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Hey hey everyone! I'm Chelsea, a 26 year old gal living in the MidWest. I have an adorable Great Dane, a love of glitter, beer and coffee, and a slightly out of control lipstick collection. Follow along as I find the adventure in every day!
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April Goals
Hello! How was March for you? The first few weeks seemed to fly by for me, and this past one took about a year. Maybe it’s because I started a new job at the end of February, so most of the first week or so of March was adjusting and learning, followed by a quick shakeup of the regular work routine, which has now stabilized again. Maybe it was a February hangover, or I was too excited for Spring to get here? Who knows. Either way, it’s over and April’s finally here!
In my last post I said that I didn’t think doing a monthly mood board was for me… But what’s right up my alley? Making lists. Specifically goal lists. Ok, any type of list, but you’re going to get my goals rather than my 10 Things That Need To Get Done Right Now mental list that I have going on.
Some of my goals are overarching per month, like Read 2 Books, or workout 5 times a week (something I’ve admittedly been slacking on in a big way). Since they’re regular goals I’m not going to include them in the monthly list, just an FYI, but they are always there. Because of this, every month I’m going to do a quick beginning of the month post with five new goals that I want to work towards.
So, without further ado…
March Mood + Music
Spring is (almost) here and it feels so good! I can put up with these 20 degree days because there’s the promise of 50 degree days coming up. Thank. Zeus. Or Demeter? #GreekMythologyJokes
Anyway. I’m switching things up a little bit, if you couldn’t tell. I’m not sure if I’m going to keep doing these mood boards for each month; I like making them but I also forget to do it until like the day before I want to post. Which leads to me taking too much time on them, and now we’re 13 days in to March and I’m finally getting this up. So I might cut it back to a seasonal mood board and monthly goals. We’ll see.
February Favorites
Hello! This month seemed to flash on by, and I’m not sure if it’s because it’s a shorter month or because January took forever to trudge on by. Either way I’m excited to start getting warmer days more frequently; I’m a spring and fall gal at heart so the more time spent in those seasons the better. Who else is ready for skies out thighs out weather?! Everyone? COOL.
Until that time though I thought I’d share some of my favorites from this month. Bye bye birth month, hello end of winter!
You Don’t Grow In Every Season
I’ve been catching up on old episodes of The Lively Show (which I love) and have been getting so much out of them. From little nuggets of wisdom to tips on how to refocus and realign myself when things are hard, this show is incredible. I was recently listening to Episode 223 with Erin Loechner, in which Erin drops this gem of wisdom:
“You don’t grow in every season.”
She went on to say that in some seasons you’re planting, or tilling the garden, or waiting for things to grow, but growing doesn’t happen all the time. And that hit me in a major way. I’ve felt so down on myself because I’m currently not growing, nor do I feel close to growing. But instead of beating myself up about it I’m going to work on retraining myself on how to look at where I am. It’s not my season to grow, but that doesn’t mean I can’t do the groundwork so when I do grow it’s magnificent.
Weekly Roundup 4
First roundup of February, wahoo! My new sweatshirt (which I’ll show you soon!!) and a future robe in fabric form, waiting to be cut and stitched up. 😍
Anyway, here are a few things that have caught my eye this week:
Madewell’s AND The Loft’s larger sizes. Y’ALL. Two of my fave clothing brands now have more inclusive sizes!!! As I mentioned earlier I’ve been lusting after a certain skirt from The Loft (which I got for my birthday, thanks mom!) and now that The Loft is having a 40% off sale this weekend (along with an additional 20% off sale items) I’m having trouble not caving on my no spend February. And Madewell is having a 20% off sale items sale too! Unfortunately (or fortunately for my bank account) not a ton of the larger sizes have made their way to the sale section, so I’ve rounded up my picks for both the sale AND the new sizes below!*
February Mood + Music
Happy Aquarius month!!! It’s my birthday month, which is always fun but a wee bit frustrating since somehow February became the month of love? YAWN. February has a lot more going on in it than just Valentine’s Day. For example, it’s Black History Month (celebrate by supporting black women running for election!!!), there’s the post-Valentine’s Day chocolate sale, and, this year, The Olympics. So much going on!!! For me personally I’ve been seeking and finding inspiration for all different aspects of my life, which means…
February is The Month of Inspiration
Crystals, specifically Aragonite and Celestine (aka my babies 💖💖), are helping me connect to myself in a deeper way, especially when I use them while meditating. Records, like Kesha’s and Niall’s, are fueling me through a cleaning and organizing frenzy that’s overtaken the house. This fabric, the fabric of my dreams, look at it!! I’m planning on making this robe and sweatshirt from them ASAP, thanks in part to Seamwork’s Design Your Wardrobe series (free for members*). These wise words from Taraji P. Henson have been helping me figure out what fears and hangups are actually mine and which ones have been projected onto me. Deep stuff is happening y’all.
January Favorites
January, the month that felt like eight. But really, this month seemed to drag on. Maybe it was all the news? Maybe it was the weird weather that made it seem like Spring for three days before plunging us back into winter? Who knows. Either way there’s a lot that’s happened and I wanted to round up my favorites for y’all!
Favorite Book:
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. I already talked about this book here, but I am still thinking about it and it’s been weeks since I finished it. I would highly recommend picking up a copy for yourself to enjoy, read and learn from. Honestly, I had to take a break from books for a bit because it was that good.
Favorite Album:
Offerings by Typhoon. I’ve loved Typhoon for eight years now, since before they released their first studio album. My friends saw them open for STRFKR in Salem, OR where we went to college, then we made a trip up to a random Burgerville in Portland to see them live before convincing the rest of the Wulapalooza planning committee to book them for that year’s festival. Now they’ve played SXSW, been featured on All Songs Considered multiple times and have finally released a new album that is so incredible. Just listen to it, please. Thank you. Standout track: Empiricist.
Memory I Made:
My friend got married last weekend!!! That was lovely to see and be invited to celebrate the beginning of their married life together! As unromantic as I am in my own life I love it when my friends find love and make that commitment when it’s right for them. I always cry, because I am that person.
Thing That Made Me Laugh Out Loud:
I’ve been cleaning my room in a big way this past month and came across a Build-A-Bear I made in college. With a special voice note thing that plays when you press it. What did I record almost nine years ago? A quote from my favorite movie at the time, Thunderpants… “I can’t control my arse.” YEP. Now, can I donate this knowing it says that? Dear readers, help me. Whenever I press the button Mag goes wild and starts licking the bear. I think she’s worried that part of me is in there? I will continue to research.
Thing I Made:
So the day before said friend’s wedding I realized I didn’t like anything I had in my closet, AND I had been meaning to make a dress out of this fabric I had just got. I already had the pattern cut out from making a dress from it previously, so it was easy-peasy to whip up! I made the Piedra dress from Seamwork* (which I talked about here) and honestly it’s one of the easiest things I’ve ever made. Five seams. FIVE. Okay, not including hemming or the neckline, but whatever. F I V E S E A M S !!!!!! Can you tell I’m excited about it? I got tons of compliments about it and everyone was shocked when I told them I made it! Next up: the Almada, the Skipper and the Shelly. WHEW!
Important Read:
What Eight People Want You To Know About Immigration in America. I love The Man Repeller so much, and their interviews, essays and posts in general are on point. I especially love how they’ve been using their massive platform to highlight different issues America is facing, and showing the human side that we might not get to see on the news. One especially poignant article? Eight people write about their experiences with immigration in America. They tell their stories of how they and their families got here, and each one is moving. I highly recommend reading it now, especially Neva Alsheik’s story at the end.
Way I Worked Out:
Remember how I said I wanted to be able to go on hikes with Mag and not get tired? I’ve been hitting the gym specifically with that in mind. Which basically means I hop on the treadmill for about 40 minutes to an hour, keep it slow and steady but increase the incline every five minutes or so until I do five minutes at the highest incline possible. WHEW. I know it’s not a whole lot, but I’ve been working on building my endurance and knowing that it gets just the littlest bit easier every time I hop on feels so so good. I’ve been working on maintaining a 2.5-3 speed, and I’m hoping to keep increasing that slowly but surely.
Choose Love: Amplify Happiness
I recently purchased a few cuts of fabric for various projects online, and wanted to share my excitement with someone I’m close with. I had splurged on fancier fabric than I would find at my local Joann’s (not shade at Joann’s though, I love you) and couldn’t wait to show off the fabric plus my ideas for what I would make with them. One piece I bought? A beautiful white thermal knit to make lounging leggings with, perfect for the cold months we’re in right now. When I told this person the different fabrics I had purchased, along with the project I had in mind for them they shut down my idea for the thermal knit quite quickly.
“Are you going to make another sweatshirt with that?” they asked after I had just said I purchased it to make leggings with. “No, I’m planning on making leggings with this.”
“I just don’t think most people should wear white on the bottom,” they replied.
Maybe it’s because a lot of my body image issues stem from casual throwaways from this person, but this instantly cut at me. Because I am clearly one of the people they think shouldn’t wear white on the bottom. This one simple line squashed any excitement I had over my fabric, my ideas for what I would make and my day dreams of snuggling up in my cozy leggings with a warm (self-made) sweatshirt to read and cuddle with Mag. Instead of amplifying my happiness they chose to squash it instead.
Weekly Roundup 3
Well hello! Who else has been slammed by the winter weather we’ve been getting? I shoveled the driveway THREE times in two days; it was… not fun. But it also gave me an excuse for not getting out of the house to go to the gym.. whoops! I also just bought this beautiful sweatshirt fleece to make a sweatshirt from Seamwork (see below) and I’m so hyped to receive it and get to sewing!
Unfortunately both the lipstick and tumbler are sold out and I’m frankly too lazy to find dupes for the lipstick color. BUT ban.do does have a bunch of cute alternatives and I’ve created a handy lil widget so you can shop them below!*
Anyway, onto the list of my loves for the week!
Three women find their perfect reds.
Me, loving lipstick? Whatever gave you that idea?! I firmly believe everyone should know their perfect red, and I try to spread the love as much as I can. Read More
Lessons I Learned From Kesha
I would say sorry about the photo quality but I’m still too happy that I got to see her live to care.
I love Kesha. I have since 2009 and I first heard “Tik Tok” at a college party and drunkenly thought “SHE GETS IT!!!!” I’ve loved her since “We R Who We R” was released and my friends and I all sang along to it while eating Juanita’s tortilla chips for the first time. I loved her while laughing along to “Gold Trans Am” and learning a dance to “C’Mon” for my sorority. During her five year absence I spent the time defending her to music snobs, wishing for more music and preaching the word of Kesha whenever I could. My friends and I would complain about a lack of new music and were horrified and angry when we found out the reason why she hadn’t released new music in so long.
I’m not going to go too much into the Dr. Luke situation, but I will say I think it’s a travesty that he still has an imprint on Sony. He shouldn’t have a career anymore. End of.
In October I was lucky enough to not only get to visit with said friend for a lovely weekend, but also see Kesha for the second time with her as well! We cried far too much, felt the love, joy and resilience in the room. We danced to Boogie Feet and barely held it together for Praying. Through it all Kesha continually spoke out about her love of us, her fans, her desire for us to all feel safe and welcome at her concert and to essentially fuck the haters.