This #meettheartist meme was going around instagram. Thought I would post here too.
transgender
6 things I'm loving this month
Adventures & Parenting, Book & Record, NightstandComment
1. The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up
I am way behind everyone at being a Marie kondo convert. Mainly for the reason that I was waiting for my name to come up on the library hold list for The life-changing magic of tidying up. It came up being pretty good timing it being available right after Christmas and all.
I am about halfway through doing the recommended purge for all of the items in our home that do not “Spark Joy.” There’s a surprising amount of them. Clothes was first and thank goodness for that.
Here's a pic of our bedroom mid purge.
2. Beigey Brown Lipstick
I always have one go to lipstick per season that I use pretty much everyday. Last winter it was Moxie Rise up by Bare Minerals which has been almost impossible to find this year.
So, Instead I have opted for Sephora's Rogue lipstick in ingenious. It is a subtle, almost nude, color that adds just the right tint for day time.
3. Satchmo at the Waldorf
Julie surprised me with tickets to this new A.C.T show. John Douglas Thompson does a remarkable job of bringing Louis Armstrong and others to life in the one man show, depicting a backstage conversation with Armstrong relating the events of his life after one of his last performances.
You'll have to be in the Bay Area to se this one but some tickets are still available from the A.C.T. site if you are.
4. Salt & Fog January Mix
What we are listening to this month, on our January Mix, is a mix of some great new stuff and a few things we missed in 2015 (and a few of our favorite songs ever thrown in for good measure).
And more Hamilton because who could get enough Hamilton? Not us!
5. Down Dog App
Like many people, I vowed to change my eating and exercising habits at the start of the new Year. I love Yoga, but finding the time, money and overcoming my shyness (I am a closet introvert) to attend a class has always been a big stumbling block. The Down Dog App has completely upped my exercise game.
The routines are clear and easy to understand with enough variations that they don't get too repetitive. There are also very yummy yoga-ing soundtrack options to boot. And that's just the free content!
If you have been looking for a new way to Yoga check it out.
6. Her Story
The first season of Her Story is currently available for on the Her Story website.
What is Her Story? It's a very well done creator made show "that looks inside the dating lives of trans & queer women as they navigate the intersections of desire & identity."
It is very clearly a work of love. Having seen and read a ton of stories dealing with transgender people I love that this one does not focus on the transition as much as transwomen living their lives and finding relationships.
Her story also get props for giving a voice to a prospective partner of a transperson. They need a voice too sometimes.
10 links I am loving and a life refresh
Adventures & ParentingComment
For what I am wearing.
It’s September! and we are doing a life refresh. It's inspired partially by it being my birthday soon (I’ve always been one of those troublesome people that thinks birthdays are a big deal) and also because we went on that crazy three week trip (that I am already building groundbreaking blog posts about) and our lives got all thrown out of order.
This refresh is to get our lives back on track.
Things in our refresh include:
Budget
We have failed at doing a budget so many times. This month we are going hardcore and doing that thing where you put cash in envelopes. Each one containing the max amount you should spend in different categories for the week/month. Our 'eating out' envelope will be the most challenging. So much of our money goes to restaurants.
Diet
We did Paleo with mixed results earlier this summer and then moved into a Clean Diet, which I really liked. I say “clean" but it was much very the Jessica Alba/Honest company inspired eating plan so I should say Honest Diet, maybe.
Basically it is eating:
Nothing with more than five ingredients.
Mostly fruit or veggies (2/3rds of your plate should be produce).
Proteins are mostly lean meats or fish (red meat sparingly).
Limited dairy.
When we were on it earlier this summer I felt so good. My tummy behaved much better than normal. We totally slipped when traveling but are going to try to do that pretty strictly this month.
Full guidelines in her book.
Clothes
I plan on doing a capsule wardrobe for fall that I am slowly assembling.
However, Indian Summers are big here so I might go ahead and wait until the end of October to implement it. Either way, I know this skirt will be included in it as it is my current fave. (Protip: 40% off currently!
Ocean
We live by the frackin’ ocean and we utilize it far less than we should. The ocean! I bet you live by some cool stuff you don't do as often as you should too, right?
Our morning walk always passes by the sea, but we have gotten out of the habit of spending extra time there. This month I want to be sure to spend time on the sand or in the water during playdates and and in the evening for dinner picnics as well. Who knows how long we will really get to live here so I better be taking advantage of it.
How about you all? Are there amazing things near where you live that you too often skip over? I want to know what they are! Make this month the one you utilize them and let me know.
I've already started to increase my ocean time by stopping by the beach to walk Byron after dropping Luke off in the morning the three days he has preschool. As opposed to walking Byron around the grass lot next door as I had been doing. You know who loves beaches more than people? Dogs!
Stuff I am Loving This Month:
Kayley Melissa
This YouTube channel. I solemnly swear to curl my hair more often because it looks so much better and Kelsey will help me do it.
Michael Kors nailpolish in Fantasy
Look at this nail polish! I don’t even like blue very much and it’s one of my favorite polishes this year. Well, month maybe– I change a lot.
Call Your Girlfriend
Call Your Girlfriend. The podcast for long distance besties everywhere. Ammintou Sou and Ann Friedman dish about pop culture, feminism, menstruation and their lives in general. It makes me miss my long distance bestie and i cannot get enough of it.
Smart Planet Lunchboxes
I want these little foldable bento-like lunch boxes. Part of spending less on going out to eat is making lunches at home when Luke and I have outings. How much nicer if the containers were divided and you could fold them up afterwards?
(discovered on JenLovesKev)
Vanity Fair, Special Edition: TansAmerica
If you told me when I was younger that Conde' Naste would put out a thick glossy magazine celebrating Transgender heroes past and present I would never have believed you.
While growing up being trans was always something to hide, both before and after transition. But look at this? What a time to be alive.
Star Wars Golden Books
These came out in August are so cute and fun to share with our little reader. Star Wars has a way of sparking the imagination. I love hearing the little stories he makes up afterwards involving the characters or ships.