This is, honestly, the first year that I feel like my life has been consumed by an election season. It’s not that I wasn’t passionate before, it was just that I wasn’t so passionately opposed to someone leading our country before.
One day I realized that I spent a good three hours reading and bookmarking articles to talk about with my husband. Let me repeat, I spent THREE HOURS reading through articles and becoming absolutely outraged. I spent showers composing responses to hateful threads that I read (HOW DARE YOU?!?!). I also spent a lot of time being super disappointed in people and the awful crap they have posted on Facebook (both sides, mind you!) about the candidates. (PEOPLE ARE AWFUL!)
The thing is, no matter what I read, I know how I feel about who I am supporting. I can take every online test, read every supportive article, read every unsupportive article and it still will not change how I feel about who I am voting and not voting for. Yet, I am wasting precious time on things that I cannot change.
Ghandi said it best when he said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
You guys. I’m not changing much by getting angry. It isn’t helping my health, my mental health, or (honestly) my relationships with others. I know that I’m never going to make peace with all of this so I’m going to work on my own attitude until this election season comes to a close. My old radio will be in the off position (I will miss you, NPR) and I will continue avoiding my newsfeed (thanks to this little guy!).
I just wanted you to know that I’m not letting this consume any more of my time and happiness. It’s just too dang precious.
Ghandi was a wise one, wasn’t he?
Here IS what’s making me happy this week!
Once Upon a Time
As we impatiently await season 2 of, Just Add Magic, Emily and I have been on the hunt for another show to indulge in together. When a girlfriend shared that they had been watching, Once Upon a Time together, I thought it might be a great one for us to pick up. With five seasons available on Netflix, it would also keep us busy for awhile.
If you haven’t watched it before, it’s a show about a New England town called Storybrooke Lane, and the residents all happen to be trapped in the town.
What makes these people special?
Well, they are all fairytale characters that have been held in time, thanks to the curse from a the Wicked Queen.
I would say that this is a PG-rated show, at least it is in our house. Common Sense Media recommends this one for ages 12 and up. A lot of the innuendos seem to go over Em’s head and she admitted that the occasional swear word is not anything compared to what she’s heard on the bus (YAY!). We are really enjoying Season 1 and have made this part of our lazy Sunday routine. She feels like a big girl watching it with me and it’s been fun snuggling up with her again to watch something we both enjoy.
If you don’t have Netflix, you can also stream it on Amazon!
Puzzle Season
The Clark family loves a good puzzle when the temperatures start dipping and this weekend I got started on another one. My girlfriend asked if we could trade puzzles which is GENIUS and saves us some money or repeating the same puzzle over and over again.
People started asking me , after I posted this photo on Instagram, what type of table I was using to do my puzzles on. Well, I purchased this foldable table to do my crafting on, but it gets very little use because I prefer to use the lighting in my kitchen when shooting tutorials for the site. It has been a great place to sort my fabric and photo backdrops, but I have felt really guilty that I don’t use it as much as I thought I would.
Well, I don’t have to feel guilty anymore because this table is PERFECT for setting up family puzzles. I have it up on just one side and have tucked a barstool underneath to assemble this 1,000 piece puzzle.
Here are some older pictures that I had taken when I shared how I organize my craft room. I love that this little table doesn’t take up very much space, but it actually expands into a HUGE table for crafting. We got this incredible rolling cart too for all of my craft supplies and it is awesome. I use this daily and love that it is on wheels so I can roll it where I need it. The drawers are generous, but it doesn’t take up a ton of room. Honestly, everything we have ever gotten from this line has been 5-star quality.
I am so excited that I am able to use the table for our puzzles this year and I love that I can roll it into a corner when we aren’t using it!
If you are on the hunt for a great puzzle, we did this one this summer and it was a blast to put together!
Sheet Pan Nachos
I am always searching for easy dinner ideas so I thought I would share this one with you- it’s sheet pan nachos! My kids love flour tortillas, but now that we are gluten-free, we need to stick with the corn option. I thought we could switch things up and do nachos instead and these were a HIT. I followed the directions from Damn Delicious, but we made it our own. It’s such a great option too if you have multiple tastes. Half had a covering of black beans and half didn’t (for those bean-haters!). I also told my best friend she could make a corner for her son with his special dairy-free cheese for his dietary restrictions. Basically, everyone has no reason to complain. Seriously, this was the world’s easiest meal, everyone was happy, and I didn’t have a ton of dishes to clean up. WINNING!
I’m calling it Netflix & Nacho night- so much cooler than Taco Tuesday!
Capsule Report
The capsule wardrobe is going great. I did end up adding two vests that I forgot I had ordered from thredup. I figured you guys wouldn’t mind too much! It’s become less of a numbers game this go-round, but I love just having the things I REALLY love in my closet!
Do you ever wonder what that LIKEtoKNOWit stuff is about on Instagram pictures? I am sharing those little tags on my photos for
my capsule IG account. The title is really what the service means- if you like something with that tag on it on Instagram, you can receive an email that tells you exactly where the items are from and how to order them. I get a commision on these that assists with supporting our site and I always try to find the same or a similar budget-friendly equivalent for my outfits.
To receive these shopping links, do a quick registration (in just 30 seconds!!) to register at www.LIKEtoKNOW.it. An email will give you links to all the great pieces and I always try to stay within my small budget.
You can also shop my looks from the web by going directly to my LIKEtoKNOWit page: http://liketoknow.it/momadvicecapsule. Make sure you are registered!
top (on sale- similar!)* belt (same, but I got mine gently used)* tassel booties (so comfy and worthy of your feet!)
Reading: A new book from one of my latest favorite thriller writers. Get this in your stack STAT- I can’t put it down! Those headphones are getting a workout too while I listen to this book around the house. I’m going to say it, I think it is the best one from this author yet!
Listening: I started Accused this week and I’m on the edge of my seat with each episode. Have you listened to this yet?
Eating: Ribs on repeat in the Instant Pot (the world’s great invention, amen.). I used this technique and then brushed them with Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce. We found high pressure for 30 minutes is fall-off-the-bone tender. HEAVEN!
Happy Fri-yay!
*this post may contain affiliate links- I only recommend what I love though. Check out past editions of It’s the 3 Little Things!