The Circle || Winter Break Essentials

Happy November! Is it just me or has this past month already flown by? It's almost Christmas, which means it's almost December, which also means it's almost time for another break from work. There's only 5 weeks of work between Fall break and Winter break - crazy! 

I love reading Kiki's blog, and linking up with The Circle every month. This month's is 10 essentials! I chose more than 10, and decided to go with the theme of my upcoming Winter break. This is also my first ever mood board, and I'm proud of how it turned out. I sure do have a long way to go, but it's a start. To me, link ups are fun and have their challenges too. This month proved no exception to those challenges with the mood board.

On to my essentials -

1|| COZY SLIPPERS • It gets really cold here in Alberta, and we have a lot of laminate on the floors, so slippers are a must. They also add juuusst the right amount of cozy when I'm lounging around in my pajamas.
2|| COFFEE + MUGS • I have a serious addiction. Is it weird of me to look forward to choosing my mug in the morning?
3|| NETFLIX • Although I'm not a huge fan of movies and laying around watching TV (I'm more of a computer girl), Netflix is still so awesome to have around. Last time I had some free time, I watched a few documentaries and actually learned something - biased views and all, haha!
4|| SNACKS • Chocolate chip cookies make the world go round, and laying around wouldn't be complete without some yummy treats. I have a lot of Christmas baking to do this year!
5|| NAIL ART • How can one really go through the holidays without some festive nail art? I always feel put together when my nails are done, and this reindeer design is soo cute for the holidays.
6|| PJ'S • Flannel pajamas are the best. They're so warm, and so soft! I've been eyeing this set for a little while, and they look perfect for Christmas morning.
7|| SNAIL MAIL • Oh man, where do I begin? I love sending snail mail to my friends (I may or may not be running behind, though), and I'm going to have so much free time over the 2 weeks to catch up and get those letters mailed!
8|| SCARVES • Even when I'm inside, why not?
9|| BOOKS • I really don't have much time during the work week to lay down and read a novel, and I'm in the middle of one right now...so Winter break will be a great time to finish it!
10|| CUDDLES • There will be soo many cuddles happening, I'm not sure I'll be able to do anything else. Gunner was recently neutered, so he hasn't been allowed on our bed. By the time Winter break comes around, we'll have so many cuddles to make up for the time lost.

What are your Winter essentials?

xo. Nicole

Closet Confidential

Happy Wednesday! I'm excited to be linking up with In Its Time + Dearest Love for The Circle. This month's challenge is a closet confidential. We rifle through our closets and try our bests to answer the questions provided! Their theme for this link up is a vlog, but I really don't know how (and am too embarrassed) to film myself, so pictures it is!

My wardrobe isn't very big (typical answer, isn't it?) so I can't really answer all 6 questions. I answered what I could! On that note, I have a few core pieces that are worn every week. It's mostly full of comfortable clothing, with a few pieces of not-so-comfortable-but-necessary items, like dress pants.

Ready?

1. What is the newest item in your closet?

I was grocery shopping one Monday by myself and found some $7 v-neck shirts! How could I pass that up? They had a lot of fun colours, but I still went with navy and a white one. 

2. What is the oldest item in your closet?

Ah, my 4-5 year old hoodie. UFV stands for University of the Fraser Valley. It's a University in Abbotsford, BC and I went for one semester. I was totally in the zone during that first semester that I had to buy a hoodie. It's held out this long, and there's not even a loose thread on this thing! It's perfect now for these terrible Alberta winters.

3. What is the least expensive item in your closet?

100% would be this cardigan that I found at Value Village. Can you consider VV thrifting? I found this one that I wear a lot, as it has short sleeves, whereas most cardigans have long sleeves. I found another cardigan during that trip, it's full of stripes, but it was a few dollars more than this one. It's definitely the biggest bargain in my closet, too!

4. What are you current favourites in your closet?

Helllllooooo maxi skirts! I have 4 in total, but these two colours/designs are my favourites! The other two are solid black, and navy/beige horizontal stripes. Maxi skirts are one of my favourite styles, but I'm not quite where I want to be in my fitness journey to be comfortable wearing them right now. One of my main goals in my fitness journey is to feel comfortable in my clothes, so these are a great motivation!

xo. Nicole