Hibernation Feelings
These last few weeks of winter are always the hardest to get through. How do we do it? Burn all the candles, drink all the tea, but by now, we’ve been doing that for MONTHS. Hygge can get you pretty far, but these days when the forsythias start to pop and crocuses start peeking out of the ground, even homebody me starts getting antsy.
I am ready for spring. Ready for warmth. Ready to bloom. The winter has been chaotic for me, which isn’t typical. I had a longer than usual holiday season, I exhibited at my first trade show, and then I moved. It has all been a lot, and now that I’m starting to feel a little settled in a sort-of-new place, I’m ready for the old routines of spring. In these last few days I’ve found some fuel to get through these last few weeks, and a few links for you too, while the wind whips around us, and change is in the air.
1- Apparently we are not the only ones who love reusing a candle jar. Get more ideas on how to reuse yours via Domino Magazine. My favorite tip shared here is using them as drinking glasses. How have I not thought of that?!
2- For Christmas, I got a sample tin of teas from local tea/herbs/spices company, Shafa Blends. I drank through the Persian Rose, and the Turmeric Ginger, and didn’t even touch the Masala Chai, because I thought I already know how I like my chai. Over the weekend I tried it on a whim (because I didn’t feel like walking three minutes in the cold to the coffee shop) and L O V E D it. Everything they blend is gold.
Photo by Daria Kobayashi Ritch for Marie Claire
Shafa Blends Persian Rose Tea | tea strainer via Herriott Grace, mug by Julia Walther
3- Lupita Nyongo on the cover of this month’s Marie Claire. She has such a good energy, and that her career has taken off with such flight gives me so much hope for all the good things - better representation in media / good vibes all around.
4- Letting Go | Something about the winter makes me want to nest with all my mementos. When my parents divorced and sold our family home, I took a lot of little things - the paper towel holder from our kitchen, a crate from our garage, a tiny toothbrush holder, little things here and there. Partially because I was a poor college kid at the time furnishing my first apartment, and partially because of nostalgia. These little things made me feel like I was holding onto some part of my life, but now, nearly ten years later, I’m learning to let some things go. I loved this piece on The Organized Home sharing tips from Marie Kondo herself on how to tidy and let go. Think about your future, not your past. Create a home that facilitates the person you want to be. She says good memories won’t fade just because the objects attached to them are gone. So this winter, along with the move, I’ve been purging. Letting go of the past, or trying to, and making space for the future, space for spring.
