Friday Five Vol. 3

*Photo by Katie Langmuir

Hi friends!

Here are five things I'm loving this week!

1. Sweet Magnolias on Netflix. I binged watched the first season and loved it! From the fictional southern locale to the sweet southern sayings, to the addicting storyline and the super fun wardrobe, it is definitely worth a watch. My fingers are crossed they renew it for another season!

2. I love trying different beauty products, but half the time I end up going back to tried and true favourites. I was in the market for a new eye cream and went back to Clinique's All About Eyes, and I forgot how much of a worker bee it is! Puffiness is gone and I feel like I at least look more awake!

3. If you're looking for a good gluten free banana bread recipe, this is one of my go-tos.

4. I came across The Tiny Tassel on Instagram and instantly fell in love with ALL of the things! If you love pretty things, colour (and tassels) it's definitely worth giving her a follow!

5. I'd be hard pressed to find a monogrammed mug (or monogrammed anything really) that I didn't like. While the above pictured mug from Anthropologie is no longer available, I found a few others that might need to be added into the mug rotation (it's a thing!). This one is super cute in the blue and white, this one is classic and comes with different colours inside, and this one is a pretty with the feminine floral.

Hope you have a great weekend!

xo
K

Starting the New Year...With a Christmas Bucket List

*Photo by Katie Langmuir

I have this thing with the holidays. I love everything about them, but they seriously stress me out. But for some reason this year felt a little bit different, and I think that's because I really tried to not let everything overwhelm me. We made our holiday plans with family early so that took some of the pressure off (hello 3 Christmases),  I really put effort into decorating our tree and our home, and I watched ALL the Hallmark Christmas movies. Nothing puts me in the spirit more than cheesy Christmas movies.

As the holiday season was going by, I started to make a running list in my head of all the things I wanted to do, see, and experience. Since I wasn't well prepared to do any of them this past Christmas, I thought, why not make a list for the next season and get a head's start. Usually the holiday season comes and goes so quickly that you never get around to doing half of the things you want. By starting to compile my list of things this far in advance, I feel like I'm setting myself up to be organized, schedule activities in, and make things happen!  I'm sure I will keep adding as the year goes on, but I figure this is as good a place to start as any!

My 2018 Christmas Bucket List:

1. Visit an outdoor Christmas Market.

2. Decorate a gingerbread house. I would make one, but if you know me you know I'm not too skilled in the kitchen, so it's better for me just to buy one. Trust me.

3. Go to The Nutcracker Ballet.

4. Get my picture taken with Santa. Super cheesy, I know, but every year I want to do it and I never do. So this is the year! Plus, the mall Santa is just the cutest thing ever.

5. Go ice skating. I haven't been in years, and now that our nieces and nephews are old enough to be on skates, it would be so fun to do it with them.

6. Make a holiday inspired cocktail. We love Moscow Mules in our house, and when I came across this recipe over the holidays, I knew it needed to be on the list of things to do next Christmas!

7. Re-watch some of my favourite Christmas movies from when I was little. A couple that will definitely be on my list that I haven't watched in years are: Frosty the Snowman, All I Want for Christmas, The Muppet's Christmas Carol, and Babes in Toyland (one of my mom and my all time favourite movies. The 1961 version with Annette Funicello is the best!).

I love my Simplified Planner and use it to house literally all the things! 

Even though I'm sure everyone has put any thought of the holidays behind them, I'd love to know what you would put on your bucket list for next December. Maybe I'll just have to add some of them to mine!

xo
K

Friday Five Vol. 2

Happy Friday friends! It's been a bit since I last posted (sorry!), so I'm sharing some things that have fired me up over the past couple of weeks:

1. We were on vacation in Florida a couple of weeks ago, and between the hot weather, getting in a couple of rounds of golf, and getting to stick my sandy toes in the ocean, it was just what I needed!

2. I started drinking David's Tea last year (thanks Brooke for initiating my obsession!), and my favourite flavour hands down is Pumpkin Chai. Now full disclosure: I seriously dislike Chai. Like cannot stand it. But I swear you can't even taste it in this tea! It's the perfect fall drink and it's only out for a limited time so if you like pumpkin, you must give it a try! Also, their holiday collection is out now too, along with their 24 Days of Tea Advent Calendar, which would make the perfect gift for a tea loving friend.

3. In anticipation for the release of her new book, A Simplified Life, on November 21, Emily Ley has been hosting a Facebook Live workshop each week, highlighting the different areas of simplifying covered in her book. From simplifying your home to meal planning, the holidays, beauty routines, etc, Emily is tackling it all in these fun videos. You can watch them on her YouTube channel here!

4. I recently started using Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water at night and I love how quick and easy it is! I am so not the best at washing my face and taking my makeup off each night, so using this has definitely been a step in the right direction!

5. Last week was the launch of the 2018 PowerSheets and I can't wait for my Poppy Pink book to arrive (along with the pens, washi tape, and stickers that I ordered too of course)! My plan for this set of PowerSheets is to help keep me on track and task oriented, especially when it comes to planning and goal setting for the blog. 

I'd love to hear what fired you up this week!

xo

K

Friday Five Vol. 1

Happy Friday friends! Here are a few things that fired me up this week:

1. Today is National Coffee Day...although in my world coffee is celebrated everyday! Nothing fires me up like a good cup of coffee!

2. Launching my blog last week! Thank you to my amazing family and friends for your support (and for reading it)!

3. I picked up the October Pottery Barn catalog over the weekend and it is literally everything that makes me happy all wrapped up in 164 pages. Fall, Thanksgiving, Christmas - it has it all! If you can't get to a PB store you can always look at it online.

4. Now that fall is finally here all the TV shows are finally starting to come back after a LONG summer of reruns. The show I am most excited to have back in my weekly lineup is "This is Us". Simply one of the best shows on TV in a long time. You are seriously missing out if you haven't watched it.

5. I love opening my fridge in the morning and actually having something to grab and go for breakfast. Because let's be real - it's usually a muffin or breakfast sandwich from Starbucks! I've been making the overnight oats from "100 Days of Real Food" for the past month and they are the easiest thing to make. And for someone who is not the most skilled in the kitchen (me), if I say it's easy, it really is.

6. The hydrangeas in my garden have turned the most beautiful shade of blue and gray with a touch of pink. I cut a few to bring inside last weekend and they are still going strong. I love having fresh cut flowers in the house, and when I can bring them in from my own garden, it makes me one happy girl!

What fired you up this week? I'd love to know!

xo

K

All the Things

"Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly-sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address. On the other hand, this not knowing has its charms." ~ You've Got Mail

First things first, I don't live in New York. But I do love the fall, and newly-sharpened pencils, and basically all the school supplies / stationery a girl could ever want (I also love You've Got Mail - who doesn't). But what I love most about fall is the feeling of a fresh start, a new beginning; like anything and everything is possible. Oh, and the fact that it's basically sweater weather everyday is a bonus in my books.

So on this first day of fall I am breathing in the crisp air, embracing a fresh start, and taking the leap into something I've wanted to do for almost 10 years: starting my own blog.

Welcome to Kate Speirs (that's me)! I'm so happy you have found your way to my little piece of the world wide web. I have always wanted a place where I could house my love of all the things (and there are A LOT), and this is it! My hope is that you will find a comfy spot to sit, grab a cup of coffee (in a pretty mug, of course), and follow along as I share all the things with you.

So while I may not be able to send you a bouquet of newly-sharpened pencils, I do believe that actually knowing each other has its charms, and I can't wait to get to know you.

xo
K

"I like to start my notes to you as if we're already in the middle of a conversation. I pretend that we're the oldest and dearest friends - as opposed to what we actually are, people who don't know each other's names."
~ You've Got Mail