Life is not perfect

The table is not always empty

It´s common to put the perfect pictures in Facebook, Instagram, blogs and social media. But I will like to remind you today, that life is not perfect and you don´t have to be neither.

I don´t want to pretend I am the perfect mom, the perfect wife, the perfect person with the perfect life. I don´t need to have the perfect tidy house to be happy. I don´t want to be perfect.

Life gets in the way and we have to deal with it.

For me family time , couple time, me time and friends, is priority. The house, the garden and everything else can wait.

This days there is so much pressure to be perfect, but we don´t have to be.

Relax, enjoy a coffee, read a book, play with your children, have a movie night with your partner.

Everything else can wait.

 The kitchen is not always clean

Or ready to use

The entrance is not always inviting

The floor is not always clean

The beds are not always made

The leaving room is not always tidy

Life is too short to waste it in petty things, and you will never regret in your death bed that you didn´t clean the floors more often.

On my coffee table

Fig is my favourite smell for the spring summer. It remains me of warm evenings in the Spanish countryside. This Italian chocolates are to die for.
Perfect for a rainy day.

How to create a capsule wardrobe

What is a capsule wardrobe?

It a minimalistic wardrobe that focus on the idea that  having less is more and  better to have quality over quantity.

It is a more environment friendly wardrobe.

You will be so happy with your clothes that you want mind to use them again and again.

I though it will be good to show you  step by step how I make my capsule wardrobe.

1. Choose your number of important pieces.
2. Choose some extras. 
3. Store or donate the rest.
4. Make a new capsule wardrobe every 3 months.
5. Enjoy your new simple wonderful wardrobe.

• I choose 10 pieces. But the number is up to you. The less clothes the better for simplicity. Dresses, trousers, skirts, shorts, blouses. This pieces make you feel good when you wear them and they fit well right now. This is what you will be wearing most of the time.
• The extras are all the other clothes that you need to complete your wardrobe. Dresses for special occasion, underwear, jackets, shoes, scarfs, bags, t-shirts, pyjamas, training clothes... You get the point. I am trying to make this number of items as small as possible too.
• The rest you either donate or you store it away.
• Before a season starts,  you make a new wardrobe that you love with the things that you have put away. If you are missing something you buy it.  Choose quality. You want your new clothes to last as long as possible and to fit you perfectly. But I promise that you won't feel like shopping so much because you will be so happy to get some of you things back from where you stored it. When you shop, you will do it guilt free and you won´t regret you purchases.

This time of year is the best time to do it too. You will be changing to your summer wardrobe anyway and cleaning your closet will make it easier to see what to have, what it fits  and what it doesn´t, what pieces you are missing and what to pack for your summer holiday.

The benefits of a capsule wardrobe are many.

You will feel like you always have something nice to wear.

Less laundry.

You will feel like you don´t need to buy all the time.

The environment will thank you.

It will make you feel good and happy.

Easier to pack when travelling or going on holidays.

You will save money.

You will find your true style.

You will love your clean closet.

You will feel amazing with what you are wearing every day.

Do I need to say more?

What are you waiting for?

It´s time to spring clean your closet! 

Enjoy it...

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.