, we thought it was pretty slow. We enjoyed season two of the Gilded Age and our favorite show right now is The Middle. I’m looking forward to Abbott Elementary returning!
Books I read this month:
- Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
- The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer
- Yoga Pant Nation by Laurie Gelman
What I’m doing this weekend: we’ve got brunch Saturday and some more organizing
What I’m looking forward to next month: it not being January! Also, one of Jon’s New Year’s Resolutions is to scope out towns we might want to settle down in one day, so we’re going to take a day trip out to Connecticut and drive around.
What are you looking forward to in February?
A great wrap up Lyssy and what can I say….peanut butter cookies, my favourite. I hear you on the pretty created by new snow. We got to +13C here yesterday and our snow is all but gone. We also liked the Barbie movie, but while we appreciated the skill at creating Maestro, it was too artsy at times. Have a wonderful day and a great Feb. Allan
Peanut butter cookies are always a great idea! Oh wow that is warmer than here, and they say climate change is a hoax… I agree, I can see how it was skillfully done, but it didn’t seem made for the average movie watcher.
Hi Lyssy, new reader here. The photos of the mountains in Switzerland are great but I love the snow in NYC photos even more! Those peanut butter cookies looked amazing as well! Thanks for sharing:)
Hi Grace! NYC sure is magical when there is fresh, clean snow. Those cookies are so tasty. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
We just had a potluck get together with friends last night and it was so much fun; a great way to fill those dreary January nights! Your cabinets are looking great. I love that feeling of taking a messy area and making it all neat and organized.
It is nice to be cozy indoors with friends, especially when there is good food! So happy January is over. Thank you – I only have a few closets left and then I am done with my organizing. Just have to figure out where to donate it all so I’ve got a big pile in my closet.
Do you want to come organize my kitchen too? Haha! I’m also super excited for Abbott Elementary to return! Happy (almost) February!
I do love organizing! Send me a ticket and I’m there 🙂 So happy it is finally February! Abbott is such a happy show to have almost back.
I’ll come for the next lasagna dinner party!! 😊
It’s a can’t miss event! 🙂
😊
Jon’s lasagna looked great! Congrats on the kitchen reorganisation and it’s February tomorrow!
The leftovers were even better! We’ve even kept it nice and organized. So happy February is finally here, I enjoyed ripping January off my desktop calendar.
Leftovers are always the best.
We needed a streaming rec so we’ll give “The Gilded Age” a try – thanks. Have you watched “Fool Me Once”? Really good mystery on Netflix (tho’ the rest of the Harlan Coben adaptations don’t look worth the watch). The shellfish dinner looked wonderful. I like anything in a shell except snails and oysters. Kudos to Jon on the lasagna, which photographs as well as it probably tastes. Finally, couldn’t help noticing the “chocolate shop” in one of your cabinets. You have willpower – wouldn’t last long in my own cabinet!
I really enjoyed “Gilded Age”, especially after visiting Newport. I have heard good things about “FooL Me Once” but we haven’t watched it yet. I am still warming up to things in shells, but I did try it and it was good! The lasagna was even better the next day too. The chocolate shop made me laugh, that is all my baking chocolate. You will notice there are no peanut m&ms in there, those are my weakness. Also I told my mom Jon liked Recess so we each got a big bag in our stockings.
I love your winter photos, Lyssy. The snow-covered landscapes of New York City create a truly enchanting and picturesque scene. I also love how tidy your cupboards are now. We all know the pain of digging around at the back of a corner unit to find the right lid for the saucepan — and it’s never the first one you come across. Thanks for sharing and happy-almost-Fenbruary 🙂 Aiva xx
Thank you! NYC is magical after some fresh snow. You are very right, digging through untidy cabinets is enough to make me not want to cook. Now it’s so easy to grab the pan I need 🙂 Happy February!!
I haven’t seen Barbie yet 🙆 That’s great that you’ve seen two Oscar nominated best pictures….❤️
I like putting Barbie in the background when I am baking or cleaning, the colors are so bright and fun in the dreary weather we’ve had.
I agree: I don’t like January, either! Thankfully, it went by a bit faster for me this year, as half of it was travel. 🙂 Sounds like a cozy time indoors for you, and I hope the rest of the year looks up! Have a great 2024 ahead!
January is more fun when it is broken up by some travel! It was a cozy month, nice to be home and relax. Thank you, hope you have a great 2024 too! 🙂
I think it’s the best policy to stay snug and warm indoors as much as possible in cold, gloomy January. Your peanut butter cookies sound really yummy!
I agree, it’s the perfect month to rest up from all the busyness of the holidays. The cookies are nice and soft too!
January is the best time to organize, I am the same way! Your cookies look delicious, and it is always fun to create dishes from home too. Your New York snowy photos look like a winter wonderland, beautiful!
It’s nice to start the year clean and organized! Jon said those were the best peanut butter cookies he’s had, they were so delicious! NYC is just magical when there is a pretty snowfall.
Your pictures are so gorgeous! And that food all looks delicious!
Thank you! It was a delicious month 🙂
I agree that January is a good time to stay indoors after the December lights have gone out. In Paris I’m lucky to be blessed with so many museums and exhibitions, more than I have time to see them all. I continue to read your Swiss series with interest.
It seems Paris has an endless supply of museums, the perfect winter activity! I really need to get to some in NYC. Switzerland was a dream!
Can I come to yours for dinner? Looks DELICIOUS 🙂 I’m hoping you get than longed for Central Park snow! I have everything crossed for you that the rest of 2024 is your year x
I’ve got a plate with your name on it! The weather doesn’t look too promising, but you never know. Thank you!!! Same for you! xxx
Those cookies look amazing! I totally agree about January. But at least the days are starting to get longer now.
As soon as February came the sun came back out and it made such a difference! Those cookies were nice and soft too, it was a great recipe!
That lasagne looks amazing, I’d say 30/10 is about right. Also the cookies are quite mouthwatering too. We watched Barbie recently and we loved it too, more than perhaps we expected. Maestro is on our watch list. Last night we saw Anatomy of a Fall, a great film, we both enjoyed it very much.
That lasagna was a labor of love! I like to put Barbie on in the background because I love the bright colors and Ryan Gosling cracks me up. I call it “Baking & Barbie”. Anatomy of a Fall sounds intriguing!
Seems like January was still a fun and productive month! Those peanut butter cookies look absolutely delicious, and it’s great that you cooked a lot instead of going out too! The before and after of your kitchen cupboards are so beautiful! I wish mine looked like that too! I hope you have a wonderful month of February
That lasagne looks great!! We did a Greenwich Village Food Tour and really enjoyed it….