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Diana Rene: 0:06

You're listening to The Decluttered Mom podcast, a podcast built specifically for busy moms by a busy mom. I'm your host, Diana Rene, and in 2017, I had my second daughter and it felt like I was literally drowning in my home okay, not literally, but I felt like I couldn't breathe with all of the stuff surrounding me. Over the next 10 months, I got rid of approximately 70% of our household belongings and I have never looked back. I kind of feel like I hacked the mom system and I'm here to share all the tips, tricks and encouragement. Let's listen to today's show.

Diana Rene: 0:49

Welcome to another episode of The Decluttered Mom podcast. So today I actually have a guest on the podcast. This was recorded several months ago, but this is a friend of mine in real life. I actually just got back from hanging out with her and her name is Rachel and she is like the queen of kids capsule wardrobes, and you may or may not know this about me, but I don't do capsule wardrobes. I'm not against them. It's just not something I particularly like or doesn't really work well for my family. However, I get asked questions about capsule wardrobes a lot, so I wanted to bring her on and kind of have her explain her process so that if capsule wardrobes are something you want to do or you've thought about doing, she just breaks it down and she does a really good job at explaining how it works.

Diana Rene: 1:46

And I hope you enjoy today's episode. All right, I am super excited for this podcast episode because I get to chat with my friend, Rachel, and this episode has been rescheduled probably 17 times between mostly on my side, but between both of us with sick kids and life circumstances. So finally we both got the kids to bed tonight and decided to record after hours and talk all things capsule wardrobe. So, Rachel, welcome to the show.

Rachell Buell: 2:23

Thank you for having me. This is very exciting and yes, we have. We've scheduled a handful of a healthy number of times. A healthy number.

Diana Rene: 2:30

Yes, so Rachel is someone who I have known for how long now.

Diana Rene: 2:36

Eight, nine years, yeah, we met in a mom's group and so we've been friends ever since and she is someone who always has her kids dressed in the cutest ways and she has been someone who has always pushed me to try a capsule wardrobe and I keep pushing back on her and saying I don't want to. Maybe we would have her come on the podcast and talk all things capsule wardrobe, because she's been doing it for so long that she's become a bit of an expert and she has her systems down. So, rachel, can you just share a little bit about you as a person, how many kids you have, all of that fun stuff.

Rachell Buell: 3:18

Yeah. So I mean I will say that I'm here with ulterior motives. I think that I will convince you on capsule wardrobes by the end of this. Capsule wardrobes and decluttering go hand in hand. They are, I don't know, play cousins, I suppose. Yeah, so I have just four kids. They are nine, seven, four and two Maybe a little older. Once this comes out, all their birthdays are within 12 weeks of each other, in the winter going to spring. So we basically have one birthday banner that stays up for three months and then it goes back away.

Rachell Buell: 3:59

But yeah, I've always enjoyed you know fashion and I think there comes a time in a lot of mom's lives where you know fashion.

Rachell Buell: 4:05

And I think there comes a time in a lot of moms lives where you know you've had kids.

Rachell Buell: 4:10

Maybe your body looks and feels differently than you would like it to, but you can express that fashion and like creative expression on your kids and, frankly, creative expression on your kids and frankly, it is so gratifying to see my kids dressed adorably. I think four to five years ago, I think, when I had my third child, I started really getting into matching the girls and then maybe wanting to coordinate my son with them as well, because I had implemented a capsule wardrobe with myself prior to a big vacation we had, maybe a year prior to my third child being born. I thought, gosh, this seems like an automatic next step in making things a little bit simpler for myself and getting the same, if not better, results than you know. Essentially shopping the entire year trying to keep up with random things and like, oh this looks cute, this is on sale, I'll grab this now. Now, my process is essentially we buy clothes for the cold season and we buy clothes for the warm season, and that's it the warm season and that's it.

Rachell Buell: 5:26

You know, if we burn through burn holes through our clothes quickly, then you know that might be a rare case where I'm going to find something for someone in the middle of the season, but otherwise it's just twice a year and that seems to work pretty well for our family.

Diana Rene: 5:37

Okay. So would would you say, simplicity is like the number one reason you started this, this method, or were there other reasons you know?

Rachell Buell: 5:48

I, in addition to like loving my kids being in cute stuff, I also love to do crafting, and I think when my oldest was turning three, that Halloween, I had the really smart idea to save money on Halloween costumes and sew them myself.

Rachell Buell: 6:04

Well, $500 later I saved no money, but I sewed the cutest costumes and you know we've been doing that for years now and that sort of spurred me on to the idea of like, having them match and then recognizing okay, it's really fun to have them match. I literally do not have the bandwidth to sew an entire wardrobe for my kids. I also I also want to take advantage of like, shopping smart and recognizing that my kids are going to be in these clothes most likely for a single season. And you know how can I be more strategic? How can I make this process easier? And you know how can I be more strategic? How can I make this process easier? Additionally, I had gone through your program by that point, so I was very much into having less things that I had to take care of and had to worry about. So I think it's a mixture of wanting to love what I saw my kids wearing and also not wanting to feel completely overwhelmed by that, by the amount of clothes we have.

Diana Rene: 7:04

Yeah, that makes sense. I my girls are 10 and seven and I they still are totally okay with matching and like I always, anytime there's like a holiday and I get like a matching outfit, I'm like will this be the last time? You know? I hope not. Do your kids? Do they do they? Are they all on board with matching or are they starting to show signs of like? Eh, maybe not?

Rachell Buell: 7:29

I would say the only pushback I get is occasionally from my seven-year-old, who sees friends at school wearing shirts with like graphic designs or, like you know, Nike or Adidas or like cool guy stuff, and he'll often, often he will occasionally say, hey, mom, I really want to get a shirt with a design on it. I'm like sure, fine, but other than that, I think also because you know, my kids go girl boy, girl boy.

Rachell Buell: 7:59

So, after I had my third. It was two girls, one boy, and you know the girls got to match all the time and I could tell like he enjoyed coordinating with them. But it wasn't until the baby, who's now two, turned one and the two of them like, basically, like I could get the him into toddler clothes and the two of them could wear the exact same thing.

Rachell Buell: 8:21

He was like, yeah, he was okay, super, super into it I think, that the the girls do it previously, so now it's like very, he's very, very much into it. Occasionally there's a day where they're like I'm not wearing this, I'm, I'm wearing this mom, I'm wearing this other thing. I made my perfect outfit. Yeah, it's stripes on floral on plaid. Let me live. I'm like do it, go for it. Not worth, but for the most part they enjoy it. Yeah.

Diana Rene: 8:52

Okay, so did you do a.

Rachell Buell: 8:54

you said you did a capsule wardrobe before then, yeah, so my husband and I were going to Italy and I was like hell bent on not checking a bag. I wanted to have all of my stuff but in my carry on I don't really know why I just felt like a kind of annoying to have to carry a big bag around. I just felt like, okay, I can totally do this. So I did some research. I built out this like timeless capsule wardrobe for myself.

Rachell Buell: 9:23

I went with the denim white, black, gray, I think, that's it. I think I had some tan colored boots, but it was very, very simple. I would say probably 12 items, and again, it was that was during the summer, so it didn't have to be as heavy. You know, living in Colorado, we have to plan for seasons and layering, but that's what started me and I stuck with that for a long time and, like I said, you know, when I was feeling more energized by matching my kids, I thought, okay, I got to apply what I've done for myself to my kids and see if, see how that works out.

Diana Rene: 10:05

Yeah. So when you are like, say, someone's listening, and they're like, yeah, I want to start a capsule wardrobe, I have no idea how I would even begin to figure that out. Like, what are their steps that you follow when you're creating a new season of a wardrobe for them?

Rachell Buell: 10:24

Totally yes, there are definitely steps. So the first thing I typically do is think about what sizes that they're going to be in. Typically, my kids are wearing an age above or a size above their current age for their warm weather capsule. Is that right? No, I lied. They're wearing the age above in their winter capsule and they are wearing their age in their warm weather capsule. That's because, also, it's very convenient, all my kids have birthdays close together so we all, you know, shift in the same time of the year. So first thinking about okay, what size are they wearing? Next I look at is there anything I currently have either from the previous year for that child or from hand-me-downs that would work in this season?

Rachell Buell: 11:15

Now, being the lunatic that I am and I love all of my kids to match all the time, that almost never works out because, because I want, if my oldest daughter has a dress, I want my youngest daughter to have that same dress, right. But there have been instances in which I'm pulling things from, you know, the big kids down to the little kids that like they won't match everybody. But it's just too sweet, I have to. I have to recycle it again. Yeah, let's see. So the next, too sweet, I have to. I have to recycle it again. Yeah, let's see.

Rachell Buell: 11:45

So the next, I think about what my laundry schedule slash. You know, getting the clothes ready schedule is for the week, because I like to match them and because my kids, I think now are used to this. Every Sunday night or over the weekend I plan out their entire week of clothes. They're all hung up on hangers in order, and then every night of the week I'm grabbing the next day's clothes. But if I were to be doing laundry, you know, once a week, or if I wanted to plan their outfits one night ahead, I might choose to have more or fewer items, have more or fewer items. So for me I need at least five days of outfits at once in order to be successful.

Rachell Buell: 12:29

I've gone with less, I've gone with more and I found that, like that is sort of my sweet spot again, because I'm washing laundry every night, folding it and putting it away every day when things are working well, and that's something I picked up from you know, your habit, systems and routines, training. But that's a that's a component to think about too. Yeah, the other thing, the other things that are season specific, are what are the season, specific layers that are needed. So for winter that's, everyone needs a like a heavy coat that's going to work well, probably a vest and a sweater. For summer that's like maybe like a raincoat, a swimsuit I mean, we swim year round but like usually, I'm refreshing their swimsuits for the summer season.

Diana Rene: 13:13

Yeah Things like that.

Rachell Buell: 13:14

And then the last would be special events that happen in the season. So we're getting a holiday sweater for the winter season and then usually something cute for like Easter and 4th of July for the, the warm weather season.

Diana Rene: 13:29

Okay, so are you when you're planning? Are you planning like a full year, because you're doing the season like a warm season and a cold season? So like, are you sitting down and I'm just imagining you on, like Canva, putting all the different? Am I right? You're very close.

Rachell Buell: 13:48

Okay, because you know I don't know what's going to be available at the various like retailers six months down the line. It's one season at a time and, frankly, doing one season's worth of clothes for four children is plenty to busy me with. But yeah, I'm. I'm creating a palette. Like I'll pick a base color either. Typically I would do either a black or a blue. I generally go with blue because I find that to be more versatile for my kids.

Rachell Buell: 14:19

We don't tend to wear a lot of black on our shoes, like they're probably wearing like a white tennis shoe, or like a tan, or like a mid-tone um boot or like a Mary Jane. And then I'm picking two to three colors that will be like the accent fun colors. White is always in there. We wear a lot of denim, so denim tones are always in there. And then I do, yeah, two to three, probably closer to two, like pop colors. So that's usually. I really love yellow and pink in the summer and then I'm loving like a warm red, almost like a maroon, and then like a hunter green in the winter. Yeah, that's just tends to be what ends up happening and also typically corresponds with whatever's available, like at the places that I typically get their clothes.

Diana Rene: 15:09

Yeah, so when you have a capsule wardrobe, does every item have to be able to go with every item? So, like, if you're going to get three pairs of pants and two skirts, does every single one of those bottoms need to match every top?

Rachell Buell: 15:27

Ideally you can mix and match like every single bottom with every single top, which means you're probably going to have a similar color scheme for the bottom half of the body and a similar color scheme for the top half of the body. That's not to say that if I find something you know I will usually splurge on. You know one or two dress shirts for my boys and one or two dresses for my girls from like a.

Rachell Buell: 15:51

Bowdoin or um, like Janie and Jack, if those don't perfectly coordinate with you know every single other piece that I'm that I'm choosing, that I might still still go for it, but typically by having that framework there's there's never going to be a shortage of available clothes for kids. Sometimes you know you're pressed for time and and resources and you might feel like, okay, I just want to do this one shop and whatever I have here that's what we're going to get. Then that might put you in a position where you are getting a piece that's not as versatile. But frankly, when I do that, those are the pieces that get worn a lot less over the course of the season and that's just where I typically course correct. So, generally speaking, I would say, yeah, tops all go with all the bottoms and vice versa.

Diana Rene: 16:41

Okay, and then do you just kind of I'm trying to think of like so I'm thinking of for my girls, for example, if they could wear dresses every day, they would. So then in my situation would I just do all dresses Because I know that's what they like. How do you coordinate? I guess what I'm trying to say or ask is do you go based off, like what your kids tend to prefer to wear, or do you do different styles because you know they might need different types of? You know what I mean, 100%.

Rachell Buell: 17:14

Okay, I'm glad that you understood that I'm with you, I'm totally with you. And they're, frankly, they're kids they're. You know, we want our mornings to be as stress-free and seamless as possible, and if that means I am putting my you know four-year-old in a dress in negative 10 degree weather, that's what I'm doing, and I also think about ways to accommodate their preferences within the context of the season. So once I think the dress one is a great example.

Rachell Buell: 17:45

I think the second time I did this, I had three kids and I was pregnant with my fourth, and my oldest at the time was all into dresses. She would be very upset with me if she wore more than one pair of pants or shorts in a week. She's like unfortunately, mommy, I do need to wear dresses every day. So thank you very much for helping me. The other fun thing was that my son loved to wear bow ties. At the time I'd gotten a little Poppy Co bow subscription for the girls and he was like mommy, I need to wear a bow too. So as a result, I got him less t-shirts for that season and a lot more collared shirts so that he could very easily wear his handsome, handsome bow ties.

Rachell Buell: 18:27

And that same thing still applies now. One specific quirk as I'm thinking about you know, the warm weather capsule is my boys love to wear tank tops, like they love showing off their TV, they're like showing off their guns. So I'm incorporating like tank tops into, like the count for their shirts Okay, yeah, but. And dresses too, also thinking about like, okay, if it's a cold weather season I know my kids like to wear, my girls like to wear dresses. I'm going to make sure that I have plenty of layers that can accommodate wearing the dress tights, boots and things that would like work with it and still like not leave them freezing and getting frostbite going to school.

Diana Rene: 19:13

Right Just kind of important.

Rachell Buell: 19:15

I mean you know.

Diana Rene: 19:19

So what? What about the day when they do come to you and they say, mom, we don't want to match anymore. Will you continue to do capsule and just have them not matching but still have like their own capsule wardrobe?

Rachell Buell: 19:35

I think that's probably what I will do. I mean, frankly, I have no idea what to expect. What I will do. I mean, frankly, I have no idea what to expect. I feel like each chapter of motherhood has come with its own sets of twists and turns and just like sort of mind boggling surprises.

Rachell Buell: 19:50

But yeah, I think that this was an idea that my mom tried to press upon me when I was I remember being younger, trying to shop for clothes, and she would often say and same thing with my dad, like hey, let's try to get this item that you know, try to get clothing. That's going to all work together so that you're, you know, you have a lot more options. And me and my you know, 12 year old spicy selves like, let's make any sense, like I'm not doing that, that's not cool. Well, then it ended up being something that was like a wardrobe. That was sort of unmanageable, and I think my kids really appreciate having fewer items and it's a little bit simpler to handle.

Rachell Buell: 20:27

We do have several days in the week in which we're not matching. For example, like my older two kids' school has like houses, kind of like Harry Potter, so on Fridays they always wear their house colors. Well, the younger two obviously are not at that school. They don't have a house, they don't have colors to wear, so they're never matching on Fridays. Or, you know, we have a soccer game, so one of them is wearing a soccer uniform and the others are wearing whatever.

Rachell Buell: 20:55

And, frankly, sometimes we just don't feel like matching, so that what we have currently allows for that, Like they're certainly not matching every single day, every single item. So I think I have some flexibility in there now for days in which we're not trying to like everybody be matching head to toe. But yeah, I think eventually, you know, it'll be more um, more of a collaborative process where, you know I'm kind of showing them. Okay, here's kind of how I start thinking about this let's pick some colors that we like, let's pick some like signature pieces that we think are really fun and then try to build out from there. I also really want my kids to feel like they understand like what pieces are good to splurge on and what pieces maybe we want to be more economical.

Rachell Buell: 21:43

For example, like I'm never buying t-shirts, you know, or tank tops from somewhere that's not pretty affordable, so I'll usually do like a Walmart, maybe Old Navy, for those kinds of items and then for nicer things or things that I feel like I want to have higher quality or some some sort of different craftsmanship. That's when I'll go for the you know, some of the higher end or moderately priced retailers.

Diana Rene: 22:10

Yeah, you mean, you don't want like leggings, like get the holes in the knees. You don't want to spend a lot of money.

Rachell Buell: 22:17

Correct. Yes, that's actually. That's a really um good question to bring up, because I specifically get our leggings from places like primary or hannah anderson, where if we get a hole, they just replace them oh, really does jack do that too, at target, I think I think so.

Rachell Buell: 22:36

Yeah, that is one place I have not. I have not gotten my kids anything from Target in the years and years. However, um, I did just hear this thing about like. Essentially, you can swap out their entire like all of their clothes. If it's less than a year old for like, you can just return them and get credit back, which I think is a beautiful thing. I would love to know more about like, what they do in terms of recycling, but, but that is very appealing to me Anything where I feel like the item has longevity, like, for example, hannah Anderson pajamas we pass down, if they get a hole, like, whether it's been six months or two years, they'll gladly replace them for us, and that's been a great way for us to save money.

Diana Rene: 23:28

Yeah, I didn't know that. I saw a TikTok the other day that said that the cat and jack policy that's so well-known is actually like all Target brands have a one-year return policy.

Diana Rene: 23:34

I don't know if that's true or not, but it was a former Target employee who was like that's awesome. So who knows, but that would be. I'd be curious to see if that's true or not. So what if someone is wanting to do a capsule wardrobe and they are not like fashion inclined and they don't really know what matches, um, how to like come up with what? Like the color scheme, like where would you suggest starting? Or like what type of resource would you suggest?

Rachell Buell: 24:02

That's a good question.

Rachell Buell: 24:04

Being a creatively minded person, I feel like color is something that like just fits in my body well, but I think you know, probably starting off with like very neutral on the bottom, so that's denim, black, maybe a tan, if you're feeling, if you're feeling bold, and then going with a color that you like on the top.

Rachell Buell: 24:29

One other thing I try to do is I really and I've done this for a long time I steer clear of like graphic designs on pretty much anything, because I feel like that ages the item so much quicker, whereas now, you know, we're getting plain t-shirts and various colors over the course of this, over the course of the years, but those are very easy to pass down and they're going to continue looking great and making sense. Also, taking a look at a color wheel this is not something that I personally do, but I think that that's a good way to think about different colors that match each other. I feel like it's Maria Callum that has her color color wheel and she talks about the things that are directly across from each other, and those are the things that are going to look nice.

Rachell Buell: 25:20

Don't quote me on that, I'm not a hundred percent on exactly how it works, yeah, but that's another good resource and and typically, like a lot of these retails, will have styling suggestions. So, like you'll see, like either in the catalog or the way that it's been displayed in the store, if you're shopping in person which to me sounds like torture with even by myself, but definitely not with kids but you could get ideas that way, I'm okay, this goes with that and then look at what you like. It's not about, I think. I don't think it's about going by, you know, societal, like trends and beauty standards. It's like what do you like, what feels good to you? You know, if your kid really likes I don't know bluey, and they're going to have a tantrum and flip out if they're not wearing their bluey shirt to school every day, then you're going to get a couple of blue shirts.

Diana Rene: 26:18

Right, right, and that's that. Yeah, yeah, and kind of going back to what you were talking about earlier with, when you were setting up your system, is thinking about like what your current laundry system is. I think, for anyone listening, if you're like all in, you're like I'm going to try this capsule thing, do think about like your, your home, your systems and how often are you doing laundry Because you don't want to get like four outfits. And then you're like you're someone who doesn't do laundry until you don't have anything else clean to wear. You know like, if you, if that's you, then you need to start with more full outfits to begin with and over time you can learn to do smaller like sets. But I think that that could be maybe like a little bit of a disaster if someone was starting this process. Yeah, and to your point, you know thinking about like a complete outfit, cause I know it's something that you really like to do with your kids.

Rachell Buell: 27:12

Yeah, and to your point, you know, thinking about like a complete outfit, because I know it's something that you really like to do with your kids. Yeah, one way to build upon something if you're not totally sure about like what goes with what is maybe like, okay, I love this outfit. Maybe you don't even know why. Think about switching out one piece from the outfit with another item and see, okay, actually I like this outfit too. And then what do I like about that? And just starting to think about the components of what you're seeing in front of you that speaks to you and that can help inform what your personal style is.

Diana Rene: 27:45

Yeah, I love that. So Rachel started doing these. Embroidery Is that the correct term for it? You got it. Yeah, as soon as I said that, I was like I don't know if that's the right word. So that is currently. My 10 year old's favorite thing to wear is her Valentine's shirt that Miss Rachel made her. So she makes the cutest I mean mostly shirts. Right, you've done a couple of other things, but mean mostly shirts.

Rachell Buell: 28:18

Right, you've done a couple of other things, but yeah, I would say, yeah, mostly shirts. I've done oh man, I'm working on right now some onesies like long sleeve, long pant, onesies for a baby. This is so cute. So, yeah, I would say sweatshirts yeah, she so Rachel also made.

Diana Rene: 28:31

My oldest had a procedure that she had to go under general anesthesia for and she was so nervous about it and so Miss Rachel made her a bravery suit and like everyone in the whole hospital was like, oh my gosh, because it had her name and it had affirmations and it like totally helped her confidence and it was the sweetest thing ever. But she's been making these for a while now and I'm going to give we're going to link her Instagram account in the show notes, but it's also like the world's best Instagram account name. It's Mile High Milk Machine.

Rachell Buell: 29:04

Did you start that? So that came about when I was a mom to one child, and one other passion of mine in my you know creativity hat is I love to cook. So, um, that was birthed out of like sharing different recipes that I fed my child. Also, my oldest, cody, was just a monster for nursing, like I. She literally would nurse for two hours straight every time until she was, I want to say, 10 months old, and then at that point she literally like stopped on a diamond, would nurse for 15 minutes and then I was like exploding. But I remember seeing other moms like pictures of them and their babies, like out of the park at the zoo. I'm like how do you leave? How would you possibly leave if you aren't, like me, nursing for two hours each time? Anyway, that was where that came from, because it just made me feel like a milk machine, that is so funny.

Diana Rene: 30:00

I love it and many people don't know, but Denver is considered like the mile high city because it's one mile above sea level, so kind of cool Fun fact. But if you go to her Instagram profile then she's going to have a highlight that has some examples of the embroidery and you can just DM her if you want to order anything. She's always coming out with new holiday shirts and things like that, so definitely check that out. But before we get off this episode, rachel, is there anything else you would say to someone who's like on the fence they want to start a capsule wardrobe kind of terrifies them a little bit. Like what would you say to that person?

Rachell Buell: 30:40

I would say that feeling is valid.

Rachell Buell: 30:43

Anything in parenting, any choice you make in parenting, really is like a calculated risk and you just don't know if it's going to work out, whether it's a newborn trying a new feeding and sleeping schedule and feeling like, okay, if this doesn't work out, like I'm going to be totally exhausted.

Rachell Buell: 30:59

This feels like a little bit lower barrier to entry. So one way to start out would be just grabbing a handful of you know, one week's worth of tops, one week's worth of bottoms, one week's worth of socks, whatever, and only pick from those items over the course of, say, two weeks and just see how that feels. If it's awful, great, that's not for you. If it's awesome, cool. If it's, you know, somewhere in between, then maybe you tweak something. But I think that's a really great way to kind of get your feet wet without feeling like you've had to make a huge investment on new items. You can totally do this with things that you already have and maybe it's an opportunity to just cool down some of the stuff that's already in your closet that's not really working for you or for your kids.

Diana Rene: 31:46

Yeah, absolutely. I like that. It feels like a smart way to create a system when you are purposefully trying to find ways to simplify and make your home and your like daily and weekly life just a little more manageable, like. It's like one thing where these are the things I have to pick from. These are the outfits that go together. It's really simple for me on Sunday to put these together.

Rachell Buell: 32:17

Yeah, exactly.

Diana Rene: 32:19

And I think the I think the reason I resist it so much honestly I was thinking about this as you were talking is that my girls do do a lot of like one off shirts, if that makes sense. So, like my seven-year-old, her favorite shirt in the world is like a Trolls World Tour fuzzy sweatshirt. Like it's like tie-dye neon pink and blue and green Love it. Like. I don't know how I would fit that into a capsule wardrobe, but maybe I need to think more along the lines of like these are the core pieces and then that those types of shirts are just kind of like fun they're.

Rachell Buell: 32:59

Her flair is yeah like in uh, what's that movie office space? Maybe, yeah, um, but that's also something where you could start with the trolls, fuzzy hoodie, and maybe there are. Well, maybe there are colors in it that she loves and it's not. Maybe it's not just about the trolls that she loves, maybe it's these three colors that are awesome. Okay, great, now I know three different pairs of leggings or three different pairs of shorts or skirts that work well. With that. I can build from there. I think that's another fun way to do things is finding like the thing that like really excites you and then going. But but sometimes I mean, like I said, like you said with my embroidery, like my kids are certainly getting a handful more items per season because, yeah, do they need a Valentine's sweater? Yeah, do they need a St Patrick's state? Yeah, I mean yeah, frankly, I'm probably losing money not getting that for them.

Diana Rene: 33:57

So can it be an entire trolls themed capsule wardrobe? We do that.

Rachell Buell: 34:05

I think, only if you include the poppy wig. I think that's pretty much the only way you could do it, but then yeah, just a fun, quick story about that.

Diana Rene: 34:16

I got into the car. I told the girls the other day to go get in the car and so I get in the car and as I get in they're singing I Want you Back by NSYNC. And I was like how do you guys know an NSYNC song? And they were like who's NSYNC? And I was like the band that made this song. And they're like this is, this is um Brozone.

Diana Rene: 34:41

Yeah, I was like no, it's like I pull up NSYNC on my phone and I'm like this is NSYNC and I was like this is the lead singer, his name is Justin Timberlake, and so they were like we'll play the song and tell us which one he is. So I did, and my and my seven-year-old was like that is what's his name Branch, branch, branch, that's not Justin.

Rachell Buell: 35:00

Come on, mom, come on, I played. It's like you don't even know.

Diana Rene: 35:05

I know I got to relive my low-maintenance music and play all the instruments. Oh my gosh. And they were like these are not good. Oh my gosh.

Rachell Buell: 35:19

It's like here's your musical education spoon, fed to you through animated movies.

Diana Rene: 35:24

And it's like someone said the other day something about I was volunteering at my kid's school and someone said we were reading a book and it was something about 1996. And she's like my dad said in the 90s, and she was like talking about something else and I was like, oh my gosh, that's like us talking about, like the 60s, right.

Rachell Buell: 35:44

I know, I know that's violence against millennials. Honestly, it wasn't that long ago. We're still young and cool.

Diana Rene: 35:53

Right, I know, but that's what our parents said too, so, all right. Well, I could talk to you forever, so we should probably call it for this episode. But thank you so much, Rachel, for coming on, and again, you can find her at @milehighmilkmachine and we will link her also in the show notes. 

Rachel Buell:

Thanks for having me, Diana.