little white truths

I mentioned in my last post that it feels like spring came a little early this year because the last week in August has been beautifully warm and sunny. 

Indeed, this past week brought that 'winter is over' moment for me - as I'm sure it did for a lot of people - and this has really helped lift the old spirits.

Anyhoo. That's a round-a-bout way of introducing this post. As the biting weather has started to leave us and I'm not walking into the icebox that's been the living room each morning, I've begun turning my mind to what I'd like to see happen before this year comes to a close.

Sound familiar? I guess the term 'spring cleaning' didn't come about for no reason. Something about the warm sun just makes you look forward and think about what you'd like to achieve now that the winter cobwebs have lifted. So I thought I'd share my spring goals, just in case anyone can relate : )

You guessed it: clean

This is a boring and rather obvious one, so let's get it out of the way. While it's not as though our home looks like it's been hit by the proverbial bomb (at least, not today), when you have young kids you tend to focus on clearing the surface mess at the end of each day and the other stuff falls to the wayside.

What I'd really like to do now - before we have a newborn and get lost in the wonders and terrors of that - is go through all the cupboards and work out what I can get rid of or re-purpose. I need to trawl through my daughter's clothes and toys in particular and decide what can be thrown out or donated, or what we want to set aside for the new bub. It's not going to be a massive task because we're not overloaded with things, but it's one I've been putting off anyway.

I did make a start on the garden as well this week, but there's plenty more weeding and trimming to be done now that the weather has turned for the better. It will be a slow process with this somewhat 'un-streamlined' ; ) pregnant body of mine, but I want to do it anyway. Wish me luck!

Get the lighting sorted

If you read this blog, you'll know that I meant to get some blog lighting for my birthday, but various other expenses got in the way so we only ordered it last night. It wasn't super expensive, but money's been tight and we've really been watching the pennies for the past year.

Once the lighting kit arrives, I'll have to turn my mind to working out how to use it! I'm not a technical person so I may well run into issues, but I'm determined. Plus I'm hoping it will save time in the end because I won't be deleting so many fuzzy shots, nor will I need to re-shoot things quite so often. Fingers crossed...

Get out more

Like many I've been hibernating a little this winter. While I do get out to the park for an hour each day because we have a dog, that's often been my one outing - aside from the many appointments I've had due to the pregnancy and all the random colds that's brought with it. So it's time to get out of the house for some better outings!

We do live in a nice area with civilisation nearby, and I'd love to spend more time exploring the local cafes and shops. That won't be easy with a toddler who's come to hate her pram (she just wants to run around), but it will be good for us. Plus it should make those long 'primary carer' days pass a little faster ; )

Work through my beauty stores

This is always a goal of mine, but it's worth mentioning anyway because I know I'm not the only one who wants to do this! While it's been a great year in terms of getting through old products via eg Project Pan and making the stash in the cupboard look a little smaller, there's plenty more work to be done and I'm really looking forward to it.

In particular I need to use up the body products I have open because I've got some nice stuff waiting for me once I've finished a few more items. I hadn't invested in some 'special' body products for ages, so I took advantage of a discount code and made a Rituals order around my birthday, and I can't wait to make a start on my goodies. 

While I may well save them for after childbirth (when applying products to my own body will be a damn sight easier - gosh it's hard to reach my legs these days without toppling over ; ) ), I'd still like to work through what I have to make room for them.

Start thinking about Project Pan 2017

I saw a conversation on Instagram the other day: one of the panners I follow had started jotting down her potential list of Project Pan products for the new year, and quite a few people had commented that they wrote their own lists but thought no one else did so. Turns out they do!

While I don't think I've ever written my list down, it does start forming itself in my head at around this time every year, and I have been looking at my collection lately with fresh eyes and working out what I'd like to finish.

For a while I've felt that 2017 should be the year of the creams (blushes, eyeshadows etc) because those things tend to turn faster than powders and I have a few cream products that have been open for a year or more now, so it's definitely time to get through them. Some of those I may even introduce before the new year, so watch this space : )

Revamp Project Pan 2016

While we're on the Project Pan topic, I've been keen to change up my list for a while now because it's starting to feel old and tired. I don't necessarily mean that I want to kick off any of the products I have on the go, but more that I want to include different kinds of products when places open up for them.

Eg I don't think I've ever included a fragrance, but I'd quite like to because that will add a breath of fresh air to my somewhat tired old list. I'm sure I'm not the only one who gets in a PP 'rut' and just includes the same kinds of products over and over, so I'd like to change that going forward just to keep things more interesting.

Does anyone else revert to tried and tested dishes when they've got too much on? I certainly do, and for the last few months - more, to be honest - I've been cooking the same kinds of things, day in, day out.

I partly do this because my husband has certain things he likes taking to work, but I also do it because we buy the same sorts of things from the supermarket on a weekly basis so there's nothing happening in the pantry that's particularly inspiring.

So I'm going to use the new season as an excuse to get a little more inventive - and that starts with the grocery shopping. Plus I do really love cooking so I want to make a point of cooking for pleasure again, rather than just cooking whatever because we need to eat.

...and the daily uniform

This one makes me laugh, and it would make my husband laugh even more. I work from home and I'm also a primary carer, so I tend to have the same clothes on rotation - week after week. Tracksuit pants are also the pregnant woman's best friend, as are runners and baggy cardigans. And they've certainly been great friends of mine this year ; )

This also means that I'm washing and folding the same clothes over and again, and quite frankly, I'm sick of looking at them!

So even though my belly's large (and still expanding), when I do go through my cupboards as part of the said spring clean, I plan to pull out some different stuff so I'm not wearing, washing and folding the same pair of tracksuit pants every week.

Change is as good as a holiday, as they say ; )

In sum

Them's my spring goals! Hopefully you found something to relate to in there, and at least had a smile or two ; )

Let me know if you have any goals for the new season - ideas are always welcome!

Speak soon x