Oh February: month of chocolate, teddy bears, and glaring at PDA on the subway. While this month wasn’t particularly busy or exciting for either of us — just lots of work, more work, and then work again — it seemed to fly by. Maybe it’s because February is shorter than all the other months, bless its heart, or maybe it’s because we spent the last four weeks hibernating and hiding from the sub-zero temperatures. Either way, we’re baffled that it’s already time for another round up, and so ready for March and the promise of spring that it brings (someday, someday…maybe).

What We’re Doing: This month started off on the pensive side, with Zelda helping y’all fight homesickness and Scout feeling adultolescent as the long gray slog known as January finally drew to a close. Luckily, February is punctuated by a dose of chocolatey, holiday goodness. We quickly shifted into festive gear, from the ultimate Galentine’s Day party guide to a little something personal as we celebrated our own bestie-ship. With recipes, camp memories, and two awesome Floridians to round out the month, we are oh-so-ready to break into March with a dose of sunshine and the promise of coat-less weather to come.

What We’re Listening To: This month’s playlist was all about the ladies: a celebration of female friendship and girl power in honor of Galentine’s Day. Filled with icons old and new, it is particularly poignant since one of our featured badass lady crooners, Lesley Gore, passed away just one week later. So in her honor, we pour one out, don our finest pantsuits, and belt out her timeless feminist anthem. And then, because it’s our party, we may cry a little.

What We’re Watching: We are big fans of Saturday Night Live, from the Superstars and cowbells of our childhoods to Stefon and Serial spoofs. There are very few things in this world that can hold our attention on the TV screen for 3.5 hours without multi-tasking or interruptions, but the show’s 40th Anniversary Special was one of them. Featuring oodles of our favorites and a Who’s Who of the past four decades of comedy, it was the perfect balance of old and new, montages and sketches, laughter and, yes, tears. Now if Fey/Poehler/Curtin could just be a thing always, we would be set.

We also love: As you will learn in March, we are both fans of the musical theatre, and we were pleasantly surprised by how much we loved the film adaptation of The Last Five Years, our all-time favorite (Off-Broadway) musical (we were even more delighted to discover that we could rent it from iTunes or Amazon, thus avoiding the need to leave our apartments). Scout has gotten super into the espionage antics of The Americans, while Zelda has plunged into an SNL 40-inspired 30 Rock rewatch. Also have you seen the video for our fave gal Ingrid Michaelson’s “Time Machine” because it’s beyond fantastic…

What We’re Reading: This article by The New Yorker’s proofreader Mary Norris is one of the greatest things Zelda has read in a while. As this blog’s resident comma queen, she has a lot of feelings about punctuation (Team Oxford/Serial Comma for life). This essay — part bare-faced memoire, part grammatical treatise, and 100% delightful — introduced her to a kindred spirit, and she is now counting down the days until Norris’s book comes out.

We also love: It takes guts to put your name on something and put it out there for the internet to judge. It takes even more guts to admit you might have made a mistake when you pressed publish. For this thoughtful response, and honesty about the state of the South, we tip our Derby hats to the Bitter Southerner.

The world of writing lost a giant, a genius, and a champion this month, at the age of 58. The world is darker without David Carr in it, and Mondays are far more boring, but with this syllabus we can continue to learn from his kind, incisive, and witty example.

Who We’re Following: Social media newcomer @hotdudesreading is our favorite thing to happen to Instagram, possibly ever. Our commutes with never be the same again. And if you’re not already following @seen.and.heard, you’re missing out on some delightful illustrated hilarity. You are welcome.

What We’re Eating: Okay, we know that May is National BBQ Month or whatever, but here on Zelda and Scout we don’t need an occasion to eat the food of our people. We’ve basically made it one of our life’s missions to try all the worthy barbecue places in this city. This month, we hit up the Bushwick-based joint Arrogant Swine; while the Carolina style they serve is not our favorite, we are dying for another of their mac and cheese waffles. We also made a spontaneous pilgrimage to our favorite Williamsburg spot, Mable’s Smokehouse, for a Wednesday comfort food fix. They’re Kentuckian-owned, and their Oklahoma-style BBQ hits the spot every time.

What We’re Drinking: We are always bourbon drinkers; as Kentucky girls, it’s in our blood. But with the cold weather, we’ve been particularly drawn to our favorite American spirit. When the mercury drops, we curl up with a glass of Bulleit or Blanton’s, and this lovely essay that spoke straight to our little Southern hearts.

What’s On Our Wishlist: Zelda loves her Kitchen Aid mixer. A lot. Inherited from her mom, it’s full of childhood memories and makes whipping up homemade baked delights oh so easy (much to Scout’s joy as well). The one thing it’s missing? An ice cream maker attachment. Which, if she’s perfectly honest, she wants 99% so she can make this. Also, in the “bringing Zelda’s childhood dreams back to life” category, Zoombinis, the greatest computer game about a fictional species EVER, is making a comeback! So if you really want to give her a gift, contribute to the Kickstarter and make her inner 8-year-old over-the-moon ecstatic.

Scout, meanwhile, is lusting after Kentucky for Kentucky’s newest offering: adorable, and practical, enamel mugs, perfect for that camping trip she swears she’s going to take when the weather warms up.

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