Linger Moments No. 10

lin·ger

/ˈliNGɡər/

verb

to stay in a place longer than necessary, typically because of a reluctance to leave.

You know those moments: the ones often catching you by surprise, causing you to pause a little longer than perhaps intended.  Whether your upcoming weekend is one filled with activities or has the promise of being a relaxing weekend, you are invited to take a moment to linger before heading to the end of the week.

Faith and Fizz Bath Bombs

I experienced my first bath bomb (ever) last fall.  I bought it on a whim at a wine festival after I had avoided giving into the craze for many years.  I decided to try it because it smelled good and I'm a sucker for good scents.  It was (of course) amazing.  However, it was also $10.  Considering I draw a bath at least three times a week, I knew it would not be wise to incorporate this bombing routine on a nightly basis.  I started looking into shops on Etsy that would offer these bathtime explosives with high-quality ingredients but at a more reasonable price.  And then I found Faith and Fizz Soap Co.  She has an incredible assortment of bath bombs which she offers in multiple sizes!  My absolute favorite is the Charcoal and Rose bath bomb which has the most intoxicating scent of rose (without being overpowering).  The milky coconut and calendula bath bomb comes in at a close second!  All of her bath bombs contain special oils that always leave my skin feeling super silky.  Amber (the shop owner) is super friendly and even slips some samples into my orders which is always a fun surprise!  

Need2Know Daily Email

I can't even remember how I found this, but am so glad I did.  The Cheddar Need2Know Daily Email arrives in my inbox 5 days a week.  It provides a short snap-shot at political, economic, sports, pop-culture (etc) news and I absolutely love it.  They recently started a podcast of the same headlines contained in the daily email, but the email contains little quips that I feel the podcast just doesn't do as well.  There's always a retweet of the day (which is always hilarious) and every Thursday features a "Love it, Hate it, Ate it" section which never disappoints.  

Schar Gluten-Free Artisan Baker White Bread

Gulten-Free people, Rejoice.  For realz.  Eight years ago I started experiencing random complete-body hive breakouts.  They generally happened when I would get very hot and sometimes when exercising.   For a while I thought it might be rosemary, which happened to be a common denominator in a few of the reactions.  I later discovered that it was actually wheat-based gluten which I have since learned to avoid.  For those of you who know me, you know this situation is actually pretty sad.  Why?  Because Sandwiches. Are. My. Jam.  Like Garfield has his lasagna or Kevin his cheese pizza, sandwiches have always been my favorite thing.  I can tell you all of the best sandwich places in the Southeast.  I know the scientific formula for creating the best sandwich ever.  We literally celebrate several yearly seasons with very specific sandwiches. All of this to say that I have finally found a gluten-free bread that does not have the consistency of pudding, nor does it taste like a cornmeal trying to be a sandwich bread.  Schar Gluten-Free bread is the absolute BEST (EVEN better than the handmade gf breads from the local bakeries).  It's fine eaten plain but is absolutely amazing toasted.  I discovered it at our Publix (which no longer carries it) but have also found it at Sprouts.  

In Pursuit of Closet Sanity

As a child, I have very fond memories of an event that happened a few times.   My mom and older sister would come into my and my younger sister's room and COMPLETELY clean it out.  Like, top to bottom, a full-on purge.  The nights after this happened were some of my favorites as our space was clean and so, it seemed, were our minds.  We would take out just one toy and play for hours with it instead of mindlessly rotating through a million toys and ultimately becoming bored.

As a grown-up, I still enjoy a good spring cleaning.  Although a similar concept, I now have a myriad of options of different areas of our home to purge.  Last night, it was the closet.

I have about 50 French Lifestyle books in my library.  24% of them talk about food while 22% of them are memoirs or fiction.  And an astounding 44% of them contain at least one entire chapter on a typical French person's wardrobe.  Over and over again, they each preach the gospel of selecting a few key clothing items that work for your body and make you feel great.

One opinion that they generally tie into this belief system is that "less is more."  Rather than mindlessly accumulating clothing, they often encourage readers to purchase fewer high-quality classic items and create their wardrobe around those core pieces.  While this is not a new concept, I do believe it is gaining momentum through Marie Kondo's Life-Changing Majic of Tidying Up.

Why is this movement becoming increasingly popular?  Read below to see my views on this budding closet-shift.

1.  When you look great, you feel great.  How much easier is it to look great when you only own clothing you look great in and love?  This view doesn't even begin to touch on the whole issue of regard for taking the time to look presentable.  Dressing well (notice I said "dressing well" and not "dressing up") shows that you respect yourself and others enough to put some time into your appearance, even if it's as simple as wearing clothes that fit you.

2. "Change your space, change your life."  Let's just take a look at this picture below.  The first is of my closet before I stuck it to it and did a major clean-out.  Now, keep in mind that I originally adopted the capsule wardrobe concept back in 2012 while living with my in-law's.  We had the largest closet I had ever owned and I had it filled to the brim!  I had always had my smaller closets packed and this larger closet just gave me more room to grow!  Although I had read of the concept of capsule wardrobes for years, it wasn't until I read Jennifer L. Scott's book, Lessons from Madame Chic, I decided to finally take the plunge.  Assessing my closet, I realized it was true- while I had many articles of clothing, there were really only a few items I repeatedly wore.  I started the purging process and that summer purchased a handful of thoughtfully purchased tops (that fit perfectly!) to complete my wardrobe.

Now, twice a year I take the time to evaluate my wardrobe: what's working, what's not.  What fits and what maybe no longer fits me or my lifestyle.  I change it out for the season, and then try to fill any holes with high-quality items that I know I will wear for a while.

So why was my closet SO full of SO many clothes if you do this twice a year?  Well, last season I didn't take the time to change out my wardrobes properly.  We were in a crazy busy season of life and so I just threw all of my other warmer-weather clothing in with my fall/winter wardrobe.  I didn't go through and evaluate anything, I just crammed.  And look at the result!  I kept forgetting about clothing I had and constantly had to weed through heavy winter coats just to get to what I wanted!  It was very frustrating and completely uninspiring to get dressed in the morning.

Now the after picture:

Everything is orderly, "sell and donate" items are removed and there's even a little place to showcase some artfully placed Chanel wrapping and a pair of my favorite shoes of Fiona's from when she was little!

3. Plan to succeed.  This last one can take on so many facets.  I'll give you three:

• When your closet is in order with a condensed wardrobe of what you actually wear, you will probably be able to see everything.  Being able to see everything helps you KNOW what you have (or don't have) and can help prevent unnecessary spending.
• When your closet is in order with a condensed wardrobe of what you actually wear, you will also be able to see what is clean and what is not, which will save you time in getting dressed and looking for that *one* shirt.
• When you have a condensed wardrobe of items you actually wear, you'll probably not have as many clothes as you have now (obvs, right?).  Well, guess what chore is directly related to the amount of clothing you have?  The ever-present-will-never-go-away-no-matter-how-much-you-do-it-chore of laundry.  Have hundreds of articles of clothing?  You'll probably be able to go a whole week (but probably more!) before you MUST do laundry.  I know in our household, laundry piles up pretty quickly.  I attempt to wrangle the piles by doing a little bit of laundry, every day.  And since there's a finite number of clothes in our possession, the odds of it piling up to unbearable heights are very slim.

So there you have it.  That same feeling that came as a child having a clean room carries on now into my adult life in many ways, especially in my clean and decluttered closet.   For me, the same satisfaction from taking out one article of clothing and knowing it will work and make me feel and look great will always outweigh the other option of having loads and loads of clothes (and laundry) that I may or may not actually wear.