AK Month-to-month Recap: January 2026

A brand new yr is upon us. After my very busy December, I didn’t depart the town of Prague as soon as within the month of January. And it was glorious.

Additionally this month, Adventurous Kate turned sixteen years previous. WOW.

Let’s check out the most effective of January 2026!

Locations Visited

Preventing ICE

Earlier than I get into the same old recap, I need you to assist me elevate cash for immigrants in the USA who’re being terrorized by ICE.

I’m giving freely 4 45-minute seek the advice of calls to individuals who make donations to organizations preventing ICE: particularly, authorized help and mutual help organizations serving to immigrants.

I cost so much for these and NEVER give them away, however this appeared like an excellent purpose to take action.

You’ll be able to select between the next:

• Journey seek the advice of, the place I assist you plan a visit
• Weblog seek the advice of, the place I assist you together with your weblog
• Social media seek the advice of, the place I assist you together with your social media
• Or only a name the place we speak about something (inside purpose)

I selected organizations that assist immigrants with authorized help and mutual help in Minnesota, in Maine, and nationwide.

Step 1: Make a Donation

Listed below are the 5 locations the place you possibly can donate:

1. Immigrant Legislation Middle of Minnesota 
2. CoPal Minnesota 
3. Immigrant Authorized Advocacy Venture Maine 
4. Maine Solidarity Fund 
5. Nationwide Immigrant Justice Middle 

You’re going to get one entry for each $5.00 you donate — so be at liberty to donate $20, $50, or much more!

Step 2: E-mail the Receipt

Ahead the receipt to care [at] adventurouskate.com by February 13, 2026.

I’ll draw 4 random winners and observe up by electronic mail.

THANK YOU for making an enormous distinction. To date now we have raised a number of hundred {dollars} for these organizations! Let’s stick with it!!

Highlights

I’ll be trustworthy — this was a really quiet month. I didn’t do a lot, and that was very a lot by design. All of us want time to winter correctly.

Seeing Raye in live performance. I’ve been a fan of Raye ever since she appeared on SNL two years in the past, and I needed to snap up tickets when she got here to Prague.

She placed on a good looking live performance that was each a throwback and one thing tremendous fashionable. I liked how she had an enormous huge band on stage, how she wore a pink sparkly costume for many of the live performance, and the way she went from huge band to stripped down songs sitting behind the piano (she referred to as it the “musical remedy part”) to an enormous dance occasion on the finish!

Cooking numerous tasty issues. Winter is the time of yr I prepare dinner so much, and this has been a very good month for sauces, soups, and different hearty dishes!

Marcella Hazan’s bolognese, which takes at the very least 4 hours to prepare dinner, was so good, I made two double parts this month. It’s additionally nice reheated with some nduja stirred in!

Challenges

Nothing a lot, nevertheless it was SO, SO COLD THIS MONTH! It snowed fairly decently, however past that, we’ve had temperatures under freezing virtually each day, which makes it the coldest winter since I’ve been residing in Prague.

Each day, I take a 45-minute stroll — however with temperatures like these, I’ve been gritting my enamel by means of the entire ordeal.

Put up of the Month

What’s it wish to journey to Curaçao? — All the pieces you must know earlier than touring to Curaçao, and why it shortly turned considered one of my favourite Caribbean islands!

Most Widespread Put up on Instagram

It was really this publish about why I speak about politics as a journey blogger — and precisely the place I stand on many points.

I speak about politics continuously, on all platforms, however I do know that not everybody sees all my content material resulting from algorithms and whatnot. It is a probability to be crystal clear about my values.

Oh, and for those who’d wish to by no means miss something I publish, join my e-newsletter! I attempt to put collectively a enjoyable e-newsletter with hyperlinks and private updates and funky stuff I discovered on the internet a couple of instances a month.

What I Watched This Month

I’ve been working my manner by means of Higher Name Saul this month. And sure, I do know I’m MANY years late on that. It’s bizarre that I by no means watched, as Breaking Dangerous is my favourite TV drama of all time. However after entering into Pluribus, I made a decision to dive deep into the dwell of Saul Goodman.

And what a shock — it’s SO good, so deep, and stuffed with what made Breaking Dangerous so good. If you happen to’ve by no means watched it, I extremely suggest it. However be sure to watch Breaking Dangerous first. It’s extra rewarding to see the Easter eggs and thematic parallels of Higher Name Saul.

Additionally, The Pitt is again! Good, good present. I’ll most likely speak about that extra subsequent month.

Films-wise, I actually loved Bugonia this month. Darkish, humorous, brilliantly acted, and numerous enjoyable. It’s on Peacock if you wish to stream it.

What I Listened To This Month

I’m listening to all 500 of Rolling Stone‘s 500 Biggest Albums of All Time, which I’m having fun with immensely. I’m loving discovering new artists and listening to albums I’ve someway missed my whole life till now!

And I’ve seen a change these days. As I get under quantity 150, the albums are having an enormous uptick in high quality. They’re a few of the finest. That is additionally the month with essentially the most albums I had listened to in full.

In January, I listened to albums quantity 162-136.

Favourite Discovery: Grace by Jeff Buckley. All I knew about him was that his model of “Hallelujah” is thought for being much better than Leonard Cohen’s authentic, that he died younger, and that individuals who love him actually, actually love him.

Then I listened to his album, and I used to be completely spellbound. His lovely voice, his deep songwriting, and the right 90s different sound (in a great way). Simply magnificent, begin to end.

I’ve listened to the album a number of instances and I feel it is going to be going into my rotation often.

Jeff Buckley died by unintended drowning at age 30. He’ll ceaselessly be a one-album artist. What a loss for the world.

Different Favourite Discoveries: Mama’s Gun by Erykah Badu, The Black Album by Jay-Z, Pretenders by The Pretenders.

Favourite Revisited Album: Channel Orange by Frank Ocean. This has lengthy been considered one of my favourite albums of all time, and I’ve listened to it constantly because it got here out. I really like the variety of the songs on this album, however the way it all has a really robust standpoint all through.

Within the decade-plus because it got here out, I’ve come to comprehend simply what a big effect this album had on different R&B (it’s up there with Kanye’s 808s & Heartbreak by way of influencing genres).

To not point out how revolutionary it was on the time for a hip-hop artist to be brazenly queer and sing about it.

(Additionally, Frank…for those who ever needed to make extra music, that might be nice!)

Different Favourite Revisited Albums: 21 by Adele, The Immaculate Assortment by Madonna, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? by Oasis.

Favourite Songs: SO MANY THIS MONTH!! “Neglect Her” by Jeff Buckley, “The Wanton Tune” by Led Zeppelin, “Kiss Me On My Neck” by Erykah Badu, “Hand to Mouth” by George Michael, “Encore” by Jay-Z, “Guinnevere” by Crosby, Stills & Nash, “Stan” by Eminem, “Candy Life” by Frank Ocean, “King of Ache” by The Police, “Into the Groove” by Madonna, “Forged No Shadow” by Oasis, “Turning Tables” by Adele, “Atlantic Metropolis” by Bruce Springsteen.

Get the playlist: I’m making a playlist of my favourite songs from the five hundred albums — most one per album — on Spotify. You’ll be able to hearken to it right here.

Random Music Ideas: Similar to The Slim Shady LP, I hadn’t listened to The Marshall Mathers LP in many years, and but once I put it on, I remembered each phrase.

I discover it fascinating when I’ve starkly completely different opinions on completely different artists’ albums. That been the case for Tom Petty (love Full Moon Fever way more than his others) and Large Star (love #1 Document way more than their others).

This month it was PJ Harvey, whose album Rid of Me didn’t do something for me, in comparison with Tales from the Metropolis, Tales from the Sea, which I ADORED. Conversely, this month I loved Blondie’s Parallel Strains considerably greater than their self-titled Blondie, which I discovered to be an extremely annoying album.

What I Learn This Month

I began the yr off robust with six books learn. I’ve determined to cease recapping each e book in depth within the month-to-month recap (principally as a result of I simply DREAD writing all of them), however I’ll embody a sentence at the very least.

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka (2022) — Throughout the Sri Lankan civil was within the Eighties, a photojournalist is murdered and ascends to the in-between. He has seven nights to learn how he died and get his world-changing pictures into his mates’ palms.

This e book jogged my memory a lot of George Saunders’s Lincoln within the Bardo (considered one of my favorites the yr it got here out), which can also be concerning the place the place spirits dwell between life and demise, and has a equally chaotic environment among the many spirits. Seems that Karunatilaka lists Lincoln within the Bardo as considered one of his prime inspirations.

This e book is completely different in numerous methods. It’s about residing in a politically corrupt environment, turning into indifferent from reporting on violence continuously, being homosexual and hiding half within the closet, and making a discovered household. A extremely fascinating e book, and my first by a Sri Lankan creator.

All Fours by Miranda July (2024) — A considerably well-known artists decides to drive throughout the nation from California to New York. As a substitute, thirty minutes from dwelling, she checks right into a lodge and immerses herself in a really completely different journey with a youthful native man.

This e book bought numerous accolades, and I get it. Simply be sure to’re prepared for an extremely unlikeable protagonist and plenty of cringing all through. Some good books are like that! I believed it was value it.

The Paradise Downside by Christina Lauren (2024) — A romance that asks the query of “If we fake to be married round my wealthy household for a weekend, I’ll obtain a $100 million inheritance, however what if we fall in love for actual??” It’s entertaining and strikes fairly shortly with numerous motion, although I wasn’t a fan of the manic pixie dream woman cliché.

The Let Them Idea by Mel Robbins (2024) — Like many pop psych books, this might have been a weblog publish. Let individuals do what they need to do. Cease caring about it and be free. WAY an excessive amount of filler in any other case.

The Perfectionist’s Information to Shedding Management by Katherine Morgan Schafler (2023) — This e book began very robust with redefining perfectionism, fully with a number of completely different sorts of perfectionism, however sadly misplaced steam quickly after.

Coming Up in February 2026

Um…completely nothing is arising in February. That is going to be one other quiet month at dwelling.

Solely two issues are on the calendar: my mates amusingly signed us all up for a zabíja?ka on February 14. A zabíja?ka is a pig roast custom that takes place every winter within the Czech Republic and Slovakia. They butcher a pig, dangle it the wrong way up exterior, and prepare dinner it in 1,000,000 other ways.

So yeah, nothing says Valentine’s Day like pig carcasses dripping blood in parks all around the metropolis!

Aside from that, I’m on the waitlist for tickets to see Sombr (he’s actually performing a five-minute stroll from my condo!) on February 16. Hopefully these come by means of.

And that’s it. Taking it simple.

What are you trying ahead to in February? Share away!