Was this month packed for anyone else? Birthdays, Valentine’s Day, and some unanticipated disruptions heavily influenced my February 2026 things.
Ready or not, here are all of the things that stood out for me this past month.
February 2026 Things
Food
Food was central to my February 2026 things. Beverages not so much. We’ll focus on food for the edible portion of today’s post.
Old Standby – Penne alla vodka
Everyone likes penne alla vodka in this house, so it shows up a lot in my weekly meal plans. This month, we changed up our penne alla vodka nights for a little variety. All variations were delicious, from the classic version (chicken for me, seafood for my husband) to a pumpkin version that added a little nutrient bump.
Favorite New Recipe – Chicken & biscuit crumble
I’m a huge fan of chicken and dumplings and of chicken pot pie. They are just comfort in a bowl. So when one of my go-to bloggers, Jessica at How Sweet Eats, put up a recipe for chicken & biscuit crumble (a mash up of chicken and dumplings and chicken pot pie), I just had to try it. I am so glad I did. Even my chicken-skeptical kids enjoyed this recipe. Give this a try!
Biggest Food Fail – Green chili pork stew
I’ve been relying on my slow cooker a ton for weeknight dinners. I have two kids in afterschool activities so some days the only time I can make dinner is at 8:00 a.m. I like to try new slow cooker recipes often, so when I found this green chili pork stew, I immediately bought the ingredients. Unfortunately, this was a miss for all of us. The adults thought it was too one-note, the boy flat-out refused to eat it, and the girl put it in her mouth but refused to swallow it. We won’t make this one again.
Dessert – Birthday cake
My husband celebrates his birthday in February, so birthday cake was on the menu in the middle of the month. I love to bake cakes, but for birthday cakes, I usually outsource them to our favorite local bakery, Signature Desserts. Their cakes are just too good to pass up an opportunity to eat one. If you’re local to the South Hills of Pittsburgh, I can’t recommend a Signature Desserts cake enough for your next celebration!
Snack – Crunchables
It’s pretty rare that I find a snack that all four of us genuinely like, so when I do, I go all-in. This month, I purchased a variety pack of Crunchables on a whim. Everyone was instantly glad that I did. We all think they are delicious (especially the blueberry flavor) and mom likes that they’re made with only fruit.
Books
My reading success continues in 2026! I’m not reading 10 books a month or anything, but I’m reading more than one, so that’s success to me. Because I’m moving through books, the book section of my February 2026 things is robust!
Best Physical Book – Truly Madly Guilty
There are a few authors who can almost do no wrong for me. Liane Moriarty is one of them. I have genuinely enjoyed every book I’ve ever read by her. I was a little late catching onto her, though, so I’m slowly working my way through her catalogue. My most recent Liane Moriarty read was Truly Madly Guilty, a story about how a split second could change the lives of many people. Like all of Liane’s books, she spins seemingly disparate stories together into a book that is good fun and makes you think long after you put it down.
Not My Favorite – The Jetsetters
I was shocked that I didn’t like The Jetsetters by Amanda Eyre Ward. It had everything that I usually like in a book, especially the family dynamics. For some reason, though, I did not enjoy this book at all. I think it’s because none of the characters were even remotely likeable. If you need to have a character to root for in a book, skip this one.
Best Audiobook – The Book of Sheen
Look, I don’t have any particular attachment to Charlie Sheen. I just like to listen to celebrity memoirs when the author narrates the memoir. The Book of Sheen isn’t the best celebrity memoir I’ve read by a long shot, but it was interesting to learn about the man behind the scandals. It seems like Charlie is ready to try life again, and I wish him all the best.
Media
I’ve been preoccupied this month by one specific media offering so there is only one entry in my media-specific February 2026 things. Quite frankly, it should have been your only entry too.
Milano-Cortina 2026
I get obsessed with the Olympics every cycle. Summer or Winter, doesn’t matter. I watch the headliner sports just as much as the random sports that I know nothing about. The 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics were no different. I have watched as much of these games as I could. I watched hockey, figure skating, and curling. This time around, I randomly got very into long-track speed skating, of all things. I just love the Olympics. I wish they happened all the time.
Clothing
I want to issue fair warning: this was kind of a rough month for me in the clothing arena. I didn’t wear anything new or exciting. For the sake of completeness, I picked some boring clothing-related February 2026 things, but feel free to skip this section.
Parka
It was extremely cold the first half of this month. My typical, everyday winter coat just didn’t cut it, so I had to bust out my long parka. I bought my long coat many, many years ago, so the exact one is no longer available. Eddie Bauer (the maker of my old parka) has a current version that looks just as warm, if you’re in the market.
Sweater
I have mentioned that I have eczema approximately 37 times on this blog, mostly in the context of skincare product recommendations. One aspect of my eczema that I don’t talk much about is the clothing restrictions that it places on me. My skin really does much better with cotton garments than synthetic materials. Unfortunately, it has gotten difficult to find 100% cotton sweaters, especially at a reasonable price point. Luckily, I found a good one, the relaxed cotton crewneck sweater, at Gap Factory. It’s 100% cotton, soft, just the right amount of boxy, and a pretty great length. I couldn’t ask for more.
Undies
Like most of you, I’ve been seeing Quince advertisements everywhere. I wanted to try something, but I wanted my first purchase to be pretty low stakes. It just so happened that I needed some new underwear, so I decided to make a 6-pack of Quince’s organic cotton hipsters my first purchase. I must say, I’m impressed! It’s soft, breathable, fits great, and washes well. For those of you who have gotten into Quince, what should I try next?
Products
My products category of my February 2026 things is an embarrassment of riches. These are good, y’all.
The Ordinary Retinal
I have been using an over-the-counter retinoid product for a few years now. Until recently, I opted for adapalene, but I wanted to try something else to see if I could get better results. I dropped a tube of The Ordinary’s Retinal into my Christmas stocking and immediately incorporated it into my nighttime skincare routine. I have now worked up to using it six nights a week, and have had no negative reaction on my sensitive skin. I’m also seeing some pretty big improvement in my fine lines, especially around my mouth. It’s not a miracle worker, but it’s definitely doing something!
Pillow
I have been really struggling with neck pain lately. Although my boss thinks it’s because I’m old, I was convinced I needed a new pillow. My 10+ year-old pillow just wasn’t cutting it anymore. Over the last few months, I’ve tried every pillow in my house and bought a few new ones to try. So far, the best one has been the Xtreme Comforts adjustable shredded memory foam pillow. I’m not yet convinced that it’s the best pillow for me, but I’m giving it a trial run for a bit. Wish me luck!
Everyday Dinners
I tend to pull most of our dinner recipes from a group of tried-and-true dinner recipe resources that I know won’t let me down. This group includes no-recipe recipes, food blogs, and cookbooks. In February, I found myself reaching for one resource in particular, Everyday Dinners by Jessica Merchant (who also writes the How Sweet Eats blog). From sheet pan gnocchi to meatballs to sauces and dips, it hasn’t let me down this month.
Experiences
Some of our February 2026 things were real doozies. Some were pure joy. It was a roller coaster this month.
No heat
I woke up on February 2nd at 4:30 a.m. because I was cold. I consulted the thermostat and it read 55°F. An HVAC service company came out that morning and determined that the secondary heat exchanger in our 3.5-year-old furnace had malfunctioned, which also blew out the furnace’s blower motor. The parts were covered under warranty, but the labor to fix this basically brand-new furnace cost nearly $4,000. Because things were handled poorly by the service company and the furnace manufacturer, we were without heat for 5 days. Our house got down to 34°F. Needless to say, February did not get off to a good start for us and we will never buy a Bryant appliance again.
Husband’s birthday
My husband and our dog share a mid-February birthday. My son had hockey practice on their actual birthday, but we planned a mom and dad only birthday dinner for the night before and my husband reserved some time in a golf simulator while the kids were at school. Unfortunately, our daughter got sick, so we had to change plans. We rescheduled our dinner (which was delicious!), and mom multi-tasked working and taking care of a sick 3-year-old so dad could still have his birthday golf appointment. We made it work, and now he has his experience gifts that the kids got him to look forward to.
Disney on Ice
Our daughter’s big Christmas gift this year was tickets to Disney on Ice when it came to our city in February. Well, the time finally came and she had a ball! It was two hours of pure joy. I really love experience gifts!
Kid stuff
If you have young kids, my kid-related February 2026 things are for you! I’ve got a real mix for you this month.
Balaclava
For Valentine’s Day, we gifted my son a kid-sized balaclava just for him. My husband has taken him skiing a few times this winter and he has loved it, but he’s stolen my husband’s balaclava to keep his face warm. Now that he has his own kid-sized balaclava, they can both have warm faces when they ski!
Pedialyte popsicles
Both of my kids had brief illnesses this month. When they don’t feel well, they don’t want to eat or drink, but it’s absolutely essential that they do both. My secret weapon for kids’ sicknesses is a box of Pedialyte popsicles. I can almost always get my kids to eat one, so I don’t panic about them becoming dehydrated. Keep a box handy!
Multicolored pens
Remember those pens you had when you were young that had different ink color options that you could click down? You probably loved them. I know I did. My kids have recently discovered these magical multicolored pens and they are obsessed. They love to write and draw with them, changing the ink color as they go. We definitely need more.
Blog posts
If you missed any blog posts this month, you’re in luck – I’m dropping links to the most popular posts from this month below for easy clicking!
What were your favorite February 2026 things? Share down below or over on Instagram @sarainseason!