Four Favorites: Loungewear

If you're anything like me, you haven't worn pants with buttons in about two months. I am not the kind of person to lounge around in a pair of jeans-- no matter how comfortable-- but I have worn dresses a few days just to shake up the endless cycle of sweatpants. 

I recently decided to upgrade my little selection of athleisure so that I wasn't constantly borrowing Shelley's (vastly superior) collection. I'm sharing my four favorites to wear into the spring. 

1) If you have legs, these Aerie leggings are the best pants I've ever owned, period. I've worn them to bed, under a dress, to do yoga-- they're comfortable and flattering and basically blow all other leggings out of the water.

Image from Aerie

2) This hoodie from Old Navy comes in so many colors-- I ordered the charcoal and the yellow (which I have worn pretty much since I got it). It's super soft and lightweight, so it would be perfect as a swim coverup or nights on the beach (ah, remember when...). The best part is it's on sale and Old Navy always has pretty great coupons too. 

Image from Old Navy

 

3)  These pants from Amazon. They're supposed to be joggers, but they're a little more fitted than I am used to, though this could just be because usually I wear men's sweatpant joggers. They are like $12 and butter-soft. These also come in some fun colors and have a pretty deep pocket. I have such an issue with how girl pants have pockets barely big enough to fit a Chapstick in, so that made me pretty happy. 

4) This star hoodie from Dottie Couture. I used to shop at Dottie all the time before I worked from home, but this hoodie had the cute stars and my favorite color, so I couldn't pass it up. I've been rotating this one out with the sunny yellow Old Navy one. This hoodie comes in pink too, but I prefer the blue. 

Image from Dottie Couture 

One day, we'll all be able to participate in society and wear real people clothes again, but for now, I'm not mad about being able to wear things that are soft, freeing, and comfortable. I like these options because they still look cute in spite of being comfortable, and that confidence is one of the biggest forms of self-care.  

Revamping Our Bedroom on a Budget

I've spent a lot of time at home lately-- like, every day, all day, nonstop, since March 14th. I am obviously not alone in that. While some of my humble readership may live in climates where opting outside is an option, here, more often than not, we've been under a pretty constant cover of rain, clouds, and even snow. As such, I've spent a lot of time staring at our tiny space and trying to figure out how to update it without a) breaking the bank or b) losing our rental deposit (aka no painting, floors, etc.).

Considering that we spend about 1/3 of our lives sleeping, and about 7 years of our lives trying to get to sleep, I decided to start in the bedroom.

Shelley and I moved in together about five years ago, and in that time we have not once updated our bedroom space. We admittedly didn't do much research into our bedroom suit (and as a result have vowed that next time, we will measure the depth of the drawers to ensure they fit more than two pairs of sweatpants). We've had the same bed-in-a-bag in our colors (blue and green). Over Christmas, I hung a wreath above our bed, and it's stayed there because it added a little pizazz. It was time for a refresher.

One thing we decided to do was treat ourselves to new sheets. There's a set we had on our Macy's wedding registry with a pretty high thread count and a gorgeous sea glass color, so we went with those. Typically, we use the bamboo sheets from Aldi (which are surprisingly soft and amazing), but these are beyond compare.

We also went with a new comforter. I've always wanted one of those big, fluffy white ones that seems like you're sleeping in a cloud or in some tropical resort, and Shelley has always wanted a down comforter. Pretty much since the time we got engaged, I've been seeing ads for any and every place that sells invitations, home goods, bedding, or jewelry. One that kept popping up over and over was The Company Store, so we checked there. I am allergic to like, everything, so we went with down alternative in a medium thickness, and we got a white linen duvet cover for it.

I tried to tidy up my nightstand a little-- I tend to use it as a catch-all for my jewelry, essential oils, my water, my journals, my books... but I've made an effort to keep it tidy and added a little fake succulent too. Our entire downstairs has live plants everywhere, but the bedroom doesn't get much natural light and I don't want to kill them all. Keeping it minimal allows me to be in a clear headspace before bed, which makes me much calmer.

The best part about the bedding is that it is as fluffy as I expected it to be-- and maybe quarantine is making me a little loopy, but I jumped on the bed for the first time in many years.

If you're looking to spice up your space on a budget, you can use this link and save $50 off your purchase!