Self

10 Quick Ideas for Self Care

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With the holidays around the corner, the stress is starting to mount. So I’m giving a quick list of ten self care coping skills you can use to help make it through the next month.  Here we go!

  1. Try a new makeup technique or color at home.
  2. Pet your pet.
  3. Put a puzzle together (over several days, a little at a time)
  4. Go for a walk around the block.
  5. Give yourself a quick facial.
  6. Color a quick picture.
  7. Phone a friend.
  8. Feed the ducks, squirrels and birds.
  9. Watch a black and white film.
  10. Make yourself hot chocolate or a milkshake.

Easy stuff huh?  Enjoy.

Home

Vintage vs Antique vs Retro

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Vintage, antique, retro, words we hear constantly.  We see them in store windows, on online postings and when grandma tells us about her candy dish from the world’s fair.  What does it all mean?  Many use the definitions as interchangeable words.  But are they?  Can misuse represent fraud?  It may not rise to that level hopefully, but it can create confusion.  So after looking at multiple sources and speaking with several people I hope the following can help you to know what you are looking at and what you should look for when shopping.

Vintage is the most common word that gets used for a variety of meanings.  Vintage is actually supposed to be used for wine only.  Yup, vintage refers to the year a wine is made.  It is not supposed to apply to anything else.  However, like everything in society, somethings don’t always follow what they are supposed to.  When the word vintage is used in conjunction with anything other than wine it is meaningless.  You will hear many people say that vintage means from 50 to 100 year old but not less than 20 years.  Having read in many chat rooms that this is the “common” usage.

What is antique?  An antique item is anything over 100 years old.  This is an industry standard.  Easy, and straightforward.

Then, that leaves retro.  What does retro mean?  Retro is imitative of a style, fashion, or design from the recent past.  Something that is outdated but becomes fashionable again. Remember bell bottoms?  They became popular again for a brief time in the 1990’s.  Retro can also apply to furniture, art and other forms of design and art.

I hope this brief tutorial helps you when shopping at your local flea market or on ebay.

 

 

Clothing

10 Fashion Terms To Know

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Each month I like to list ten different fashion terms and their meanings.  Sometimes, the terms are historical, some are modern, some are even no longer in use.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.  There are so many things to know!

1. Shirting- A term for any of a number of fabrics used for men’s and women’s shirts such as broadcloth, chambray, madras, oxford, and poplin.

2. Secondary Line- A version of a company’s popular main line that is produced at a lower cost out of lower priced materials.

3. Ultramarine- Rich deep purple-blue color made from powdered lapis lazuli, or chemicals to reach the same color.

4. Tyrian Purple- Red-Purple Color originally obtained from shellfish found off the shores of Tyre in ancient Palestine.  It was reserved for royalty.

5. Bias Slip- A slip cut on the diagonal of the fabric to give a more body conscious fit, it can stretch to conform to the movements of the body.

6.Silk- Fiber from insects that is produced when they spin their cocoons (a silkworm).  It is strong, resilient and elastic.

7. Cocktail Ring-  A large, noticeable ring that can be real or costume.

8. Lapel Pin- A woman’s pin originally worn on the lapel of a suit.

9. Peignoir- A loose wrap or jacket and skirt set worn by a woman for informal bed clothes or coverings.

10. Millefiore- An Italian word that means thousands of flowers.  Used to describe a tiny flower print in clothing and jewelry.

 

Journaling

10 Journal Prompts for November

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1. Can you remember which colors you liked best as a child?

2. When you think of your favorite holiday, what colors do you see?

3. What color do you wish trees would turn in Fall?

4. What holiday is your biggest feast?  What is a traditional meal you eat?  What would you like to eat instead?

5. What are your five favorite things?  If you bring them together what color pallet do you have?

6. What is your favorite clothing style?  From what era is it from?  Who are your clothing icons?

7. Write about your dream wardrobe.  Write about the one you have for your current life.  Then write about the wardrobe you would have for your dream life. How do they differ?  How are they the same?

8. What color was your bedroom growing up?  How did it change as you aged?

9. What does you current home look like aesthetically?  How about past homes? What is one feature you wish your current home has?

10. List the major holidays you recognize.  Do you decorate for them?  What are the decorations?

Self

Goal Updates

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In September I posted a list of goals that I wanted to accomplish.  I thought that I had written fairly small and easy goals for myself. I guess I was wrong.  I’m going to go through each goal and tell you how far I got.   How are you at accomplishing your goals?  I am usually really good at it.  However, like most people there are some things that I just want to put off.

The first thing on the list was drink more water.  As I said before, I hate water.  I really do. I haven’t done very well on this goal at all.  I have started having a glass of water with breakfast.  I still need to incorporate more.  I have started trying to drink LaCroix water.  I’m not 100% on it yet.  I will keep searching for a new flavor.

Number two goal was walking the dog.  I’ve made zero progress on this goal.  My dog has not been happy with me.  She now ignores me when I call her in from the yard.  She just gives me a sort of “fuck you” look.  I thought it was because we got cats.  It could be the no walks though.  My husband walks her.  I haven’t been.  I am a bad dog mommy.

Eat more fruits and veggies was my third goal.  This is one I’ve been able to achieve.  It really has helped that we decided to subscribe to Hello Fresh.  They always have great veggies with their meals.  This is not a paid sponsorship.  I pay for it myself.  The variety has really helped my well being too.

In the fourth spot it was working on my blog more.  I have done this a little bit.  I’ve made some minor headway.  My goal was to have a regular time to blog per day.   Hopefully, I can get that to work.

Fifth spot is read more.  I love reading.  Given what has been going on in my life over the last couple of years, reading has gone by the wayside.  My to be read bookshelf is overflowing.  I need to get back on track reading wise.  I am currently reading “The Art of Living Danishly.”

Sleep was my sixth goal.  I’ve always been an insomniac.  I cannot remember ever having a relaxing or refreshing sleep.  Recently, I’ve been put on some additional sleep medication and it is helping a bit.  I am sleeping longer but tired when I get up.  Hopefully, it will all work out soon.

Self-Care.  One of my additional goals was selfcare.  I know it’s such a buzz word but it is needed in my life now.  I’m just not doing a very good job lately.  I need to register myself for some massages.  My chiropractor said my muscles are really stiff and need to be worked. I need to get on that.  I also need to schedule everything else due to the holiday season.  Appointments book up fast.

My last goal was to go places.  I need to get out of the house.  I’ve done pretty well in October.  Fall leaves, pumpkin walks and other things.  I hope to keep this up for November.

What goals have you been working on?

 

Self

What I’m currently…

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Currently…

Listening to….. Multiple Podcasts. A new one is called “Blackwood.”  Sort of a modern Blair Witch project.  A fictional account of 3 young people who research a local legend. It just started so get listening.

Eating…. Hello Fresh.  My husband and I subscribed to Hello Fresh food box subscription service.  I was so sick of eating the same thing day after day.  We chose the two day a week delivery for two people.  It is more than enough food.  It is something I look forward to eating.  I’m no foodie. Some of the meals are just okay, some are fantastic.  I like that we get to keep the recipe to remake it.  Which is the reason we got Hello Fresh.  To get something new to eat. Definitely worth it. (Not a sponsored post)

I’m also eating Reece’s Peanut Butter cups.  I shouldn’t be.  I bought normal size candy bars for Halloween Trick or Treaters.  The peanut butter cups are my weakness.  Sooooo good!

Making….I am spending more and more time on my journals.  Less on anything else.  I am also starting a junk journal. To find out how to start your own check out my pinterest page.

Drinking….Too much Coke as usual.

Watching….Expedition Unknown. I really like their recent episodes where they look at the afterlife in different cultures.

Going….To check out Fall leaves.

Thinking….How to get everything done. What to put on the to do list. How things are going to go with my son.  How to accomplish goals for myself.  Will I have time for everything.

Dreaming of….Taking a long vacation on my own without my family.  Sleeping for a very long time.

Wanting to….Work out more, improve my blog, and learn more about photography.

 

What are you doing lately?  Let me know in the comments below.

 

 

 

 

Family

What We Did As A Family Recently.

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Another month has flown by so quickly.  It’s the end of October.  I can’t believe it.  October for me is the start of the busy season which lasts till the third week in January for me.  I have finally been able to schedule a few fun things to do with family and friends.  I also was able to sort through all the Halloween decorations and got rid of a lot.  I kept enough for one shelf in the entrance way and the fireplace mantel.  I also went through the Thanksgiving decorations.  I don’t have a lot of those but I narrowed it down.  Part of me just wants to get rid of all of those decorations but I am not sure right now.  I will have to think about that in the future.

One of the fun things I was able to do was go with my friend to the Bachman’s Floral, Gift and Garden Idea House.  They take an old home and several times a year redecorate it.  Then they charge a small fee to tour it.  The proceeds go to charity.  You can also buy the one of a kind items in the house as well as the more mass produced stuff in the store.  This time I went to the Fall Idea House.  Here is the garage which they turned into a bar/man cave.

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They always do the bedrooms which I love.  I am a sucker for a ton of pillows on the bed.

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No matter what time of year it is, the dining room table is always beautifully decorated.

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Later in the month, I went with my family to the Minnesota Zoo Jack-o-Lantern spectacular.  It was amazing!  There are 5000 pumpkins alight at night.  I’m glad we got there early and bought our online tickets early.

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Some of the pumpkins were carved with very traditional faces like above.  Some were more artistic in nature.  An example is Harry Potter below.

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They keep carving pumpkins throughout the spectacular to replace the ones that rot.  What a great thing for the zoo to host!  I am so glad I went.

Close to the end of the month I went to an Antiques fair at Bachman’s.  Yes, I kind of live there.  I like a lot of the things the host.  Also, just know, they are not sponsoring me.

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Then on the weekend, the last one before all the leaves fell.  We went to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.  They had a scarecrow display where you could see this pumpkin house.

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The pumpkin has a variety of shapes and colors doesn’t it.  My favorite name of one of the pumpkins is the “Warty Goblin.”  Perfect. The main attraction was the fall color.  I love looking at the yellow leaves on the Wood Duck Trail.  So pretty!

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Now we are prepping for Halloween trick or treaters.  Do you have a lot of kids come to your house?  I grew up out in the middle of nowhere.  We only had one trick or treater in the 25 years I lived there.  We thought they were lost.  It’s hard to figure out how much candy to get.  The number of kids varies from year to year.  This year I bought full sized candy bars.  Mistake!  I’ve already gotten into the Reece’s peanut butter cups.  A favorite of mine.  What do you sneak out of the candy stash?