Hiii, friends! It’s the first Five Things post of 2023 and we’re well into January already! It’s been a busy start to the year over here coming back from holiday travel and getting things sorted with our new house as well as managing our first house before we decide to list it. I hope your new year is off to a good start! I mentioned this in my Happy New Year post, but I personally find it unnatural to try to force new beginnings / a fresh start in winter. I’m in full-on hibernation mode and so the thought of “starting fresh” is the last thing on my mind. Can we collectively decide to do all of that goal setting and refreshing stuff in the spring when we are all naturally in that kind of mentality anyway?? Just know that if you’re feeling the same way, you’re not alone.
I’m also not one for resolutions, setting intentions / goals, determining a word of the year, and so on. I personally feel that it sets you up for frustration and feeling down on yourself when *life happens*. That said, I do like to make shifts in my focus with each new year… I’ll determine a couple of things that I would like to either increase or incorporate into my life (this year it’s cooking at home and learning how to use a DSLR camera!). I find that that type of “refresh” works really well for me.
Anyway, all of that to say: I hope that no matter how you are starting off your 2023 that you are being kind to yourself. ♥️ Today I’m sharing five things that have piqued my interest or things that have been on my mind / going on in my life recently!
NEW FURNITURE
We’ve ordered some furniture for the new house and I am SO excited to see the space furnished with these fresh pieces! We have leaned heavily on Pottery Barn for furniture items and have tried to time our purchases to align with their recent sales that included the furniture that we wanted!
Some items won’t arrive until the end of May because they are custom and made-to-order (which is giving me flashbacks to furnishing Sophie’s nursery), but that’s fine because they’re not pieces that we necessarily need for daily life, although I am VERY excited to receive them! I’ll definitely share as we get rooms put together… but everything is currently all over the place so it’s going to be a while. 😵💫
We decided to buy the majority of our furniture from Pottery Barn for a few reasons:
Firstly, their designs often align with our preferred aesthetic and with the style of our home.
Secondly, they are well-made products so while the pieces can be on the pricier side, they will stand the test of time and we consider them to be worthwhile investments.
Thirdly, buying multiple pieces from the same brand will practically guarantee that things will work well together from a design perspective. I don’t necessarily want everything to be matchy-matchy, but I’m also not going for an “eclectic” vibe so it has to fall somewhere in-between and this was our solution.
Lastly, while the prices are admittedly on the higher side, I wouldn’t say that they are necessarily cost-prohibitive. There are certainly much higher-end brands that would easily charge double the prices for the same items at PB so I think they’re a solid mid-range option.
We will of course be sourcing pieces from a variety of other brands, but the majority of our new furniture will be from Pottery Barn.
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SHOWER CURTAIN HOOKS
OMG — how am I just finding out about this genius invention?! A shower curtain hook that has two prongs: one to hold the shower curtain and one to hold the curtain liner. Separating them makes it so.much.easier to remove either piece to do laundry (washing the curtain) or to replace the liner. I am also a big fan of shower curtain hooks with the ball bearings that roll on the rod instead of just a loop of metal scraping along the top of the bar. This product is an all-around upgrade from the basic ones that so many of us have and are surprisingly super affordable… totally worth the purchase to make your life easier.
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FAMILY OUTING
We went to see the Seattle Kraken vs the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey game earlier this week! It felt so good to have a family outing and cheer for our Kraken boys. The team had just arrived back in town after winning a series of away games so I suspect that they were depleted from so many games + travel which ended up resulting in a loss to the Bolts, but it was still such a fun time (and I never mind a Lightning win because they used to be my team before I moved!). If you’re in the area, whether visiting or as a local, I highly recommend attending a game. Not only are in-person sporting events so much more fun than watching on tv, but the Climate Pledge Arena is truly beautiful and the amenities are great — a very worthwhile experience!
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TUBBY TODD SHAMPOO / BODY WASH
I just recently re-upped Sophie’s shampoo / body wash because the brand is offering a limited edition scent for the season that I wanted to snag. Tubby Todd’s “always” fragrance is great (Lavender Rosemary), but this particular blend (Fresh Raspberry) just sounded too wonderful to pass up!
We still have a decent amount of product in Sophie’s existing bottle of Tubby Todd soap, but I always like to have at least one backup ready because I really hate to run out of something. We’ve used the Tubby Todd brand since Sophie was born because their items are great for delicate skin and we continue to love their bath and lotion products as Sophie has grown; I can’t recommend them more.
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SKOUT SNACK BARS
I’ve been trying to find a snack that I can give to Sophie that is a switch-up from her beloved Cheerios. I stumbled upon these snack bars in her favorite fruit flavor (girlfriend is obsessed with blueberries) and I can’t wait to give them to her! I look forward to trying other flavor options, but I am hoping that this one will be appreciated by my tiny Berry Fiend.
Happy Friday, friends! I hope you have a great weekend!
Sending hugs —
xx, Natalie
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