I really really needed a chill day and today is my chance.
I slept 10 hours (!). Then I did my longish run (12 mi!) which was glorious! A. “babysat” for the last ~30 min of this when Josh headed to work to do a case; since I was right in the neighborhood and she has a phone I felt fine with this. So glad I got it done, and I enjoyed every mile. The combination of sleeping in AND cool temps on a longer run is so rare here so I seized the day and am happy to report it was a pain-free experience.
Chill day for me = allowing screen time for the kids. I have made peace with this. This is the first day of their break and I don’t think one (or even a couple) day(s) of lying around and watching movies/playing video games will be the worst thing for them, and it will be INCREDIBLY appreciated by me. Truly they are quite busy a lot of the year (activities, social stuff, schoolwork) that I don’t blame them for wanting some lying around time, anyway. We can all enjoy it! And we leave for PHL on Friday, so it’s time-limited.
I do have to do *some* work to do today: some BOBW script prep, BLP at home prep (session #2 tomorrow!). But nothing too stressful. I plan on spending some quality time with my 2024 planners today and hopefully getting at least one kid to plan alongside!
Totally unrelated: My wide leg jeans came (I got these at Lani‘s rec!). I tend to get in a groove where I’ll mostly wear 2-3 pairs of favorite jeans over and over again for years, so I don’t mind spending out a bit. They are super cute and definitely modernize my wardrobe but I do need to get them hemmed (which makes sense as the “short” length fits up to 5’6″ . . . AYR, 5’6″ is well above average height for women, so not sure what that’s about!).
I do feel like they modernize my casual wardrobe a bit! AND now I also want flares.
I also have to share that I checked an outing off of my 23 for 2023 list yesterday:
I made it to the Morikami Japanese Gardens with Amanda!!! I’m glad I procrastinated on this goal because we had THE BEST WEATHER for this outing.
Finally – for anyone that listens to Happier (Gretchen Rubin / Elizabeth Craft’s podcast) – they discussed their 2024 annual challenge today! Amanda and I were trying to speculate (they’ve done “read 20 in 2020” “walk 21 in 2021” “rest 22 in 2022” and “outside 23 in 2023”) – I thought maybe it would be . . . 24 screen free minutes? 2-4 minutes of meditation?
I was wrong on both counts – they chose 24 minutes OR 2-4 minutes of writing in 2024. I don’t typically follow these challenges but I love hearing about how them anyway. But this one is tempting, especially since keeping an Experience Journal is one of my big goals for next year! I don’t think 24 minutes is in the card for me, but I probably do spend that kind of time writing HERE most days . . .
All right. Off to enjoy some of this chill day!! I am blowing through PTO days so I need to remember to really enjoy this time!
16 Comments
10 hours of sleep, a run, and new jeans? What a fabulous day! So glad you were willing to try wide leg jeans too. They do work on petites if you wear the right shoes. Also, jealous of your playdate with Amanda! The gardens sound wonderful.
I KNOW RIGHT? A very special day!!
The shoe piece on all these new trends is SO confusing! Especially if you live in a cold climate. I feel like almost all ads will show jeans paired either with:
1) a flat/white sneaker (which is fine but doesn’t obviously work at all times, e.g. if it is snowing, cold, or you’re wearing a nicer top/ sweater and a sneaker is just too casual)
2) some kind of strappy high heeled dress shoes (I’m already tall and don’t wear heels or frankly really ever have a need to wear dressy shoes with my jeans)
3) a sandal
4) Or, if they do actually show a winter/ cold weather boot, it’s some real slim, dressy boot, also with a high heel.
They never seem to show women wearing jeans with appropriate footwear to actually wear on a normal day to day in a colder climate! It is my pet peeve. 🙂
TOTALLY makes sense. I kind of like the idea of a lug sole loafer (like Prada-esque without the Prada price tag)? Or the sneaker option. I do see how, say, Chelsea boots could look awkward with a wide leg. (LANI – feel free to offer help here!)
Chelsea boots
Sorry — I can vouch for these here. Chelsea boots look fabulous with wide leg jeans. I wore that combo this weekend and my boss told me I looked like a model lol. (Obvi not true but compliments are always appreciated!)
Oh awesome!!!!
Yes! You are so right. And Kae’s list is awesome too. Spot on. To that we can add the Chelsea boots, and a lug sole loafer. A shoe has to do one of two things to balance out the wide-leg jeans. It has to bring the eye in or up. So a high heel or a heavy sole are going to have the same effect. But a flat strappy sandal that shows a lot of skin will also work. And of course all of this defends upon how tight the jeans are in the thighs and if they are cropped or not. But hopefully that was helpful :)?
I have to admit that I looked up what a Chelsea boot is! Turns out I have them. LOL. On the Canadian west coast, you’ll find most people refer to them as Blundstones (whether or not they’re that brand).
That is so interesting! I know what Blundstones are of course but didn’t realize they were the “Kleenex” of ankle boots :)!
Weather was glorious for our long-awaited plans at the Morikami, and our predictions for Happier’s 2024 will just wait until future years! Writing 2-4 minutes each day is totally doable, especially with your 5-year journal. If you track your time on your “writing,” you probably do meet/exceed 24 minutes each day across all of you journals, notebooks, and blog posts.
Hi lovely ladies!! I love those gardens- I hope you enjoyed your time there!
Sarah I’d love to see a pic of the jeans once hemmed. I have been looking for wide leg jeans unsuccessfully. I ordered several from Nordstrom but returned them all. A friend suggested Express, and another friend has some from Banana. But these are cute and Lani is an expert so I trust the rec!!
I will!!! They are super comfortable and the denim seems very luxe … I’m into them!
Awww, you’re so sweet! I’ve had multiple clients buy and love these jeans. They come in multiple washes too. I’m also a huge fan of Spanx and NYDJ jeans. Joe’s Mia style is good too for a wide leg jean.
Yes, I heard that challenge! There’s an option to just write 2-4 minutes if you don’t want to do 24. I’m toying with doing it…
Glad you felt good on your long run! 12 pain free miles is awesome.
I think it’s fine for the kids to have a screen-full day. Like you said, they do so many activities normally- they will be fine for one day- I’m sure it was fun for them and for you!
Chill days are soooo necessary.
I can’t believe we’re back to wide legged pants. I might still have some in the closet, but I had just warmed up to the skinny jeans LOL