I’ve been loving these headphones (I call them my Cool Guy Headphones) and recommend them to anyone who, like me, often falls asleep to meditations or podcasts in bed. I love my Sony headphones for working out but they’re so clunky in bed (I’m a side sleeper) and my tattoo artist told me about these back in the summer. I finally pulled the trigger and I’m so glad I did! The perfect invention for me (or anyone else who is obsessed with their Calm app!)

I’ve been mucking around the house this January, as I usually do — painting, rearranging, putting up shelves and art, and doing small scale projects, and it gives these dark winter months a huge boost for me. I have an Inspo album in my phone (don’t we all!?) but I have a steadfast rule for it: only doable, achievable, relevant-to-my-house photos are allowed to go into it; no pipe dreams allowed! Then when I get the itch to change things up at home I scroll through and can see affordable options. These are never big renovations, just small things, but they always spark huge joy for me. A pantry re-organized. A mudroom freshly painted. Little corners of the house, improved. Plus, Tom just loves being shown a blurry screenshot of a random person’s Instagram stories and being told to replicate it in our own home. Bonus!

In related news, I have become utterly ruthless at home; if we don’t love it and don’t use it, it goes. And if I love it, I frame it (lol). I bought a heap of new photo frames on a super super sale after Christmas and it’s been so fun! I’ve been framing the kids’ art, albums, cute totes, magazine pages, pretty much anything I love looking at. Above, I framed a favourite Lonely Moms Club makeup bag, and I’ve always thought the cover of this Kate Baer book was so strikingly beautiful, so I ripped it off and into the frame it went.

Since I no longer get the time to go running (too many kids!) I started jumping rope in the summer. Fast forward to now and it’s the best part of my day! I love the cardio and the progression, love the challenge, and love that I can do it during nap time without leaving my driveway. The first time my neighbours saw me they said, “can you do 20 without stopping?” and now….I’m way past that, lol. It’s so fun and frivolous that it brings a child-like joy to my life.

Last thing – spending less time on social media has freed up a lot more time for writing and it turns out, I actually enjoy doing it again! I’ve been toying with the idea of doing more freelance stuff from copy editing to blog writing and more. It takes time to build a portfolio so it’s a work in progress but just sitting here at my laptop (when I can!) has been a really revitalizing start. And yes, this is my kitchen table workspace even though we have multiple offices. Kids, I tell ya!

What has been brightening your January? I’d love to hear it, if you’d like to share.