February Favorites 2026

Welcome to the first installment of my monthly favorites wrap-up! You can expect the current music, TV shows, films, and books that I've been loving covered each month. This is also a way for me to document where I was at and what I was loving at this current point in time. Let's get into it!

Shall we begin with music? I primarily listen to pop and, more specifically, bubblegum pop. Though I can appreciate and get into more depressing, sad girl music when the mood is right, I usually want songs that make me happy and make me want to dance around, singing into a hairbrush. This month was a mix of rediscovering music from the early aughts and a heavy emphasis on current artists I'm loving. Below is a playlist of my favorites from this month!

• "Puss Puss" by Zara Larsson

  (I haven't been able to stop listening to this album for months!)

• "Homewrecker" by sombr

  (I was back to my sombr fixation this month.)

• "Ladies Room" by Olivia Dean

• "The Dress" by Dijon

• "Dancing On The Wall" by MUNA

  (THANK GOD MUNA is back, how I've missed them!)

• "Dying for You" by Charli XCX

• "Leave Your Man At Home" by Cate

• "Future Tripping" by Hilary Duff

• "Tell Me That Won't Happen" by Hilary Duff

• "Weather For Tennis" by Hilary Duff

• "Opalite" by Taylor Swift

  (Deeply obsessed with this music video, I can't stop watching it; thus, the song has been back on rotation.)

• "Mercy" by Duffy

  (I actually can't believe I forgot this song existed.)

• "Rock DJ" by Robbie Williams

• "Kids" by Robbie Williams & Kylie Minogue

  (We'll get to it later, but I had a major Robbie Williams fixation this month.)

• "Ain't No Other Man" by Christina Aguilera

• "Hold It Against Me" by Britney Spears

• "One Thing" by One Direction

  (I found myself listening to so much One Direction.)

• "Smile" by Avril Lavigne

• "Pure Shores" by All Saints

March's playlist will be entirely consumed by Harry Styles, just a warning now! :)

Next up, we have TV shows, where I will also be including a bit of YouTube as well. One thing to know about me is that I will take, at minimum, a year to finish an entire series, and by "entire series" I mean traditional shows that have 20+ episode seasons. In September, I started a full rewatch of Gilmore Girls, which I watch all the time, but this year I wanted to do a top-to-bottom watch. I just started season six and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! I made a promise to myself that once I finish it, I can start rewatching One Tree Hill, which I've been itching to do for months, to be continued on that one. And before anyone asks, I'm Team Logan, so the last three seasons of the show aren't unbearable for me the way they are for others. Continuing along with the long-standing series, I am also still watching Dawson's Creek, and I can't get over James Van Der Beek's death this month. I actually had to wait a few days after his passing before I could watch any more episodes; it just felt so sad. It was at the end of last summer that I FINALLY began my Dawson's journey after having never seen it (besides the first few episodes) and having it on my watchlist for years. I just finished season four and have been loving listening to the podcast Back To You, Bob! (which I discovered not long after I started watching the show) after each episode. Team Pacey forever; I love him and Joshua Jackson so much I can't get over it. This month I've also been watching the new Ryan Murphy show Love Story about JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette. Firstly, can I just say that the soundtrack hit it out of the park? Like, obviously the time period is the '90s, but my god, every episode they are picking such good songs. It's safe to say that I am so invested in their relationship and this story. Yes, I'm aware that this is a fictionalized and dramatized version of events, but the core of the story is real, and everything about it I am so fascinated by. Every week after the new episode, I have to go look up more information about the events that unfolded IRL; it's that serious. We were also graced with the second part of Bridgerton season four at the very end of the month. At the time of writing this, I have not finished the remaining episodes yet, but from what I have watched, it just keeps getting better and better. I'm beyond thankful that they brought the show back to life just in time for my dear Benedict. Anthony, Benedict, and Eloise are just my holy trinity of Bridgerton siblings, and so far they are two for two with perfect seasons, so now I just need them to do Eloise's right too! I'm literally listening to a playlist of all of the show's covers right now. Next, for a show that isn't normally my speed: it's How to Get to Heaven from Belfast on Netflix. I watched the trailer when it came up on Netflix and knew I had to watch it when it said it was from the creator of Derry Girls, Lisa McGee. It's a murder mystery thriller, which is so not my thing, but I'm absolutely loving it. Between the humor and the soundtrack (both staple elements from Derry Girls), I can't get enough, and I can't wait to see how it ends! To finish this section off, I wanted to include a bit of YouTube because it is the other piece of entertainment I consume the most. My favorite, favorite channel is Hannah Marsh, and I have been going through all of her videos this month; it is absolutely my top channel. Some of my other favorites that I'm always watching are Lauren Norris, All Things Lilly Ann, and Molly Mae.

When it comes to movies, I feel like I wasn't in a big film mood this month. I didn't find myself gravitating towards watching movies, which happens to me every once in a while, but what will happen next is I'll do a 180 and be watching movies nonstop. As for what I did watch and enjoy, it consists entirely of rewatching favorites. I started the month with The Princess and the Frog, then continued with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Valentine's Day, and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, and finished off with How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. I also saw "Wuthering Heights" and apparently liked it more than most people did. Now, to preface, I have never read the book and really had nothing to go off of story-wise. I did know that Emerald Fennell was going to be putting her more risqué touch on it, which was bound to cause controversy on its own. I thought it was visually gorgeous and loved the soundtrack accompanying it. Just like Saltburn, there were uncomfortable or unsettling moments, but I really wasn't that fazed. It wasn't a five-star movie or one I'm going to run to rewatch, but it was entertaining. I'm also going to include a few documentaries in this section as well. Remember what I said earlier about having a Robbie Williams fixation? Well, it started last month when I watched the Netflix docuseries about Take That and then found out there was a Robbie Williams docuseries, so I then proceeded to watch that this month. I find it so interesting how both Take That and Robbie are so freaking huge everywhere else in the world except North America. Take That was on One Direction level, and Robbie was kind of the OG Harry Styles. If you haven't heard of either, I highly recommend giving these documentaries a watch or listening to some of their music because this is the type of niche content I live for. Lastly, I watched another Netflix docuseries about America's Next Top Model, which is actually a show I never got into, but I obviously know about its legacy and iconic memes. All I have to say is that everything they were doing was batsh*t crazy, and hearing from the girls themselves was startling. Tyra Banks is stunning, but she is also absolutely insane.

For books, I only read one this month. Am I going to pretend the reason for that is it's a short month? Yes. In reality, however, I was just really slow reading the one book I did get through and didn't dedicate a lot of time to it on a day-to-day basis. Even though I only read one, it was a fantastic pick at least. The book being Unloved by Peyton Corinne, it's the sequel to Unsteady, which I read in January. There's actually nothing I love more than a five-star hockey romance, and I knew immediately when I started reading this that it would fall into that category. I thought Unsteady was good; I mean, I adore Rhys Koteskiy, but freaking Matt Fredderic is perfection. I am so beyond excited to continue reading the books that come out in this series. Peyton Corinne is speaking my language with these! Hopefully, I can get back into my reading grind and get through more than one book in March!

That's about all I have for you this month. Lots and lots of good content being consumed in February. Looking ahead, I mentioned Harry's new album coming out a week from now, so that's going to consume me entirely. As well as all of his press, including his double duty on SNL that I will be sat for (the back-to-back lineup of Connor Storrie, Ryan Gosling, and Harry is my definition of a dream). Not to mention, March is the first month of spring, and I couldn't be more excited to welcome in a new season. I'm ready for spring rain, warmer temperatures, and blooming flowers. Thank you so much for being here, and I hope you have an excellent March! I'll see you next time!

XO E.L.