January 2025
a look back
Hey friends! This will hopefully be a new series here on The Back Fence where I do a catch-up/look-back on the month just gone.
READING: so much! This month, I have read six physical books and four audiobooks. My top pick of January is The Last Illusion of Paige White by Vanessa McCausland. I loved it so much and I still think about it almost daily!
PLAYING: noughts and crosses with Sadie. She is actually terrible at it, which makes me laugh. She is so carried thinking about her next move that she doesn’t see when I am about to win. It happens almost every game!
WATCHING: Over the Summer, I started re-watching Hart of Dixie and finished it last weekend. I loved it just as much as I did the first time I watched it about 10 years ago. It’s an easy watch with very loveable characters.
TRYING: to read 100 books this year. I usually set my goal of a book a week, and in the last few years, I have read more than that, so why not aim high? I am hoping that having a bigger reading goal will help me break the habit of reaching for my phone any time I have a moment to spare.
COOKING: nothing of great interest. I am in. a cooking/food lull right now. I will say that the Aldi boneless butterflied chickens are really good. That, with some salad and bread, is the level of effort I am going to most days.
EATING: still focusing on protein, and my snack of choice right now is making my own Chobani Flips. I buy the bigger pots of vanilla chobani and crush three Oreos on top. It’s really yummy.
PINNING/SAVING: If you were to look at my latest pins, you’d find mostly nail, hair and outfit inspo. There are a few salads thrown in for good measure, too
MAKING: a 2025 mood board. That’s it at the top of this post. I have never made a mood board, but after I read of a few people online doing it, I wanted to give it a go. I made mine on Pinterest; it was pretty easy and a lot of fun. I have saved it as my phone and laptop screen saver and it makes me happy every time I look at it.
LOVING: other people finding joy in my kids. Blake went away with his mate's family, and when I picked him up, having another mum tell me how much they love having him around and that they can’t wait for his next visit just burst my heart.
DISLIKING: getting a summer cold. Having a drippy nose is so gross and annoying when the rest of your body is sweating.
ENJOYING: hanging out with my music-loving pals for the 10th year in a row, listening to Triple J’s Hottest 100. We all look forward to this day so much, and having hours and hours of sitting around talking, music, and laughing is so much fun.
FEELING: sad that two of my favourite podcasts have decided to call it a day. Friendlier, probably my all-time favourite podcast and one that has been so comforting to me, has ended already, and last week, The Cookbook Club announced that this would be their last season. It’s weird how attached we can become to people we don’t know, isn’t it?
LISTENING: to quite a few audiobooks. I borrow mine through the BorrowBox or Libby apps. My fave of January was Rachel John’s Outback Reunion. In my opinion, it is the perfect rural romance, and once I started listening, I couldn’t stop.
INSPIRED: by one of my online faves, Meghan Splawn, to get back into recording my meal plans. I did this from late Jan through to about June last year, and over the weekend, I had a look back over the meals I was making, which was pretty much the same shit I’m making now, lol! Meghan also inspires my journalling practice, which I have been doing a TON of!
ADMIRING: the way Sadie’s cat, Layla, snuggles up to you. She almost always has to be touching you if she is near you.
BUYING: school supplies for Blake and Sadie because the longest school holiday is almost over!!!!
DOING: the bare minimum. Friends, the Perth heatwave, aka Summer in full, non-stop effect, is sucking the life outta me. I don’t feel bad about doing the bare minimum, there will be time for more effort but now is not that time.
WORKING: on strengthening my wrists. My wrists let me down a lot while I am lifting weights or trying to do push-ups, so I would like them to be stronger/better.
WEARING: I am still struggling with finding my mid-life style, but when I put this outfit on, I felt pretty good. The top is actually a dress I have had for over 10 years that used to be blue before I bleached it white, and because it is so transparent, I hardly ever wore it, so I cut it into a top. I think I will get so much more use out of it now. The shorts are old Kmart ones from a few years back, and the shoes are new. They are not my usual style, but I wanted to try something different and something that is comfortable. These slides are both of those things
And that was/is January. I doubt anything of great note will happen in the next three days before February (the REAL start of the year if you ask me) comes and cranks the heat up even more. I will probably finish the book I am currently reading (my first ever Jodi Picoult!). I will definitely run out of tissues if my nose keeps running like it is. And it is a given that I will need to buy more watermelon because everyone in the house cannot get enough of it.
What’s your January been like?
Talk soon xx
Great start to your year!
Denyse x
Beautiful moodboard ❤️