Mindful Moments: February
Hey! We’re on Substack! Find this post and more over there — handmadehabitat.substack.com
I’ve been in baby land, and the Baltimore studio is officially closed for another week or so. Not enough time, truly, but we won’t be in very much even after my body feels able to stand again anyway. I’ll just be back to ship the orders that come in, and tbh, it’s not a hoard of them these days anyway. We’ll manage. Expect shipments to go out once a week during March. Either Tuesday or Thursday, probably, but I haven’t quite figured that out yet.
This year is for letting things be. To flow with the currents and let life take us where it will. I have hopes and dreams but no solid plans, except to be present in this magical moment in time with my babies, and to try not to worry about anything else.
But I love to write, which is why you’re seeing this today. It brings me clarity and joy and becomes such a marker in time. So I’m back to mindfully documenting the moments, this month at least.
February Candle Club subscribers received scents to take us through the last bits of winter: our amber Hibernation candle jar (cedarwood lavender) and a trio of lavender eucalyptus tea lights.
Mindful Moments this February. Here’s what I’ve been:
Seeing: Aside from staring at bebe boy, I’ve been trying to spend this time of rest reading. Bebe was 11 days late so I had time to finish all my craft projects and stock up on new reads from the bookstore before he arrived.
I just finished the Little Book of Living Small by Laura Fenton. I’m a big big fan of her Substack. I’ve been doing a deep dive on practical solutions when living small (especially with kids), and by her book’s standards, we’re not really living that small. My husband and I have gone into tailspins over the last few months of house and car hunting, thinking we’ll need more space in both arenas soon, but we’ve put a pin in both and are waiting to absolutely need one or the other before we make a move, plus there are things we have to take care of first before either dream can truly happen. In the meantime, (if we ever even get there, some days I hope we don’t any time soon), I’m truly enjoying life in our two bedroom Baltimore rowhome and dreaming up creative solutions to needing more storage and less stuff in here.
Also on my To Read list: The Creative Act (Rick Rubin), The Fourth Trimester (Kimberly Ann Johnson), The Fraud (Zadie Smith), and more.
Smelling: Lavenders. I try to stay away from all scents, especially topically applied ones, while pregnant (v difficult given my chosen line of work), but now I’m back on all the scented lotions and hand creams. Lavender is always my go to for everything, and while we’re in this cozy nesting phase I’m also burning a lot of lavender candles. Our cedarwood lavender Hibernate candle jar is a staple on the dining table right now, and a tall Mindful Savasana candle lives in the bathroom next to a bottle of Restore bath salts for sitz baths. Postpartum recovery is much tougher this time around. It’s the little things that make my body feel like mine still / again.
A heads up that at the end of February, all holiday and Mindful candles will be removed from the site. We’re making way for newness this year! Shop them now at an additional 20% off while you can! Use the code “NEWYEARMAGIC” at checkout. TO THE SHOP!
Tasting: Orange. Clementines. We can knock out a bag of clementines in a few days around here. Bebe one likes to peel and eat them all by herself. The independence at 17 months! But likely born from the desire to also eat the peel without interference.
Hearing: Little wails and squeaks from a tiny set of lungs. And big fake wails from a larger, tad jealous, set of lungs.
Feeling: Knit blankets, warm little bodies, and soft skin. The mental transformation in newborn land is magical- how you can be simultaneously in so much discomfort and happy bliss and anxiety is beyond my understanding. I’m not here to process it though, just living with the feelings.
