Workin' It Wednesdays - Cozy homes

 Today's link up is all about coziness and the home and I am someone who loves everything cozy! There are five things that I believe every home should have to appear and feel cozy.

 

1. Blankets

 

I love a good blanket - my linen closet full of blankets is proof of this. I have been given many knitted and crocheted blankets over the years and have made my own as well. I also love those soft blankets with the fluffy inside, and electric blankets? I can't even. They're just the best. There is nothing better than laying on the couch with a good blanket.

 

The blanket in this picture took me way longer than I'd like to admit to make. I had to take out and redo many parts and connecting the pieces was a pain in the ass, but the results were awesome! We call this the napping blanket, because if you pull it over you, you're sure to have a delicious nap ahead.

Blankets just make a room seem cozier. I also equate coziness with warmth, so it's a good blend :)

 

2. Fireplaces

 

Since we bought a condo, and most condos do not come with fireplaces, we purchased a standing faux fireplace as part of our tv stand. I love that I can turn it on with or without the heat because sometimes I want the warmth and other times I just like to have the effect of flickering flames on a cold day. One of the things our new home must have is a fireplace, preferably one in the bedroom. I wish wish wish we could have a real fireplace, but they don't build homes with those anymore and the houses that we are looking at are in relatively newer areas (probably no older than 20 years), so they don't have those amazing real fireplaces that need chimneys and firewood.
I don't have a picture of our fireplace turned on, so I'll leave you with this photo of it that I found online

Not bad for a fake fireplace amiright?!

 

3. Candles and Diffusers

 

Not a particularly good picture (at all, really), but I recall this evening as super cozy and the photo evokes those same feelings. Plus the smells are amazing. The middle one is custard!

Oh how I love a good candle. We always have an abundance of candles and I burn them all day - usually in the fall and winter (summer doesn't really feel like candle-time) and always the fall scents with pumpkin and the winter scents of either apple cinnamon, or vanilla (vanilla Noel from bath and body works is forever my favourite). At night I diffuse lavender in the bedroom. There are conflicting views about the safety of essential oils for cats, so since our bedroom is largely off-limits to the felines, that's where I diffuse. If I'm resting in the bedroom, which is pretty rare, I'll diffuse frankincense. I love that scent and it just screams cozy to me, but it is so expensive that I don't want to use it, haha. I also love the sound that the diffuser makes. It's got this soft bubbling that reminds me of using a humidifier when I would have a cough/cold as a child. That sound always comforted me because it felt like healing. Doesn't really make sense but there we are. It's hard to control smells when you live in a condo, but we do our best to make sure our home always smells inviting and candles and diffusers help immensely!

I love how you can actually see it diffusing

 

4. Warm drinks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There's nothing cozier than curling up on the couch with a good book and a cup of tea. Tea is always my preferred warm drink at home, but every now and then the husband and I will indulge in a hot chocolate (only in the winter) with marshmallows. There's something incredibly cozy about sitting on your coach with a warm drink while snow and wind blow around outside. I also love sitting in starbucks with a good friend and enjoying a chestnut praline latte in the winter. Warm drinks = cozy!

5. Seasonal decorations

 

This is something I've just recently gotten into (aside from Christmas and Hanukkah) and am loving it! Husband is not loving the money spending aspect of it, but that's nothing new. I think there's really something warm and inviting about a home that is decorated for the season - tastefully. This is more specific to fall/winter, because spring and summer aren't really known for coziness. But I love having little accents of fall around the home. It brings a room together and makes it seem more welcoming, but also more comfortable. I think the idea of the colder seasons alone has something inherently cozy about it to most people, so those little extra bits just take it the extra mile. I definitely feel a little more love for our home when it's decorated for the holidays, so now I've extended it to the whole fall/winter season. Cozy cozy cozy!!

 

When it comes to cozy, I can't get enough. It's my favourite feeling and something I strive to achieve. I love sweaters, blankets, hot tea, Christmas movies, fluffy socks, and delicious scents. Check out the other blogs in this link up to see more posts about coziness!

Oasis Zoo Run 10k Race Recap

 Happy Monday! I have so many late nights this week for work that I am just counting the days till the weekend! I feel like I'm already sleep deprived (last night there was a spider web in my room and I of course knew there was a spider lurking somewhere and thus couldn't sleep).

I am excited to give a race recap of my Oasis Zoo Run 10 k this weekend though!

 

#realtalk

I haven't done a 10k in so long, that I actually can't remember when. If I had to guess, I would say it was probably within the half marathon I did in May 2016 so y'know ... it's been awhile. So I did my 8k last Monday, felt good and knew I could have run 2 more kilometres.

Saturday was an early start. We left our home around 6:15 because the race was pretty far away and I needed to do day-of race kit pickup. Because we got there around 7, the parking situation wasn't bad. We were in a traffic line up to get in for about 5 minutes and were able to park with no problem. The downside was that we were SO FAR from the actual race start. I guess the later people got the closer spots, which seemed unfair ;)

 

The line up for kit pick up was insane. We waited for about 30 minutes and it really felt like it could have and should have been more efficient. They had to delay the start of the race by 10 minutes and I'm thinking that crazy line up was why. The t-shirt in the race kit is so lovely, but that's really all that was in there aside from the chip, an Oasis juice box and some hand cream.

 



Photo link here

 

Then we went onto the porta potties. I can't stand them (who can?), but it was a long drive and frankly, I had no choice. We had to wait another 20 minutes to get in to use the porta potties so despite getting there an hour before the start, I ended up getting to the corral about five minutes before the start of the race (that was before the delayed it). They started the groups in waves that were about 3 minutes apart. which was a nice way to start without giant crowds. The first 4.5k of the run was animal-free which was kind of disappointing. We were basically running through backroads of the zoo. But at about 4.5 I saw the baby panda bears and nearly died because holy bananas they were cute!

 

So hard to get pics with this glass wall
 

I wish this was a better photo. They were adorable!

 

 

I had to stop to adore them for a minute and snap some pics through the glass. They were just sitting there all fluffy and eating bamboo. Oh I could have stayed there forever! I eventually dragged myself away and went back on my route.

 

I also stopped briefly to see the two humpback camels, flamingos, a leopard (jaguar?), red tree pandas (oh so adorable) and llamas. It was actually really fun to run and see all these different animals but the hills... Oh gosh those hills. They warn you before you begin that the route is hilly, but wow it was harsh. I didn't exactly hill train so let's just say there was some walking up hills involved.

 

 

Red tree panda!

 

As for the actual run (minus my brief animal stops), I stopped quite infrequently. As I result, I probably didn't drink enough of my electrolytes. I stopped at about 3, 7, and I think 9 for fuel but probably only for about 30 seconds. I also walked up some hills and tried to drink at those times as well but didn't always. I had a really bad headache later on in the day which was probably from dehydration. The water on the course also tasted terrible. I'm not sure what was wrong with it but it was nasty. I was glad that husband found a water bottle after because instead of passing them out to finishers, we got more cups of the weird water.

My official time was 1:06:48, which I was actually pretty impressed with, given that I stopped several times for animal pictures, and walked up some hills. And of course because I didn't exactly train for it. Doing races again has definitely amped up my motivation to run, so I'm going to register for a half marathon in the winter (chilly half) and try to keep it going. It's not about timing for me right now, but more about learning to love running again. So I know my speed will come back eventually, but right now I want to enjoy my runs rather than suffer through them. I think this will help me to move forward in a more positive way.

 

 

 

I was so exhausted after the race that I actually took an afternoon nap, which I rarely do. It was awesome and super cozy with my dim bedroom and frankincense in the diffuser. A delicious Saturday for sure.

We met with a realtor on Friday who we really liked, so we are now in the process of looking for a house to buy. While he wants us to buy first, we are going to try to list and buy somewhat simultaneously. He has a good track record and comes recommended from husbands work. Our goal is to be in our new home by Christmas. So keep your fingers crossed! We are going to look at houses next weekend, which makes me excited and nervous. Even with a decent budget cap, we are still looking at insane prices. The market is slowly dropping, and more and more houses are up for sale. The unfortunate thing is that a lot of people are stuck with insane mortgages on houses that have probably lost a significant amount of value now that the market is cooling slightly. So they are still trying to sell for close to what they paid. I'm not sure how the offers will work on those. I guess these are all things we'll find out!

Well, that's all for today! Have a great Monday!

 

 

 

Sickie sick sick

 Well, my feeling slightly off has developed into a full blown cold. It's safe to say, I feel like complete garbage. Sore throat, sneezing, coughing, nose running, head foggy ...ughhhhh. Last night I diffused some On Guard, and applied my floom mixture (a blend of frankincense, lemon, oregano, on guard and melaluca (tea tree)). It helped -- usually the first day my sore throats are completely unbearable, but this one is just painful, haha. I'm hoping it passes quickly. I don't like feeling this way (well, who ever does?!)

 

 

Some positives - today I went and bought those red Kate Spade shoes that I shared a few days ago. Sigh, I know I need to cut down my spending, but a good pair of shoes just completely does me in. Pathetic, I know! Now I just need that dress. I'm crossing my fingers that it goes on sale, but it hasn't so far and I need it in about a month. I'm debating just buying it and then returning it and re-buying it if goes on sale. That might be a bit excessive.

I was impressed that even with my feeling gross yesterday and with a very off stomach to boot, that I was able to convince myself to make dinner. My run became a walk because who wants to bounce around when their stomach isn't cooperating. What a mess, amiright?!
I've entered into a stepbet and while this is the first week, which doesn't count, I'm still feeling the pressure to get my steps in. Losing $40 USD isn't something I'm too keen on. I don't have insanely high goals. Not like some of the ones I've seen, but I also have an office job where I'm sitting for the majority of my day, so while I park as far away as possible and walk often on my lunchtimes, I still have to try to get 8000+ steps on non-running days. I have to say - this is a really great incentive. I know that you don't make much $$ overall, but even the idea of losing your own money is pretty motivating to keep you moving. I'd highly advise people with office jobs who are finding it tricky to get steps in to join a step bet! The one I'm doing only has about 700 participants, so the pot isn't huge, but some have tens of thousands!

Anyways, I'm out. Need to get in some steps and then try and sleep some of this nonsense away!