December in review

I am happy to report that this month has been less hectic and stressful than November. Below are some of the things that I enjoyed this past month

Decluttering

1. Herbal teas: I tend to experiment with different herbal teas, but I really have to simply admit that I am always going to be a coffee lover. I can’t abide black teas, and although I give herbal teas a valiant try, I simply don’t enjoy them. I tried matcha tea as well this Autumn, which I should have known would not work, as I have never liked green tea., I disposed of the various herbal teas I had tried – I had bought them in bulk, so at least no packaging was wasted.
2. Cat toys: My two cats are very, very spoiled, which is exactly the way it should be. Their collection of toys had become very unwieldy, as I tend to pick up one or two items when I do a monthly run to the pet store; this doesn’t include all the toys under the sofa, furniture, etc. I used to store the toys in a lovely ceramic bin, which broke this week, scattering the toys everywhere, so I saw this as a sign to declutter the toys and focus on the ones the cats actually enjoy using.
3. Clothes: I tried an experiment with two dresses this year that strayed a little from the styles I usually wear. The dresses are handmade in linen by an Etsy crafts person. There is nothing wrong with the dresses, but they simply did not work for me, as they look too shapeless on me. I’ve moved them to the loungewear category. This was another example of straying away from what I know I really like for the sake of novelty and failing. There is a reason I always score as “classic” in most style quizzes; more bohemian looks simply don’t work for me.

Books

1. The body in the garden, by Katharine Schellman
2. Miss Aldridge regrets, by Louise Hare
3. Things that matter, by Joshua Becker
4. Girl in disguise, by Greer Macallister
5. The Murder of Mr. Wickham, by Claudia Gray

Food

1. Vego white chocolate bar
2. Vego hazelnut chocolate bar
3. TMRW hickory maple sausages
4. Spaghetti alla Nerano. I’ve always enjoyed this simple spaghetti dish that uses simple ingredients for the sauce: zucchini, butter, grated cheese, and pasta water. I veganize it, of course. This dish received a lot of attention when Stanley Tucci raved about it, and it has popped up in my YouTube feed lately, so I thought I would include it here.
5. Zatar Manoush’eh from local business Pizzatown. A delicious variation of the traditional pizza.

Clothing

1. Vivaia Ryan 2.0 boots in chocolate brown
2. Tumi beige nylon shoulder bag, second hand, from Poshmark Canada

Household goods

1. VÄLVÅRDAD stainless steel brush from Ikea. The handle is made of stainless steel and comes with a replaceable beech head with agave leaf fibre bristles. I used to use a similar product, which is very popular in the zero-waste community, where the handle is also made of wood. I found that the wooden handle became rotten after a while. I much prefer this stainless steel handle, which is more durable.
2. HÅLLBAR bin from Ikea. I used to use a large blue bin for my recyclable containers, but it took up rather too much space under the sink and was also deep, and thus hard to clean. I donated this bin and replaced it with the smaller bin with Ikea, which is easier to clean and has a lid.
3. GRUNDVATTNET washing up bowl from Ikea. I’ve been using a washing up bowl to handwash my dishes for years; these bowls not only protect the sink, but save a lot of water. My previous washing up bowl had become very stained and was very old, so I was pleased to replace it with this newer model, which is sleeker and takes up less room in the sink.