The January Edit: What I've Been Loving This Month
A monthly favourites post in Substack form for all!
January is SHOP YOUR WARDROBE month over on ‘The Wardrobe Edit’, a four-week-long content calendar that perfectly aligns with a January ‘no-buy’ or if you want to take a moment to press pause, reconnect with your wardrobe and fall back in love with what you already have. To gain full access to all the posts and the end-of-month styling toolkit download I’ll be dropping; you can upgrade to a paid subscription (THANK YOU!). Along with all the content I’ve posted this month, you’ll unlock over 200+ posts stacked with styling ideas, tips and formulas…
Back in the day, I used to make ‘Monthly Favourites’ videos on my YouTube channel. Seeing as that’s now morphed into mostly vlogs (check out the archives and subscribe if you fancy - there are 15 years’ worth of videos for you to sink your teeth into!), I’ve been missing doing a round-up of general bits and bobs that I’m just desperate to share in some way. So, I thought perhaps Substack was a suitable format for a monthly drop of things I’ve been loving. Let’s test it out, shall we? Here’s my first Monthly Edit, featuring my favourite things from my new towels, to the TV shows I’ve been glued to, always unlocked for everyone to read…
The perfect leopard print bag*. I cannot believe I bought this bag* and stupidly returned it last year. It then went promptly out of stock, and it wasn’t until this month it arrived back, and I instantly pressed purchase. I have no idea why I initially returned it; it’s probably the best leopard print bag I’ve seen on the high street. The pony hair adds texture, and it’s a beautifully deep and rich leopard print. The size is good - not too big, nor too small and I feel like it could be a good evening bag, too (although the clutch bag version* looks FAB).
The only fitness app you need. Over the years, I’ve had many fitness phases, but there are only two things that have stuck around for any length of time - Reformer Pilates and Peloton. I am a sucker for a fitness app - I’ve truly downloaded and tried them all - but I always go back to Peloton. Pre-sleep meditation? Check. Pilates? Check. Stretching classes for someone who can’t touch their toes? Check. But it’s their strength classes that are my favourite. I like the 20-minute ones that either focus on upper body or lower body. All you need are three levels of dumbells; I have a 7kg, a 5kg and a 3kg pair, and some space to move around. As someone who just can’t be arsed to head to a gym, this is my way of throwing some weights around, often in my PJs, in the comfort of my own home. There’s a link to try the app for free for 60 days here.
A very reasonable workout T-shirt*. I first tested the UNIQLO AIRism T-shirt* as part of my white T-shirt testing series. And honestly, I hated it. It was tight, scuba-like and not the kind of tee I’d want to wear with jeans at all. However, I held onto it because I had an inkling that it would make a great workout T-shirt and spoiler - it does. It’s £20, comes in a great range of colours (I’ve since expanded my collection to include black and brown) and is the kind of top you’d pay triple the price for in Lululemon. My new workout uniform is an ARKET Sports Bra*, with one of these tees over the top, with my Lululemon Align Pants*.
What I’ve been prepping for lunch. Dinners I can do, but I need breakfast and lunch to be as quick and easy as possible. That’s where this recipe comes in. It’s technically a sweet potato and farro salad with kale, but I never make it that way. Really, you just need some kind of orange veg - I usually do butternut squash, some kind of green leafy veg - I like cavolo nero because I find it the easiest to prep, and a grain - I like to do quinoa, either a packet just emptied in, or cooked fresh if I have the time. I’d suggest pairing it with the Creamy Tahini Dressing; it’s worth the extra faff. I pop a little honey in it to stop it from tasting so sour. The prep takes an hour, but I can usually make it last five days, and sometimes I prep a salmon fillet or some feta cubes to go with it.
Rivals on Disney+. Deleting TikTok off my phone this month has been a *revelation* and has given me hours back of my life as I retrain my brain to enjoy long-form content again. Instead of scrolling once we put the little man to bed, we’ve been switching on the TV and what a good time of the year to be in hibernation mode. TV is cracking right now!!! I’m a little behind on this one as it was released last year, but Rivals is a delightful ’80s romp based on a Jilly Copper novel, and yes, it’s chocker full of sex. It’s fun! The costumes are a polyester delight, and I love all the retro props. I devoured it in a matter of days. Who’d have thought I’d be deeply invested in a Danny Dyer romance plot?
Severance on Apple TV+. Possibly the best TV show I’ve ever watched?! I’ll admit that the start of season one is slow - I wasn’t instantly hooked. But the final episode of the season is one of those TV episodes where I wish I could wipe my brain clean and watch it for the first time again (I’d like the Severance procedure for watching Severance, please). It follows a team who’ve undergone a procedure that separates their work self from their non-work self and what it means to have an ‘innie’ and an ‘outie’. After a three-year wait, season two is here, and I am eating it UP.
Everything you need to know about the celebrities you don’t. I’ll admit that whenever someone gives me a podcast recommendation, I smile politely as it goes in one ear and out the other because, for the past 10 years of my life, I have listened, pretty much exclusively, to just one podcast - Who Weekly. With two episodes a week (plus a 90-minute Patreon episode!), I listen to a solid four hours of Lindsey and Bobby on a weekly basis, prattling on about U.S. celebrities I don’t even know!! And I wouldn’t have it any other way. This month, they celebrated their 10-year anniversary, and I’ve listened to every single one (fun fact: it was first recommended to me at a Glossier event by Morgan Von Steen, who was Emily Weiss’ Assistant at the time!). It’s the perfect way to switch my brain off whenever I’m travelling/cooking/doing my skincare.
Speaking of which, this Vitamin C Serum* rocks. I went a bit wild on the Medik8 website on Black Friday, and although I feel like I picked VERY well - all but one product will be an easy repurchase for me - this Vitamin C serum* is the real star of the show. Previously, I’d never really got on with that category of serum, not enough to have it be part of my daily routine. But the texture of this one feels luxe. It almost goes on like an oil but is so light and easily absorbed that I’m ready for my next step by the time I’ve brushed my teeth.
A great brush for spreading concealer*. You know I love Beauty Pie brushes. Their Pro Angled Cheek Contour Brush* is one of only a small handful of brushes that I use whenever I’m wearing makeup. They are such good value for the price, and this one is no different. It’s smaller than the cheek brush and has just the right amount of give in it for blending a pot concealer - like the Glossier Stretch* one. You know when you want to do that Katie Jane Hughes thing of blending in a concealer to almost act as a foundation? This is the brush you need for that… and it’s £12.
Hear me out, but foot cream for your hands. Look, it’s peak dry hands season, so it’s the time of year when I start slathering on the traditionally thicker foot creams on my hands, too. I stumbled across this hack by accident one night, but the L’Occitane Shea Butter Foot Cream* works like a dream for this and paired with the Shea Butter Nail & Cuticle Nourishing Oil*, so far, I’ve been able to dodge chapped, sore hands.
I bought new towels, and I love them. The shelf life of towels upsets me (although the Dogs Trust accepts towel donations, so that’s where I took mine!), but it was time to update our crusty ol’ ones that had seen better days. I spotted this design* last year in M&S and took a little trip there to stock up. I’ve gone for a mixture of this checkerboard style* (the bath sheets are deliciously HUGE) with these in the shade ‘Rust’* and these bath mats in the ‘Stone’ colourway*. As much as I love a fluffy white towel, my self-tan addiction requires an alternative.
My new favourite chill-out vlogs. One of the best parts of Substack is discovering people I’ve never come across on the Internet before and then being able to gobble up all their content. Case in point: Gabby Whiten. I’m sure you’ve already come across her ‘Oh Eight’ Substack, where she produces a magazine-esque spread ‘The Weekly’ featuring her musings and reviews of the week. But did you know she produces content on YouTube, too? Personally, I like watching vlogs that bear zero resemblance to my actual life, which means a Gen-Z-er living in New York is *right* up my street. Her vlogs are chill and upbeat, and I note down every single one of her skincare recommendations because that girl GLOWS.
The thread to read if you want a book recommendation to get you out of a reading slump. Never has a thread lit up in the group chat quite like this one! I’ve just worked through the Booker Prize-winning ‘Orbital’ by Samantha Harvey, and honestly, it just wasn’t for me. I needed something snappy to get me out of my rut and well, you all delivered. THANK YOU! In the end, I picked up ‘The Dry’ by Jane Harper*, although I feel like it might be time to give in to the ACOTAR hype finally...
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Loved this Anna! Crunch crunch x
Anna, tysm for the callout to donate old towels to animal rescues! I volunteer at a senior dog shelter and we go through so many towels every shift. Also, loved the book thread in your chat.