The Cats & Coffee Curated Content Series
Welcome to the January 2023 edition of my weekly Cats & Coffee’s Curated Content Series! This series features weekly short-form content round-ups of articles, videos, podcasts, and Instagram accounts that inspire and entertain me or make me think. In short, I find content that is worth your time so you don’t have to! This month’s Curated Content Series highlights include dream literary dinner party guests, the best and worst historical costumes of 2022, and an amazing folk singer to discover on Instagram!
Favorite Finds of the Month
Cats & Coffee’s Curated Content Series: January 25, 2023
Article: How to Declutter Your Home Room-by-Room, According to Pro Organizers, Michelle Mastro for Architectural Digest
Plus, the worst offenders that take up precious real estate
Decluttering one’s space sounds easy, but it’s rarely a one-and-done job. Architectural Digest shared a guide to decluttering your home one problem area at a time, though, and I am hoping to take some of the tips to heart. (I say this as I stare at my cluttered coffee table, covered with books, magazines, and half-started crochet projects….)
Besides the general tips the article provides, I like the storage solution bins and organizers they share as well. Their solution for a cramped space under a bathroom sink reminds me of my pantry organization guide, since they recommend a similar Lazy Susan style turntable as I found works for my pantry!
YouTube Video: Weekend Update ft. Aubrey Plaza, Amy Poehler and Bowen Yang – SNL
Ever a fan of Parks & Rec, I was excited to see SNL’s latest Weekend Update segment with Aubrey Plaza and Amy Poehler. The actors reprised their Parks roles of April Legate and Leslie Knope respectively, and Aubrey Plaza hid laughter throughout. The embedded video below should start just before Aubrey’s segment:
Parks & Rec Themed Finds
Instagram Account: @noondaydesign
A friend of mine shared Tracey Coon’s Noonday Design Instagram account with me (this image in particular) the other day and I immediately knew I had to share her art with you all for my Curated Content Series! Tracey is based in Orlando (my home town!) and has worked with a variety of businesses for design collaborations, especially in the greeting card space.
Tracey’s artistic style features lots of adorable and colorful animals, with patterned geographic elements throughout. I, of course, love all of her cat themed pieces the most, but she creates art around a variety of other animals, as well. I am especially loving her plant and cat art crossovers — such fun designs!
Follow Tracey Coon’s Noonday Design on Instagram for lovely pet-themed and punny art. Tracey’s art is available on a handful of online platforms, including Redbubble and Casetify!
Cats & Coffee’s Curated Content Series: January 18, 2023
Article: 17 Foods You Should Buy When They’re on Sale, Margaux Laskey for The New York Times
And inflation-friendly recipes for how to make the most of them once you have them.
I’m not sure about you, but I’ve been a bit shocked with my grocery bill as of late. Despite buying the same types of products in the same quantities, the costs have crept up and up. That’s why this article from The New York Times caught my eye.
Laskey talked with budget experts about what grocery items to buy on sale and how to make the most of them in your home cooking. I find the tips on fruits and vegetables to be the most helpful for me, as a vegetarian. I never thought to put fresh greens in the freezer, but it make sense that you could do that with spinach and then add to smoothies or soups!
P.S. the article mentions using apps to track prices. In the same vein, I love using apps like Ibotta and Fetch to get cash back on products I’d be purchasing anyway. Learn more on how I use these these two apps work for grocery rebates here.
Podcast: The Southwest Airlines Meltdown from The Daily
I’m on a bit of a podcast kick again lately, and Brett had an awful time flying for a work trip this past week, so this episode of The Daily about the issues Southwest Airlines has been having seemed appropriate. This quick episode discusses the air travel mess over the holidays, and details how and why so many flights were cancelled. All in all, a really interesting discussion of how reliant we are on and powerless to control anything about air travel.
Listen to The Southwest Airlines Meltdown episode from The Daily here.
Instagram Account: @wildflowerhomeblog
I came across Marynn’s Wildflower Home account when looking for house decor inspiration for our new home. I was immediately struck not only by the rustic and artistic designs she highlights in her decor, but – as a lover of all things green – just how much green she used!
Beyond Instagram, Marynn shares detailed blog posts of decor projects, before-and-afters, and Pinterest inspiration round ups on her website here. I particularly love the Pinterest round ups, which have so much amazing design inspiration!
Give Marynn and Wildflower Home a follow on Instagram here. Check out the Wildflower Home blog for more!
Cats & Coffee’s Curated Content Series: January 11, 2023
Article: ‘Sanditon,’ ‘Tom Jones’ & More Female-Led Period Dramas to Watch in 2023, TV Insider
Since Dangerous Liaisons ended (and apparently for good, unfortunately), I’ve been missing my weekly costume drama. Luckily, I came across this list of female-led period dramas to watch this year from TV Insider.
Photo Credit: PBS (Emilia Schüle in Marie Antoinette)
From a Masterpiece adaptation of The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling by Henry Fielding to the final season of Sanditon, based on Jane Austen’s final and unfinished work, there are plenty of great gowns and characters to look forward to. I’m particularly excited for the Bridgerton prequel about Queen Charlotte, as well as a new PBS series on Marie Antoinette that aires in March.
Read ‘Sanditon,’ ‘Tom Jones’ & More Female-Led Period Dramas to Watch in 2023 on TV Insider here.
Podcast: In no Way Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire | Noble Blood
Have you ever wondered how the Holy Roman Empire got its name? If you think about it, really, it’s not Roman, it’s no an empire, and while bonded by religion, it produced a great deal of violence. In last week’s episode of Noble Blood, Dana Schwartz goes into the history of the Holy Roman Empire, discussing where the term came from (largely, a vulnerable pope) and why it seems to be primarily what we know of today as Germany.
Listen to Noble Blood’s episode on the Holy Roman Empire here.
P.S. If you’re looking for more great history podcasts to listen to,
be sure to check out all of my favorites here!
Instagram Account: @tender_is_the_read
With her account, Bernadette of @tender_is_the_read shares her love of classics, mythological reads, and lovely bookstagram moments. Based in the UK, Bernadette often shows her followers around the UK and abroad, maintaining a natural light academia vibe throughout.
I love that this account highlights so many great classic novels, which tend to fall by the wayside, I think, once we leave school (at least, they have for me). She shares contemporary novels, as well, though — especially mythological retellings. I’m particularly drawn to her reel about books to get you into Greek mythology here, for example.
So, whether you’re looking for reading recommendations or bookish photography inspiration, @tender_is_the_read is a must-follow on Instagram! You can also follow along with what Bernadette is reading from her profile on The Story Graph here.
Cats & Coffee’s Curated Content Series: January 4, 2023
Article: The Dinner Party Writers Dream Of, By the Book Series from The New York Times
Some authors are better on the page. Others, though, promise a rollicking good time. For a decade, we’ve asked authors which writers they’d like as dining companions. Here’s what they told us.
To celebrate the tenth anniversary of their By the Book series of author interviews, The New York Time shared the results of a dream dinner party poll. Throughout the series, the interviews have asked authors what three writers (dead or alive) they would want to invite to a dinner party.
Image Credit: Millie von Platen for The New York Times
Tolling the answers from the 10 years of interviews, Shakespeare was a top choice, closely followed by James Baldwin and Mark Twain. Toni Morrison and Jane Austen were the top female authors in the list, but certainly not the least.
YouTube Video: Ranking 2022 Historical Movies & Shows on Costume Accuracy | Bernadette Banner
For fellow fans of historical shows and films, I cannot recommend Bernadette Banner’s 2022 historical movies and shows costume accuracy round up enough. It feels a bit unfair to list it as a video since it clocks in as a short movie at an hour and thirty-eight minutes, but I promise it’s full of awesome costume discussion goodness from start to finish. The rankings run from: “tis peak” (the best), “gets the job done,” “it was a design choice,” “they tried (affectionately),” and “this ain’t it” (the worst). I loved the discussions of shows that I know and love, and the video also gave me a few more series to add to my watch list!
Instagram Account: @missmalindakat
For my first must-follow Instagram of 2023, I present to you @missmalindakat! I first came across Malinda on TikTok (pretty sure this was what I heard her singing first) a while back and immediately fell in love with your hauntingly beautiful music and song covers.
Malinda describes her music as “folky things with lots of reverb,” and many of her moodier videos are shot with candlelight, adding to the drama. If you’re a fan of Celtic music, this is a great account for you to follow. Beyond that, though, I also love finding new artists through Malinda’s work — like Noah Kahn, thanks to this awesome cover she did.
Give Malinda a follow on Instagram for all the folk music goodness, and be sure to check out all her songs on Spotify here! I’ll embed my favorite songs of hers below here:
Want more great finds like these?
Explore the December 2022 edition of my Curated Content Series for more great reads, listens, and Instagram accounts to follow.
