Good Things List No.93: Newport Trip, Candle Warmer Update, Face Powder, Books & More

A monthly list of good things to do, buy, read, and watch: visit a sweet coastal motel, things to do in Newport, a candle warmer update, and an inexpensive setting powder, plus four (actually 9!) short book reviews and a few things to watch.

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Here we are firmly into 2026 – I hope it’s been treating you well. On the west coast we managed to miss all the snow, ice, and record setting cold the rest of the country has been dealing with. Though we have been unusually dry and – after a couple weeks of freezing weather – unusually warm, so those who like snow sports are not loving this winter. As for me (not a snow sport gal), I’ve been enjoying the sun when it’s broken through the fog – it makes afternoon walks really pleasant.

It was a quiet month for us, which has been really nice as a reset from the holidays and start of a new year. We got to take care of our daughter’s little puppy for a couple weeks while they were vacationing, and that became the highlight of the month for us! She was a little sweetheart, a miniature dachshund with big ears, big eyes, and a big, loving heart who will cuddle with everyone – including our dog, Jynx, who was none too happy about it. More for us, then!

Good Things List

A Beach Getaway

We took a midweek trip to the coast (2 hours from us) in January, taking advantage of the off-season discounts at a cute motel we’ve stayed at before, Agate Beach Motel in Newport. Winter is a great time to visit the coast – it’s much more laid back with no lines to get in anywhere, less traffic, and more quiet.

We had a mix of clouds, rain, and sun with two mornings that were windless for our beach walks. As long as you go with the right expectations – no lounging on the beach, lol – you will love the views and the wildness of the wind and storms that may come.

We stayed cozy in our motel room – and we had a carport out the door to park so we never got wet coming and going. We worked a bit, read, listened to our current audiobook, drove around, and visited a couple places to eat, shop, and walk.

Here are some things we enjoyed if you’re ever in or around Newport, Oregon:

• Eats: The Horn Public House (pub-type food and the BEST fries), Mo’s Bay Blvd (Classic seafood – an Oregon staple famous for their chowder).
• Thrift & Antique stores: CJ’s Thrift and Gift (new to us and friendly), Nostalgia Estate Sales (we always find at least one thing here), Rustic Ridge Antique Mall (nice set up to walk through), Pirates Plunder (I found one of my best deals in a long time here at a booth that was 50% off)
• Walks: Agate Beach Wayside, Moolack Beach, Yaquina Head Natural Area

Newport is also known for attractions like the Oregon Coast Aquarium, Yaquina Head Lighthouse, Old Town, Nye Beach, and more.

Candle Warmer Update

After using this candle warmer for almost 3 months, I’ve discovered that just warming the candle wax doesn’t evaporate it so the candles will always stay fairly full. What doesn’t stay, though, is the scent! I’ve finally noticed this the past few weeks (admittedly, after using the same candle for months) and looked it up. Here are the things you can do about it:

• Pour off the top, melted wax. If you see a line of more solid wax with the melted on top, simply pour off that melted part which removes the wax with evaporated scent, leaving the wax below with scent to melt. You’ll need to trim the wick if it’s still visible. (My plan is to pour it off into silicone muffin cups that I’ve filled with paper or dryer lint to make little fire starters for the outside burning of debris.)
• Stir it while the candle is melted. This is what I did, since it was almost all melted except for a few tablespoon-sized soft wax at the bottom. I could immediately tell that more scent was available, so I’ll probably get another week or so out of it.
• Burn it after awhile. Another suggestion was to use the candle warmer for awhile and then light the wick to burn the top wax lower (not in the warmer, obviously, ha) and then use the warmer on the lower portion of the candle.

So now I have the answer to how long the candles in warmers will last – not until the wax is gone like a regular burned candle, but until the scent is no longer discernible. If you don’t need fire starters, you can freeze the candle and pop out the wax to dispose of it, or pour it off into silicone molds to then pop out and dispose.

I’ll still take the safer, melting candle on a timer over a burn any day – and it’s actually better for our lungs and health to not have wax burning, so I’m still loving the warmer.

Fine-Line Friendly Face Setting Powder

I’ve tried many types of setting powders in the last couple of years, some that cost a lot (well, more than I usually pay, but I never go for expensive face stuff), some that didn’t. I specifically wanted something that didn’t add color, didn’t go on heavy, and didn’t settle in all the lovely lines we earn as we age.

I keep coming back to this inexpensive translucent loose powder from Wet-n-Wild. I can use it all over or just in the shiny areas because there is no color. It’s not heavy and stays fairly well through out the day. And it’s less than $7! And the reviews agree with me – over 10k with 4.6 out of 5.

January Books Read

I read and listened to 9 books in January, even though it looks like 4 because six of them are volumes in the Emma M. Lion series and I didn’t want to just repeat the covers (they are the same but for a change in color). They’re available on both the library apps I have so I’ve been flying through them on audio – so fun.

I See You’ve Called in Dead, John Kenny. This is a concept I’ve not heard of ever: a NYC obituary writer sends in his own fake obituary one sad, drunken night and has to deal with the aftermath (apparently his work can’t fire him because the computer thinks he’s actually dead). I think I picked this up thinking it would be humorous, and it was in places, but overall it’s more contemplative and bittersweet. It’s about moving on when our lives are not what we thought, about friends, neighbors, and love (both platonic and romantic) and cherishing it all while we have this one life to live. I ended up really enjoying this and thinking about it a lot.

The Unselected Journals of Emma M Lion, Volumes 1-6 (!), Beth Brower. My cousin told me about this wonderful book series I’ve been listening to on audiobooks and it’s just made this last month delightful! I had seen the title on Hoopla about a while ago, but I thought maybe it was one of those real-life western diary books based on the title and artwork. But no, the books are a series of shorter novels set in 1880’s London written as diary entries (the books each cover only 2 months). The heroine is wonderfully funny and the scrapes she gets into and the characters she knows have made me laugh out loud at times. There are many layers to this series – outrage, bittersweet, romantic, friendly, as well as comedic – but overall it’s just a lovely new literary person and world to know. I’ve just had to keep listening to one volume after another and will be very sad when I come to volume 8 and have to wait (with everyone else) for the next installment. The narrator is quite good in the audio series, really bringing the characters to life.

The Monsters: Mary Shelley and the curse of Frankenstein, Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler. Personally I think this is a terrible title since “The Monsters” brings up so many other titles when you’re searching for this. Even after reading it, I think it’s a stretch to call it this…But I digress. This was a fantastic book if you’re at all interested in history, classic literature, and the lives of Percy Shelley, Lord Byron, and Mary Shelley. It starts the summer in Italy that these three, plus a young doctor named John Polidori who also went on to write a story (The Vampyre), challenge each other to write a scary story. Out of this came the genesis of Frankenstein and seeing all the disparate parts of Mary’s life come together, you can see how she came up with many of the places and different characters in the story (Yes, she wrote it and yes, her husband edited it before the initial publication. But then she edited it again a number of years later which is the version we mostly know.). But this also tells the story of Mary’s famous parents, as well as the lives of the three men who were part of the challenge – all of whom died young. It was fascinating to see how people lived and traveled then which is one of my favorite parts of reading historical accounts.

A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving. I think I can speak for Brian, too, when I say that we will be thinking of things from this book for a long time. I honestly didn’t know anything going in other than that I read some rank this as their favorite book of all time. I’m not sure of all time, but it would definitely rank in the top 10 for me. It’s the story of John Wheelwright, son of a prominent family in New England, and his childhood best friend, Owen Meany, and is told by John. Owen is somewhat comically small for his age with a high voice that stops people in their tracks. But people are drawn to him, his confidence, faith, and bluntness. He seems to know many things and gets adults to mostly do what he wants. John is telling the story in hindsight from the 1980s (the worst, tiresome parts of the story are his rants in the present about the US, Reagan, and politics – ugh, it totally broke up the story and is why it wouldn’t be a number one favorite for me) about growing up in the 1950s and 60s. There are many comic moments, and many terrible, heartbreaking moments. But little Owen’s faith that God had a purpose for his life and that all things worked together toward that goal (no matter how misguided we are led to believe) is what will stay with me – to have that unshakeable, unwavering belief and how it affects the people around us.

Watching

All Creatures Great and Small Season 6, PBS. Yes it’s sweet, yes it’s predictable, but I will never grow tired of this show. It still manages to show real, everyday life with sometimes very hard subjects, and the circle of life through animals and people. A literal balm for my soul.

Newest season of Antiques Roadshow, PBS. Another show I don’t grow tired of – almost every episode has a “gasp” moment when something someone’s been carting around in a cardboard box or bought for $2 is worth a huge amount of money.

Song Sung Blue, Theater & Amazon. This was a good movie (Kate Hudson just got an Oscar nom for her role!), but comes with a warning: DO NOT believe the happy-go-lucky trailers full of music and romance!! It is based on a true story and the second half is terribly sad. I think if you know that going in you will enjoy it more and won’t feel so blindsided like my mom and I did.

That’s it for another addition of the Good Things List!

If you’d like to see more of what I’m enjoying, you can check out all the Good Things Lists here. I’d love to know what you think – if you’ve tried any of these or what you’d recommend. Leave a comment below with your thoughts!

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