Never underestimate your power to recreate your life.
It’s been so long since I’ve been able to find the time to get one of these posts done – the last one was in OCTOBER! With work, and family, and work, and reading, and work, and baking, and work, I have very little time for blogging. Hoping to find a way to change that as I love sharing these things with whoever happens to stop by.
Morning routine: You can read my full morning routine here. I am finding that the longer I work from home, the easier it is to bend my daily schedule…don’t do that! I’m not saying there’s any harm in being a little flexible, but in my case, it ends up with things not getting done. And we all know how well I like messed up routines. (I’m visibly cringing right now.)
I’ve been using this Hey Honey morning serum as part of my morning skin care routine, and I really like it. When I say “part of my morning skin care routine,” I actually mean this is it. I wake up, brush my teeth and put this serum on. I’ve said for years that it’s horrible on your face to wash it in the morning. If you cleanse it well at night, you shouldn’t have to wash it morning and night, especially if you’re 40+. I have enough time between applying this serum and showering for it to soak in a bit, but if you shower first thing in the morning, I would recommend waiting until after your shower to apply this. (And please don’t wash your face in the shower. Thanks.)
I am still using the 8fit app for my morning workout and yoga. It would be a lot more effective if I would follow the meal plan a little bit better…
Breakfast: I’ve been eating a lot of oatmeal. A lot. It’s easy and quick, so cheap, and super healthy. This week, I’ve been making it with almond milk, then adding in a splash of lemon juice and half a chopped apple while it’s cooking. When it’s done, I add in a small handful of slivered almonds and a bit of cinnamon. So good. I love big family breakfasts, but even with all of us at home, it’s still difficult to fit them in without running behind. So I’ve been saving them for the weekends.
We had our traditional snowman pancakes sometime in January…here they are:
These are always a fun time. Gets the teenagers out of bed before noon, which is always an accomplishment in my book.
Tea: We are enjoying some great winter teas from the Tea Smith. My favorite is Berry Me in Chocolate. The Black Bourbon Praline is also really good.
Coffee: We just finished up our last bag of Gingerbread coffee from Aldi. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s so good.
Housekeeping: I made the greatest little simmer pot the other day with some evergreen clippings. I always throw in a sliced orange, some cinnamon sticks and whole cloves, and a bit of nutmeg. The evergreen was a new twist and I really liked it for a bit of a wintery smell.
Shopping: My dear friend Susan made me these adorable aprons. I love them because they fit perfectly. I’m little, so I have to have my aprons custom made. LOVE THESE.
Lunch: I have discovered (via 8fit) sweet potato toast. You just slice it lengthwise and you can actually put it in the toaster. You have to toast it a couple times for it to be soft enough, but then you can top it with jam or fruit or whatever you want!
Work: Oh my goodness….where to start. I think it might be better for me to say that if you’re interested in catching up on what I’m doing for work these days, you can check out sincerelystarlight.com where I talk more about my life and less about lifestyle, if that makes sense.
Snacks: We needed game food for the Chiefs game (…in February?), so I put together a few fun boards. The one that’s supposed to look like a football doesn’t really look like a football, but oh well.
Drinks: Sometime during the last month (or two…) it was national Hot Buttered Rum day. I had never made one before. I’ll admit it was a little too strong for me – I like making the drinks much more than I like drinking them. But, it was the perfect warm and cozy drink for all the snow we’ve had lately!
Dinner: We’ve been making a lot of homemade pizza. I prefer it so much over delivery and my kids love pizza! I have a post planned with our three favorite pizza crusts, so I will link that once it’s done.
Family Time: Dan and I are both working from home, Elie and Bizi are still doing online school, so we get a lot of family time. And I mean a lot.
Yesterday, Bizi and I went to the library. Usually, we don’t go inside. I put in hold requests and the library staff brings them out and sets them on a cart for me to retrieve. But we have a road trip coming up, so I needed more books than usual. I felt rude asking the staff to get the books for me, so we made a quick trip inside and they had a Telepoem Booth! Oh my goodness, it was so cool! Bizi didn’t know how to use a rotary dial, so I showed her. It’s one of those things I never thought about her not knowing how to do!
Evening Routine: You can always read my full evening routine here. Bizi bought me a new moisturizer to try and I love it. I never thought I could be so smitten with a $12 moisturizer, but I am. E.l.f. Holy Hydration Face Cream is a total godsend. I love it every bit as much as the Clinique one I was using, but look at that price tag.
Reading: Oh my goodness, this is the second reason I haven’t been blogging as much. I have been reviewing books like crazy. I have already read 28 books this year! Some of my favorites have been The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren (due out in May 2021 – please choose this one for a beach read. It’s so cute), The Girl who Escaped from Auschwitz by Ellie Midwood (just came out this month!), and Mirrorland by Carole Johnstone (kinda creepy, but so cool). I’m going to start posting my book reviews on here, too, so please let me know your thoughts!!
Currently, I’m working my way through three books. I always have to have a classic I’m currently pushing myself with – right now, it’s The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer…. Dan and I are still reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey together. We only read a chapter a week, so it’s taking a while. And I’m also working on a review for The Final Revival of Opal and Nev, which comes out later this month. The best place to keep up with my reading is always on my Goodreads or on my TBR List for the year.
The Last Word: I feel like we lived in a completely different world last time I posted, so I’m not even sure what to include here.
*If you like podcasts, this one is adorable. Check out Sue & Ava – Call Your Grandmother on Spotify. Because we should all be calling our grandmothers – if we can.
*We leave Wednesday for a trip to New York and Boston – follow along on social media if you’d like to see the sites with us. You can follow us on Instagram or Facebook, though Facebook isn’t something I remember to use a lot. I’ll try to do better.
*March Madness, friends. I am not a basketball fan – until March madness. Virginia and Gonzaga are my teams. My husband thinks Iowa and Creighton (don’t) have a chance. Wait, what? Who put that don’t in there? Not me, Dan. Not me. Anyway, my loyalty to those two teams won me a tie for 1st place in the DJ’s Dugout bracket one year – and an Apple Watch. Virginia is always my choice for college baseball, as well. I love when they are at CWS – such a fun team.
Anyway, that’s another wrap! Thanks so much for joining us! I’ll try so much harder to post more!
