I’m not really sure why, but I’ve always loved the Festivale event in Animal Crossing. It was extra fun this year, and I especially love the float I was rewarded with for catching lots of flying feathers!
Author: amanda
Valentine’s Day in the Time of COVID-19
The Ottoman Garden–February (Redux)
Sartorial Saturday–ColourPopxAnimalCrossing
When Colourpop announced they were doing an Animal Crossing collaboration, I could hardly contain my excitement:

It felt like an eternity passed before I could place my order (actually, Ryan was the first one to get through to the checkout…yes, we were both at a computer in an attempt to make sure one of us could purchase the collection, because I was not going to miss out!), and another eternity went by before it arrived…but it finally did. It’s one of the cutest packages I’ve ever received:

And the individual packing is also adorable:

The collaboration includes a beautiful gold glitter, six lip tints, a super shock shadow, two blushes, and four mini eyeshadow palettes:
It’s my favorite makeup ever!

I’ve especially had fun playing with the eyeshadow palettes. I’m not particularly good at doing eye makeup (I’m still trying to figure out how to do winged eyeliner correctly, and don’t even get me started on my eyelashes!), but I created a look for each one of them.
I love to sparkle!

It’s been almost a year since I was first introduced to Colourpop, and it’s become my go-to makeup in that time (when I wear makeup, anyway…masking makes that a little challenging), but I never dreamed that they’d create a collaboration that is so perfect for me!
2020-21 School Year–Week Twenty-One
Hymn of the Week–“Lift Every Voice and Sing” (Lutheran Service Book #964)
We made it through another week of February!
Turkey and Bunny used the first derivative to find optimizations in calculus. They learned all about the structure of the eye in advanced biology…but we postponed the eye dissection lesson until a later date. They took an abbreviated Myers-Briggs questionnaire in psychology. We’re getting close to the end of A Tale of Two Cities.
Ladybug continued using the quadratic formula in algebra, and she also learned how to complete the square. She finished her study of Treasure Island. She and Chickadee learned about the Holocaust in history, which is a hard topic to teach and learn about. She also read Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. We began reading about the Bill of Rights in her study of the US Constitution.
Chickadee continued to review division in math. I introduced her to prepositions in grammar. She started a literature study of Charlotte’s Web. We also started reading More About Paddington. In science, she learned more about pterosaurs.
Today, we had a half day of school, and worked on a new Lego set in the afternoon:

We’re looking forward to Mardi Gras next week!
Chickadee Thursday
Wordless Wednesday
Tasty Tuesday–Cooking Through a Pandemic, the Eleventh Month
This is the penultimate month of a year of pandemic cooking. I certainly didn’t intend to do this for an entire year, but I also had no idea what a pandemic would look like or how long it would last when I began.
I guess after the last wrap-up, which was full of holiday meals, this one is pretty tame. We did celebrate a birthday and Burns Night in the last month-plus, and had a few family favorite dinners along the way, too.
Of course there wasn’t as much baking as last time, but we still made quite a few treats, including our traditional Epiphany baklava, a birthday truffle tower, and an amazing white chocolate lemon cheesecake:
Next month, I’ll finish up this year of pandemic cooking…I’ll probably cheat a bit, and wait until closer to the end of month to wrap things up, to make sure both of our family’s March birthdays get included in the summary!
Quote of the Day
“Please. A woman of my age can face reality far better than most men.” Maggie Smith as Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham on Downton Abbey
Quote of the Day
Does anyone else feel like we should hang a sign with this quote on Earth?
“Welcome to our disaster. Glad you could come.” Anthony Daniels as C-3PO translating for King Manchucho in Star Wars: The Clone Wars