Hey Bookworm friends! Reading-wise and blog-wise February was a very slow month. My laptop has become so untrustworthy that I dread opening it up. It’s kind of old, the battery is shot, and the cord has a mind of its own so it just shuts off at random intervals. Because of that, every computer task now requires double the time and triple the patience. 🙄 I think the time for a new one is swiftly approaching. Luckily my attention was mostly elsewhere this month. Between a trip to Colombia and an intense pre-spring cleaning spree, I had other things to do.
I recently joined BlueSky. Find me at darkshelfofwonders.bsky.social 🖤
February Highlights
- The first week of February, I went to Colombia with my husband and family to celebrate my cousin’s wedding. We went to Cartagena and it was a short trip but very sweet. Most of my family was there, which was exciting because large family gatherings like this are infrequent. We split our time between parties, walking around the old city doing touristy things, and reading by the pool at the hotel. One sad thing did happen: my jewelry got stolen from my bag on the way there! Most of it wasn’t even valuable, just emotionally significant for me so I’m still devastated but I didn’t let it ruin the trip!
- I went through my entire wardrobe making donation piles and cleared out my childhood closet. It took me two days, but it feels so good to get rid of like 20 years worth of piled-up stuff! I have no clue why I kept so many school assignments, from grade 7 all the way to my Master’s degree 😂. If you need a sign to start your spring-cleaning early, this is it 😉!
- I signed up to be a panelist for 2025’s Book Blogger’s Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA)! This will be my first year participating and I could not be more excited! If you’re interested in joining as a panelist, sign-ups are open until May 4th. If you’re an author wanting to enter the contest this year, submissions close on April 27th.
What I Watched In February
The list of things I watched in February is eclectic. I started watching Helluva Boss and so far it’s fine but I’m not loving it as much as I love Hazbin Hotel. This weekend, I watched a few Queer Eye season 9 episodes with my mom. I used to watch every season but now I only watch occasionally when she saves them to watch with me.
When I go on planes, I like to watch comfort movies, so on my trip I picked The Fellowship of the Ring. And of course we continued our Doctor Who journey and we’ve arrived at the current Doctor. So far I’m not very impressed with the start, the introduction hits you in the face with an info-dump sledgehammer. I understand they’re trying to draw in newer fans, but as a recent fan, the revival in 2005 handled an introduction for new fans in a much subtler way.
Finished Watching
- Queer Eye (S9)
- Fellowship of the Rings
Currently Watching
- Doctor Who (S11 to S14)
- Helluva Boss (S1)
Games I Played in February
- During reading week, we took a break from Baldur’s Gate 3 and switched gears to replaying Overcooked 2 (including all the DLCs). We like to revisit it for special occasions as it’s one of our favourites. We have 3 stars on every level, and we decided aiming for 4 stars is way too difficult! Even so, we managed to snag a few on this playthrough.
- We played Magic: The Gathering with friends several times this month. Usually, they prefer to play the commander format. I played my ‘pirates’ deck with “Mary Read and Anne Bonny” as the commander. And also my ‘demons’ deck with “Ob Nixilis of the Black Oath” as commander.
- As much as I enjoy playing Magic, I can only handle so much of it. So for the next game night I requested we play something different and got to try Concordia! It’s a strategy game where you develop your economy during Roman times. It’s one of those games that’s not hard to learn but hard to play well because there’s a lot of advanced planning involved. I really liked it and I would play it again!
Around The Blogosphere
- SFF Title Challenge Possibilities TBR: (Charlotte @ Bewitching Books, Ravenous Reads)
- Top Ten Tuesday ~ Established Couples (Nicole @ BookWyrm Knits)
- STEMinist Romance Books (Celeste @ A Literary Escape)
- Books with Relationships for People Who Don’t Love Love: 2025 Edition (@ Witty And Sarcastic Book Club)
- I’ve set up a BookTube Channel! (Louise @ Foxes and Fairy Tales)
- Deep Dive into Heat Levels (Lottie @ Damsel in Delight)
Review:
- Where Shadows Bloom by Catherine Bakewell ARC Review (@ 24h. YABookBlog)
I encourage you to visit some of these lovely bloggers 😊!
Let’s chat in the comments!
What’s a highlight from your month? Did you try any new games in February?
Sorry to hear about your jewelry! You and your hubs have an even larger height difference than me & mine. XD
Thanks! it was a bummer, but I reconciled myself to the fact that they’re gone. Ahah yeah it’s kind of wild, I’m 4′ 10″ and he’s 6′ 😂 You have a big height difference with your partner too? I’m guessing you’re the tall one?
The Colombia trip sounds fun, esp since it was for a wedding.
And that sucks about your computer. If it’s a PC that’s not running Windows 11, the hiccups may be timely. Microsoft will stop supporting Windows 10 and older versions after October this year.
Oh yeah, it was so fun, I enjoyed myself so much and I hadn’t been in years so I soaked it all in!
Ugh, my computer has been driving me nuts lol. I don’t know what system it’s running to be honest I’m not great with computer stuff lol But I suppose I better find out ! Thanks for the info, I think I had heard about that!
It was lovely seeing some more pictures from your trip. It looks like you had a fantastic time whilst there. The fireworks and food look amazing, the buildings are beautiful and the fireworks display looks impressive too. I’m so sorry to hear that your jewellery got stolen though. How horrible. I kind of relate to your laptop struggles too. Mine had a phase of turning itself off and although I think I’ve figured it out I don’t trust it. Plus it makes a horid noise at times. Options wise I hate trying to figure out which is the best new one to go for though. I’ve been looking and seen such contradictory statements 🙈
I kind of relate to the Schoolwork thing. I’ve kept some as it can be nice to look back at but I got rid of loads a while back as some of the things made me wonder why on earth I’d kept them 😂 maybe we both just stuffed it into storage when sent home with it??
Yay the BBNYA panelist thing sounds like fun. Congratulations on getting included 🥰 I look forward to hearing about the books and your experience.
I can’t comment on the latest Doctor Who (or the two prior to that) as the storylines went off course for me before reaching that point. I’m sorry to hear you’re not a fan atm though. And I love the sound of Overcooked 2 but have no one to Co op with 😞 I’m glad you had fun though.
Also thanks so much for linking to my post ❤️❤️ and I hope you have a fantastic March.
Thanks so much and yess the food was so yummy, I was happy to be eating lots of Colombian food and I was completely stunned by the fireworks!
Oh geez, I’m sorry your laptop also gave you issues that’s so annoying. Mine is old enough that I just think it’s running its course and there isn’t much point to troubleshoot it, I’m gonna use it until I can’t anymore, I think. lol You’re right though that it’s hard to find the replacement that feels right, good luck with that!
haha yes you’re right some school and artworks are nice to keep and I have gotten rid of some through the years but even still I had a massive pile! Yeah, that’s probably it, just automatically put it in my folders.
Thank you, I am so excited because I keep seeing posts for various indie book competitions and I wanted to join in haha 🙂 I will for sure be sharing as it goes through the year!
That’s fair, I bet there’s a lot of people who stopped watching before then! Ah yes, Overcooked can be played by yourself too, though I found it hard because you have to control both cooks yourself! lol
My pleasure, wishing you a magnificent March! 🥰
Aww it sounds wonderful 🥰 definitely a trip to remember ❤️
Thanks, it’s the same with mine tbh. I hope yours doesn’t cause you too much trouble 🤞it’s a nightmare when they start playing up.
It can be hard narrowing down what to keep sometimes to be fair too. You half worry you’ll end up missing something you chucked out.
Ooh sounds fun 🥰 it’s lovely finding something you want to join in with like that. Enjoy 💗
Maybe I’ll get on better if/when I go back and watch it from the start of the reboot but I kind of doubt it 😂 oh wow sounds tricky then. I’ve loved cooking games in the past but never tried one where I’d have to control two people at once 😅
Thank you 🥰
For sure a trip to remember, the fact that my husband started talking about ‘next time’ before we even left lets me know he really loved it too which just warms my heart!
Oh my gosh that is so annoying, I hope you can get yours sorted soon. We caved and ended up getting a new laptop for me which arrives soon so I’m excited!
You nailed my feelings exactly, it can be hard to guess what you might miss years down the road. lol.
Yess, thanks so much 🥰!
Yeah I feel like if you haven’t wanted to go back and rewatch from the start you probably won’t and there’s nothing wrong with that, you gotta follow your interests and can’t possibly watch everything 🙂
haha yeah it’s not easy!
🖤
Looks like you had fun in Colombia! It looks like a dream 🥰 I used to love the earlier Queer Eye seasons, but I still try to keep up with it, as it’s a comfort watch for me 😊
It was so delightful, I wish I was there still haha. Yes for me too! It’s such a feel-good show and I cry at almost every episode. Since I don’t have Netflix anymore, I can’t watch it as much as I used to, but it’s a nice treat when I do 🙂
I love the photos from your trip, how fun that must have been😁 And nice to see family that you don’t get to see that often. I guess March has a lot to live up to!
I do really savour those family reunion moments 🥰Ahaha Yes March does have a lot to live up to but I think it will be great for different reasons, hopefully more reading and to a more consistent routine. & Thank you!!
Yay for a fun trip (that wedding centerpiece is gorgeous!), but boo for stolen jewelry. Glad you were able to still enjoy the trip and looks like you had a fabulous time 🙂
I went through and got rid of sooooo many college papers last year – like, why? Why did I really need EVERY NOTE I took in every class? lol … I did keep a few of my favorite essays, but it was a giant pile that went missing 😀
Sounds like February was a great month, and I hope March will be even better!
The wedding as a whole was so pretty and the amount of flowers they had was honestly jaw-dropping. Thanks & indeed I did! 😀
Ahaha hilarious and I see you can relate! Same with me, I even kept chemistry homework, I didn’t even LIKE Chem! Awe so you don’t have your favourite essays anymore? 🙁
Thank you, I hope you have a delightful March as well 🖤!
Looks like a nice trip to Colombia, though I’m sorry your jewelry got stolen! That’s so frustrating. 🙁 Also, thanks for linking to my STEMinist books post!
Thank you, I really appreciate that ♥! And my pleasure, I really thought it was a fantastic topic and post!
thanks for linking to my blog <3
My pleasure 😀 !!