Monthly Favourites- January 2016

I have been so good about keeping track of my favourites this month. I received a little notebook for Christmas, and it is my official “favourites” notebook. This month has been pretty relaxing. I had one exam earlier in the month, and then I spent the rest of the month just hanging out. I took the free time as an opportunity to organize my life before school starts again and get some blogging ready to go (as you can see by my actual posting on time). It’s all been a part of my New Year’s goal that I spoke of in my last monthly favourites. I’ll probably write something about that at some point in February. I do think my favourites here are an accurate representation of what I’ve been up to.

1.       Room



[source]



 

This movie is based off of my favourite book, so I was so excited when I heard it was going to be in theatres. I went to see this movie last week, and there were only seven people in the theatre. It’s a hipster-type film, and I’m also pretty sure the other two couples in there were amateur movie critics. The only thing I can say is that I hope they liked it as much as I did. It is emotional wrenching, and I know I wasn’t the only one to shed tears. I was afraid the movie was going to lose the perspective that made me love the book, and I am thrilled to say it didn’t. I found out that the author, Emma Donoghue, wrote the screenplay as well, so that’s probably why it was so amazing. This is now my favourite film, and person I went to see it with said it was the best film he’s ever seen.

2.       T.G.I. Friday’s Jack Daniels Sauce

 

 

I went to T.G.I’s for the first time on a date at the end of December, and we specifically ordered off the Jack Daniel’s menu. Out of curiosity, we looked up the recipe for the sauce online, and found a great copycat recipe. Last week, we made it and had some awesome meals with it. It goes really well with chicken fingers, burgers, and meatballs. It would also go great with wings or ribs, but that’s a bit beyond my skill as a student chef. We absolutely loved this sauce, and I would definitely make it again.

3.       Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat

 

 

This has been on my favourites list last April, and I have been loving it again. My old bottle was getting to the point where it was all stringy and looked streaky on my nails. I was so upset because I realized how great it really was once again. I think it keeps my nails intact for much longer, and it doesn’t dull the shine on nail polish. That “Insta-Dri” thing is a true promise too. I don’t have the most patience in the world, and I’m not good at being lady-like with my nails when they’re drying, so this top coat has been a miracle for me. I simply had to buy another bottle because I actually missed having my good top coat.

4.       Amazon



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I have never discovered the glory of online shopping until this month really. I decided to order all of my books for next term from Amazon to save some money. It was so easy, and it has been great since then. I ordered a case for my Surface and my top coat from #3. I know I’ll be doing more online shopping once I get back to Canada. It’s a great way to save money.

5.       Hotel Chocolat

[via Instagram]

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but I have a severe peanut/nut allergy. It is always difficult to find good desserts that are safe for me to eat. Over Christmas, I received a few boxes of chocolate that I couldn’t eat. Once we got home, my boyfriend and I looked up chocolate places that are good with allergies. Hotel Chocolat has been amazing. Due to liability, they have the “may contain traces of peanuts/nuts,” but they also have on their website that they clean the moulds and surfaces before making chocolates without nuts. We also talked to the girl who was working there, and she said she had been to the factory and seen proof that they actually do that. She also said they have so many regulations for health that I felt so safe eating there. So we bought a few different kinds and OH MY GOD I have been in pure heaven. I’ve never had fancy chocolate before, and this is perfect.

So there was my month! In February, classes start again. Other than that, I don’t have anything else planned. We shall see what the month brings! How was your January?

-Daniella