Merry Christmas!

 

Merry Christmas!  I know that this holiday season looks different for most of us.  We are spending our Christmas at home with just the four of us.  We have planned a few Zoom dates with family so that we can be together even when we can't be together.  

I wish all of you a peaceful Christmas.  Take care and stay safe.

Fall Capsule Wardrobe Outfits 21.12.2020

I am sharing the last few outfit pictures that I took of my Fall Capsule Wardrobe.  I have moved on to my next wardrobe plan and I am working on sorting out the wardrobe before I share it with you next week.  I am toying with the idea of a uniform instead of an entire wardrobe.  I will still include a few options outside of the 'uniform', but since most days I am at home with my kids, with the exception of grocery runs, a uniform makes sense at this point of life during a pandemic.

I enjoyed my Fall Capsule Wardrobe, but as the weather became colder and COVID-19 cases have risen we have mostly stuck close to home and I stopped utilizing my wardrobe fully. 

Happy Wednesday, friends!

 

Quick Life Update

Hello Everyone!  I haven't been on the blog in such a long time, but it feels good to be back and writing.  I thought I would give you a quick life update.

• I finished my first semester of school.  I was looking for a career change and decided to go for it.  My school was the victim of a cyber attack, however so my ability to register for a second semester is up in the air.  Ugh.
• My youngest is potty trained.  Wow.  My oldest child was a nightmare to potty train (which was more of a problem with how I did it, I think) so I was bracing for the worst.  My youngest has done really well, so it has been a pleasant surprise.
• My oldest is now on winter break from virtual schooling.  Her teacher has been wonderful and has somehow managed to keep the kids feeling connected and enthusiastic about learning.  We are very lucky to have her.
•  My husband's job change has allowed more time at home lately and I am thankful for that.  It is wonderful to have him around.  He is a great cook and made us turkey dinner on the weekend.  It was so delicious.
• I have almost completed my 82 workouts to finish off 2020.  My workouts are integral for me to maintain my mental health.  I set up a workout spot downstairs and it has become such a great  space to have.

I know this year has been tough.  I hope you all are doing well and managing through this pandemic.  I will be posting a little more over the next few weeks.  Talk to you soon!

Fall 2020 Capsule Wardrobe- 7.10.2020

My husband and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary this week.  It was a low-key celebration due to COVID-19, but we really enjoyed having some time alone together.  We visited my favourite place (the lake where my parents have a cabin) and then we went to the city.  In the city we picked up supper, ice cream and coffee before heading home.  It was so nice for us to just be able to chat without interruption and it was nice to listen to music that wasn't from a children's movie.

I have 4 outfits to share with you this week.  I wore several of my new ThredUp purchases, which I am really pleased with.

This dress came from ThredUp.  I love the colour.  I paired it with the shoes I wore for my wedding.  

This pink sweater came from ThredUp.  I love wearing crew neck sweatshirts and most of mine are beginning to wear out.  The pants are the "Dressy Sweatpant" from Encircled.

This dress is an Old Navy find that I purchased through ThredUp.  It is so comfortable.

This dress came from Zulily.  The jean jacket is from The Bay.

This leopard print sweatshirt is what my outfit dreams are made of.  It combines my love of leopard and my love of sweatshirts.  It is from ThredUp, as well.  My jeans are from Old Navy.

Happy Wednesday, friends!

Fall 2020 Capsule Wardrobe

Wow! It has definitely been a while since I have written on here.  This year has felt so strange with the pandemic.  We have made some big life adjustments due to the pandemic and, as always, my blog hit the back burner.  I am back today with my capsule wardrobe!

This season's capsule wardrobe consists of some new (to me) pieces.  I made some purchases through ThredUp.  ThredUp has only recently become available in Canada and I was so excited to give it a try.  I ordered several pieces.  All of my items look brand new and they all fit!  I was really happy with my shopping experience.  My capsule wardrobe will also include a sweatshirt from my favourite podcast's merch store.  It hasn't arrived yet, so it is not pictured.

My wardrobe contains 36 pieces.  I no longer count footwear or outerwear in my wardrobes because I change those up according to the weather that we are experiencing. 

Tops

There are 21 tops in my Fall Capsule Wardrobe.

10 shirts:

4 Cardigans:

7 sweatshirts (1 is missing from this photo):

Dresses

There are 6 dresses in my Fall Capsule Wardrobe.

Jackets and Vests:

There are 2 jackets and 1 vest in my Fall Capsule Wardrobe.

Pants:

My Fall Capsule Wardrobe consists of 6 pants.  There are 3 pairs of jeans, 1 pair of overalls, 1 pair of leggings and my 'dressy sweatpants' (that is the real product name of these pants).

Fall is my favourite season and I love dressing in Fall clothes.  I can't wait to start using my capsule wardrobe!

Doing the Work

Racism has been at the forefront of conversations in the last couple months.  There is a lot of work to be done so that everyone is safe and has true equality where we live.  I have been doing the work for a while now and yet I know I have much to learn.  Today I want to share a few resources that I have found helpful.

Resources for Children:

• I purchased the course "The White Families' Guide to Talking About Racism" from Education With An Apron.  I have been working through the course with my 6 year old.
• We have purchased books that center BIPOC characters, written by BIPOC authors.  We have been working to diversify our book shelf.  We have a limited budget but we will keep adding to our bookshelf.  I have found wonderful recommendations from the following accounts on Instagram:
• Naomi O'Brien
  
• Vera Ahiyya
  
• The Conscious Kid
  
• Apron Education
  
• Here Wee Read
  
• Our toy 'community' is now much more reflective of the world around us and includes dolls from of different races

Resources for Adults:

• Rachel Cargle  I have become a patron on Patreon for Rachel's work and I am learning from the resources she provides there and on her website.
  
• Ibram X. Kendi has a must-read book called How To Be An Antiracist
  
• Jaris is an Indigenous Pharmacy professor in Saskatchewan who has great posts regarding racism and the work that Canadians need to do.
• Austin Channing Brown wrote a must-read booked called I'm Still Here.

Summer Capsule Wardrobe- 22.07.2020

We are halfway through this capsule wardrobe and I am so happy with it.  My clothes feel good and I have options for whatever weather we face.  I have owned most of this capsule wardrobe for years and these pieces are still going strong. I love this from a sustainability standpoint.  We really don't need new things as often as we think we do.

Happy Wednesday, friends!

Tech Free Time

Lately, I have been conscious of my phone use.  I have always kept my phone on the kitchen counter during the day.  I had found that it was an easy way to limit my phone use when I am with my kids.  I also keep my phone on silent and I have turned off notifications for most of my apps.  When the pandemic hit, I found myself picking up my phone more often to check the news, learn about the disease and use my social media as a way to escape reality.

I was using my 'free' time in the evenings to read over news reports, look at alarming statistics and read all of my friends' views on the experience of living through a pandemic.  I lost sleep and my brain never seemed to turn off.  I kept feeding my craving for information with news and social media.

It took longer than I would like to admit to realize how my screen time was hurting my mental health.  I wasn't taking the time to properly care for myself and something needed to change.  I became better at putting my phone away and setting time limits.

I came across the idea of a 'tech sabbath' in Casper Ter Kuile's book The Power of Ritual. (I highly recommend this book!)  I was intrigued.  Casper observes a tech sabbath from sundown on Friday until sundown on Saturday where he puts away both his phone and laptop.  He doesn't engage in social media, read emails, work, answer messages or phone calls during that time.  I loved the idea and decided to bring it up to my husband.

My husband's work requires him to be on call so he can't just put away his phone for a full day, but we agreed to our own version of a tech sabbath.  We decided that on Saturday night ('date night' in our house) that we would start our tech free time and that we would observe our tech free time until Sunday evening.  We also made the decision to dedicate our Sunday to family time that would include a creative activity, a physical activity (family walk or bike ride) and using our family supper to have a discussion about what we are grateful for from the previous week.  

Our rules for our tech free time are:

• no social media
• no games on our phones or laptops
• no podcasts
• no email
• no internet browsing
• no blogging

We have found that our tech free time has really increased our enjoyment and relaxation during our 'days off'.  We truly have time to rest and we are able to tune out the rest of the world for a short period of time.  It is rejuvenating.

Do you ever limit your social media or tech use?

 

Summer Capsule Wardrobe- 08.07.2020

I am back to my blog this week with some new outfits to share.  Last week my family and I headed to the cabin for a mini vacation.  We tried our best to unplug, relax and enjoy nature.  It was so rejuvenating.  I came back refreshed and ready to work again.  I have been loving my distressed jeans lately.  We have had the odd rainy day and I have been wearing them quite a bit.  They are so comfortable and look cute, too!

Happy Wednesday, friends!

Summer Capsule Wardrobe- 17.06.2020

I am so glad to be in my summer wardrobe.  My spring clothes were getting to be much too warm for the weather.  I spend most of my days chasing kids, doing housework and gardening.  My wardrobe has to be comfortable and easy to work in.  So far this wardrobe has worked beautifully.  

Happy Wednesday, friends!

Peaceful Simple Loves- 12.06.2020

I read a lot.  I have really stuck to a non-fiction in recent years, but I do love fiction.  I like the romance genre, but I don't always get caught up in the story the way that I want to.  I want books to draw me in a hold my attention.

I read a book by Alyssa Cole  and I was instantly hooked.  Her books are well-written with strong, intelligent female characters and her books are inclusive.  Her Reluctant Royals series made me fall head over heels for her novels and I am now working my way through the rest of her books.  If you love romance novels, you need to check her work out.

Summer Capsule Wardrobe 2020

I have my summer capsule wardrobe all ready to go.  I am looking forward to warm days.  Our weather has been mostly cool and windy so far so I made sure to include some warm clothes so that I will be comfortable throughout the summer.  My Summer Capsule Wardrobe consists of 32 pieces.  I am excited to start wearing this wardrobe and I am hopeful that it will serve my clothing needs until the fall.

Happy Wednesday, friends!