Currently the last day of December.
Currently wondering how I ever went a whole month without eating bread.
Currently wearing yoga pants because they fit and they make me more motivated to clean my house. Is that weird? Probably. Sometimes I put my sneakers on because it also helps.
So, we’re home this Christmas break. We’re laying low, although Casey has been working a lot. No trips planned. If you’ve been following along on Instagram Stories (@shutterbean), we’ve been doing a lot of art around here and I’m slowly trying to get myself organized around the house. I’m in the process of rearranging our (MY) books and finishing up our bedroom. Just on the search for lights…and am having a hard time finding ones that we can both agree on.
This whole month my house has been a disaster zone, so I am looking forward to it being straightened up and organized. I’ve been putting Cooper to work while we’re stay-cationing. I’m making him earn screen time by doing chores and helping me organize. He’s really good at matching socks and that makes me sooo happy. That’s one of my least favorite things to do when it comes to laundry.
Next week, I plan on figuring out my Instant Pot situation, taking trips to Salvation Army (goodbye rice cooker and crock pot?) while I purge a bunch of stuff and pair down my closet. Dim Sum is in my future. I have a craving for it, so maybe we’ll make a weekday SF adventure for it.
I’m also wanting to make some intentions for 2017. I did it a few years ago and would love to be more intentional as we head into a new year. I am ready for a clean slate/fresh start.
You to heed my advice-
ALWAYS LOOK FOR ANYTHING IN YOUR GLASS OF WATER ON YOUR NIGHTSTAND BEFORE YOU DRINK FROM IT.
I woke up. Took a sip of water and was like-
What is this in my mouth?
It feels like a nail clipping. WTF
And then I spit it out. Looked at my bathroom sink
and it was
A
DEAD
SPIDER.
Like a big gnarly white one.
OMFG.
I now have lids on every glass I drink from.
OK, let’s break it down.
Inspired by: The book, Overview. The photography is so beautiful. Earth is AMAZING. If you’re like me and LOVE seeing the patterns on land & water while you’re on an airplane, you’ll love this book. The imagery is spectacular.
I’m inspired by light and rainbows right now. The winter light in my house is really beautiful. There’s this haze in the morning that brings me back to my childhood. Santa popped a rainbow maker in Cooper’s stocking so we’ve been obsessed with watching the rainbows fill up our family room when the sun comes up in the morning. The other morning Cooper woke me up because he saw the pinkest sunrise and he knew I would love it. Makes me happy to see that my love for nature is rubbing off on him. He is a light seeker.
Watching: I haven’t been watching much TV this month because I’ve been working at night. Although I did have a little Real Housewives Beverly Hills binge during my introvert session after Christmas. It was niiiiiice. I watched the movie Minimalism: A Documentary about Important Things. I thought it was really good. Now I want to travel and throw everything out.
I’m not sure what jogged my memory of the movie 12 Monkeys, but we watched it this week. I had been wanting to for awhile. It’s as good as I remembered it to be in my early 20s. It was made in 1995!! It would be such a different movie if it was made now. Probably filled with CG. Brad Pitt was kind of my hero in my early 20s. I loved him in Fight Club and he was loony tunes in 12 Monkeys. He knows how to act crazy.
I forgot to tell you last month that we also went through the show- Good Girls Revolt. I highly recommend it if you’re looking for a little hit of Mad Men (I miss that show). I believe it’s on Amazon! The fashion/set design is pretty awesome. Cindy is one of my favorite characters (on TV, maybe ever).
Reading: On my nightstand, I have The Artist’s Way (which I am going to start next week), Voracious (which is a good read!) and You are a Badass because I could use a pep talk for 2017.
Thinking about: 2017 and minimalism. I didn’t really follow a capsule wardrobe in Autumn (after almost a year!) and it really threw me off. What was I thinking??! (I wasn’t) But it just reinforced the fact that my life suffers without plans and intentions. I want to spend 2017 coming up with systems and structures that make SENSE and make me WANT to keep them up because THEY WORK. The capsule wardrobe was a really good system because I was DELIBERATE about what I was doing. It’s time to figure out what I must/need to sacrifice so I can pair down all of the things I am managing in my life/in my brain. It could be as simple as going paperless. Action needed!
Listening to: I guess I have to quit it with the Christmas music. I made this Christmas mix last year and I’ve been listening to all season. Also, if you’re on spotify, you can get your 2016 mix of all the music you listened to (repeatedly) for the year. Mine is pretty random, just like me. Shutterbean 2016 Mix. I’ve also been listening to a lot of Vitamin String Quartet while I work. I love when they play a song I know.
Dream Life: Oregon…still. Woods…grocery stores. I do a lot of grocery shopping in my sleep. Weird, huh? Every now and then I will get a flashback of one of my dreams while I’m going about my everyday life. There’s a lot of deja vu happening lately. Life is interesting, to say the least.
Eating: All the bread. Thinking about doing Whole30 again for a nice reset. But to balance it out, I’ve been eating spinach like a mofo. It’s all because I got a giant bag of it at Costco and I’ve been working my way through it. I like it sauteed in olive oil with tons of garlic, red pepper flakes and a splash of vinegar at the end for tang. I just need to get myself into some better routines. The holidays threw me off.
Drinking: Lemon Ginger Elixir. It’s this concoction that I’ve had a local hippy grocery store called Good Earth. I’ll make it for the blog soon because it’s good. It’s got a kick but I believe it totally helps fight colds.
I’m also super obsessed with this Lemon Ginger Kevita. If I could have a tap of it at my house, I would. There’s just something about the mouth burn that I’m hooked on. So yeah, anything lemon + ginger and I’m there.
What have you been up to??
How was your December?
How are you going to make 2017 great?
You know the drill. Leave your stream of consciousness in the notes!
See you next year!
