Life Lately: Winter 2021

There have been some beautiful days of glistening snow and frost so far this winter. We have been very fortunate that we have only had a few days of severely cold weather. I am hopeful it continues that way, as it makes the days much nicer when we can go outside to play.

I have been doing more research on curly hair, and the products that I use. I just recently figured out that the shampoo I use still has a coconut derivative in it, so I have cut it out and am waiting to see how it changes my hair. In the meantime, I am just using my conditioners to scrub away the residues and buildup in my hair. I am really struggling with finding products that have absolutely no coconut in them.

Finding foods that we are not used to, and good for our bodies, is something that I've been trying to do on grocery trips lately. I picked up a pomegranate (my son was not a fan of the seeds, but would eat the fruit and spit them out), and a yellow pepper, in the hopes that it would be another vegetable we could enjoy. I ended up just putting chopped up yellow pepper in my salads this week because it was not a fan favourite, and I really enjoyed the new flavour. I think I will continue buying them...for myself.

I purchased this beautiful bowl, that reminds me of Saturn, from Karlie King, and it is now my new favourite porridge bowl. It would also make a fantastic chip or popcorn bowl, as it is both deep and wide enough that I would feel satisfied with the amount of snacks that I got. Haha!

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Behind the Art: I Love You x 15

I Love You x 15 card

 

This card was inspired by a game that my son and I would play at bedtime when he was little. When I would get ready to leave after our cuddles, we would both say "I love you" as fast as we could a million times in a row to see who could say it the most.

I love creating cards that have a connection to me somehow because I have memories attached to them. We do not play this game anymore, and so I love this card all the more. Cherish those moments.

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My Curly Hair Journey: Six Months In

How it started... 

Back in July 2020, I shared the beginning of my curly hair journey with you, and I want to give you an update of how it's going. I was so excited to see the changes in my hair already at the beginning of my journey, but there have been a lot of ups and downs, and incredibly frustrating moments throughout the last six months. There have also been a lot of changes and hope. 

Once the hairdresser was able to open again, I went in for a trim, and it made a world of difference getting rid of nearly two years of split ends, but then I started to struggle again as my hair became really dry and started falling out. It wasn't severe, but every time I would run my hand along my hair, there would be a large quantity of strands that would come out at the ends. That's when I started to realise that my hair may have a sensitivity to coconut.

The struggles continued as I searched every where for products that do not contain coconut or coconut derivatives (which is not easy to find in drug store brands...or even online). Once my hair calmed down from the coconut, it seemed to be doing better, except that I couldn't figure out how to make my curls look less scraggly, tangled and frizzy. 

That's when I started doing more research. The curly haired people on Instagram have been a godsend, and I have learned so much from them. Once I found people that have similar hair to mine, I started to experiment with different techniques, and how to use the products I have. One thing that I learned that has really helped me is that it doesn't matter what products you use, it's how you utilize them.

The photo below is from my last wash day, and I couldn't be happier with the results. It's days like this that give me the most hope...that and looking back at past days when I took photos where I thought my hair looked amazing. It really does help to document the good hair days so that you can see the changes, and progress, that have been made. 

I knew going into this that it would be a lifelong journey. The people that I have found to learn from have been working with their curls for 2-3 years already, and I am only at six months. I know that there is so much more to learn, and so many more changes that will happen along the way!

How it's going!

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Read It: Light From Other Stars

 

I have to say that I was first attracted to the cover of Light From Other Stars by Erika Swyler before anything else. To draw me in at the bookstore, a good book (that I've never heard of before) must go through three tests in my mind: first, I'm drawn in by the cover art, then I process whether or not I like the title, and, lastly, I open the book to a random page to see if I enjoy the style of writing from the author. This book easily passed all three.

As I started reading though, it took me a little bit to get hooked in, but, once it got me, it sank those claws in deep. The more I read, the more I wanted to know, and, the more I knew, the more my mind was searching for answers, and, the more it was searching for answers, the more I knew that I couldn't figure this book out and I loved it!

This book is the furthest thing from a psychological thriller, but it had the same kinds of twists and turns that you would never had expected. Written from what seems to be two different times, though you're only ever told one specific time, this book deals with everything from family and loss to physics and space. It seems like a very broad range of topics, but it ends up taking you on an adventure of a lifetime where everything comes together beautifully in the end. It is truly one of my favourite books.

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