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lately with lila february 2025 | a lovely month of love

Hello again, dear friends! I hope all is well for you, and if not then I hope brighter days head your way soon! I had quite a busy February, but it was a good month, so I can’t complain. Sadly, though, I didn’t really read much or watch anything, so this wrap up may seem a tad sparse in that area. I’m afraid I’ve hit a bit of a reading slump, but I’m hoping March improves my mood towards books. That said, I did manage to read a TON of wonderful and interesting blog posts and magazine articles, as well as watching a bunch of interesting YouTube videos. But enough of my yapping, let’s just dive on into what I got up to this past February…

what i posted

what i read

readathin check in

reading progress

❌Sadly, while I made a tiny bit of progress in my current reads, I didn’t manage to actually finish any books. Ah well, fingers crossed I’ll have better luck in March.

activities progress

✅Self Care Day Towards the end of the month, I spent a day with my partner, and, as an extrovert, it was exactly the kind of “self care day” that I needed to recharge. We started the day out by getting Afghan food, then went grocery shopping together, binged some TV, took a nap, and finished off the day with tacos—it was a relaxed yet lovely way to spend time together!

✅Declutter/Clean Something I actually did quite a bit of cleaning and decluttering during this past month, which is…suspiciously unusual for me? 😅 Our landlord had to visit to take pictures of the outside of our house for insurance something or another, so my mom and I took on the arguably momentous task of cleaning up our porch and yard in the middle of winter. Fortunately, we got it all done in the nick of time, and I’m so glad we’ve got that mess off of our list! Then, I decluttered and cleaned my desk…which promptly became messy again, so I had to essentially do the cleaning and decluttering version of “rinse, wash, repeat,” lol! Nevertheless, my desk is a little cleaner and neater than before so that’s good!

✅Do Something Creative This past February I learned some new knitting and crochet techniques, on top of using my bullet journal (including decorating spreads) regularly—soooooooo, does that mean I get bonus points for doing this activity multiple times? Haha! I had a great time with all of this, and found all of the creative activities that I engaged in managed to give me some moments of calm, which I appreciated greatly! I think it’s safe to say that this activity will be turned into a semi-habit that I’ll be keeping around!

❌Make A Spring Hopefuls List I didn’t manage to make any kind of “spring hopefuls” list, but honestly I’m not too worried as I’m not a very big list-maker in general (I’m more of a “go with the flow” kinda gal lol). I might use this prompt to inspire an upcoming post here on Hardcover Haven, though!

what i plan on reading

Honestly, I’m not quite sure what I want to read next, considering I’m in a bit of a reading slump at the moment. I might “try out” the first few chapters of a couple of books before deciding what to settle on, but for now I really have no clue where to start…

what i listened to

february 2025 playlist

This past month I discovered Italian Egyptian singer Lella Fadda through her COLORS performance of her single “Tarat Tarat Tat,” which I immediately added to my playlists! Her music is kinda a mix of hyperpop and Arabic rap, and she blends the two just perfectly! Lella Fadda was definitely my favorite music find of the month!! That said, I also loved the recording of Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl LIX performance (I never watch the Super Bowl, so I’m glad they made a recording), which was crazy good! Talk about setting the bar high!!! Another one of my music favorites of February was “Born Again” by LISA ft. Doja Cat and RAYE—such a fun song!

what i bookmarked

for bookworms

For fun

misc. favorites of february 2025

My mom surprised me with a cute Pothos plant that she saw me admiring, despite my loooooong history of killing plants (yes, even succulents). Despite said history of plant-killing, I’ve managed to keep this Pothos (which I’ve named Miss Jazzy) alive, so I’m quite proud of that! I also feel like Miss Jazzy brings a much needed pop of life to my bedroom, where I’ve placed her on my windowsill.

what i did in february of 2025

I’m happy to say that I had a busy, albeit relatively good, February! I managed to stay on top of my coursework for my Cultural Geography course and so far have gotten “A”s on every assignment! I’m really proud of myself for putting in the work and getting stuff done in a timely manner in this area of my life.

Aside from class, I had a nice month of spending time with my loved ones. A close friend of mine and I got together for a “craft exchange,” wherein she taught me the basics of crochet and I taught her the basics of knitting. It was lovely to see her, and I had so much fun, plus our craft exchange inspired me to learn even more knitting and crochet techniques, which I’ve been practicing ever since!

As I mentioned above, I also got together with my partner and we got Afghan food and spent time together, which was really nice. I know he’s been stressed lately as he’s a federal employee and the Trump admin and DOGE brigade have been wreaking havoc on his department. I’m really grateful that he thought to take some time to spend with me in his down time, since I know he hasn’t had much of it lately.

The month concluded with my first Choir concert of this semester. It feels like the turnaround for this performance was really fast as we had two weeks off in a row (a holiday followed by a snow day the next week), but we still managed to pull it off and do really well!

what i hope for in march of 2025

I honestly don’t have any solid plans for this March yet, but I’m hoping that as the weather warms up and spring arrives something will pop up.

That said, when it comes to my alone time that’s not consumed by my coursework, I’d like to possibly spend it working on arts and crafts, cozy puzzle books, reading, and maybe continuing to watch a few TV series. I’m planning on starting to work on knitting a funky scarf now that I’ve learned some new techniques, so that’s one thing I’m certain I’ll at least start the process on this upcoming month.

I’d also like to try and be more mindful of what I’m eating, namely through making more of my own home-cooked meals. I’ve had a lot of struggles with my physical health in the past year, and it’s becoming increasingly clear that my diet plays a role in this, so I’d like to take some small beginning steps to correct that. In addition, I’d also love to add some movement into my weeks. I’ve saved some basic beginner tutorials on YouTube for several different styles of dance, and I’d like to follow said tutorials at least twice a week to begin with. It’s a tiny start, but given the level of chronic fatigue and chronic pain that I experience on a daily basis, it’s a good start nonetheless.

spill the beans, friends!

How was your February of 2025? Did you read anything memorable? What’s on your TBR for March of 2025? Do you have any fun or cozy plans for the upcoming month?

Learn more the author of this post:

Lila @ Hardcover Haven
Lila is a 30 year old anthropology student and lover of literature who's been book blogging for an eternity. Her hobbies include reading, singing, writing, arts and crafts, and snuggling her two cats, Snoopy and Clementine.

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4 Comments

  2. I really enjoyed reading how February went for you and your bookmarked as well, it’s always nice to discover new booktubes and blogs

    Reply

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