Life Lately: January 2024

Life Lately is a new series I am introducing on the blog. It will consist of a recap of what I am working on each month, what I’m currently up to, future blog posts and an insight into my life behind the scenes.

I’m excited to introduce this new series as I started this blog right before the pandemic hit in March 2020. At first this was strictly a food blog and over the course of the years I decided to expand into lifestyle, wellness and design content. If you’ve been following me since I started my food blog, my old domain was vegetarianroots.com and it housed only recipes. Last year I rebranded my blog into Studio & Co. Design – an homage to my passion for interior design and all things lifestyle. This website is my virtual studio, where I get to play with content creation, share fun recipes, and things going on in my life.

I do work a full-time job and run this blog on the side, I don’t always have enough time to dedicate to my blog as I would like to but my goal in 2024 is to make this blog a priority. If you are someone that enjoys consuming content visually as opposed to reading, feel free to check us out on Pinterest, Instagram or TikTok.

Without further ado, grab a warm cup of hot chocolate and let’s dig into what’s happening this month!

Life Lately: January 2024 Studio & Co. Design Update

I’m excited to start writing blog posts and picking back up content creation. Within the past two years I have had such low motivation to create/develop recipes and even just writing a quick blog post. Working a full-time job while trying to run a blog on the side can be fun and rewarding but also very time consuming! Often times, after working 9-5, I just want to sit on the couch, watch TV and eat popcorn.

My goal for Studio & Co. Design in January and for the whole year is to start making it more of a priority which means figuring out how to balance my full-time job and scheduling time to create blog posts and content so that way I can show up consistently without feeling burnt out. My goal is to publish two blog posts each week on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s. I have many ideas percolating for what types of posts I want to create and cannot wait to share it with you all!

Currently Eating

I have been eating a fall harvest salad for lunch and dinner everyday on repeat. It’s sort of a mix between the Sweetgreen harvest bowl and Panera’s fuji apple salad loaded with sweet potato, crispy onions, goat cheese, honeycrisp apples and arugula with a white balsamic dressing, it feels like I’m eating candy for lunch and dinner but still filling and nutritious!

If you know me, you know I have a massive sweet tooth, for Thanksgiving this year I made Molly Baz’s Salty Honey Pumpkin Pie and it is hands down the best pumpkin pie I’ve ever had. The best thing about this pie is it’s made with a pecan crust that comes together quickly in the food processor, no finicky pie dough necessary! The best part of course is the salted honey pumpkin custard that gets flavored with the usual pumpkin pie spices but added with cardamom takes this classic pie to a whole new level.

I made this pie three times since Thanksgiving and I still am not sick of it.

Currently Watching

I have been watching House M.D. on repeat. It is my favorite comfort show to watch (aside from Friends.) I remember tuning in on Monday’s at 9:00 PM when I was just twelve years old to escape into the world of Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital to watch House and his team diagnose the latest complicated case that wouldn’t get solved until ten to fifteen minutes were left of the episode where House has his “House Moment” and finally realizes what’s wrong with the patient. While House is one of the best diagnosticians for infectious diseases, his ability to read and psychoanalyze people is unbelievably remarkable.

This month I watched A Walk to Remember, it’s free on YouTube with ads. I haven’t watched this movie in years and it had me sobbing my eyes out. I don’t typically watch romantic movies especially Nicholas Sparks movies, but Mandy Moore and Shane West’s chemistry is so palpable, I could feel every emotion Jamie and Landon were feeling.

Some other TV shows I have on my list to watch include:

Gossip Girl – I used to watch this when it first came out, but eventually lost interest. I cannot wait to tune into the scandalous lives of Manhattan’s elite!
Gilmore Girls – I’m probably the last person on the planet who has yet to watch Gilmore Girls, however it has really good reviews and I’m trying to expand into watching other genres of television aside from mysteries, thriller and crime.

Life Behind the Scenes

When I’m not working my full-time job or working on the blog, I love spending time outside even though it’s winter. I’ve been trying to make a habit of going out for a walk during the day just to get myself outside and away from the computer.

I started writing in my journal daily and it has tremendously helped with getting out how I am feeling throughout the day. I use to write in my journal frequently when I was in college, and slowly stopped as I started working full-time which was almost eight years ago. It has done wonders for my mental health, also I keep two journals – one for just dotting down my thoughts and how I’m feeling and one for my content creation.

Being able to write down blog post ideas, photoshoots and video concepts has helped boost a creative spark in me that I have been needing for the past two years.

This month, I’ll be travelling to San Diego for a girl’s trip with my best friend from college. I’m excited to be in warm weather in January, the winters here in New Jersey are unbearably cold. I cannot wait to try In-N-Out for the first time, it will also be my first time visiting California! I can’t wait to share photos of my trip with you all!

Nala

As for Nala, she’s living her best life as per usual. With the long winters ahead, she’s getting a head start on her naps. She loves playing with her feather toys and occasionally chasing her own tail. If you’re interested in keeping up with Nala, she’s very active on TikTok!