Hello February! It’s been a month of movement, the days have moved along rather quickly and I’m not mad at it because I’m excited for an announcement coming to Best Today® on the 27th of this month and even more excited about a new product coming in early March.

Here’s what’s been going on over my way this week.

Spending time with customers.

This week I filmed Best Today® customers in their natural environments—home, work, gym, running errands, etc… I followed them around for some footage we are using for video for our newest product. It was a joy to have them open up their day, offices, and homes to me. Definitely a highlight of my week! I can’t wait to share the video. I had a vision and I used what I had (willing customers and friends, my time and my iPhone 14).

I truly believe we all have what we need to take the first or next step. It may not be your ideal but you have what you need to make the first or next step.

The best and easiest soup I’ve ever made.

Last week I saw Myleik share a spinach tortellini soup and she made it look so simple so I followed what she did without any recipe or measurements and it was SO good! I winged it and it will now become one of my go to meals for dinner or lunch. The only down side? No one else in my house was interested. They didn’t even try it because of the spinach. But if you’re willing to give this magical easy soup a try here’s what I did:

1. Added olive oil to a warm dutch oven.

2. Added minced garlic (I think I did 2 tablespoons because I’m team “add more garlic”).

3. Added 2 cans of diced tomatoes and seasoned that with garlic, salt, and array of other seasonings because cooking bland food is illegal to me.

4. Added chicken broth (I think I did a full container).

5. Added cheese tortellini from Trader Joes. One container. Let that cook about 5 minutes or so.

6. Added a bag of baby spinach and let it all simmer.

7. Added some more salt, garlic and a no-salt seasoning blend from Costco. And let it simmer on low uncovered.

8. Added to large bowl and added freshly shredded cheese on top.

It was amazing. It was definitely something that you could eyeball and pour in what feels right as far as amounts. I used to be a stickler for recipes and measurements but outside of baking I’ve learned to trust my eye in the kitchen. Let me know if you make it!

Hang Everything.

I made a switch in my daughter’s room that has made all the difference for both of us. The categories in her dresser weren’t working for her desires (she didn’t want to fold them and put them in their designated dresser bin) or mine (I didn’t want to keep harping on this). So, I took all of her clothes except for under clothes and hung them in her closet and I think this is the winner for us both. All of her clothes are hanging for her to see, she can select outfits easily, and the drawers now have so much empty space so I don’t have to worry about banging my knee on an open stuffed dresser drawer.

The lesson I learned: keep trying. Find a system that works for everyone involved. It doesn’t have to look the way I wanted it to originally. In this instance, I’m more connected to the big picture rather than the specific way of getting there. The big picture: help the people in my home live in a clean and organized environment because I know how important that is for our mental and emotional health.

Ever since we transitioned from being home every day for 3 years (2020, 2021, most of 2022) to now being outside of the house, keeping the house organized and clutter free matters even more because our time at home is much more limited. I don’t want to spend majority of that time cleaning. I’ve used the Clean One Room™ 4-3-2-1 system in all of our home and it has made a huge difference!

Superman’ing My Closet

I wear the same thing almost weekly. It makes making decisions so easy and I only wear clothes that I love and feel great in. That has resulted in a few staples Monday through Saturday and really even into Sunday. You’re going to find me in leggings and a sweatshirt or hoodie dress on days where I either have Pilates or plan to work out after work/school. The thought is my workout clothes are on under the dress. So easy to go from one thing to the next. When I’m feeling like “real clothes” as I call it, a denim midi skirt and a Best Today® t-shirt (see below) or some neutral color (or green) top is where it’s at for me. And on Sunday it’s either a dress or midi skirt with a turtleneck and blazer usually. They’re my favorite things and I’ve found what looks and feels good on my body and make me feel like dancing in the mirror.

Last Saturday I worked on further superman’ing my closet (i.e. getting rid of things that don’t fit this new wardrobe of mine so that most of my closet has the same categories of clothing). Again, I’ve found that I dress differently now that I leave my house every day as opposed to the years where I was inside 7 days a week.

Oh! I also have decided to give hats a try. I purchased this hat from Dillards and I am so thrilled to give it a wear. I think I can dress it up or down and it goes with one of my go-to outfits: all black everything. I’ll keep you posted! Here are two shots I texted to friends from the store.

On My Mind…

We mistake peace for boring or uninteresting a lot in this culture. I was telling a friend my life is really simple: I take care of myself, I take care of my family (blood and chosen family), I work, and I spend time with friends and family. That is my life in this season. The taking care of myself includes worship, working out, quiet time, lots of introspection, and so much more, but that’s my life. And I love it. It’s easy to get caught up thinking that you have to perform your life in order for it to look like something to onlookers. I’m not interested in manufacturerd living.

I was brushing my teeth Tuesday morning and the thought came to me, our lives are not on trial. We don’t have to live as though we’re trying to prove something. I of course ran to my phone and wrote it down and you can expect a Best Today® podcast episode on that later this year. But that’s what has been on my mind this week. I am in constant thought about the state of this world and the people in it.

Peace is not boring. I believe the people in this world are longing for peace. We’ve just been told it’s not what’s trending, tiktok’y or Instagram worthy. And to that I say, who cares?

Thanks for hanging with me another week as I share what’s going on in my intentional world and the things making their way through my heart and mind. So much love to you!