ISSUE 42: the feb five
a feb mood - “Dad have you ever gone to a strip club?”, a new 40 day something, a book series I'm devouring, making plans & more feb musings
The Debrief is a weekly newsletter - because the post life event chats are (almost) always better than the event itself. Forever honest and aesthetic driven.
I looked up jobs in the Caribbean earlier this week — for my husband. As a design studio owner I could feasibly work from anywhere and anywhere would ideally involve a climate that never sees winter. My husband on the other hand works for a company and would need a new job in the fantasy world that I recently created that involves no longer suffering through months of seasonal affective disorder, frigid temps and a hell of a lot of illness in the house.
I picture the warmth, I envelop myself in the idea of stepping outside without boots, the permanent sheen of sunscreen, all the sunglasses I would wear while working from a balcony or backyard full of lush greenery. I allow myself to get to the point of the logistics of how we would transport our three cats to a tropical location before reality sets in.
Because things get so complicated when you have children who have friends, who are in competitive dance, who - while they joke about moving - would likely loose their minds if we seriously considered it.
But I catch myself thinking more and more often is this really it? Are we meant to just get through half the year until summer arrives?
And as I type this out I know I need to steer this into hopeful February territory because February has the allure of Valentine’s Day (which in our house means Andrew making spaghetti and meatballs and chocolate covered strawberries and everyone is happier when chocolate covered strawberries are involved). February also marks the beginning of dance comp season and how easy it is to get swept up into becoming a hair and makeup artist, how invested you get into the routines, how fun it can be being in the crazy dance mom world.
So maybe it’s not all bad after all. And in honour of the allure of February here’s a pink mood —
Feb Five
01 — Read
I saw a reel mentioning how Sarah J Maas is the queen of fairy smut and I have to say that’s an accurate description. I read this book over the Christmas holidays and then promptly devoured the rest of the series, started this series and am now I am firmly entrenched in the angst of book 2. Have you read any of her books?
02 — Watch
“Dad have you ever gone to a strip club?” our girls asked Andrew while we watched episodes of Friday Night Lights together last night. Instead of answering, he promptly pulled the drawstring so tight on his hoodie that we could hardly see his face. We all started laughing while I informed our daughters that it had been decades since he’d been in a strip club (and then educated them briefly on what a strip club is - oh the conversations of parenthood!). This is one of many memorable moments that we’ve had the last week or so while binging the series with them and I find myself saying Texas Forever as I close their bedroom doors for the night.
03 — Meditate
“I need to do another 40 day something. Anything you’d recommend? - I sent this message to Amy Keller and she promptly sent me this link. Disclaimer - after the first day I sent her a message asking her if the raging leg pain I had was normal and she reassured me that it was so I kept going and I now really look forward to it daily.
04 — Move
While I’ve been doing my Obé thing about 3-4 mornings a week I know I need to get outside more - especially to combat the seasonal blues so I’ve started walking and listening to podcasts again. Two recent favourite listens are this one (your soul will like it) and this one (for pure entertainment - they just added a new season).
05 — Make Plans
Coming off the high of attending my sister’s destination wedding in early January, I came to the realization that our world is a little too small right now. Our weekdays and weekends are so full of driving our girls to dance, trampoline and cheer that we’d silently agreed that we couldn’t handle a life outside of just getting through it. But the thing is having plans to look forward to actually makes the daily grind better. So tonight we’re all going swimming and Andrew made indoor golf plans and I made spa plans with a friend and it all feels just a little bit happier now.
Okay 5 things I saved this week
3 | Feb mani idea
4 | Such a pretty January
5 | More pink!
New at Ash Izsak Studio
Lots! And I’m slowly updating it on our website.
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Thank you for reading. I used to write a lot so this feels good. — Ashley.
Oh to live abroad 🌞🌊✨… I get it. Sometimes the fantastical daydreaming feels like it’s the peak.
LOL @ you having to step in, I hope you had your fun poking Andrew about it afterward 🤣. I’m going to tune into that first podcast, and maybe join you on the meditation challenge, I need some serenity in my life, and I’m not finding it in the Caribbean either.