february digest

the best things I read, watched, shopped, saved, and ate in february — including a marathon novel I'm still thinking about, my new approach to meal planning, and the show I can't look away from.

Mar 12, 2026

The monthly digest is a summary of the best things I have read, watched, listened to, saved, shopped and considered each month. As usual - she’s a bit long, so you might want to check out the browser version or expand in email.

Does it really count as a February digest if we’re almost halfway through March? I’d like to think it does, since to me, the entire month of February feels like being a day late and a dollar short. This year in particular, February felt like the extinction burst of the longest, hardest winter I can remember since moving to Seattle. In addition to the rain, grey, and general postpartum of it all, it was one battle after another with toddler illnesses, schedule changes, and growing pains as we settled into a new normal as a family of four.

We ended the month on our first trip with the new little one, a short but sweet long weekend to the beach. When we returned, it was like an exhalation; blooms had begun while we were away, with the first daffodils in our backyard planter and daylight savings a cheerful underline that we had made it through the big dark. I’ll be cutting flowers and placing them all over our home as long as I can – a reminder that there are brighter days ahead.

Lets get to it,

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style sessions: spring break three ways - outfit inspo & packing lists for whatever spring break has in store!
second rodeo - what I learned & how I approached my second pregnancy differently
coffee with... kait santos - on building a portfolio career from the ground up, soaking in gratitude after a hard season, and going towards what makes you feel good inside.
morale is low, vibes are bad - inspiration from the trenches
5 things for february - a new format for the sunday edition!
coffee with... alex friedman - on intentional joy, managing perfectionistic anxiety, and bringing delight to others with community and comedy.
january digest - rapid fire tv and movie recommendations, the only jeans I’m wearing postpartum, and a peek at my open tabs.

books

I talked about The Strength of the Few by James Islington in the January digest – and I ’m going to be honest y’all it took me almost all of February to actually finish it. The book is *long* (something like 32 hours on audiobook?) but immersive - the split perspective storylines grew on me immensely, and the cliffhanger at the end has me anxiously awaiting book 3.

I absolutely tore through Playground by Richard Powers, author of my favorite book of 2024, The Overstory. Where The Overstory focuses its sprawling story on the magic of forests and the battle against climate change, Playground turns its focus towards the oceans and the development (and existential question) of artificial intelligence. Perspectives shift from an multi-billionaire AI developer to a female pioneer in scuba diving and oceanic discovery, to the mayor of a tiny motu in French Polynesia faced with Silicon Valley investors bringing industry to their island and back. The story is a love letter to the oceans, a cautionary tale about AI and the stories we tell, and an invitation for all of us to protect our earth. Love, love love, loved it.

Currently reading: one of my most anticipated releases of the year, Brawler by Lauren Groff. An undisputed queen of short stories, this collection focuses on the endless battle between our dark and light. Each story stands alone, striking and immersive, characters and setting fully alive in just a few paragraphs. But, taken together, the collection absolutely sings.

kids books

Rapid fire! What the World Could Make by Holly M. McGhee is a sweet celebration of nature and the seasons, following two bunnies as they marvel and appreciate everything the world has to offer. Ways to Welcome by Linda Ashman & Joey Chou is a lovely book for school aged children that highlights all the different ways to welcome, celebrate and be kind to others. What Do You Do With A Problem by Kobi Yamada & Mac Besom was a really lovely book for the “threenager” phase – the book has great visuals to help a kiddo understand how problems can feel, and how talking about and trying solutions to the problem can help it go away.

Another stunning option for spring – The Monarch by Kristen Hall and Isabelle Arsenault, which follows generations of monarch butterflies from egg to caterpillar to butterfly to migration and back.

open tabs

Arts, Culture & Technology

The reporter who tried to replace herself with a bot - loved (and hated?) this real time experiment to see if AI can really come for your creative job.
Warning Signs - what drives the men who make - and abuse- AI?
How Can ‘Love Story’ Get Away With This? - The New York Times (gift link!) - appreciated this clear and direct rebuttal of Love Story’s treatment of Darryl Hannah, from Darryl Hannah herself.
Do Normies Have a Right to Read ‘Heated Rivalry’ Fanfic? | GQ - people be normal about HR challenge…
Inside Industry’s Brutal, Bespoke Wardrobe | GQ - Industry S4 was impeccable and I loved this deep dive on the costumes!
What ‘America’s Next Top Model’ Was Really Selling -

Health & Wellness:

Yes, Slow Charity Runners Are Worthy of Spots in the NYC and Boston Marathons
Harry Styles Is One of Us
You Can Always Just Decide That You’re So Back - @ marua brannigan, i cannot express how much I needed to read this.

Motherhood & Parenting:

Boredom Is the Price We Pay for Meaning - The Atlantic

As one does in the postpartum period, I’m still watching a lot of tv, usually in the middle of the night. We’re going rapid fire one liners because otherwise you’ll be here all day.

Smash: Have been loving every minute of S2 of Paradise (Hulu), which somehow manages to continually exceed the already high expectations from S1. I’m loving the expansion of the world outside the bunker, and the continued peaks at how different characters experienced and survived an extinction level climate event.

Begrudgingly enjoy: Love Story (FX on Hulu -reviewed here). I maintain a “leave these people alone” posture.. But the show is engaging and stylish. Similarly, I can’t look away from Neighbors (HBO) – a late night docuseries about small-scale feuds between neighbors, from a battle over beach access to conspiracy theorists and preppers duking it out over shared land boundaries.

I may never stop talking about how much I enjoyed Sentimental Value (reviewed here) - a recommendation for the Big Feelings girls among us. I was also surprised by how much I enjoyed Eternity, although I maintain that the only right choice was escaping with the best friend to Paris.

Superman was exactly what I wanted out of a superhero movie, and nothing more. Shoutout to Nicholas Hoult as petulant, whiney billionaire Lex Luthor. If I Had Legs I’d Kick You was an extremely hard watch, but Rose Byrne belongs in the complex, unlikable female characters hall of fame (bonus points for casting Conan against type so aggressively).

February was a month of getting back in the swing of things – my husband officially went back to work, and our meal train from when my daughter was born finally ended (endless thanks to so many friends who brought us so many excellent dinners!).

To make things feel a little more “fun”, I started planning weekly menus with some prepped breakfast & lunch options, a fancy coffee, some snacks, and dinners for the week. I’m targeting four cooked dinners per week (plus one to two nights of leftovers or pantry/freezer meals and one night of takeout). These menus are currently optimized for ease and efficiency – usually one slow cooker or instant pot meal, one sheet pan meal, and one pantry staple / throw it all in a pan meal. Any higher effort meals are for weekends or days with childcare. I also shoot for at least one plant based meal (but have been trying to hit two).

I’ve been sharing the weekly menus and recipes with paid subscribers on the Sunday edition – if you’re interested in trying a paid subscription, check out the spring sale!

20% off spring sale

Some major winners from this month’s menus: Made the White Chicken Chili + Cornbread, Sheet pan chicken & potatoes with lemon & dill, and Salmon miso rice bowls,at least three times each. This garlicky lemon & chickpea soup is a fab plant based soup with mostly pantry ingredients that comes together fast and freezes very well. The entire fam can’t get enough of the @what to cook Souvla-inspired chicken salad (is especially great for weekday lunches) and Greek style sheet pan gnocchi. My friends thought I’d gotten into the edibles when I described the chicken caesar pizza sandwiches (but it’s just really good and realllllllly easy). Inspired by my recent vacation, I will be downing Iced Coconut Americanos until further notice (let it be known this has been a thing long before the viral nyc coco americano!)

I’m officially out of the fourth trimester (wild!) and getting my feet back under me as it pertains to ~fitness~. While I have never known a day of chill in my life, I am doing my best to slow down and take this postpartum smarter, not harder.

I started taking a regular “foundations” pilates class at my local studio, and it occurred to me that despite doing pilates for over a decade at this point I have been doing many of the exercises not quite correctly for many of them. If you’re a reformer pilates girl (especially if you err towards solidcore/ other lagree classes) I highly highly recommend taking a few traditional reformer classes – It’s deeply humbling but actually getting corrections from a knowledgeable teacher is a game changer.

I’m also working my way back into my usual strength training routine with the ladder app – I switched to team embody, a pilates based program, to emphasize unilateral movements and target core work. To start dipping my toes back into cardio,, I have also been doing an “at-home barry’s bootcamp” style approach once or twice a week – I do the workout as programmed, but add in 10 minute walk-jog intervals on the treadmill in between the blocks. The result is a workout that feels hard without being overwhelming – but is still satisfyingly sweaty enough to keep me from doing too much too soon. Highly recommend if you’re postpartum (or unwilling to pay for Barry’s bootcamp classes).

wearing

I am nothing if not an outfit repeater – the most worn item of clothing in my closet continues to be the j.crew rollneck sweater, but this butter yellow cotton cashmere cardigan and cableknit rollneck in a soft lavender are tied for a close second. I practically lived in this incredibly comfy one piece on our recent vacation, paired with an oversized white linen button down and a pair of pull on linen shorts.

Also reporting back per some of your requests – I’ve been extremely happy with the rain jacket I finally caved and bought earlier this month – it’s cute, it’s definitely waterproof, and I haven’t overheated despite running around after a toddler while lugging a baby in a carseat. A PNW win.

using up & restocking

Used up and immediately repurchased my go-to crown affair volumizing shampoo & conditioner: I have a ton of (fine) hair and find the bundle lasts me about 3.5 months which feels extremely reasonable to me! (you can check out my full haircare routine here, and let me know if you’d be interested in a more indepth post!!)

I received a mini kit of the Tata Harper Regenerative Cleanser + Resurfacing Mask combo during a holiday favorite things exchange with friends and absolutely loved it. I snagged the full sizes after finishing the kit this month — especially since I’m postpartum and haven’t been able to use a retinol in over a year at this point, it’s been really lovely to do the 5 minute facial once a week or so to brighten and gently resurface my dry winter skin and pp melasma without getting too crazy.

links you loved this month:

Crown Affair Dry Hair Duo – I swear by this leave-in-conditioner / overnight repair serum combo. Bonus: they last *forever*.
Left on Friday Sunday Suit & Sunday Top + Hi Hi Bottom: my go-tos!
Dae Cactus 3-in-1 styling wand: baby hairs *who*
Otter Avenue Toddler Line: I was delighted by this new line from Carter’s – Zara Kids styles with much friendlier pricing (and materials).
The AYR Half Day Tee - somewhere in between a t-shirt and a sweatshirt, she’s perfect for early spring.

that’s all for me today! see you in (the rest) of march for more sunday menus, two new coffee with interviews, and a semi-academic deep dive on sleep.

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