Night Comforts- Rituals

I love rituals. There is something comforting about having a routine to follow at night.  My favorite rituals include- Green Tea, Dove Chocolate, computer time and a little TV.  I am a stickler for flossing every single night and am a little obsessive about using my creams and my lip balm in a certain order.  

When Jonas was first born, like most new parents our world was rocked.  Things changed A LOT.  We went from normal to survival mode in an instant and things like night time rituals just seemed so unimportant.  So many nights with a newborn, washing my face before bed felt like a day at the spa.  Time alone even 5 minutes was so scarce  and precious.  Of course things got so much easier, our baby grew and we grew- and we fell into new routines.  Now though, there are still days that I am lucky to have a few minutes to brush and floss and might just spend an extra minute or two savoring it shhh. I love the new rituals we have with Jonas, bedtime snuggles are the best. Things are different really different, but I love it so so much.

Old Nite Time Ritual:

dinner- chat with kev- candles- reading- relaxing

New Nite Time Ritual:

eat dinner- change baby- feed baby- chase baby down the hall- jammies for baby- snuggle baby-brush baby teeth- read booboo- watch wibbly pig- transfer baby to crib.  Work on blog posts- plan the next day- head on pillow- get crying baby

         

Wouldn't Change things for the world!

                                                   

Vintage Shopping

Hunting for vintage treasures is my favorite kind of shopping.  There are so many unique things waiting to be discovered.  The thing to keep in mind when shopping vintage is that some days you will find something great and other days will be a bust.  I look at it more as collecting.  I have compiled my collection of treasures over several years now- and I still love each one.


I like unique items that speak to me.... and only buy things that I feel I can't leave without.  My gut check, is "next week-will I regret not taking this home?"  It my answer is yes, I buy it.

Some of the things I'm always on the look out for are- vintage horse toys and horse shoes, nautical themed items and prints, Mother Mary planters, and old cameras- among other things.

I don't always have a place in mind to display the item at home- but that's okay.  If I really love it, I know I can find a good spot for it with my other treasures.

Shopping vintage can seem like work vs going to a store that has multiples of everything (a one stop shop).  But I love the hunt and a good bargain- this keeps me hungry for more!  So, I am challenging myself for the rest of the year-  When it comes to shopping for home items - I am only going to buy Vintage or Second Hand.  If we break a dish, need a new desk organizer, need a picture frame for Jonas' 1 year photo shoot- yep--- I'm going thrifting!

At some point it would be fun to include clothes in this challenge but I'm not ready for that yet- I'll start small.  Wish me luck!

Self + Portrait

I am doing the "Beautiful Mess" Self Portrait Challenge - only I am not posting them to Instagram.  Just a little too shy for that eeek- (though I don't think twice about bombarding all my Instagram friends with pictures of my baby daily).  

Instead of sharing on Instagram-My sister and I are exchanging photos every day.  It has been pretty challenging.  Really trial and error to get a shot that is interesting and doesn't look like you are just  making funny faces at your camera.  I really wanted to try this because I am the picture taker of the family and don't have many pictures of myself.  Mastering a good self portrait can come in handy.

Some things I have learned so far:

*most pics look better and show more emotion in B&W

*It is hard to smile at your own phone when you are alone in the car or in your cube at work

*This week has been pretty emo- so are my pictures but thats ok.

There is something powerful about taking a self portrait- confronting yourself and accepting who you are for that day... even it if is just the way you look - I am surprised that it is pretty intense

The Plants

 I saw these flowers during a walk downtown a while back.  They are so pretty they almost look fake, don't they?  I finally started a tiny herb garden and planted several pots of flowers.  Sadly, we have had super hot weather- scorching my poor little things.  I think that most of them will survive - at least I'm hoping. 

My Momma helped me plant Basil, Mint (which has taken off in just a week), and Cilantro (that died instantly).  We have already used the Basil in several meals.  So much fun!  I am starting small with just a few plants in containers.  Next year, my goal is to start a medium in ground vegetable garden.  Once my plants have recovered from this hot weather I'll take some pics.

The plants- I feel like I have a bunch of new babies depending on me-so much responsibility- haha.