Welcome to the best month of the year, Ambitious Fam! Black History Month, Galentine’s & Valentine’s Day, Aquarius season, all the love all the pink, all the hearts–so much excitement jammed into the shortest month. Sure, I may be a little biased because it also happens to be my birth month…but still so much to celebrate and look forward to! 

Here is how I’m growing into a better version of myself this February:

Ambitiously You!

Big news, Ambitious Fam! Ambitiously You will be launching on February 12th! The shop’s first product drop will include inspirational mugs that I have designed to give you a little pep talk when you need it or to otherwise encourage you to continue being Ambitiously You! I have been dreaming up a product launch for such a long time and I figured what better month than February (and on my birthday weekend no-less)! More details to come soon! So many exclamation points but I’m super excited to finally share this news! AH! 

Pandemic Birthday

My memories from my birthday last year were of some of my last outings in pre-Covid times. It brings up weird feelings. So young, so naive, so unaware of what was to come. Honestly didn’t think that we would still be in the thick of a pandemic when my birthday rolled back around, but here we are. As always, I am determined to still make the day feel special! Currently, my plans are mostly centered around food (surprise surprise) and include ordering a fancy meal and special dessert. 

Daily Mindful Lettering

I recently stumbled across this nifty Daily Mindful Lettering Book from Handlettered Design and I thought it would be the perfect way to combine my love for affirmations and get in some lettering practice. The book arrived super fast and included two different lettering pens. I also loved that it gives you the option to purchase with a standard (side-spiral) binding or top binding (perfect for lefties!). You’re also sent a video upon purchase to help introduce you to the practice, which I found helpful. I plan on incorporating the lettering practice into my morning routine this February (and after to complete the 30 pages). 

Take a Eucalyptus Shower

In the name of self-love and self-care during the month of love, I’m finally testing out the eucalyptus shower trick. Hanging eucalyptus in your shower (after rolling to release the oils) is supposed to reduce stress and has been linked to respiratory and sinus improvements. Mostly, it’s supposed to smell really good and help you create a spa-like vibe in your home. I’ll be picking up some on my next Trader Joe’s trip for sure! 

Try Bamboo TP

First big sustainable swap of 2021–bamboo toilet paper! Bamboo toilet paper is an eco-friendly alternative to traditional toilet paper because it is the fastest growing plant on the planet, is harvested–not replanted (unlike the thousands of trees cut down to produce tp yearly), requires less water, and produces a bunch of oxygen. Kristen of Strolling Through Life shared a couple of her top bamboo recommendations with me a while back (she also has videos about them on her Youtube channel) and I finally decided to try it out. As someone who is very particular about tp, I can’t deny that I’m a little hesitant, but very curious about whether this can be a permanent swap that I can add to my sustainability journey. I’ll let yall know how it goes!

Less is Now Challenge

Have you watched the Minimalists Less is Now on Netflix? The film discusses why Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus turned to minimalism and shares stories from others that decided to do the same. It also included a challenge for others to declutter and live with less. While I’m not sure that hardcore minimalism is quite for me, it made me consider some of the parallels to sustainability and reducing my overall consumption. It reminded me that I don’t always need the next best thing or more stuff to make me happy. As we’ve discussed in the past few bucket lists post, I’ve been feeling overwhelmed lately by clutter and disorganization. I think that some of this is rooted in the fact that I try to cram as many things in my tiny living space as possible (and I have a tendency to hold on to things). I’m taking the Less is Now challenge to remove the corresponding day’s worth of items from my space (Day 1: remove 1 item, Day 23: remove 23 items, etc). However, since we are in Covid times, I won’t be physically removing them from my space daily (as the film suggests). Instead, I will be sorting things in a way that allows for them to be removed responsibly by researching places that the items can either be donated to or recycled at the end of the challenge.  

This month, I am celebrating my favorite month of the year while continuing on my sustainability journey.  

How are you growing this February?