beyoutiful

With my recent dive down the rabbit hole of 'Self Help' books i keep noticing a recurring theme - "Be Yourself" Well duh, easy enough once you get the courage to do so right? Wrong. I keep having to ask myself 'Who the hell am i?' I am trying to define myself (loosely define myself at least, boxes suck no one wants to be in one, including me) as an individual. Not as Shell the Mom or Shell the Daughter or Wife or Shell that has a tendency to talk too fast and wear all Black. I want to define myself as Shell without comparison to others. So as an homage to finding mysel--err DeFINING myself, I have decided to ask (myself) some questions - nothing can be learned first, without curiosity. And in order to be a better version of me (catch that Fiona Apple reference anyone?) i must start with being curious as to who I am. So here is an interview with...the most awesome person i know...ME.


My Favorites, Currently:

Color: SeaGlass
Drink: Iced Coffee or Hot Tea
Food: Fondue or Mexican
Place: The beach, Specifically the Gulf of Mexico & Switzerland
Dream Travel Destinations: Australlia, Sweden, Slovenia
Book/Currently Reading: Proof of Heaven, Hunger Games & You Can Heal Your Body
Male Musician: Bob Dylan
Female Musician: Fiona Apple
Band: First Aid Kit, Eisley (Any sibling, female folk/indie band is automatically my favorite)
Hobby: Sleeping,Reading,Swimming,Going to the Movies
Nail Color: Lincoln Park After dark & Dark Navy Blue
Morning or Night: Night Owl
Movie: 500 Days of Summer
Male Actor: Joe G. Levitt
Female Actor: Emma Stone
Sign: Gemini through and through
Guilty Pleasure: Reality T.V. ( i miss you) & anything sweet
Favorite Flower: any wildflower of course!
Dream Car: My fun car would be a White Jeep Wrangler with a little lift and big tires / Luxury car would probably be a blacked out Audi...see the Gemini theme here folks?
Good Habits: I say thank you, I drink lots of water, Don't take Medicine & I try to turn all judgmental thoughts i have about someone into a compliment. WIP. work in progress. This also means i talk to myself a lot.
Bad Habits: I'm a messy messy person by nature, I eat out WAY too much, I cuss a lot & I'm addicted to my cell phone.
Dream House Style: I call it simply "Shabby Chic Bohemian Beach Cottage Farmhouse, w/minimal industrial accents, open yet cozy at the same time. see totally simple ;)
Move or Stay Put: MOVE MOVE MOVE / CHANGE, CHANGE CHANGE
Need to make more time for: Yoga, Exercise, Grocery Shopping/Meal Planning, Meditation.
Currently Working on: Myself - Patience,Planning Skills, Listening Skills, Figuring out my calling


Ask yourself some questions today - it's good for the soul. Perhaps soon i will come up with a list of deeper questions but for now this is all a part of the big picture that I'm trying to paint for myself.

Namaste,

Shell

Little Life Changers

This is one of the first areas I 'tackled' to start this life changing business. The dreaded PLAYROOM, dun dun dun. 

Sadly the before picture was one i had taken of a 'clean' playroom. Hello old self, That is NOT a clean playroom. That is a cluttered and stressful room full of stuff we did not need or even want. Much of it has been donated slowly and lots of it was given away at a garage sale. Some of it sadly, was thrown in the trash.

The benefits i have noticed from this first clean out have been so rewarding for them and ME!

1. This room gets used more, way more! They flock to this room now all on their own. Before we had to recite over and over "go play in the playroom, thats what its for". Those days are past. 

2. They could absolutely terrorize this room and i could have it ready for company in 8 minutes flat. I stress less and clean more often. Cleaning the playroom isn't overwhelming, not at all! 

3. The kids play differently, their play is less 'hectic' when they are in there now. They actually sit down and you can see a purpose in their playtime. It's not just Tasmanian devil/tornado style, throw crap everywhere type of play anymore. Hallelujah. 

Pick a room, pick a closet, pick a shelf - take some shit out of there. See how it feels, better i bet! 

Kindly,

Shell 

Birthday Wishes

I have a permanent reminder on my feet to 'Want Less, Suffer Less' - But, I make an exception to that rule on my birthday, okay and maybe some other days out of the year too. I'm a firm believer in less stuff, simpler life, happier life. That being said, my birthday is in t-minus 2 weeks exactly and i do have some 'wants' this year.

1. A Breville Juicer - because i saw THIS film, nearly a year ago and have wanted one ever since. I'm a terrible vegetarian and would much rather drink my veggies than eat them! Sorry mom! 

2. A Singer Sewing Machine - Can i sew? NO! But i'm desperate to learn!! (I should have paid more attention in middle school Home Ec, dangit!!)

3. A Portable Record Player - Because i have records that need to be listened to! Plus we have been trying to listen to more music around here, and watch less t.v. - Living room dance parties have been all the rage at our house lately! 

4. Doc Martens - I've wanted a pair of 'Docs' ever since middle school - I'm still waiting. Aren't these BEAUTIFUL! Feminine and Tough! I'm a gemini people! Plus they remind me of one of my favorite shows of all time - 'My so called life' I seriously considered naming my daughter Rayanne. No shame. 

All that being said, i'll be MORE than happy just to have a good relaxing day with my family and a delicious meal of course! cough melting pot cough. ;) 

Kindly,

Shell

IG Love

If you haven't heard of instagram you probably live under a rock, and i'm probably jealous because let's be honest...the last thing i need in my life is another social media outlet. However, Instagram kind of rules as far as those sorts of things go. I literally have NO CLUE how to use twitter, or tweet someone or retweet blah blah blah. So IG it is for me! (I'm not that excited that facebook bought them since it was my secret little hiding place on the interwebs. grr.) I guess my secret is out - you can follow me on IG at -WildflowerShell- Here are some of my favorites bits and pieces.

Kindly,

.Shell.

Gourmet Grilled Cheese

Everyone that REALLY knows me, KNOWS I am a grilled cheese fanatic!! I can't help that i have a simple pallet. However, I've stepped up my grilled cheese game these days. I am 26 after all, I think it's time that i say goodbye to the Kraft cheese, butter and white bread. RIP. I will love you forever!

Here is my new and improved 'go-to' grilled cheese recipe.

Coconut Oil instead of Butter

Rosemary bread instead of White Bread

Fresh Mozzarella instead of Kraft Slices

Campari Tomatoes instead of Ketchup

+Pesto, just because I could eat that sh*t with a spoon!

Please excuse my less than stellar food photographs, trying to take good pictures of a meal that you are ready to chow down on is kind of weird and i am kind of impatient. Just saying. 

Kindly,

Shell. 

Montessori Madness

The title of this post, well actually anything followed by 'Madness' automatically makes me think of REEFER MADNESS. However, I can assure you, this is not about herbs. Sorry stoners we'll save that discussion for another day.

So as of last week i am officially a 'Montessori' mommy, add that to my crazy list if you'd like. Here are the top 3 reasons why we decided to uproot our kids from the traditional daycare they'd been at for 2+ years. I will dedicate another post in the near future to explaining what exactly the 'MON-TA-SORE-EE' method is.

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 NUTRITION:

Their particular school is a SUGAR FREE ZONE! Can we say HALLELUJAH? I hate to be 'that' mom, but once you read this article you may understand. Not to mention my sweet angel of a daughter practically needs an exorcism after she eats ice cream. No more ‘specials’ i.e. dum dums on display in the classroom for her to drool over all day & no more fighting for ‘specials’ when it’s time to go home and eat dinner!! Also, they have the option to bring their lunch (which i pack in either a goodbyn lunchbox  or a lunchbots food container). When mom is being a bum, they have the option of a well rounded, fresh, hot catered meal for $3.00 a day!! Heck yes! I hated that i had no control over what they ate for 2  of 3 meals at their old school. Problem solved.

 EDUCATION:


On top of the Montessori basics that differ from a traditional classroom they now have 'Extra Curricular' activities built into their school day. Everyday they have one of the following classes: Mandarin Chinese, Gym, Music, Library, Spanish & Computer. Let's face it, not many daycares offer these options and - I - do not know how to, play guitar or piano, speak Spanish or Mandarin or have the patience to let my 3 year old, play on my Macbook. So needless to say this is a VERY exciting oppurtunity for my little ones. I am one stoked momma!

CONVENIENCE:


We save about 45mins to an hour a day in driving time, since their new school is located MUCH closer to our house! woohoo!
Also, and this is controversial for an artsty fartsy crunchy hippie weirdo mom like me, but they are required to wear uniforms (GASP) everyday except Friday. Surprisingly this rules my life becuase I have a million times less laundry and secondly because i have a million times less stress in the mornings. That's enough reason for me. Bring on the plaid jumpers and polo shirts! Please note the irony of all this, considering less than 10 years ago i was sitting in 11th grade writing a persausive paper on why uniforms are so Terrible and EVIL!! Oh life you are sooo hilarious!!

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Who knows if it's a better than home school, or no school or traditional daycare. I sure as hell don’t know! I do know that it is what's best for our family right now...and  I'll most definitely let everyone know in a few years, whether it 'worked' or not. ;)


Okay enough already, time for zee pictures!!

^^ I Die! ^^

1st lunch I've ever packed!

I would call this a 'fake' smile, but she legitimately smiles like this. 

What the hell is going on here?

On our way!!

Unrelated, tears.

Places to go, people to meet!

My little food dude, ready to chow down with his new bros!

Sisters turn.

Stop it right now. I will melt on the floor right here. 

Making herself right at home working on some ART!

So far so good, They have adjusted really well and i can relax now! Oh and Addie's ATTITUDE problem seems to have  disappeared....almost. ;) 

Kindly,

.Shell.