Lifestyle of a Fashionista

2/2/24 Volume 3 Issue 5

Five on Friday

February 2, 2024

“Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” – Ibn Battuta

One: 2024 Travel

We’ve arrived at the second month of 2024. Dry January is over. The groundhog didn’t see his shadow, and you’re ready to work on your travel plans. February is an excellent time to begin to plan some fun trips.

Read more in my post: Plan Your 2024 Travel

Two: What to Watch

It’s February, the month to watch some of your favorite rom-coms. Last year, I wrote two posts about rom-coms. I’ve updated The Rom-Com Part 1 with updated information about how to watch them. 

Hulu has the most rom-coms available this month. I will add a few of my favorites, as well as some newer rom-coms, to the what-to-watch lists each week this month.

Netflix:

Read: January new releases from Tulum and from Vulture.

Alexander the Great (Documentary), Combining expert interviews with gripping reenactments, this docudrama explores the life of Alexander the Great through his conquest of the Persian Empire.

On Netflix: From Entertainment Weekly, The 18 best romantic comedy movies on Netflix A few of my favorites Netflix originals:  “Ibiza: Love Drunk” ,“Always Be My Maybe” , “Set It Up”, and “Holidate”

Love Again (2023 rom-com), stars Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Sam Heughan, and Céline Dion. The film also features several songs by Dion and a cameo from Chopra Jonas’ real-life hubby, Nick Jonas. Coping with the loss of her fiance, Mira Ray sends a series of romantic texts to his old cellphone number, not realizing it was reassigned to journalist Rob Burns. Rob becomes captivated by the honesty of her words in the beautifully constructed texts. When he’s assigned to write a profile of superstar Celine Dion, he enlists her help to figure out how to meet Mira in person — and win her heart.

Love at First Sight (2023 rom-com), On their flight from New York to London, Hadley and Oliver fall in love with each other. However, they lose each other at customs and the possibility of ever meeting each other again seems improbable, but destiny may have a way of changing the odds.

Rom-com favs:

It Could Happen to You (1994)

Sixteen Candles (1984)

My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997)

It’s Complicated (2009) and Something’s Gotta Give (2003)

13 Going on 30 (2009)

She’s All That (1999)

Max (HBO):

January 2024 from Vulture

Dicks: The Musical (2023 film)

On Feb. 4th: Curb Your Enthusiasm (season 12, the final season). If you’ve never watched the show, here are some recommendations from Esquire, 20 Best Episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Ranked

Rom-coms:

The Notebook (2004)

Just Like Heaven (2005)

Legally Blonde (2001)

Serendipity (2001)

Hulu:

New on Hulu: January 2024 from Vulture.

Genius: MLK/X (limited series premiere), a NatGeo docudrama premiered Feb. 1, tells the stories of two of the most influential American civil rights leaders: Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr.

FX’s Feud: Capote vs. the Swans (limited series premiere), The second installment in Ryan Murphy’s FEUD anthology, FX’s FEUD: Capote Vs. The Swans is an eight-episode limited series based on the bestselling book Capote’s Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era by Laurence Leamer.

Love & WWE: Bianca & Montez, complete season 1 (Hulu Original), Bianca Belair and Montez Ford embark on the road to WrestleMania. As Montez continues his ascent, Bianca fights to hold on to her title. With the support of their tight-knit friends, family and fellow superstars, the duo pulls off the impossible.

Next Level Chef (season 3 premiere)

Farmer Wants a Wife (season 2 premiere)

What’s Love Got to Do with It? (2022 rom-com), Zoe is a documentary filmmaker who uses a dating app that only delivers an endless stream of Mr. Wrongs. For Zoe’s childhood friend and neighbor, Kaz, the answer is to follow his parents’ example and opt for an arranged marriage to a bright and beautiful bride from Pakistan. As Zoe films his hopeful journey to marry a stranger, she begins to wonder if she might have something to learn from a profoundly different approach to finding love.

More rom-coms:

Hitch

Knight And Day

Pretty Woman

Valentine’s Day

What’s Your Number?

Disney+:

New on Disney+: January 2024 from Vulture.

Choir (docuseries), Choir is a 6-part documentary series following the kids of the Detroit Youth Choir as they prepare for the performance of a lifetime.

Genius: MLK/X, season 4, episodes 1 & 2. Read the description in Hulu.

Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (season 2, new episodes)

Amazon Prime:

New on Amazon Prime Video: January 2024 from Vulture.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (series premiere), The remake of the 2005 action comedy stars Donald Glover and Maya Erskine as married spies in New York City.

Rom-Coms:

The Sweetest Thing

Some Kind of Wonderful

Peacock:

New on Peacock: January 2024 from Vulture.

Bosco (Peacock Original film), Based on the incredible prison-break story of Quawntay “Bosco” Adams.

Rom-coms:

Sleepless in Seattle

The Five-Year Engagement

The Wedding Date

Bros

Made of Honor

Apple TV+:

New on Apple TV from Digital Trends

Killers of the Flower Moon (2023 film)

Paramount+:

New On Paramount+

On February 4th: The Grammy Awards at 8 PM (also on CBS)

In Theaters:

Argylle (action/thriller), Reclusive author Elly Conway writes best-selling espionage novels about a secret agent named Argylle who’s on a mission to unravel a global spy syndicate. However, when the plots of her books start to mirror the covert actions of a real-life spy organization, the line between fiction and reality begin to blur.

Scrambled (comedy/drama), Perpetual bridesmaid Nellie Robinson always finds herself between weddings, baby showers and bad dates. With her biological clock ticking, she decides to freeze her eggs and embark on an empowering journey of self-discovery.

The Promised Land (western/thriller), In 18th-century Denmark, impoverished war hero Capt. Ludvig Kahlen sets out to tame a vast, uninhabitable land on which seemingly nothing can grow. This beautiful but forbidding area is under the rule of Frederik De Schinkel, a merciless nobleman who realizes the threat Kahlen represents to his power. As a new community starts to settle in, De Schinkel swears vengeance, leading to a violent and intense confrontation between the two men.

Three: What to Wear

A nice bathrobe:

Do you love a hotel bathrobe and wish you had a nice one at home?

From People, The 18 Best Bathrobes of 2024, Tested and Reviewed

Four: What to Read or Try

Taking off outside shoes at the door:

I’ve been trying to do this ritual for several years, keeping my outside shoes at the door and only wearing slippers or house shoes in my condo. The rule is not to wear indoor shoes or slippers outside your home. I bring slippers to continue this habit in my hotel when I travel.

From Rank & Style, 10 Pairs Of Slippers That Will Make You Think Twice About Putting On Real Shoes

From The Cut (2022), We Should All Be Wearing House Shoes

Five: What to Do

Celebrate Black History Month:

From NatGeo, Every February, people in the United States celebrate the achievements and history of African Americans as part of Black History Month.

From The New York Times, The Home of Carter G. Woodson, the Man Behind Black History Month

From The Boston Public Library: Black Is… 2024: 75 Books for Children, Teens, & Adults

From Barnes & Noble: Black Voices

In Boston:

Complete the Boston Black Restaurant Challenge

Visit the Museum of African History

 40 events just for Black History Month

Shop:

In Boston: Black History Month Black Business Pop-Up 

From PureWow, 60 Black-Owned Fashion & Beauty Brands to Shop Now