Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Ebb & Flow: February

The highs and lows of the month.


Bird: 
Red-Bellied Woodpecker

Perfume:
Serge Lutens Nuit de Cellophane

Perfume Oil:
Nocturne Alchemy Myrrh Ombre (I like it layered with Nocturne Alchemy's Diplodocus)

Candle:
Chi Candles Old Books

Wax:
Ten Digit Creations Rosewood and Amber

Jewelry:
Marta Oms skull earrings

Reading:
The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton, just found out it is a TV series... the seems to be happening quite often with my reads. 

Watching:
Alias Grace on Netflix. It was brilliant. Just like the book. Now I am excited to watch Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. That book was brilliant too.

Listening:
Anything from Old Blind Dogs on Spotify

Drinking:
lots of coffee

Eating:
rubbish

Enjoying:
Watering, weeding and otherwise tinkering in the garden.

Awaiting:
Spring Break, a whole week of bliss at home. Reading, gardening, sewing perhaps. A day at the beach. Whatever suits the girls' fancy and mine as well.

Dreading:
The return of the mosquitoes.

Hit:
Society6 All Over Print shirts... they are super cute, comfy and I love the patterns and artwork. The only caveat is that there are imperfections on them where the material folded and there is white non-printed material but that doesn't bother me too much. They are spendy at $35 a pop but I wait for the 25% off and free shipping codes that pop up frequently.

Miss:
Lush Toothy tabs. My friend kindly let me use some and I won't be buying them in the future. They didn't leave my mouth feeling clean, my breath wasn't fresh and they tasted like cardboard and chalk. 

Low:
None really. Just trying to figure some things out for myself. We had a Mind Fuel workshop at school for a staff development where the speaker proposed to us that our mind and experiences are completely dictated by what is inside of us, that the world or circumstances or things that happen to us are each unique experiences that are played much like a film in our minds and that the more we realize this the better we can adapt and cope with hardships, the better we can problem-solve, the more happiness we can experience. That quieting the mind and clearing away the clutter will unfold our ability to perform at peak function. I am not saying he is correct and it might sound like a bunch of hooey but I think there is some nugget of truth for myself that I can glean from this. I will be thinking on this and chewing on it until I see where it takes me. Not sure why this is in the "Low" but I think it has the potential to be a "High."

High:
Planting the garden with Scarlette was one of the highlights of the month. She helped sow the seeds, we water and weed it each day and exclaim how big the plants are growing or each time we spy a new sproutling. Savanna's birthday was great fun. I earned my teaching certificate back (agriscience 6-12th grade) and now I will be taking another test to add on the K-6 subject area.

I had a nice month. I don't think I placed any wax orders?? I need to go back and check but I don't think I did. The majority of my mad money went to buying endless bags of soil (about a dozen cubic feet in all I think...), seeds and garden accouterments. I also picked up two mugs which I will show when they arrive, stained glass and some bath and body items from Bohemienne Life and a ring from Theeth Jewelry. Next month I want to keep up the low-buy/no-buy of wax (I do want to pick up more LSC when she opens for RTS) and try and cut back even more on frivolous spending. I have many financial goals for myself and my family and I want to set those wheels in motion.

How was your February? Any favorite things that got used? What are you reading? Watching? Listening to? Do you have any goals? Do you spring clean? I think I want to do that too.

7 comments:

  1. I am in clean mode now also, I had a neighbor ask if I was interested in selling my apartment. I have agreed and am now starting to plan for a move with some cold feet about going through with it. My gut says it is a good thing, yet the future is unknown and I am living inexpensively right now close to my job. I have no signed contract yet but the wheels are in motion. I would be moving in 2 months to a rental that my friend owns until I decide if I stay in my temp job or take the big step of moving west, I am considering New Mexico and the states along the coast, maybe coming up with first, second and third choices and then travel and scope out employment and housing options. It would be a dip into savings but as I approach 40 I think I am ready to shake my life up.

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    1. Wow Jean!!! This is so thrilling!!! A new adventure!! Downsizing must feel nice. Preparing a clean slate, imagining possibilities, forging a new path. If you move to New Mexico I will have to make an excuse to come out that way so I can visit you. <3 if you need anything during this transition let me know.

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  2. I already mentioned it privately but I'll mention it here too in case anyone reading is interested.... If you like Old Blind Dogs, check out Gaelic Storm too, especially their early stuff. In fact, now that it's March, maybe I'll pop them into the stereo and appreciate my Irish roots.

    Nice birbie! I don't think that's the same kind we have around here. We had a red headed woodpecker but it looks a lot bigger than that one, and sort of more tan/brown. I haven't seen the Blue Jay recently.

    February was okay here. I've been enjoying the BHG/Scentsationals summery drink scents in wax. I'm just about finished reading the Moth and Spark book, thought I might finish last night but dozed off. The only show I'm really into at the moment is The Magicians. My other shows are all on break. I've been listening oldies, both on the radio and my old 'mix tape' cds of favorite songs from late '90s-ish. And no, I don't do spring cleaning. I barely do day to day cleaning. Doh!

    ~Deb

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    1. I have thoroughly loved listening to Gaelic Storm since you suggested it.

      I am horrible at cleaning too. It is just not something I enjoy. But I will do it to keep away critters and keep the house nice. Adam is definitely the better cleaner. His mom would wash walls and everything. I am lucky to push a broom.

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    2. My mom is like that, washing walls. Makes sense since my grandma was like that too. So why am I not? Maybe because I work and they didn't? Geez, even at 81 years old, my mom's apartment is spotless. *sigh*

      ~Deb

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  3. Congrats on the accidental no buy. I pulled another one of those myself this month; just wasn't anything that caught my eye. Like I've said before, it *will* catch up to me eventually, but I'm going to run with it for now, keep building up a bit of unintended motivation. :)

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    1. Thanks! It was a nice break! But I am still going to let myself two or three if needed for this month. So far I just picked up a few from the LSC RTS. I have been reading your blog via newsfeed and wanted to say how cool your new kicks are but I will do it proper and head over to your blog tonight!

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