winter is here

the view from my bedroom window

You know winter is upon us when these things happen:

- Christmas lights are starting to paint the houses in our town {including ours}

- all I want to drink is hot tea, coffee, apple cider {anything warm}

- people are hurrying around getting Christmas presents

- thanksgiving ingredients are filling our fridges, freezers, and cupboards {all 20.86 lbs of our turkey had to be put outside cuz he won't fit in our freezer}

- most of us are bundling up in scarves, mittens and jackets

- the work *snow* is in the forecast

- Christmas music is on the radio

- my foundation color {classic ivory} is too dark and I have to switch to porcelain ivory, which is the lightest foundation in this particular line, how sad is that?

- Christmas movies are being played on tv {B and I watched some of Elf the other night}

- candles are lit all around me that smell of cinnamon, leaves, pumpkin, spices

- I can't wait to spend as much time as I can all bundles up with family and friends

- we are planning our holiday celebrations

- our cat and dog are adorably fighting over the 'dog' bed in front of the fireplace {ironically the kitty normally wins}

ten on ten {november}

It's been ages since I did one of these 10 pics on the 10th of the month and I remember why: I always seem to get it out a day late because I normally don't get home till late and still have to edit my pictures from that day which takes a while in itself. Anyway, if you don't know what 10 on 10 is, here is the blog that started this inspirational post once per month. What a great way to capture the moments of our every day lives.

I spent some quality time looking at flights for our trip {working on one of my 12 before 12}

We got our 1st snow this morning and I was so excited, even though it melted in a few short hours

Some might call it crazy, I call it festive, but this was the pattern on my scrub top yesterday

This is a sneak preview of my new office/reception desk at the clinic

The color that is currently on my toes

 Candles burning while doing a load {more like 3} of laundry

 

Can you tell that my kitty was hungry last night?

 

ingredients for the perfect relaxation day

Stress: it's a normal part of life, but how do we deal with it? While everyone might have their own ways of trying to overcome stress in their likes, I like to take a few hours and relax as much as I can away from everything. A few days ago I had the chance to have a relaxing 'spa' sort of day and here are a few ingredients that I include into my stress-releasing days.

1. starting off by cleaning my room/bathroom or any place where I will be trying to relax

2. lighting some candles {this aromatherapy Eucalyptus Spearmint one is a favorite}

3. whipping up a face mask or use a store bought one {I prefer the homemade ones because you can specialize them just how you like it, they are normally a fraction of the price, and very easy to make}

   

4. drawing up a hot bath

5. adding a bath bomb or part of a bubble bubble bar to create some lovely smelling bubbles {this one is from Lush}

6. enjoying the soothing smells and fun colors it emits as you soak up the moisture

 

7. using a scrub that exfoliates and hydrates your body {again I like the home ones, so easy to make and they have multiple uses}

8. pampering a part of you that feels over worked {I work a lot on me feet, and even though I wear tennis shoes 5 days out of the week it's still nice to have painted toes}

 P.S. let me know if you want the 'recipes' for any of my masks or body scrubs