Casual Friday: The Beginning of March was a lifetime ago + A Video and Favorites.

The beginning of March feels like a lifetime ago. And in a lot of ways, it was. Life was different one month ago--and while we're settling in to a slower pace and leaning into a lot more time with our girls, and celebrating some quiet time in our home--a first since moving in--we're also grieving and scared and anxious, like so many of you. I loved this Brene Brown podcast that talked all about how we are collectively grieving right now. We're grieving touch and connection and family and jobs and a lot of the things we took for granted a month ago, honestly.

March was a historic, but hard month and when I look back on it, I hope I can also remember the good things. The very best of March was displayed in the video above. Family, friends, projects that we worked hard on. Togetherness. Our Dream Team flew in to help us design our new website. We got to work with another favorite crew filming the culmination of our dining room, with a big dinner party at the end of the shoot. Two or three days later, the whole country was advised to keep socially distant. A week later, we got our stay at home orders and our schools closed.

We're trying to stay connected with our family and friends through Marco Polo and Zoom Game nights and Sunday Facetimes with my whole family and we're trying to stay sane at home by focusing on serving in ways that we can and not feeling guilty about taking an hour to ourselves to do the things that make us calm and happy. For me, it's usually rearranging a room, organizing a closet, taking time to blow-dry my hair or watch a show. These are my favorite things that got me through March:

1. Elia Velvet Dining Chair: $229 It was so fun to pick a chair for our closet and I'm in love with this one even more in person. The upholstered legs, the color! I realized it was my first time picking out a chair for our house that only I would sit in so maybe this is the most me chair in our house right now.

2. Floral Ginger Jar: $48 I had notifications turned on for when this came back in stock, so when I got the email mid-March, it felt like Christmas--or the launch of Spring! It lives in the china cabinet in our kitchen right now and it makes me happy every time I see it.

3. Priscilla Table Lamp: $99 I've been on the hunt for an affordable pair of table lamps for the guest room and I ordered this one! I think it will add the perfect texture and warmth to the space...despite not seeing any guests at this time.

4. Gorilla Grip Rug Pad for Carpet: $42 (for an 8x10) I always get questions about how to layer a rug over carpet and keep it from bunching and I've had great luck with this pad! We got it for our area rug in our fully carpeted basement and it has stayed in place perfectly!

5. Button-Up Shirt: $35

6. Denim Chore Coat: $119 I've worn this jacket pretty much every other day since I got it. I originally got it to wear outdoors in the spring, but I'm rocking it indoors now. It's not as stiff as most denim jackets and I love the more relaxed cut. (I wear a medium).

7. Yellow Check Top: $48 This top sings spring and got me through a couple darker days last month. It's sunny and stretchy and the longer short sleeve is my favorite length! (I wear a small).

8. Slide Sandals: $88 Come on warmer weather! I've worn these 0 times outside (it snowed yesterday), but nearly every day inside. They are so plush and the perfect color.

9. Hot Tools Professional One Step Blowout: $79 Speaking of blow-drying my hair, this blow-dryer and round brush in one has cut my time in half at least! And my hair looks more voluminous than ever. I also use it on all my girls' hair--it's such a time saver and delivers on all of its promises.

10. The Face Illuminating Self-Tan Drops: $49 I feel like in March, I perfected these drops. The bottle says 3-4 drops with moisturizer, but I feel like 1-2 drops ONCE A WEEK is plenty!!! It gives me the perfect glow.

11. Beauty Counter Brightening Oil: $62 And on the topic of glow, this brightening oil is magic. I've had stubborn melasma on my face from my pregnancies (dark brown spots) and I've been using this brightening oil every night for about a month. 10 days in, they were significantly lighter and now I can barely see the spots! I love when a product works fast!

12. Joico Color Balance Duo: $24 I went a little lighter with my hair this month, which is fun and spring-y, but after a few washes also teetered on brass city instead of the warm copper I was going for. I started using this BLUE shampoo and it cut the orange right out!! I know a lot of blondes talk about purple shampoo (which is perfect to cut yellow tones in blondes) but if you're a brunette like me, then this blue shampoo is so good!

13. Portrait Artist of the Year 2020 I know that March will be known for Tiger King by many (we watched it! it was entertaining, fascinating but also sad, imo) the show that captivated me most was Portrait Artist of the Year 2020! It's on YouTube and the accents, talent and personalities of this competition are all lovely.

14. Escapist Votive Candle Set: $50 For me, nothing says I'm ready to relax more than a candle. And I have had the need to relax a lot in the last 30 days. This set is incredible. The Santorini one is probably my favorite, followed by Maui. It actually calms me.

15. Tonquin Blue Dinner Plates: $32 We had almost identical plates growing up (that always sat in a china cabinet) so when I found these on Amazon that were dishwasher and microwave safe but filled with all the nostalgia, I had to have them. We got enough for 24, so we can even use them for our big dinner parties.

16. reply-all podcast: #158 The Case of the Missing Hit If you're craving some great story telling, this podcast episode was my favorite from March. Entertaining and complicated and happy--you'll love it!

We're looking forward to April with uncertainty but also with hope. Thinking of you all.