Usually about this time in winter I am "over it" and impatient for Spring. This February, I have been surprised how much I'm enjoying the cold, dreary and oftentimes wet weather. As I mentioned in a previous post, a lot of it has to do with embracing what the season has to offer (aka blooming where you're planted), and being prepared to weather the cold and wet days in fun and comfortable ways (such as with your favorite boots, coat and sweater).
February: The Month of Nesting and Resting
I also find that having a goal or project helps to make a lot more indoor time enjoyable. For the past six weeks I have had three goals: 1) to lose a few pounds that I gained at Christmas (the LoseIt App made it easy), 2) to organize and revamp my wardrobe, and 3) to not watch the news or follow social media (except Pinterest). What I have found is that I'm happier than ever by tuning out the evening news (yet still reading a non-sensational-style newspaper a few times a week), spending very little time on social media, and filling my days with fun and purposeful activities. I also have learned a great deal about a topic that I had not thought much about in years or thought was very important -- fashion. Now, I have a very different view of fashion and beauty, and why it's important in our lives at any age.
February is also a great time to get caught up on your sleep -- and have I got some great ideas for how to sleep better at night. During the past month since starting this blog I have tried to be mindful each day of how I can help others to save time and money while maximizing the enjoyment from simple things. Sometimes the most enjoyable things cost next to nothing -- walking, a good tv series, a fun board game, enjoying tea with a friend, etc. And as I have learned from shopping, it can take a lot of time to find just the right things. So hopefully what I'm sharing below will be helpful for saving you time and making the rest of February a fun and cozy month.
You may not think of shopping as a nesting activity -- but to me that is what it has felt like as I've gone through my closet and removed items I no longer need and have added to what will hopefully make getting dressed easier and more enjoyable. For years due to raising boys and taking care of many other priorities, fashion was at the bottom of my priority list. As a young adult I loved shopping, but as I got older it became overwhelming and I had no idea where to start. My very fashionable mom would often take me shopping during visits and I would be at a loss for what to buy and would often opt for a solid blouse in either black or white because I knew you can't go wrong with either color. As a result, much of my clothes were either black or white, and putting together outfits each day was becoming more and more a struggle since I didn't have a vision or step-by-step plan for how to pull pretty outfits together. This picture below of the four of us from a long while back is proof of my white or black obsession!
So this winter I did a major purge of any clothes that I didn't love or wear. What I saw was that many of my favorite dresses and sweaters were those that I had purchased many years ago from Talbots. The classic styling of my Talbot's clothes enabled me to wear them for many years and to still look like new. I also came across a couple of very helpful blogs HERE and HERE, which helped me to get a better vision on how to plan and coordinate a wardrobe. If you want to learn more about these topics, I highly recommend both blogs. Here're the top take-aways from these and other stylists:
1) Determine your style -- classic, western/country, preppy, outdoorsy, artsy, sporty, etc. This will help you to more easily coordinate outfits and to avoid buying clothes on impulse that don't fit in with the vibe of your overall wardrobe or are the style you’re really comfortable with wearing. For instance, knowing that I like more of an "English classic look" for clothes, it helped me to avoid buying boots with pointed toes, which are more of a western look and would have not worked as well with my more preppy, classic-styled clothes.
2) As I mentioned in my previous January 15th post, stylists recommend selecting solid colors for foundational pieces (such as pants, skirts and jackets) that work best for your skin tone -- whether cool or warm. With my cool coloring, it explains why I have always been drawn to black, white and navy. If I had warm skin undertones, then tans, browns and ivory would be my foundational pieces. To brighten things up, I then added tops and accessories with my favorite accent colors (pink, green and light blue.)
3) Opposites attract: a loose blousy shirt looks best with a slim pant or skirt; or a loose and flowing skirt looks better with a more tailored top. A bright and patterned outfit looks best with a solid purse, and vice versa.
4) One pop of color or unexpected accessory makes the outfit look finished. For instance a bright colored flat shoe to offset a basic white t-shirt and ankle-length jeans. Or a brightly colored scarf tied around your purse if you're wearing a solid navy blue dress. I went out on a limb from my usual black and navy shoes and bought these red shoes from Talbots to make wearing jeans and a white blouse more interesting and uplifting. These could also go well with white pants and a blue or multi-colored blouse with some red in it.
5) The last eye-opening lesson was how flats that reveal more of your foot are the most slimming and flattering than shoes like loafers that cover more of your foot. Since my feet don't like pointed toes, I like an "almond" shaped toe that is in between a round toe (the most comfortable but not the most flattering) and a pointed toe, which is very flattering but uncomfortable as you get older or have wider feet. Aerosole shoes www.aerosoles.com is having a great sale, and I find their shoes to be flattering, durable and also very comfortable for problem feet. My favorite heels are wedge heels since they are so easy to walk in.
Aside from being preoccupied with raising kids, another reason I resisted focusing on fashion for many years is that I felt that it was frivolous and not a worthy endeavor in light of all the other things going on in the world. However, I now have a very different view of fashion and the role it plays in our lives. Just like in the top photo with how the pink boots and bright umbrella change the mood of what could be an otherwise gloomy image, our clothes can also convey powerful, unspoken messages and invoke emotional responses without us even realizing it.
My husband and I have often tried to explain this to our boys (now college students) about why what you wear and how you carry yourself matters in the real world. Whether we like it or not, we are wired to make snap judgments for our survival, and our clothing (next to our expressions or smile) is one of the best indicators to others about either our personality or our mood. I remember from when working in an office that when we wore suits and business attire, the office was much more productive than "casual Friday". So even what we wear can impact our own attitude and productivity -- in addition to those around us.
You don't need to look like Kate Middleton to let the world know you care or are trustworthy. But clearly what we wear sends unspoken messages, and can impact how we feel about ourselves.
In case fashion is not on your list of major concerns right now, I won't go into granular details about some of the great finds I have come across. In a few days on my website I'll have two new web pages -- "favorite places" and "favorite products". In the "favorite products" section I'll list some of my favorite items that I think are a great value and highly recommend. You'll be able to see these pages on my website at GoodThingsLifestyle.com.
If you are looking for items now to add to your wardrobe, Talbots has had their clothes deeply discounted and they seem to always have a sale going on. I've made a rule to not buy anything “not on sale” seeing how drastically they can be marked down at a later date. What I especially like about Talbots is that I can order online but return the items that don't work at our local Talbot stores. I also have learned that the outlet store carries many items that are a lower quality and only sold at the outlets. For even lower prices than the outlet, I have been able to purchase their regular retail items at prices you might expect at Target. Some of my favorite new items that I am already getting a lot of use from are their slim or "jegging" jeans that look great with flats or with boots: (here, here and here). And this denim purse below I purchased for $30, discounted from closer to $100. It is now sold out, but is an example of the major deals you can get by waiting for one of their sales.
Their accessories -- such as jewelry and perfume -- are also deeply discounted. Many of their accessories would be great gifts. So keep that in mind if you want to take advantage of some of their deep discounts.
This past month with me making a study of how to coordinate outfits has been a lot of fun and a good distraction from the cold and rainy days we have been having in the Lowcountry. If fashion isn't calling you, you may find that other hobbies, such as learning about growing indoor plants, creating healthy meals, learning photography, watercolor painting, garage organizing or home design might be fun winter hobbies to make this indoor time more enjoyable and productive. Please let me know your favorite hobbies, and maybe it will give me an idea for a future post.
Getting a Better Night's Sleep
Winter also makes me think of comfort and getting good rest. I could probably write a treatise on how to get a good night's sleep. The reason is that for years I was a major insomniac. I am now, thankfully, sleeping much better, but it took a long while to learn how to get better sleep and develop habits that contribute to it. If you are struggling with this, know that it can get better and that we don't all need the eight hours of sleep that we often hear we should be getting. For myself, I find that I need about six to seven hours of sleep to feel like I got enough sleep. I still can have bad-sleep nights here and there, but I can usually attribute it to something that I know is causing it, and make needed adjustments. So here are my lessons learned on the subject of sleep:
* Wear comfortable, breathable pajamas, and sleep on breathable sheets from cotton, bamboo, eucalyptus, etc. This is a big issue for most women as we get older. Getting too hot at night will wake us up all through the night. Most PJs sold at stores are also the wrong material for hot sleepers or the cotton is crunchy and loud. I searched high and low this past month for the best PJs for warm sleepers and think I've found them. I'll share the details below.
* Don't watch scary movies, read upsetting news and social media posts, or make significant decisions within three to five hours of going to bed. The adrenaline rushes we get from those activities will keep us awake and alert for hours afterward. Try to resolve anything anxiety-inducing by about 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. Avoid arguing with others anytime of day. :) If something is frustrating or worrisome, write it down in a journal or make a list of all your to-dos. Putting it to paper can greatly help.
* Eliminate alcohol altogether, or limit to a very small drink several hours before bed. My own non-medical background view is that alcohol mimics our body's Gaba neurotransmitters and tells our systems that they don't need to do the job of producing those mellowing feelings since we have it covered with our glass of wine or martini. I'm not a doctor, but that's my own personal view of what happens when we drink.
* Don't drink any caffeinated beverages after 3:00 p.m. Even tea has caffeine so I don't drink it in the evening. We have even found eating dark chocolate at night can cause sleeplessness.
* Keep your room at 69-70 degrees. Big fluffy comforters are great if they're not hot. If you need something that gives you the feeling of a heavy blanket without the warmth, then a weighted blanket with glass beads can be wonderful. A while back I purchased one from this seller on Etsy that weighs 10 pounds and is 40x70". I upgraded to the glass beads since they'll keep you cooler. During the summer I use this instead of a comforter to have the feeling of a heavy blanket without the warmth. This size works well to put on just one side lengthwise of a king bed.
* My youngest son told me he learned to fall asleep quickly by counting backwards from 99. I also have found this to work very well, in addition to listing in my mind all the things I am grateful for. If that doesn't work, then I'll not fight the sleeplessness and will look at pictures on Pinterest until I am feeling sleepy. I know they say to avoid blue lights from electronic devices, but I can't tell that it impacts me. Last resort is to accept that I may not be tired enough to sleep and will opt to just rest my eyes and body. Oftentimes I'll end up falling asleep just by not stressing over falling asleep.
* If you have had a rough night of sleep, the worst thing to do is drink tons of coffee to try to feel better. That is very tempting to do but coffee is dehydrating and can make your insomnia hangover feel much worse. What I find that makes feeling much better after a bad night's sleep is to make a smoothie with spinach/kale, frozen fruit, a banana and a scoop of protein powder blended with water. This is very hydrating and quickly can help the crummy feeling from lack of sleep go away. My favorite brand of protein powder is from Truvani since it's all natural (and just five ingredients with the Vanilla powder) and doesn't contain the sweetener Stevia, which to me can have an artificial flavor to it. Since we make smoothies almost every morning, I subscribe to receive a monthly bag of Vanilla Protein Powder and their Marine Collagen Powder, which is great for your skin. I love both of these products and can't say enough good about them.
* Stick to a bedtime routine. We humans seem to be pretty programmable and like routine. If I practice turning off the light by 11:30 p.m., I'm likely to get a much better sleep in the coming days and weeks, compared to going to bed at random times and staying up late.
My Pajama Product Roundup
In addition to fashion, I also made a study this past month of comfortable pajamas. I was finding that I was waking up from either being hot, fabric being scratchy, or moving and waking up because my foot felt a cold part of the bed. I know this may sound weird to be so sensitive to sensations, but if you're not sleeping well, it could be something little that is not helping the situation.
So without going into elaborate detail of my trials and tribulations of finding comfortable pajamas, I'll tell you that my favorite ones are now from SijoHome.com. Their jogger pajama pants don't ride up your leg, and their Eucalyptus material is very soft, lightweight and cooling. I wish they were made in the USA, then I would be really excited. My label says they're made in Shanghai. But, they are the best I have found so far. I ordered a Small, but will order an XS next time since they run a tad large.
A close runner up is by a company that makes their pajamas in the USA called Goodnighties.com, but there's one detail that for me is an issue. I have written to them about it and they are looking into how to improve this. If they make the change I'll let you know about it. Their material is as nice as SijoHome and unlike Sijo's, they can go in the dryer. They are more expensive than Sijo's but that is expected when they're made in the USA. The issue I had is the thread used for the seams is very scratchy and I felt the seems when laying down and sitting up in bed. For the price point, I don't want to notice the seams. I turned the top inside out and that solved the problem, but it's something I wouldn't have noticed without sleeping in them first. So, I hope that's helpful info. :) They also run a bit large so I will order an XS next time if they address the thread issue. (I’m a size 2 or 4 in misses and the Small is a bit large).
The other brand that I tried is by TheCompanyStore.com. Their jogger pajama pant set is the most affordable, but I found it to be a tad heavier and a smidge warmer than the other two other brands. For a good pair of pajamas for a younger woman not sensitive to heat, these jogger-style pajamas would make a great gift and are on sale now.
To address the cold feet issue (I'm probably sounding very neurotic about now), soft bamboo socks such as from Cariloha are great. Any soft lightweight, soft and breathable socks will do the trick, but I thought I'd mention these since they're sold online and locally at Coligny Plaza in Hilton Head, SC, and other retail locations.
Finally, to help avoid disturbing movies and distressing news, we are subscribing to PBS Masterpiece Theatre via Amazon Prime TV, and we love their shows. We are now watching the Durrells in Corfu. It is a perfect show if you're missing sunshine, warm weather — and your kids.
I wish you a great next couple of weeks and hope this post has inspired you to try something new and to get some good rest!
P.S. The text that is underlined has hyperlinks that will take you to the corresponding website. I don’t make money from your purchases of the above items, so everything I suggest is based on my own experiences and recommendations.