When I started writing this post, I had been very much enjoying a slow and mindful start to January. Ben and I had taken a few additional days off after the kids went back to school and kindi; we went to one of our favourite coffee spots, did some big picture planning and thinking, finally got around to lots of those boring jobs that had been niggling at us and generally enjoyed a more chill, hussle-free start to the year than we had in a while.

The next time I visited this draft, I was procastiworking during a narrow window of desk time – both kids were home with fevers, I had a deadline looming, a laundry pile growing, and the kind of bone-deep exhaustion that can only come with being woken at 2am, 4am and 6am.

But in between those two extremes, January delivered some gems.

Three cup-fillings things that left me feeling excited, curious, enriched and inspired:

• My beautiful buddy Maeve hosted a Mother Nourishment ceremony for some mamma friends and I, and it was truly gorgeous – more on that here.
• Wonderful Galway photographer Siobhan Coyne hosted She Belongs, an evening of fun chats and connection with so many inspiring women.
• I went to see Hamnet with some mamma friends, and could not stop thinking about it.

Books, TV, podcasts and more

Reading…

• Rosarita by by Anita Desai. Short, wistful story that paints a brief, beautiful, and vivid snapshot of Mexico.
• The Wedding People by Alison Espach . This was recommended by Dee Stevens, who has excellent taste and whose brilliant newsletter The Dee-Brief always contains so many gems and it was so, so good. Gripped me from the first page and didn’t let go.

Listening to…

• Olivia Dean’s The Art of Loving is my go-to way to start the day right now. Ditched Spotify for Qobuz and, bonus, the sound quality is glorious. 
• Still loving Amy Poehler’s Good Hang. Fun, funny and warm.

Watching…

• The Pitt. Season 2 kicked things off with a bang. Kind of glad it’s dropping weekly, not sure I could handle bingeing it.
• Also really enjoyed Marcello Hernández’s (aka SNL’s Domingo) new comedy special.

Tinkering with…

• 3D prints. We got Ben a 3D printer for his birthday last year and we have loved custom printing so many useful (and yes perhaps one or two not-so-useful) things for around the house.
• A walking pad. I have this one from Galway biz The 925 Fit. Combine it with a 90s R&B playlist and it’s my new favourite way to get through email.
• Rainbow rice. My go-to when kids (or, more likely) grown-ups are feeling frazzled.