It’s Friday, and here’s five things.
1: I’m having a bath
I could electrocute myself at any time but I’m living on the edge. Kidding.
Anyway, I’m still feeling yuk, so after sitting out by the fire with my husband for a bit, he kindly ran a bath for me to soak in. He even added scented Epsom salts, he’s so sweet.
I still feel blah tho. Thank god for cold and flu meds.
2: I started a puzzle this week
Whenever we go places and I see puzzles, I want to stop everything I’m doing just to get a piece in. It’s just so dang enticing!
When I visited a friend last weekend I took a puzzle with me but we didn’t end up doing it.
So, I busted out that bad boy at home this week. Yesterday morning my son and I sat together doing the puzzle for about half an hour. I left it set up on the table, and today when I was working I would fit in a few pieces while I waited for the kettle to boil.
It’s looking pretty healthy!
Everyone who sorts by colour look away now.
3: I’m starting to plan holiday clothes
In a few months we’ll be taking a holiday, which means it’s round 2 for a capsule wardrobe. This time it’s 100% for leisure, so I might be able to get away with packing less.
We’ll be gone for about 10 days, and we have a travel washing bag so will be able to do laundry ourselves. I also got a portable little washing line (basically a rope with hooks and pegs), so we can dry the stuff in our room.
But if anyone has recommendations for their go-to travel clothes, or any tips for packing at all, I’d love to hear them. Elisabeth just did an amazing round up of everything they packed for Europe, and I’m totally checking out the toiletries bag she recommended.
I did brave the coolish weather this week to try on a denim skirt from last year (bought a smaller size intentionally). I think it fits nicely and looks good, but I’m not sure if denim is the way to go. I’m thinking it would be a pain to dry, if nothing else.
4: Glitter not-acrylic markers
I got super excited to see some glitter markers at Kmart for only $10, and treated myself to them after a particularly challenging day.
When I got them home I was bummed to find they were water-based, which meant they bled through my planner.
It’s a bummer, cause the colour range was amazing.
But there’s a very happy little boy at home who was only too quick to take them off my hands. And he had great fun colouring in some cardstock colouring-in pages I had, so I suppose it’s still a win in the end.
5: Daily Gratitude: Text/call a friend or loved one that brings you joy
Day 14’s daily gratitude prompt from The Optimistic Muse was:
Text/call a friend or loved one that brings you joy.
I chatted with a few people today, but I intentionally reached out to one of my friends who moved to Japan a few years ago.
She and I have been friends since I was about 14, and worked our first jobs together. She’s from Uruguay originally, but has since called Australia home (it became permanent only a few years after we met). Lucky, because we had to fight to keep her.
She’s hands down one of the most incredible people I’ve ever met. She has taught me so much about life, love, gratitude, history…we’ve had so many deep and meaningful chats, where she has really opened my eyes. She’s also so open minded and welcoming.
I am truly lucky to call her one of my friends.
So I reached out to ask how she’s going, and to hear about all her recent travels. And just knowing she’s somewhere doing something adventurous brings such a smile to my face.
So that’s it for this week, I’m going to enjoy the last few minutes of my bath before the water gets cold.
Are you a chaos-sorter or a strict-edges-first person when it comes to puzzles? And got a go-to tip for packing light for a 10-day trip? Still figuring it out.
Oooh I love puzzles, I am definitely an edges-first sort of gal.
Me too! I’m not sure there’s any other way?
Are there such a thing as puzzle strategy enemies? West coast v east coast style? Edge v no edge (and who would even do such a thing?)
Yes, edges first, then my daughters and I each choose a part of the puzzle we’re going to do. My daughter also sets the rule that we are not allowed to look at the picture after we’ve started, which I comply with when we are doing a puzzle together but not if I’m doing a puzzle by myself.
I always travel carry-on only if I’m flying. My thoughts on denim are that it is heavy, so you don’t want too much, but generally you don’t need to wash it, so unless you have an unfortunate spill, you should be able to wear it the whole trip without worrying about how fast it will dry. I always pack one pair of blue jeans and usually don’t need to wash them. Although I had an unfortunately late, super-heavy perimenopause period when we were travelling in Italy, I leaked on them and had to wash them. They took days in our humid apartment to dry out. Luckily I had a black pair of lululemon pants I usually take with me that I could wear for the days that my jeans were out of action.
Oh my gosh – not looking at the picture after starting is next level! My memory is so bad I’d be almost useless at that, but now I almost want to take on the challenge and see if I can do it. Maybe for the next one.
I think you’re right about the denim. I’ll stick to the jeans and forget the skirt; jeans are more versatile, and I run cold, so it’s almost a miracle if my legs are exposed anyway. And great point about how long it will take to dry gear too; what a horrible experience for you! I’m so impressed you can do the carry-on only; future goals for sure.
I went “oooh” when I saw your glitter marker, ha ha. I love glitter and sparkle! Too bad they bleed through the planner pages. I use colored pens and put stickers all over my planner. It just makes it more fun to use something basic, doesn’t it?