My summer capsule wardrobe

 This is going to be my summer wardrobe. 12 pieces.

• 6 dresses
• 1 shorts
• 1 long black trousers
• 1 skirt 
• 3 blouses/shirts

Some of the main extras I have are

• T-shirts, tops & singlets.
• Pij pans
• Cardigan
• Black leggings
• Jeans
• Bikini / Swimming costume
• Kimono 
• Underwear
• Outerwear 

This is what I plan to be wearing this summer for everyday wear and on holiday.

I have a capsule wardrobe for work that is a few pieces from my spring wardrobe.
The jeans are part of my working clothes, that is why they are in the extras. I may include them in my capsule wardrobe. I will see if I need to.

Nothing is new.
As you know, I am trying not to buy new things, but to use and to edit my wardrobe so is simple and easy to use.

So let´s see how it goes.
If something doesn´t work I will change it for something else. Nothing is set in stone. This is suppose to make your life easier, so you can change the rules as you like.

What do you think? Are you willing to try?

Enjoying the moment

Thinking in the moment is one of the most simple thing you can do to make yourself happy.

It is important to take sometime every day to enjoy the moment, especially when you are feeling anxious, depressed or you are going thought a tough time and you mind seams to not be able to stop thinking about your worries.

In the beginning you need to make a conscious effort to practise it. Your mind want to keep thinking about a conversation you just had, or what you are going to do after work, or what do you need to buy at the supermarket. But with practise you notice that it becomes easier and easier.
By now after some time practising  it comes very naturally and with not effort at all for me. My mind is mostly in the present unless I need to focus on something to do in the future.

Try it! It will change your life...

Take a moment of your time and focus in the now.

Breath.

Look around you.

What can you see? Focus in something beautiful and enjoy the moment.

What can you hear? Focus in some lovely music, the laughter of your child, the singing of the birds...

If you seat to eat alone. What can you taste? Think about all the wonderful flavours in your mouth.

What can you touch? Touch things around you and enjoy the feel of it.

What can you smell? Smell is so important. It come bring you to another time in your life. It can bring you happy memories. The smell of grass, an orange, enjoy the perfume of your soap every time your wash your hands, smell a flower, the clean hair of your child.

Notice the things around you.

Every little moment in your life, when you focus on it, can bring you to the moment.

Enjoy it!

On my coffee table

I am reading this book from the writer of the 10 items wardrobe and I am truly enjoying it. It seams that Madame Chic has lots of similarities with my late mom and how I grow up, so it feels like home reading it.

Right now my favourite snack is baguette bread with brie and fig marmalade.

I am in a french mood :-)

Natural deodorant recipe

I have an amazing thing to share with you. I can´t believe that I didn´t know about this before.

Let start saying that I had a problem with deodorants since I started using them long, long time ago.

The problem I always have, is that after I use one for a period of time I start associating the perfume smell as odour and then I have to change it and start using a new one.
I am the only one?

Another thing I am worry about is the use of Aluminium in most of them, and the risk factor about Alzheimer and using them. My mom died from Alzheimer's so is something I take seriously.

I found a recipe for a natural deodorant that you can make at home.

At first I thought that I will just give it a try, as it was so simple to make, and I had all the ingredients in my kitchen already, but after using it for a while I am truly amazed that I didn´t know about it before.
It is the best deodorant I have ever used.
I rub it like you would a roll on and it dries in a minute and then it last for the whole day.

You know when you have used a blouse after a day and you feel you have to wash it because even if is not dirty it smell of deodorant and it doesn't feel fresh? Well, even my synthetic top it didn't smell at all after a whole day of wearing it. Nothing, nada.

My husband was so impressed that he has started using it too, and he is super happy with the results.

So here it is:

It is only 4 ingredients as you can see in the picture:

3 Tb Coconut oil
3 Tb Baking soda
2 Tb Cornstarch (Maizena)
2 Tb Shea butter

The 3 first ones are the really important ones, so if you don´t have the Shea butter you can still make it and it is even simpler to make.

Here you can see how to make it.

Please let me know if you try it and what you think.

After thoughts from the 10 items wardrobe

Things I have learn after this time using my 10 items wardrobe:

• I really like the simplicity, not having to spend extra time thinking what to wear in the mornings. Every thing I see i really like and I am happy to put on.
• I love how simple and clean my wardrobe looks. It is not messy. I can see every peace very quickly and easily.
• I feel like I have something I can wear for every occasion without having to buy a new dress for a party, and night out or special occasion.
• I love that I wear my favourite things more often. Now I don´t leave clothes I love for another day. Today is good enough.
• Now that I have less things, quality is more important and I want to get only special things in the future. If you have only a pair of jeans, you want to make sure they fit you right and that they look good. OK, is not good enough anymore.
• I think I am truer to my real style. I want to be casual/ smart, comfortable, chic and classic. I am not 20 anymore and I don´t want to dress like I did back then. 
• I still have lots of extras that I want to cut out over time, simplifying my wardrobe even more over time.
• Accessories are more important but I only want to have the ones I really love.
• I feel better about myself. I want to feel good with what I am wearing all the time and I like how it makes me feel.
• Shoes and scarves is something that I am happy to have more. It can change completely  the look of a simple black dress.
• Shopping is not so important anymore.
• In Norway I wear the same clothes pretty much all year round. In summer I take out my shorts and summer dresses and add them, but apart from them everything else in my wardrobe I wear year round. I will like to cut down the amount of pieces that I have, so that my extras and my everyday clothes are on display and still have the simplicity that I am loving right now. That means cutting down my extras even more, but it seams that right now is becoming easier and easier everyday as I am improving my style and lots of things that I have it seams they don´t fit me anymore or are good enough for my new expectations. 
• The number is not important. 10, 15, 20... Its about helping you to see that you don´t need so much. 
• I want simplicity, so ideally I will like my closet to have the amount of clothes I will pack for a two weeks vacation.

Soon it is time to change to my summer wardrobe and I am looking forward to that. Packing somethings away and taking out some summer favourites. 

It feels like going shopping but without spending any money.

I will show you what I choose in an other post. 

Will you like to join me on a simple summer wardrobe? Say yes!!! Please...

Things that make me happy: Churros con chocolate

When I was little, in the summer time, as a treat some time, we use to go and buy churros for breakfast. With a cup of thick chocolate, they really are so good.
I love them!

When in Spain we always eat them at some point of our holiday and the children really like them too.

Today I felt adventurous and I made my own.

They took very long to make, they didn´t look like the ones I remember either, but my son said that they were - Deliciosos!.

I think I will wait to order them at a cafe next time.

Have you try them?

About Make up

Do you wear make up every day?

How often do you go out without make up? And I mean, no mascara, no concealer, no lip gloss. Nada, nothing.

It seams that in the winter time I always put something. Mascara I will say is the product that I can ´t live without. And I like something on my lips, not because of colour but because I like the feeling of having them soft and moisturise.

If I am working, I will wear at least mascara, concealer, blusher and lipstick. That will be my no make up look. Very natural but still there.

But then come summer time, and I am at the beach, in and out of the water, or in the sun, and I don´t wear anything.  Even mascara it feels sometime like too much. It seams like when I have a tan make up is not necessary.

What about you? What is the minimum you will wear when you are out, if any?

Some of my extras

Jeans jacket

At the moment this are the jacket I use most. The two black ones I use at work too if I am working at the  TV studio.

Leather jacket

Suit jacket

I have a feather Patagonia jacket that in Norway I use the hole year and it will be in my extras. The weather is still cold in the morning and at night, so I still have to wear it if I work at location, or even in the summer for the boat sometimes.

The same with this two cashmere and wool scarfs. While in Norway I use them the whole year as you have to be prepare for a chilly evening.

Cashmere scarf

Wool scarf

This two silk scarf are perfect to bring some colour to some neutral basics.

Silk scarf

Silk scarf

Normally I will have many more jackets and scarfs lying around, that I have packed down and  put  away for now. That will make things simple.

So what about you? Do you feel brave to cut down your wardrobe and join me in this adventure?

On my coffee table

A moment of peace.
A magazine, a coffee and some lovely Belgian chocolates.
The perfect end, of a perfect long weekend.

What did you do this weekend?

Thinks that make me happy: Salads

Now that the good weather is here and the spring have arrive it is time for salads.
I love them, and I eat them pretty much everyday for lunch.
I make hundreds of combination, but mostly is a simple recipe of:

Some kind of salad greens ( I love baby leaves)

Some kind of fruit or vegetables ( avocado, mango, sweet peas, cucumber, carrots, tomato, maize...)

Some kind of protein ( mostly beans and chickpeas, but egg, salmon, chicken or tuna are good too)

Some kind of grains (quenoa and bulgur are my favourite, but some times is pasta or rice)

Some kind of dressing ( virgin olive, salt and balsamic vinegar cream is my normal choice but sometimes I add pesto or lime juice for a completely different taste)

Do you have any recipe that you want to share? Any homemade salad dressing? Umm... I am liking my finger already, ha,ha,ha.