Back today with five (OK, eight) random things to share with you, in no particular order. 🙂
I did a couple of little freelance writing projects and they were fun. One of the things that I love about my job/jobs is that I get so many opportunities to try new things. Like that time that I wrote a book, or went on a tour of different Home Depot locations with a paint company to help people choose paint colors. I usually decline offers to write articles because I just don’t have the time right now, but with the lockdown that we had, I thought I could squeeze it in, so I said yes to a couple of them. For one of them, I was asked to write a little about our story of leaving our lives in the city to move out to the country for a magazine. There’s no guarantee that they’ll actually end up using it, but it will come out this fall if they do. It’s always lots of fun to see your name/photo in a real magazine. I also put together a blog post for Kitchen Bath Collection that I think turned out really nicely. It’s all about styling tricks to make your bathroom look magazine worthy and it’s up now if you’re interested in checking it out.
The kids have been back in school for a couple of weeks now and it’s been interesting. When the kids went back to school in September after our first lockdown, it was really great. They weren’t super excited about the idea, but as soon as they actually got back to school and fell back into their routines, everyone was happy. This time around has been a little more challenging because our kids actually really enjoyed the remote learning that they were doing and it worked really well for them. I think the time of year also has a lot to do with it. February can be a hard month at the best of times because it’s just so darn cold and a little bleak sometimes too. At the high school, the kids have to stay in the same classroom all day long right now, but they take them outside to walk around and get some fresh air every once in awhile. In September, it was so nice for them to get outside and they’d even do some of their learning out there, but right now it’s just downright unpleasant a lot of the time. So getting up early and going out in the cold for all that, when just a few weeks ago you were sitting in your cozy room for your school work can be a bit tough. I’m mostly enjoying our winter weather this year, but for the kids’ sake, I hope we have an early spring!
I got a new design book that I really love. Is there any better escape than a good design book? I finally ordered the new More Beautiful book and I’m so glad I did. It’s designed with thoughtful little details from the delightful blue and white gingham interior of the cover, to the handwritten notes next to the photos throughout. I definitely recommend it if you’re looking for a book like this to get lost in while you stay cozy inside!
We booked our first cottage for this summer! We’ve always been avid tent campers, but we thought we’d try something a little different this year. Actually, we went to book our campsite, but because of the pandemic, and the fact that there really isn’t anything else to do, the sites were all completely booked up within seconds of becoming available and we missed out. We took it as a sign and booked a cottage on a lake in Muskoka, which we’ve always been curious to try. I’ve already started a list in my phone of things I want to pack, meals I want to make, and fun activities for us to do while we’re there! I’m open to all of your best cottage-ing tips!
My desk nook project is complete! I shared earlier this week that the cheerful little workspace that I’ve been creating for myself is done and I’m just loving it so much. It’s a happy little corner of the world just for me and I can’t believe it took me so many years to finally give myself a real, grown-up desk to work at. You can see the full “before and after” reveal of the desk nook in this post here: My New Super Cheerful Blue and White Desk Nook.
Our driveway shovelling game has been top-notch this week and it’s bringing me so much joy. We got a huge dumping of snow earlier this week and we managed to keep our driveway (and the walkways) clear. There’s just something that makes me so happy about a competently-cleared driveway when there’s so much snow on the ground. It just feels like things have been taken care of and all is right in the world. To be fair, the whole situation was greatly helped when our neighbour showed up with his tractor at 7am Tuesday morning to dig us out and clear away the worst of it. We just had to tidy things up a bit. So yay for great neighbours!
Jack has been saying “OK, whatever.” in response to everything he wants to say yes to, and it’s hilarious. To be clear, this is the kid who won’t even sneak a treat without asking me to make sure it’s OK first, so his attempt at deliberately showing attitude is pretty cute. I may have to give him my best “mom look” though if it continues for much longer.
This is the best hand cream ever. It smells like Easter baking, the tube looks cute on my cheerful desk and it immediately cures all winter hand problems without that “winter hand lotion” feeling. I ordered four tubes of it. 🙂 Find it here.
MORE RECENTS POSTS
- My Five Favourite Houseplants to Beat the Winter Blahs
- What to do in February to Prepare for Next Christmas
- How to Care for Fresh Eucalyptus
- Plant-Based Pesto Gnocchi Soup
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