Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Online, Jetlagged "Window" Shopping

I got back from my trip to Germany last night, where I was visiting my parents. While it was sad to have to leave my parents, I was very happy to be reunited with my boys!



I was greeted at home with beautiful flowers and a gift. I'll share the gift in a future post!


After a few hours of sleep, I was up thanks to jet lag. After catching up on work emails, I found myself surfing the Nordstrom Sale. Here are some of my favorites:

Questions: Did you do any after-Christmas shopping? If so, what did you get? 

Be well,
Andrea

[Disclosure: Links are affiliate links.]

Saturday, December 12, 2015

Trying to Stay Warm...

As I have mentioned before, I’m about to travel to Germany to spend some time with my parents. They usually visit us in December and we have been spending a week in Avila Beach with them for the past four years. 

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We were all supposed to travel to Avila Beach again this year, but my dad suffered a severe stroke in March. Thankfully, he is doing better, but my parents won’t be able to make the trip to see us this year. I’m very grateful that I get to spend some time with them in Germany instead.

I’m looking forward to my trip, but I am also worried about how I’ll stay warm. After living in California for almost 25 years, I don’t have much in terms of “real winter clothes.” This is especially the case since I don’t go skiing anymore, and we always spend time at the beach in December. Sure, I have boots, but they aren't very thick and more for fashion purposes than to keep me warm. And my regular coat may look like a winter coat, but it is very thin and doesn’t do much to keep me warm. As you may know, I actually had to buy a “real” winter coat a few weeks ago.

Plaid Coat 2

I got a chenille shaker scarf, a chenille shaker beret, and chenille shaker gloves at Macy’s to hopefully keep me warm. I was looking for a red scarf, gloves, & hat, and it was not easy to find what I was looking for. The chenille set wasn’t what I was originally thinking of, but I really like it now. The price has been reduced on all three items, and I think they are a good deal now.

RedBeretGlovesScarf
CharterClubChenilleScarBeretGloves2

Since my boots are not warm at all, I bought warm, cozy socks at Old Navy a few weeks ago. Luckily, I had bought my boots 1/2 size bigger, so the thick socks work with the boots. Plus, even though it doesn’t get very cold here, I will get plenty of use out of the socks because I get cold easily, and I like to wear warm socks in place of slippers at home. I love the fun leopard print.

CozySocks

I also got two long sleeve tees from Old Navy to layer underneath shirts & sweaters. I ordered them online and got them in long, and I love the extra length. I figure I will be able to wear them a lot year-round underneath shirts & sweaters as well as on their own at home. I had first thought about buying thermal underwear but then decided against it as I don’t think I will wear it other than on this trip. We will see how the tees will work out, or if it was in fact a mistake to forgo the thermal underwear…  

OldNavyLongSleeveTees 
I’ll also layer a white blouse underneath my sweaters, most of which are quite thin. I got the blouse a few weeks ago at Old Navy for 50% off. It works well as a layering piece, but does get quite wrinkly after you wash it (and since I don’t love to iron that’s not ideal…). I like that it’s roomy enough to layer a long sleeve tee underneath. While the blouse works well for layering, it’s not the “perfect white blouse” as it’s a bit thin and not the material I’m looking for to wear on its own (although it would work with a white camisole underneath). A “perfect white blouse” is one of the items on my wardrobe basics list I’ll be working on next year. It would have been ideal if I had found a “perfect white blouse” in the first place, but with all that was going on that just didn’t happen, and I really needed a blouse to wear underneath my sweaters. The Old Navy blouse works well for layering though...
WhiteShirt

Finally, I got another plaid flannel boyfriend shirt in long at Old Navy (I got a black/white one previously). I like the color of the shirt, and I think it’ll keep me warm with a long sleeve tee underneath and will be great for just hanging out at my parents’ house. Right before I put it in the suitcase, I randomly thought of trying it on under some of the sweaters I’m bringing, and it looks nice underneath two of them (and peeks out on the bottom, which I love)

OldNavyFlannelShirt

Questions: Do you live in a cold or mild climate? Do you like cold temps? How do you stay warm in cold weather? What items should I have gotten to keep me warm? 

Be well,
Andrea

Linking up with: Style Stories

[Disclosure: Affiliate links in this post may generate commissions for andreaswellnessnotes.com.]

Saturday, December 5, 2015

Slowing Down and Enjoying Life

Life has been very busy lately, but I have made sure to slow down every day and enjoy the small things, which really are the big things. 

I am very thankful for the time with my boys. 


I've been getting up thirty minutes earlier every day, which makes mornings a lot calmer. I also go to bed as early as possible every day and haven't watched TV. Getting more sleep definitely helps me to feel better and less overwhelmed. 

Finally, I make time for some yoga, a cup of tea while lighting a scented candle as well as a little reading every day - simple pleasures that make a difference in my day.

Question: What are you doing to slow down and enjoy life more?

Be well,
Andrea