As you are plowing through your day, do you ever feel like saying... OMG, are you for efffffing real? Some days you feel like slaying dragons. Other days, you feel like you just want to lay on the carpet. Yup. I said carpet. The last time someone said carpet was 1992. hahaha. Let's face it...
We got this. I'll show you how. Please enjoy this softly lit AKA wrinkle-defying candle infused space with a wine soaked cracker while knitting your way out of a jam. Because that is what todays blog post is all about. Simplifying and decluttering your life and home feels ahhhhh.
I've been working on having simplicity for a really long time and now it's your turn.
Simplify. Simplify. Simplify. <-that was me hypnotizing you.
Keeping things simple is the way to go. White. Neutral accents. Clean lines. Not a lot of clutter. Organize. Quiet spaces. Soothing candles. All the things that bring you joy. Well, they bring me joy and so naturally I'm going to force you too.
You shouldn't need to make sure the moon is full and that there are at least 2 bottles of rosé in the fridge before your day can feel good. Although wait. Rosé sounds fab. I digress.
I have so many good ideas for you. <- I screamed that. You may need to sit down. Is it inappropriate that I wanted to share an outhouse pic and tell you to sit down ? Get ready. Simplicity in your life will feel so good.
SIMPLE is where it's at. These are quite simply ...
1.
Get organized. Nest. Do that thing when you are having a baby. Or when spring is coming. That neat thing. Put things in organized rows and label everything that isn't moving. I use this label maker <<< I'm obsessed. It's so old school. Check out these labels too. I'm so tempted to try them after I saw this pic! Fold your clothes Marie Kondo style. Clean out your junk drawer. Organize. Organize. Organize. Basically, get your shitz together and tidy up. Straighten up your closets and drawers. Make your bed. Every. Day. We got this. And by we, I mean you.
2.
Saturday called. She's coming tomorrow and she's bringing wine. Wine? Wine is sometimes my de-stresser. Should I admit that in my outside voice? Hey, wine has antioxidants, and I like to fight cancer sometimes. Pass the Malbec. A little glass of wine at the end of the day, while making dinner is so ahhhhh. I love that ritual. Even though it's a big glass of wine. Who said that?
3.
Neutral palettes have a beautiful way of simplifying the look of a space. And white. With layers of white. There's no such thing as too much white. Mix it up with some sand and oatmeal colours, add some woodsy, texture and bring in some whispy-wheat-thingys in your decor. Ugh. Dead. LOVE.
^^^ Annnnnnnnd see that gorgy gorgeous necklace up there? ^^^
We just put them in the shop this week.
OMG OMG OMG OMG.
4.
Netflix. Can we talk about Netflix for a sec? So great for a chill, isn't it Bill? Wait. Who's Bill? Who's in charge here? Here's what I'm watching : Schittz Creek, Frankie and Grace, Money Heist, and Mollys Game. Because hello Idris Elba. Can we all agree that Idris just needs to take his shirt off, already? #AmIRite?
5.
I make this bread every chance I get. Because I'm domestic, dammit. If I could eat ONE FOOD for the rest of my life, this would be it.
6.
Essential oils are d'bomb diggity. WHY DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS BEFORE when I was young and youthful with dewy skin? So unfair. Is there such a thing as amber bottles anonymous? Because I've been whipping up essential oil toilet spray for years. It's faboooosh.
Commit to comfy: I wear these every day. In the house. Judge me. They are defo not sexy, but cozy. I adore how cozy they are. You are judging me right now, aren't you? Okay. Bye.
8.
Can we just talk about brushing teeth for a sec? It's exhausting. haha. We went to visit our friends Mo and Gareth, and I couldn't help but notice their super-cool-electric-toothbrush-in-a-glass-charger. Yeah. A pretty toothbrush in a glass holder excited me. I bought it. It's heavenly. I'm obsessed. I'm obvs a total weirdo. But my tooth brushing routine is on fleek now.
9.
Be grateful.
Stop. Pause. Think about what you have in your life. Even in the hard times, you can find joy. We are in week 5 of Michaels chemo treatments. Want to know something? It's really not so bad. I'm grateful for the little things. I'm grateful for the big things.
I'm grateful for relationships. Friendships. All the ships. When you pause and feel grateful, it changes everything.
10.
Years ago, I went to my friends little house in our small town of Durham.... annnnnndddddd when I walked in....I couldn't believe the amazing scent. Guys. Legit. It was so good. So so so so good. It smelled like a spa. Cozy, warm, fresh. As it turns out, my friend was burning t his incense. Truth serum here : I had never been an incense person. I thought people burned incense to disguise a marijuuuuana smell. Or some GAH smell. But I fell in love and we've been burning it in our home ever since. Amazing how 10 years whizzes by and all your friends are now addicted to the same incense too. hahaha. You're welcome.
11.
This doormat makes me laugh. Every single time.
12.
CANDLES. I know candles aren't some earth shattering find (guys, have you heard of CANDLES?) but you won't believe the difference they make. We have candles on our dinner table for every meal. On a rainy day. On any day. In the airstream. In our t reehouse + cabin retreat. Actually. Always.
Throw back in time: our four kiddos went to a Walforf school. My bestie told me I wouldn't fit in as a school Mom, because I didn't have hairy armpits or birkenstocks. I eventually bought a pretty version of the birkenstocks (is that possible, or was I just fooling myself LOL?!) I never did have the hairy pits or naughty bits. TMI?
I came to realize that the little wee Waldorf school in the countryside was very 'hygge' style. And the candles somehow made our kids be oh so chill at the dinner table. That is where it all began. These candles have been our faves for years. I can't seem to find them on Amazon / Prime Canada anymore {{whhhhhaaaa}} so I switched to these ones. Still fab. We use them every.single.day.
Even just lighting candles slows you down. The ritual feels good: you get the matches, light one, light the other... Yeah. Matches. Because I can't find a candle lighter that actually works for longer than 5 seconds. These are my first world problems.
Okay. That's my list for having a simply beautiful life. Simple right?
Photography : any supes pretty pics // you can be sure that they were shot by the kindhearted beautiful soul, Lauren Miller. Any out-of-focus-yellow-blurry pics are totes mine.
Styling: Gorgy gorge styling my my daughter and biz partner Tristan. You can find her on personal Instagram @TristanJayne and behind the scenes of all that we do here on d'blog and here on Instagram @LynneKnowlton too. xx
Knitting: We have a new chunky knit blanket DIY kit in stock! Her name is Isobel. Oh hi. She pretty.
Did I miss something? See some Q & A's here too on our new FAQ page! It's an ASK US ANYTHING page! Except don't ask me my waist size. I'll lie about that. xx
What you are watching on Netflix ? What is theeeee one food that you would eat for the rest of your life? Bread? 🙂 Annnnnnd, ya dang hippie... I'm thinking about posting DIY recipes for essential oil candles and DIY spray for glass and all purpose cleaning. Good idea? Bad idea? Do your ears hang low do they wobble to and fro? You have so many questions to answer in the comments below. Like who is Bill and why is he watching my Netflix? hahaha.