Girl Got Glitter

3 of My Favorite Things in March

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Let’s talk about three of my recent favorite things with more specificity than when I have previously mentioned them.

YogaQuest Teacher Training

Words cannot describe the joy that the existence of YogaQuest gives me, and I haven’t even visited the studio yet! What really strikes a chord with me is their approach to yoga that is more or less striped of the Asian spirituality of the practice, and instead sings of acceptance, and happiness. I will admit that sometimes I like learning about the historic roots of yoga, and how it uses Hindu religious texts/stories as teaching myths for describing the spirit of the pose. But, once I learned where the roots of yoga really came from, my approach to what yoga means for me and what it can mean for me as a teacher has me drawn to a bunch of different teaching styles.

Today’s yoga started in the 20’s & 30’s when T Krishnamacharya took ritualistic practices all around Asia that resembled a simplified  surya namaskar (“Sun Salutation”) and worked with the King of Mysore India to create a new kind of moving meditation, and spiritual practice that combined the religious prostration sequences with the then popular british gymnastics. Magic happened and yoga was born. Don’t believe me? Check out his book Yoga Makaranda.

Why am I telling you all this? Because I think yoga can continuously evolve to resonate with new populations, just like how the King of Mysore thought T Krishnamacharya’s yoga mission would be more widely practiced if it incorporated British gymnastics. And, long story short, I would love to a similar thing when I am a yoga teacher, even in a small way. My first step of inspiration was YogaQuest’s Teacher Training description:

What sets YogaQuest apart is our philosophy. We believe that yoga is an amazing tool for social change. YogaQuest operates from the perspective that all people are deserving of self-care, regardless of size, shape, ability, race, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Our goal is not to teach you to do exactly what we do, but rather, to help you figure out what it is you want to do. We believe that all people deserve yoga. We would love the opportunity to help you find your voice to share the power of yoga with your chosen population.

What speaks to me is using yoga as a way to build confidence, patience, and bravery in people. And I want to do this by being absolutely mindful of even the small things like subtle but specific language and word choices. Somewhere else that gets this idea is Curvy Yoga, which is all about creating supportive and inclusive studio environments for curvy bodies. I’d also like to sprinkle in some inspiration from Bad Yogi too, who is all about removing snobbery, pretention, and prerequisites about who”is and is not” a yogi. I feel a theme. I feel a teaching practice growing. Stay tuned.

Chelsea Wears // Shop Anomie

I have been recently spotted sitting and patiently awaiting the arrival of the 2x weekly episodes of my new favorite “reality tv show”: Chelsea Wears’ A Week in the Life vlogs on Youtube. She’s funny, she’s real, she’s relatable. Add in the bonus of the occasional Ryan (her boyfriend) and Dexter (her dog) clip, and I haven’t been happier since the day she open her Anomie shop. My favorite “segment” is when she sits and eats saltines while discussing whatever is on her mind at that moment. This is my favorite so much so that my fandom of these videos resulted in this interaction:

I am still laughing about it. And, I am still contemplating sending the whole box to her, haha! Does that make me too fanatical? If it does, I don’t want to be normal. Because the woman just gets me! Like, “she has a Clare V. fanny pack in stock” gets me.

Minimalism // Downsizing

This month I completed my first capsule wardrobe, and planned out my next capsule for spring. It has been exciting to know that I was able to stop myself from shopping for 2.5-3 months, and stick with this stream lined wardrobe. I finally sense some progress within myself about stemming my desire to shop because I have had the time to reflect on the different “why’s” of my desire to shop, and the health ways to adjust those lines of thinking. I think I may write a more detailed response to my capsuling experience once I have done a few more of them, but so far I am loving it and will stick with it for at least another 3 months.

In a related way, I have been overall into minimalism and downsizing my possessions in general. While this is something I was interested in before capsule wardrobes, I have been much more conscious of how my everyday decisions can change when I think of my downsizing goals first. Questions like: “Do I need to buy this extra snack when I have one with me at work already?” and “Do I need this fun mug when I already have 4 or 5?”  can stop me from adding to what I already own, or help me make a conscious decision about how adding a new item to my life can have an impact on my living space, long term plans for moving to a new state, and my financial goals. Debt getting crushed, and dreams of lots of travel in 2016, you shall both be achieved by the end of 2016 if me and my minimalism have anything to say about it.

December Link Round Up

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Mountain Background Girl Got Glitter December Link Round Up

Hey friends, back again with some links that have been hogging my attention and thoughts for the past month or so.

In the new year I want to learn more about something I already love: coffee. I want to learn how to actually make it and remedy my current reputation for having no clue how to even measure a proper amount of coffee for a drip coffee machine, and remove my Keurig, and Nespresso machine crutch. I hope to learn how to use a traditional espresso machine, a stove top percolator, and maybe how to cold brew too. Partly I also just want to learn more about the tradition itself, and all the types out there so I can fully appreciate good coffee. Step one: Try to sample this gradient of coffee choices in Baltimore.

Even thought I am doing a capsule wardrobe (based on the Project 333 version) for winter (and hopefully this whole year), there are still some clothing items and accessories I still enjoy fantasize about. Namely, this tencel trench coat, these fringe gold earrings, grey jeans and over the knee boots in general; this candle, this candle, and this candle; a new cute strappy date shoe like this one (didn’t say affordable), more from this brand I newly learned about via an Uptown Cheapskate find, another fun graphic shirt like this one from a favorite local Baltimore brand; and a new pair of sweats because I only own one pair anyway, and I want new pajamas. When I stare at these items I know I should be spending my time in more productive ways like blogging or filling out job applications (I want to move to a new state). But, it happens. Maybe now that I have put them here, I can stop thinking about them!

Back to the capsule wardrobe thing. I spent a lot of time (like, arguably all of 2015) psyching myself up into making the decision to do one. One post that I kept coming back to was this one. But, balance that with articles like this one that also helped inspire me to own less because I feel like I want and appreciate better things, and by having a capsule wardrobe I can achieve both the goal of appreciating evening I own, but also being able to afford the pieces I want by wasting less of my purchasing power on items I don’t end up wearing.

Some miscellaneous things: I also recently read my first issue of Architectural Digest via Guy Got Glitter’s family, and am how in love with this totally out of my price range sideboard. If I never buy a new sideboard again, would it be a justifiable purchase? Do I even need to justify it anyway? Probably not. I also love the idea of these DIY light fixtures, the vibe of this outfit, this blogger in general, the idea of this local beauty brand (I haven’t tried anything yet), and this newer blog by a jewelry designer I don’t own any pieces from yet but that I would love to own in the future.

What have you been recently stuck on?

November Link Round Up

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November Link Round Up Mountain

Hey Sparkle!

It’s been a while, I know. And this is sort of a random post to “return” with, but I’m going to do it anyway. I have a hoard of links and ideas that I’ve been wanting to share for a few weeks so here they are!

While I have not committed to a capsule wardrobe with rules like Project 333, or Un-Fancy‘s version, I have been taking inspiration from capsule wardrobe in general and have greatly downsized my closet in the past 6 months or so. Which is huge for me! I even only own 13 pairs of shoes now! It’s amazing what clarity and curation within my closet has done for my stress levels, and feeling of closet satisfaction.

While I made some poor monetary choices over the last 6 months and therefore can’t add anything new to my closet, I have been cultivating my strategy for how I will make new choices when I have the money to support them. Short answer: slow, and conscious. Long answer: stalking the Internet for articles like this one over at the Huffington Post Blog, and this one from The Capsule Project. Side bar: I am in love with Darling Magazine too and just got my first one this season!

I am also fixated on replacing a lot of items into my closet with items 100% made in America, or consciously handmade by a small business. My first love in this category was Tradlands (and I have 4 of their shirts), but I have a few other specific ideas. Like this white chambray shirt from Taylor Stitch, this blue Boyfriend Oxford shirt from Zady, this grey shirt dress from Bridge and Burn, and this sweater from Zady that I so wish was a v neck. I also love this shirt dress from Massimo Dutti but I don’t think it’s made in America or anything. It’s just fabulous looking.

Minimalism is speaking to me in more than just my closet though. I want to own less things, so I can own better things that are all a conscious and curated choice. Getting this Japanese wooden soap dish from Brook Farm General Store would allow me to explore artisanal bar soap as an alternative to plastic bottled traditional hand soap. This ties into my desire to consume less plastic products and general waste too! I am currently trying to eliminate plastic bottles soap already by using this Castile soap from Follain and I am love. I may never go back to traditional plastic bottle soap!

All this being said, I finally found a “spirit” company that gets what I want from all my consumer choices! Read this article and you’ll hear what my spirit wants from most stores, and why I hate discounts (I have no idea how their mattresses feel though). Another company that is doing it right is Follain in all their curated wonder! Thanks to them I have discovered the wonders of this Meow Meow Tweet product, and can’t wait to finish using categories up my stash of products under my sink so I can replace stocks of options and backups with a singular mindfully selected item at a time. I have succeeded with this mission with my face products (currently using Stowaway), and can’t wait to do this with face cleanser, and body lotion next (they are the closest to an empty stock of products. Ask me in 2017 how much body wash I still have, ugh!).

And, some miscellaneous thoughts and things that don’t warrant a longer discussion at this time:

– I can’t believe I actually like a style of Ugg boots.
– My dream apartment/house would look like this.
– This documentary is on my Netflix queue.
– This yoga prop is on the top of my holiday wish list. And this yoga store is where I want to shop next.
– I want this as my laundry basket.

See you next time!
– Elizabeth