Love Your Mother | Earth |

It’s Earth Day, friends!

The perfect opportunity to lay out some sustainability tips! Some of these you may have heard a million times before and some may be new.

It may be easy to look at someone who is already living a relatively eco-friendly lifestyle and think you could never be like that, but I wasn’t always this earthy, crunchy person. I have a story just like everyone else, a journey that inspired me to become more sustainable and take responsibility for my actions and it’s impact on the environment.

I owe a lot of credit to traveling for giving me such a sense of love for nature and our planet. It’s when you see the beauty up close that you feel a personal responsibility to preserve and protect it. Seeing the world has inspired me to protect it. The Earth is our home and we must take care of it.

In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decision on the next seven generations // The Great Law of Peace

Use a reusable bottle + ditch single-use plastics

First and foremost, get yourself a reusable bottle. There are some super easy things we can do to lead a more earth-friendly lifestyle, and this is certainly one of them. There are countless options out there, I’ve personally owned Swell, Hydroflask (my favorite) and Byta cups.

Other ways you can reduce your plastic load is to get some reusable bags, larger ones work great for groceries and smaller produce bags work well for produce and any bulk food shopping you might do.

Reducing plastic completely is hard and can feel overwhelming. I know I can get very frustrated when my only options are non-organic produce with no plastic, or organic with produce covered in plastic. It’s also been especially challenging during the pandemic, where there is now a lot of fear surrounding anything reusable. I encourage you to do what you can and try to find the best options out there.

Eat more plants

Not only is it good for you, but it’s good for the planet. Animal agriculture contributes more to greenhouse gases than all of transportation combined (planes, trains, automobiles, boats, etc.) Plus, plants only come with good side effects. Lower your grocery bill, trim your waistline, save the planet! Say whatttt. If you’re skeptical and live in the area, go to Plant City. Your life will be transformed by the power of plants.

Compost

I started composting last year and it’s been a wonderful experience so far. The main reason I wanted to compost was because the majority of the waste I produced were food scraps. This seems likely true for a lot of Americans, as the EPA reports food waste being the largest component within landfills in the US. And if food is not allowed to degrade properly, like when in a landfill, methane gas will be released, contributing to climate change.

Not to mention, it cut down on costs hugely. I honestly can’t remember the last time I bought trash bags, and with landfills becoming overcrowded, prices for trash bags or waste removal is getting exceedingly more expensive. Composting costs me $20 a month, plus I get a bucket back for my garden or house plants each month.

Educate yourself

Documentaries are such a good way to gain knowledge in a field you are interested in. Some great places to start regarding sustainability are The Plastic Ocean, Cowspiracy and The True Cost on Netflix. If I am missing any good ones, please leave them in the comments below!

Buy less, but better quality // or shop secondhand

This can come in many different forms, but take clothing for example. The US sends over 20 billion pounds of textiles to the landfill per year and only about 10-15% of donated material makes it to secondhand shops. Instead of buying a lot for a little, focus on quality. It will be more of an upfront cost, but in the long run, will last much longer.

If cost is a deterrent, consider secondhand shopping like Thred Up or check out marketplace or buy nothing groups of Facebook.

Get a bidet

This tip is probably more relevant than ever, given the mass-purchasing of toilet paper during this pandemic. I used to always poke fun at people who had bidets, but now I am the proud owner of one. I’m not sure why we all haven’t caught on to this trend yet, but you should get yourself a Tushy — stay clean and avoid fighting over toilet paper. It’s a win-win.

Ok, last point. Less toilet paper = the more money you save. I’m telling you, switching to reusables saves you so much money.

Upcycle

This goes along with the three R’s. Reduce, reuse and recycle. Some of my favorite ways to upcycle — give an object new life — is to reuse my glass containers for food storage.

I remove the labels of glass containers from items like pickle jars, tomato sauce jars, etc. with a combination of coconut oil, baking soda and lemon essential oil. It does the trick every time. Then I put my dried goods in them for pretty storage in my cabinets or fridge. Plus, it’s an added bonus that you can easily see when you are running low on pantry staples.

Another favorite of mine is to keep the packing from shipments or paper bags from stores and reuse to wrap gifts. Hopefully a lot of your goodies are being sent with paper packaging instead of bubble wrap (definitely not always the case), but it gives you a chance to repurpose before recycling.

Consider the products you’re using

I was aware that certain products and ingredients could be harmful to human health, but I never considered the harm they could cause to our oceans. A particular product to consider is sunscreen, with ingredients like oxybenzone, that can be very harmful to coral reefs. Our ocean provides our earth with more than half of the oxygen in our environment. We need our corals, and our oceans, for life on this planet.

We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children // Native Proverb

Our Bedroom Redesign | Allergen-Friendly

This post is in regards to my ongoing adaptation to life with asthma and an attempt to rid myself of dependency on steroid inhalers. I speak more about my journey with asthma here.

It’s been a few months since my trip to the allergist and pulmonologist. And if you know me, you know that I don’t like being dependent on medicine, at all. But given the pandemic we are in right now, and the fact that it is a respiratory virus, I am not messing around. So while my lungs are still acting up, I am on 4 puffs of my inhaler a day. And since were home, I’ve been granted ample time to research how I can improve my current situation.

Rewinding a bit, there were a few recommendations that my allergist made a few months back that I haven’t implemented yet — like protecting my bedroom from dust mites (sounds gross, I know). Dust mites were one of two things I was pretty allergic to, ragweed being the other. So in attempts to keep allergens as low as possible in my home, I’d invested in an air purifier and found reason to bring even more plants into our home (great indoor air purifiers), but I had yet to address the easily overlooked area that was causing me problems— pillows and blankets.

It had become pretty apparent to me that any time I curled up onto the couch or in bed with blankets, I started coughing. And, as I said before, it was the bedroom that my doctor had put the most emphasis on improving. So rather than continuing to drag my feet about it, I took it as an opportunity to bring in some sustainable and non-toxic items to the bedroom.

Anyways, to make a long story short, I started researching and stumbled across the information that I needed. Who knew that pillows should be replaced every two years? Not me. I also learned that there are certain materials that harbor dust mites better, and for someone who is pretty allergic, it would be the smart choice for me to avoid the materials that they like. Preferred materials are latex, wool, hemp, cotton and kapok.

Parachute Home

I purchased the Cloud Cotton Quilt to replace my ever-so-dreamy down comforter. Given I really only seem to have reactions at night, when I am surrounded by feathery things, coupled with some articles about fungal and dust mites propensity to feathers, I decided to be done all together. Cotton seemed to be a more breathable material for me.

Avocado Green Mattress

I purchased their Avocado Green Pillow — which is made from organic latex, kapok and cotton.

Sustainability was pretty important to me while on this search. The more I bring into my home, the more I consider how it will eventually leave my home. Is it compostable? Is it easy to dispose of? Can I easily clean it? Can I repair it, if needed? The Avocado Green Pillow checked off a lot of these boxes for me, along with being an allergen and earth-friendly pillow.

I’ve been pretty interested and committed to keeping my house as ‘clean’ (low-tox) as possible over the years. I’ve switched out cleaning products, laundry detergent, our food, etc. Never once did I think about what I rested my head on each night and what I could potentially be breathing in — which is especially important for someone dealing with asthma, like me.

I’m currently still looking into some bed and pillow covers but, as an update, I can personally say that the Parachute quilt is very comfortable. The pillows haven’t come in yet, but with COVID-19, I have no idea when they will and I wanted to post my bedding now, because, well, it’s really comfortable and pretty.

I am really hoping that I will see some differences here over the next few weeks as we enter allergy season and I wean myself off of my inhaler, once again.

Stay safe and comfortable friends XO

Safer At Home | Week Unknown

I went to the grocery store for the first time in 3 weeks yesterday.

And as I am sure most of you are aware, there were many guidelines in place for proper social distancing. While I did not have to wait in line outside to enter, I did have to stand on a big red dot that represented the correct distance that should be between myself and the nearest person.

I stood, hand sanitizer in pocket and mask on face, in disbelief. Unlike the times I usually wait in line, mindlessly scrolling on my phone— I didn’t want to touch or potentially contaminate my phone. So, without distraction, I found myself quickly lost in thought.

It wasn’t until a man interrupted me that I realized just how deep in thought I was.

I was looking at the cashiers behind a glass protector. I was looking at everyone in masks, myself included. I was staring at all of the empty aisles, where the once stocked shelves resembled a storm I never thought would be reality. How did we get here? Is this really real?

There are moments I feel more connected than ever, with time to slow down and reason to call my friends and family more often. I’m connecting with people on social media, supporting businesses I am proud to support, spending more time doing things I love. But then there are times I feel agitated when someone gets too close to me, or overwhelmed when I look at the world’s current state of affairs.

But then a man interrupted my thoughts, perfectly putting into words everything I was feeling…

This is crazy, isn’t it?
Ya. It is.

———

Anyways — here are a few things/thoughts that made me happy this week.

+ These sweatpants

+ Smoothies, because all that was left in my house was frozen fruit

+ Plants (and this YouTube channel teaching me all I need to know about all kinds of plant)

+ Essential oil concoctions and a new diffuser

+ Another week, another watercolor

Why I Went Low-Tox

I could take this story in many different directions because I don’t think one persons journey is ever very straight. I fell into the ‘non-toxic’ and natural world a few years back, when I was attempting to regain consistency with my period after years of absent or irregular cycles. It was during that challenge that I learned a lot. I really had no idea how my hormones could be affected by my environment, but I was open to learning.

There are so many reasons for hormonal imbalance in women, which is part of the reason it can be so challenging to overcome. But I was determined to find answers and began experimenting on myself. The more I learned, the more I realized that what I was putting on my body mattered just as much as what I was putting in my body. I was shocked to learn that many of the products I used daily contained endocrine disruptors, some of the biggest culprits you may be familiar with — triclosan, parabens, BPA, fragrance and phthalates. Endocrine disruptors function in a way that can interfere with the body’s natural hormones, which can often lead to over or underproduction while also interfering with production, release and elimination of the body’s natural hormones. And when you are trying to regulate your own hormones, you really don’t want anything unnecessary messing with them — especially when it is 100% avoidable.

Many of these ingredients are added to products, not for therapeutic or personal benefits, but rather to contribute to some of the ‘consumer traits’ we typically look for. For example, SLS is added to soaps as a foaming agent. Phalates are added to products to improve their consistency. Petroleum is added as a moisturizer. I don’t know about you, but if I were making a moisturizer at home, I definitely wouldn’t feel inclined to head on down to the gas station to stock up on DIY ingredients. The moral of the story being, we need to take ownership of what we bring into our homes because the FDA does not require safety testing nor do they require approvals before products hit the shelves. What’s important to remember here is that our skin is absorptive — meaning, whatever we put on it will most likely get absorbed into our bloodstream, very quickly. And if I wanted to bring my body back to balance, an overwhelming amount of chemicals getting absorbed into my bloodstream would not be helpful.

So I needed to detox. I switched the things that were the easiest to change first. I re-evaluated my laundry detergent, my body wash, shampoo and conditioner, lotions, sunscreen. Pretty much anything that came into direct contact with my skin. I also thought about the things I was breathing in— so household cleaners, candles, air fresheners. This may sound overwhelming, but when you don’t feel good and you have a lot on the table (hormones are no joke), it really doesn’t seem like much of a sacrifice.

I find it nearly impossible to pinpoint my success in regulating my hormones to a specific change or a specific habit. It’s all cumulative. The more you begin to change, the quicker your body will begin to heal. I certainly cannot credit non-toxic living solely to balanced hormones, but it definitely played a role. And I’m still not perfect. But I don’t think that should be the goal. It’s unreasonable and it prevents you from making any changes at all if you believe it’s too much to tackle all at once. It’s baby steps, all the way, until you realize all of your baby steps led you miles and miles down the road.

And speaking from my current state of being, I’ve recently found another reason to re-evaluate my home and the products I use within it. In September, I landed myself in the hospital after having some rather severe asthma attacks. While the experience left me feeling incredibly grateful to be breathing, I couldn’t help but wonder what caused this reaction in the first place.

After getting allergy tested this year, I can be pretty sure that the asthma was triggered by ragweed, which I am allergic to. My second highest allergen was dust mites. And while both of these things are pretty hard to avoid, I at least feel inspired to figure out how to lower my allergic or asthmatic threshold. I have a lot to learn in this area, but I know that breathing in inflammatory chemicals should be the first things to go. So back to investigator status I go— trying to determine anything and everything in my home that could be causing inflammation in my lungs.

Here are a few quick facts related to asthma…

• Companies do not need to list their fragrance ingredients in the label

• 12,500 ingredients fall under the umbrella called “fragrance” on a label

• Fragrance are common triggers of asthma, migraines, allergies and sinus problems

• Fragrance can be found in our every day products such as perfume, cleaners, candles, body wash

These changes can happen as fast or as slow as you want them to. I am personally a slow learner, but I try to always make progress and move in a forward direction.

The good news is that time will be moving anyways, so we might as well make some good use out of it and just start.

I choose to see setbacks as an opportunity to learn. I’d much rather feel empowered to learn and make changes than to feel like I have no control over my situation. Maybe this speaks to my controlling tendencies (lol), but it’s the truth. I’d much rather experiment to see if it makes a difference than never know.

Disclaimer: it made a difference.

Social Distancing | Life on Lockdown

If I didn’t know that I was an introvert before, I am 100% sure of it now.

While I have been enjoying the solitude, the anxiety surrounding the situation has been building up. I find myself becoming more uneasy as the days pass, not knowing how bad things will get. I am also well-aware that too much consumption of news outlets can heavily contribute to these feelings, so I’m saying no to bad news and yes to some good news. When I need to know something, I am sure my mom will let me one (thanks mom <3)

It’s so intriguing to me how creative and funny people can be when they get ‘bored’. There have been so many belly-laughs in our house lately over TikToks and memes, and for that I am so grateful. This is just reiterating the fact that when our parents told us “it’s good to be bored”, they were kind of onto something.

Anyways, just like everyone else in the world, I have been looking for ways to spend my time indoors and I wanted to share some of the things that have been bringing joy to my life. To be honest, I typically forget what day it is and have lost all sense of routine and time, but my days most often include some good sleep, cooking and maybe some baking, painting, writing, exercise and a lot of Netflix and chill.

If you follow me on Instagram, you know I fell head-over-heels in love with the Let’s Make Art kits I received in the mail. It’s a small company that sells kits, or monthly memberships, to learn to watercolor paint, hand letter or create art journals. The best thing about this is that the kit comes with everything you need (besides brushes, which were easy enough to tack onto the order) to get started right away, and there are even follow along tutorials on YouTube. I ordered three painting kits and was extremely pleased with my first go at watercolors.

A hobby that I’ve always enjoyed but seems to be much more prominent now that I am home and have ample time is baking. I’ve made countless banana breads and with the amount of ripe bananas on my countertop at the moment, I see many more in my future.

I think we can all agree that 2020 has been crazy and the fact that the world is on lockdown right now is actually mind-blowing. We are all doing what we can and staying home, so why not make the most of it?

Some new and old favorite things:

+ Tiny Canal Cottage - blog for everything minimalistic, decluttering and beautiful
+ All things essential oils
+ Chelsea Jean presets to edit all of the pictures you ‘never had time to do’
+ Unstoppable documentary - Bethany Hamilton is a beast!
+ Yoga sculpt, Barre 3 for home workouts

Stay well XO

Slowing Down In The Midst of Chaos

Yesterday, Massachusetts went into a formal ‘lockdown’. It’s hard to know how to feel during a time like this. Each hour, it seems, a new development is on the news. Reality is changing by the minute. While I have already been physically distancing for the past week, the situation all of a sudden feels a bit more real.

I think it’s clear that no one really knows how to respond to this situation. Of course, fear and panic are not helpful states-of-being, but oblivion is arguably worse. No one knows what will happen. We don’t know when things will return to normal or what tomorrow, or the day after, will look like.

But what harm is there in being conservative? In staying home, if you can. Try a new recipe, find a new hobby, binge watch Netflix. Do all of the things we haven’t had the time for as a society because we are all so busy. Declutter, clean, meditate, exercise, sleep in late, read all of the books on your wishlist. Hell, learn a new language if you want.

Maybe it’s so easy for me to talk about these things because I am coming from a place of privilege. I recognize that I don’t have family in the healthcare industry that I am constantly worried about, nor do I fear the consequences of, potentially, many weeks unpaid from work. I am lucky. But I think that’s all the more reason why I should stay home, because countless others cannot.

There is so much power in the way we view a situation. We can choose to accept the current state of affairs or we can choose to resist them. As resistance has never served me well, I choose to spend my time embracing the slow down, even if it’s not ideal. I will call family more, stay up late and shut off my alarm. I will eat slower and move my body. I will do all that I am able, because while we might not have the power to choose, on a large scale, what we can and cannot do right now, we can always choose how we react to our current circumstances.

Since being home, I have been flooded with emotions. I’m overwhelmed by the way in which people are coming together. There are countless live online workouts and virtual classrooms. There’s been authors reading stories, people sewing masks, friends making friends dinner and leaving it on their doorstep. I am always amazed by the beauty that comes out of hardships. Maybe it’s the uncertainty that has helped us realize we are not all that different from one another. We are all susceptible to disease. We all have loved ones we want to protect and jobs we fear losing. We all feel pain and anxiety and love and happiness. We are all human and we are all in uncharted territory. And it seems that in the darkest of moments, humanity always has a way of shining its light. Let’s all stay together in this strikingly uncertain time and be there for one another.

And the people stayed home. And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still. And listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows. And the people began to think differently.

And the people healed. And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal.

And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully, as they had been healed.

XO

Twenty Twenty

This has been a post I have been wanting to write for quite some time now. (Ha, clearly, since it’s the end of January and I am just getting around to posting it).

The New Year always brings about talk of goal-setting and reflection, which seemed to be especially prominent as we enter a new decade. Normally, I like to reflect too and discuss goals I’d like to achieve and priorities going into the new year too. But I found it difficult this year. And up until this point, haven’t felt like writing or thinking about it at all.

2019 was undoubtedly the hardest year yet. It was the year that I witnessed the most suffering and a year I am really ready to leave behind.

I know there were so many good things I’ve experienced this year, but the bad just seems to outweigh the good. I usually like to write about uplifting and hopeful topics, so I've gone back and forth about how to process my feelings on this subject and whether or not to share them at all.

Grief is a weird thing. Moving forward makes me feel guilty. So wanting to think about 2020 and the goals I have for it, felt wrong in a way. But on the other hand, it has made me contemplate life in a totally different manner. Tomorrow is not promised, so why wait to do anything?

I’ve asked myself over and over again if I am living in a way that I’m ok with. Am I really happy? Am I being complacent or am I going after what I want? Am I prioritizing the right things? Am I being a good friend, daughter, wife, coworker? Am I saying yes to the right opportunities and no to the ones that don’t align with my values? Am I stressing about shit that just doesn’t matter? How do I really live in each and every moment? How do I stay in a state of gratitude and stop letting the small things get to me?

As I write, I am both sad and grateful. Sad to see so much heartache around me and to move into 2020 without people I care deeply for. Grateful to still be breathing.

Anyways, to get back to the here and now, we’ve spent the first few weekends of the year spending time with friends and family and venturing up to Maine for some fresh air and activities. I’ve also started a new job and am welcoming the change in pace and all of the blessings that come with change. As far as goals go, there are a few key areas of life that I have been wanting to dive deeper into.

+ Financial Independence
+ Law of Attraction
+ Healing (physical, emotional and spiritual)
+ Creativity
+ Travel Hacking

Diving into books, blogs, podcasts, and following inspiring people on Instagram have all been my primary ways of learning more. I’m letting my interest guide me and learning as much or as little about a subject as I desire. The internet is an incredible place if used wisely, filled with endless resources that I am finding tremendously valuable. In terms of day to day life, here’s what I want to focus on:

I want to become content with what I have while still dreaming of better things to come.

I want to honor time.

I want to enjoy where I am and find appreciation in everything, even if it isn’t obvious.

I want to work on not letting little things bother me.

I want to stop looking for approval from outside sources.

I want to have more confidence in all areas of my life.

I want to worry less.

I want to keep reading and absorbing wisdom.

I want to stop being so resistant to things that aren’t working the way I imagine them to, because the universe is so much smarter than me.

I want/need to release control.

I want to focus on healing, without obsessing over my body and rather giving it space and time to heal.

I want to travel with people I love.

I want to move towards financial independence.

I want to slow down.

In reality, it’s so easy to write a to-do list of intentions and new habits, but it’s much harder to make the decision and commit. Change comes from the daily grind and determination. I don’t quite have a game plan yet, but I think there are some daily habits I could implement, like reading, meditation, movement, getting outside, etc. that could help me honor these commitments.

Most of them, if you’ve noticed, are mindset-related. They aren’t super specific or actionable goals, but more about learning to live with peace of mind and big-picture shifts. So even though I don’t have the exact practices that will bring me closer to each goal in mind yet, I am hoping that people, places, things or obstacles will help me recognize these challenges and begin to move me through them, learning as I live.

Wishing you all a very happy and generous 2020! XO

Life Lately | Changing Seasons

Winter is upon us in New England. Snow has fallen and the heat is on. I love the beauty of a fresh snowfall and admittedly couldn't deal with a tropical holiday season, but after the holidays pass, I am so ok with the warm weather coming back.

Winter brings about a lot of changes. It is by far the longest season and is characteristic of pale skin and cold feet. Food cravings change. Enter more sweets and treats, less sunshine and weeks spent cuddled in blankets with books and twinkle lights. I usually dread the start of winter, knowing there will be many long and dark nights ahead. But this year I want to find a way to appreciate the slowness of this season. Summer is inherently busy and I actually, for once, feel ready to slow down a bit this winter. Without a jam packed schedule, there is more me time for reflection, which I am excited for.

I’m trying to get into those Scandinavian books about hygge- because let’s be honest, we all need a bit of a warmth in our lives, even if achieved through fireplaces and citrus decor.

Another big shift for me in winter is my diet. I get so comfortable in the summer with my smoothies and salads, that once the cold weather hits, I struggle to really want to eat healthy. I crave warming foods and more junk, probably because I am no longer filled with fruits and all the good stuff. Most health influencers that I follow are based in the warm, tropical climates like Hawaii and Australia. So while I find tons of inspiration in their diets, I find that come winter, I am not really able to eat much of what they share on a day to day, it just doesn’t work. This will be my year of exploration into finding a routine that really works for me in the winter, because as of now, as much as I dream of a big move to Hawaii, its not happening yet- so I want to make the most of where I am.

Things I’m loving this season…

+ This hydrating face cream
+ Teas
+ Warm socks
+ Baths
+ Oils and diffuser
+ Dried fruit garland
+ This risotto recipe
+ The Celestine Prophecy
+ Cookies, turned vegan
+ This sweater stone for de-pilling (!!!!)
+ Elderberry syrup for immunity
+ Soft hands

I’ve always wanted to run from winter, but this year I will face it head on :) Cheers to warmer clothes, better skin products and enjoying the snow! XO

My Favorite Things | Conscious Purchases

It’s about that time of year where the sales start and consumer consumption shoots way up. Most of the time, we try to either save/invest our money or spend it on experiences and travel, but we still need/want things throughout the year. I figured I would share with you some of my most treasured investments, as a sort of gift guide, going into the holiday season.

I’m pretty basic and have evolved into quite the minimalist over the past few years. I try to make sure that everything I buy is purposeful, truly wanted and will add value to my life in some way, and also sourced sustainably.

URSA MAJOR RECOVERY BALM

The winter is brutal in New England, but this recovery balm has been a life saver when it comes to dry skin. It is perfect for the winter months. I use it morning and night and find my face to look hydrated and bright. It’s very much like a cream, it doesn’t feel greasy going on and it gets absorbed right away. I usually apply after showering or wetting my face, so my skin absorbs it a bit better.

I originally tried this balm in Follain’s clean essentials kit, which supplies trial sizes of some of their most popular items- including a soap, hydrating balm, toner and cleanser. It’s the perfect intro to clean beauty, especially if you have been wanting to switch some of your products but are weary of spending the money up front. This kit is only $25 and I love the products in it- I have since repurchased the Ursa Major Recovery Balm twice in full sizes. It’s soo good. For 15% off Follain’s products (with a few minor exceptions), use the discount code, ref15_pp2btl.

ROTHYS

This was my favorite purchase (well, I got it as a gift) this year. Rothy’s are made out of recycled plastic bottles and, at the time of this writing, have saved 41,848,965 bottles from going to the landfill. Not only do I believe in the mission and sustainability of the company, they are hands-down the most comfortable shoes I have ever owned. I have the sneaker and I will be getting another color once the weather warms up a bit, for sure. The insoles come out and are machine washable, which was a huge selling point for me. Rothy’s claim that there is no break in period for these shoes, and I can attest. They have been just as comfortable since day 1 with no blisters.

BOMBAS

To bounce off of Rothys, I purchased Bombas in hopes that I could find some low socks that didn’t constantly fall down off of my heels. The ones I purchased are super thin, which is perfect for warmer months and they absolutely stay up all day. I had a pair that got holes in them pretty quickly and received a new pair from them almost immediately. I have not had any of my other pairs develop holes to date. They also donate a pair of socks for each pair purchased, which I love.

VETTA CAPSULE

I recognize that not everyone can spend high amounts on one article of clothing, but I personally have been interested in purchasing more sustainable and diverse clothing that will last a long time and can be worn multiple ways. I hope to fill my wardrobe with a few staples that I love, with quality that will last.

Last winter, I purchased a sweater (pictured above) from Vetta that I absolute adore. Vetta is a capsule wardrobe company based out of Boston, MA. Each piece has the ability to be worn multiple ways. I have a sweater that has an attachable neck, as well as buttons down the front - so it can be a turtleneck, a regular sweater and a cardigan. I love its versatility, comfort and warmth.

On a side note, I have purchased a lot of clothes second hand this year via ThredUp, an online thrift store. I have found so many good buys at a fraction of the price. When I am not shopping for new clothes from sustainable brands, I try to shop through ThredUp.

VITAMIX

I got a Vitamix for my birthday this year, after having a Blendtec for a few years. The main reason I wanted a Vitamix was because of the tamper and its ability to handle more frozen ingredients. I use my blender sometimes upwards of 3-4 times a day, depending on the season and what I am making. It is a must-have (or any other high-speed blender) for anyone trying to get a bit healthier, in my opinion. I use it for smoothies, soups, sauces, ice cream, dips, etc. It’s also great for grinding- I make flours and meals from oats, seeds, etc.

ECO BAGS

I always try my best to bring reusable produce bags to the store whenever I go. They are perfect for loose fruit and veggies and seriously reduce the amount of plastic used when shopping. Plus, the look nice, which is an added plus. They are cloth, so they are washable too. You can find the larger drawstring back here or the smaller produce bags here.

HYDROFLASK

I am pretty well known for always carrying around my blue hydroflask. It’s a 40oz. bottle and it’s beautiful :) It has many dents in it, so I can attest to the fact that these things are highly durable. But in case something did break, Hydroflask offers a lifetime warrantee, meaning these bottles would literally last you forever.

Getting rid of single use plastic bottles is the way to go! We bring our hydroflasks with us everywhere so that we can refill it throughout the day and keep from sending more plastic to the landfill. At home, we use a Berkey water filter. Not only is it environmentally a good choice, but you save so much money not buying multiple packs of water every single week.

We currently have an 18 oz food storage container, 16 - 64 oz (perfect for the beach and road trips) bottles, and an insulated tote. It sounds like overkill, but it really doesn’t feel like it- everything gets used and has its own purpose. These bottles are my absolute favorite.

BOOKS

I’ve recently shared my favorite books here, but these are a few of my most liked this year. I’m a huge advocate of the library, but I have since purchased a few of these, as I really love them and like to be able to refer back or re-read whenever. Books are always on my list of favorite things. Reading is how I prefer to spend my down time and I find it so valuable.

+ The Celestine Prophecy
+ Small Space Style
+ You are a Badass at Making Money
+ Big Magic
+ A Return to Love
+ Give a Sh*t
+ Wild at Home

This time of year is so focused on giving, but let’s remember giving love and gratitude is what it’s really all about.

1 Year Plantiversary | Tips, Tricks & Resources

It’s been a whole year of plants! I never thought I would be saying that.

I went 100% plant-based last year after our trip to Florida. It was a trip I was panicking about, because I was so nervous to tell others I wouldn’t be eating their food. I have since gotten over that, but the transition to a plant-based diet for me spans a few years. Some people transition overnight, but I was not one of those people.

Since going plant-based a year ago, I have learned so much. I have become much more comfortable cooking and eating out. I understand the science. I continuously feel better and better in my skin (although confidence is a journey of self-exploration dependent on many things other than food).

It’s hard to pinpoint that one moment where things just clicked. I vividly remember saying I don’t think I would ever go vegan, but as time went on, I couldn’t really see myself not making the change. For me, it wasn’t working to sometimes eat dairy and to sometimes not. I had pretty much eliminated meat, with the occasional piece of salmon. I would eat cheese and immediately feel awful, which would then make me feel awful about myself. It was a very poor relationship to have with food— so I eventually decided to give up those things completely.

Don’t get me wrong, I still indulge in the vegan treats and vegan cheeses, which undoubtedly aren’t the healthiest things for me to choose— but what it came down to was knowing these things were exactly that, indulgences. They were not to be a part of my every day meal, and when I enjoyed them, I was sure to enjoy them. It also began to matter to me deeply that I was not actively participating in the dairy industry, so to enjoy a plant-based ice cream felt much more acceptable in terms of my values. On most days, my plate typically consists of whole foods like fruits, veggies, rice, beans, oats, brown rice pasta and lentils.

There are typically three reasons individuals will go plant-based— for their health, the planet, or the animals. I went plant-based for my health.

My health has been a bit like a roller coaster. It was around college, a time when I most certainly was not focused on health, that I started developing serious stomach pains. Prior to this, in high school, I was all about health, in an air-quote kind of way. I thought I ate well, but in hindsight it was not that great. I focused a lot on calories— 100 calorie packs, frozen meals, etc. This is probably a story I can dive into more later, but post-college was the beginning of my forceable exploration with food and its effects on my health.

No one ever really wants to change. Pain is usually the catalyst. You become so fed up with your current situation that change no longer seems so scary or so off limits. Pain was my driver.

It was on our honeymoon when I initially began to question my diet. I ate vegetarian in Sri Lanka, and while there was still dairy, I slowly started to notice my stomach bloating fade and my energy begin to rise. And the following week, when I got my period, it showed with very few cramps. Something I had never experienced before. Looking back, the nature of the food was predominately whole food based— lots of veggies (and anti-inflammatory foods like ginger and turmeric) and very little of anything else. I figured learning more was a good place to start. It was about a year later that I made the transition to completely plant-based.

Finding this way of eating has been a beautiful blessing. Healing, an ongoing process that I am still very much in the middle of, takes time and patience. It requires a hard look at the truth and instilled beliefs. It takes questioning and practice and failure and the resilience to start again. Turning to food to heal has opened my eyes to the human potential. Our bodies are incredibly resilient, so long as we give them space to nurture and grow.

Drinking straight out of coconuts on our honeymoon in Sri Lanka. The beginning of the path forward.

Whole Food Plant-Based (WFPB) Beginner Tips

A Whole Foods plant-based diet is different than a vegan diet. A vegan diet can technically consist of anything that omits animal products, but does not necessarily focus on health-promoting ingredients like fruits and veggies. A WFPB diet focuses on cooking with whole ingredients as often as possible, and trying to reduce the use of highly-processed ingredients as much as possible. For me, this means eating a lot of fruit, potatoes, leafy greens, broccoli, cauliflower, brown rice pasta, oats, etc. and limiting my consumption of white flour, baked goods, and processed/boxed foods.

Eat fruit.

There’s a lot of talk about fruit containing a lot of sugar— which it does. But eating the whole fruit, aka not a fruit juice, means you are consuming the fruit with its fiber, which will not yield a giant spike in your blood sugar like fruit juice will. Eat the whole fruit. Fruit also provides the glucose our bodies need. To give you an analogy about different sugars that exist (good vs. bad), I will share this example about water. You have puddle water and glacier water, all of which is water— but we do not question that glacier water is exponentially better than puddle water. Consider artificial sweeteners to be the puddles and fruits to be the glaciers. Not all sugars are the same.

Also, in the summer when my fruit consumption is the highest, my cravings for sugary treats completely disappear. Fruit is what our bodies are naturally designed for, and when we provide our body with the glucose it needs, we no longer crave all of the artificial sweeteners on the market.

Calories do matter.

Learning how much to eat has been probably one of the largest adjustments for me. Originally, it is easy to eat too little. Leafy greens and vegetables are significantly lower in calories than meat and dairy, so when you first remove those from your diet, it’s important to increase the intake of others. When people feel deprived and hungry on diets, it’s usually because they are removing without adding in. On a WFPB diet, it’s important to make sure you are eating enough of the good stuff to ensure you will be satisfied and satiated and to keep the cravings at bay.

From personal experience, it’s also really easy for me to still overeat plant-based foods. When I was researching, it was always suggested to increase serving size— which I agree with— but this didn’t address that fact that overeating did not immediately disappear when I switched to a plant-based diet. I used this ‘eat more’ mentality to justify my wanting to overeat. Our bodies will tell us when we’ve had enough. Using calories as a guide to ensure our bodies get sufficient nutrients and vitamins when on a plant-based diet is important, but once that point is reached, our bodies will let us know. Learning to listen to your body is the lesson underneath this all.

Educate Yourself.

See the resource section below.

Learn to cook.

Start by adjusting your most frequented meals. Instead of beef, use beans. Veganize your favorite, most-cooked meals and see how easy it is to change up your routine. I’ve become quite the foodie and it is surprisingly so easy to have delicious plant-based meals. Don’t knock it till you try it. Use blogs like the Minimalist Baker or some of the resources I’ve included below.

Surround yourself with support.

It can be difficult to go at this alone, but social media can definitely be used in a positive manner in regards to support and inspiration. See if family members will go on this journey with you or if not, make new friends and use your feed to follow like-minded individuals. From my experience, I was lucky enough to have my husband totally on board with a vegan household. He himself is not vegan, but in our house, we eat the same. He also enjoys eating this way, so I do feel like I have a built-in support system when we go to restaurants or family members houses who may not be as supportive about this lifestyle change. But truthfully, Instagram is a hub for me to follow like-minded individuals and to constantly be inspired on this journey.

My Favorite Resources

There are so many resources that I used when I was transitioning to a plant-based diet. I started first with learning why it was good for my health in the first place. There is so much contradictory information, that I wanted to get very clear on what was the truth. Intuitively, it always felt wrong to me when diets suggested limiting fruit or healthy starches like potatoes. But to really feel confident in my decisions, I wanted to know what science was the truth. I explored a lot of work by doctors in the plant-based space like Dr. Michael Gregor, Dr. Esselstyn and Dr. T. Colin Campbell. Below are some of my favorite resources, stockpiled with useful information. The best thing you can do for yourself is become educated.

DOCUMENTARIES

+ The Game Changers
+ Forks over Knives
+ Cowspiracy
+ What the Health

BOOKS

+ Whole
+ Life-Changing Foods
+ Skinny Bitch
+ The China Study
+ How Not to Die
+ Eat to Live
+ 80 10 10

RECIPE E-BOOKS

Ellen Fisher’s E-books, Epic Vegan Food and Epic Kid Food and Ash Foster’s E-book Potatoes are by far my most heavily used. They are super affordable and I can easily say I use these three books more than I have ever used a cookbook or a recipe blog. They are focused on whole plant-based foods, which can be a bit different than vegan cookbooks and blogs. They use no oil and lots of whole foods and are insanely delicious.

PLACES

+ Plant City
+ The Red Lentil
+ The Grange
+ Pizza J’s
+ Garden Grille

There are so many more resources, but this is my experience and what I have found valuable along the way. I hope you find this useful and feel free to share your favorite recipes, resources, etc. in the comments below :)

Favorite Life-Changing Books Roundup

There are few books that you can really say have changed your life. Most books are wonderful to read, but for some reason or another, don’t get implemented. Just like most things in life, I believe a book crosses your path when you most need, or are most receptive to, its lessons.

I’ve read a lot of different genres lately and the books below are my favorites across many different categories. Self-help, nutrition and finance have been my most-read over the last few years. Becoming informed is a priority of mine. I may not always know what is going on in the news at all times, but I like to know what and why I am doing certain things in my life— I like to live intentionally and consciously, and books help me do that.

Reading (or listening) is an easy way to introduce new ideas or ways of thinking into your life. Along with that comes unlimited insight and often valuable lessons from just picking up a paperback.

Life-Changing Foods

by Anthony William

My favorite nutrition-related book. I find this book very intuitive and incorporate the lessons taught in this book, and his others, in my daily life. It teaches about the health benefits (physical, emotional and spiritual) of fruits, veggies, herbs and more — the main principle being ‘food as medicine’. It really got me thinking about eating for my health and adding in all of the good stuff, rather than focusing on elimination within my diet. This book opened my eyes to the abundance of fruits and veggies this world has to offer. Of course, theres tons of other beneficial information stored in these pages, but I still refer to this book frequently as a type of manual/food bible.

Ask and It Is Given

By Esther and Jerry Hicks

I heard about this book on the Rich Roll Podcast in an episode with Mike Posner. I immediately knew I needed to read this book.

This book has probably had one of the most profound effects on my life. It really changed my perspective on reality and how much my thinking, my words and my actions dictated what showed up in my life. Like most people, I am guilty of focusing on “lack”, or things that I don’t have. But because of that, according to the Law of Attraction, I am going to continue to “not have them”. This book teaches you how to change the way you view the world and how to harness all that you desire. Admittedly, this is a book I know I should be re-listening to on repeat.

I also highly recommend their book, Money and The Law of Attraction.

The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

By Marie Kondo

I feel like this is a super cliche book to add to the list, but it really did have a huge impact on my life. It was around the time the Minimalism documentary came out and this book came out that I started experimenting with decluttering. I was a low-key hoarder at this point. I have since devoured many books on simplicity and minimalism. I think the take-home message of the minimalism movement, for me anyways, is that ‘simple’ helps to slow down my already racing mind. It also has really allowed me to appreciate all that I have. Decluttering and simplifying has went hand-in-hand with improving my finances because less stuff equals less money, and it has allowed me to instead focus on quality purchases and supporting brands who value sustainability, which is parallel to my beliefs.

Marie Kondo paved the way for me to get started with decluttering— the how-to’s and where to start. This book especially helped me get rid of the things I was holding onto due to guilt, an emotion I didn’t want attached to any of the items I chose to keep in my home. Her Netflix series is also incredible and I would highly recommend watching it.

The Miracle Morning

By Hal Elrod

I’ve been wanting to establish a morning routine for quite some time now. There are always those benchmark goals, like meditating, working out consistently, journaling, reading, etc. that have been on my to-do list for far too long. I will admit they are not all a part of my life consistently right now, but I have made progress largely due to this book.

I write this at a time I am not super proud of my morning routine, because if I’m being honest, sleep has taken priority lately. But, there was a point where I was meditating, journaling and reading consistently— with a wakeup time of 4am. I have since been able to incorporate reading and writing consistently into my routine, regardless of time. What I love so much about this book though is that it focuses on implementing parts of your routine centered around self-care and self-improvement. The reason he suggests implementing routines and habits like exercise, not hitting snooze, meditation, etc. in the morning is because they all assist us in growth in some manner, and usually, by the time the day passes us, we have no more energy or drive to complete them. By getting them done first thing in the morning, we will always be prioritizing our growth.

Whole

By T.Colin Campbell

Whole is a book that can change your views about nutrition, the health care system and our historic beliefs. If you are at all confused about the current state of affairs with healthcare and wonder why or how we got to this place, read this book. It focuses largely on the science — how studies are designed, why there is confusion among our population, supplementation, and industry profit, to name a few. If you want the facts, this book is for you.

The Total Money Makeover

By Dave Ramsey

This book changed our entire financial situation. No joke that it altered our life trajectory. Dave Ramsey teaches you the basics of money, which I wish were a part of high school or college curriculum… because money is kind of important to learn about.

This book focuses primarily on getting out of debt — the how’s and why’s. It also touches upon investments, but I used this book mostly as a resource for paying off debt. While Andy and I were ‘debt snowballing’, as it is termed, we also listened to his podcast pretty heavily for motivation and inspiration. Loans and debt can be daunting, but this book was the first spark of possibility for me. I couldn’t be more grateful to have come across this book at the time I did. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to improve their financial situation, for good. No quick fixes, just hard work that literally pays off.

Big Magic

By Elizabeth Gilbert

I’ve been struggling with ‘creativity’ and ‘inspiration’ lately and this book hit upon all of the subjects I needed. We all live in a world with constant consumption. We also live in a results-driven society with an emphasis on comparison. Elizabeth Gilbert preaches creating just to create, because we need it. The freedom that comes with just getting lost in whatever we’re doing. Things don’t need to be perfect, they don’t even need to be good, but we need to create. I loved this book and it felt liberating to know that we really don’t need to focus so heavily on results all of the time and can remember that creating is just as much about us as it is about sharing the results with the world.

A Return To Love

By Marianne Williamson

I don’t consider myself to be a very religious person— spiritual yes, religious, no. I believe that there are powers much greater than ourselves but to the extend of who that is and the purpose of it all, well I think we all are allowed to question and challenge those thoughts to our own extent.

A Return To Love focuses on just that, love. Fear is something I think I could say the majority of us, as humans, struggle with. For me, fear has held me back in countless situations and I can usually see it reoccurring in many current or future situations if I am not careful. But love feels good and this book is all about infusing love into our lives in order to live a truly happy and peaceful life.

Some other goodies

+ Atomic Habits
+ Skinny Bitch (this book is the reason I pretty easily broke my cheese addiction and never wanted meat again in my life)
+ Rushing Woman’s Syndrome
+ Playing with Fire
+ Choose FI
+ How Not to Die
+ Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life
+ Woman Code
+ Taking Charge of Your Fertility
+ The Alchemist
+ You Are The One
+ The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

TIP: Get a library card!

This will save you so much money, especially if you cruise through books. Typically, I will rent every book I am going to read and if I really love the book, then I purchase it. I rarely purchase books nowadays and love using the library as a resource. Occasionally, the library won’t have the book I want to read, so I will purchase it.

The library has become a crazy valuable resource for me. I rent all types of books, even cookbooks. I have a card at my local library, which allows me to rent anything local and to also utilize the online resources like Hoopla, where I can rent e-books and audiobooks. I also have an electronic card for the Boston Public Library, which usually has a larger selection to pick from.

Plans to Travel More | Travel Hacking

A very common question Andy and I get asked is “where are you traveling to next?”.

Travel is a constant, nagging itch for me — something hard to explain. It’s not that I'm not grateful for all that I have, or that I’m trying to escape my life, traveling just makes me feel alive in a way a 9-5 can’t. I get to submerse myself in the world instead of be reactive to it. I get to learn new things, experience new cultures and gain new perspectives that I wouldn’t have otherwise.

I am itching to travel more. Like really travel. Not just a quick vacation to an all-inclusive. I want to see new lands and cultures and totally immerse myself. But the thing is, almost since the beginning of Andy and I’s relationship (maybe about 3 years in), we started paying attention to our money- how we were spending it, what was necessary, what things actually brought us happiness. The answers to those questions are always evolving but travel is always on the list, and truthfully it has kind of fallen off a bit lately. Probably due to life just being busy, wanting to save money, not having a lot of time off (America, please step up your game) and us having a few trips on the horizon already.

After listening to some podcasts, I’ve been introduced to the practice of travel hacking. A way to use credit cards to travel, mostly for free, by redeeming sign on bonuses with your usual spending routine. I’m excited (and optimistic) about it and think maybe it would be fun to update as we go, that way if anyone wants to join along and plan some sweet trips, they can! For much less money.

All I really know as of now is that I want to travel more, so this is my plan to maximize money, get time off somehow and travel more.

TRAVEL HACKING.

Travel hacking was a term I only heard about a few months ago. It’s the motion of opening credit cards and spending the minimum amount necessary to receive the bonus. Repeatedly. Sure there are some questions and concerns I had, but so long as you pay your balance in full each month, there is very little risk associated.

Some pointers I picked up:

• It shouldn’t hurt your credit score by more than 2-5 points per hard inquiry, which goes away in a few months.

• Only do this if you plan to pay off your credit card in full each month.

• Transfer your monthly bills to the credit card, where possible.

• Do not spend more than normal. If you need to spend more to reach the spend limit, pay ahead on bills or buy gift cards places you regularly shop out of necessity, like the grocery store.

I have some experience with this, although little. For our honeymoon, both Andy and I opened Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserved credit cards. We put all of our expenses from the wedding on these cards and received sign-on bonuses upwards of 320,000 points- the equivalent of $4,000 dollars in travel rewards. But after the wedding, we stopped using credit cards and paid off all of our debt. As followers of Dave Ramsey, we starting doing cash budgets, the idea being it is more painful to spend cash than it is to swipe a card.

About a year and a half later, I think we have developed enough self-control to use cards and not spend more than normal. Given our monthly expenses, we know how much we are guaranteed to spend each month, which gives us an easy calculation to determine whether or not we will reach the spending limit for the sign-on bonuses. If you do not think you will reach the spending limit, it is not worth opening the card.

THE PLAN.

1 . Chase Ink Business Preferred Credit Card

I have started with one of Chase’s business cards. ‘Business’ has a pretty loose requirement. It can range from side jobs, blogging, coaching, Airbnb, etc. You can even be ‘thinking’ about a business that doesn’t exist yet. When I applied, Chase wanted validation of the business name and physical address, which we had to provide in order to be approved.

Word of advice: It is possible to put your name as the business name. This allows you to use your license as validation for the business name and physical address— if your business will reside from your home. I made the mistake of listing my tentative business name and ended up having to register my business with the town clerks office, which would have been avoided if I did not include a business name at all.

Chase has a few rules to be aware of, which play into why we are choosing to start with Chase and not other companies like American Express. Chase has a 5/24 rule, which means you will not be approved for a Chase card if you have applied or opened 5 cards in the last 24 months. I have opened 2 in the last two years, which makes me available for 3 Chase cards. So this is where we will start.

Chase also has a rule that the Sapphire cards can only be redeemed once every 4 years- this combines both the Preferred and the Reserve as one. Andy and I have both redeemed sign-up bonuses for the Reserve in the last two years, so we are unable to apply for these two cards, as we would not receive any bonuses. All of these factors play into the order in which I plan on opening cards.

Minimum spend: $5000 in 3 months
New cardmember offer: 80,000 points
Annual fee: $95
Timeline: About 3 months

2. Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card

Next, we plan to go after the Southwest Companion Pass. This is a killer deal! If you are able to accumulate 110,000 rapid reward points, you receive the Southwest Companion Pass, which enables you to bring a ‘companion’ on any Southwest flight you go on. Essentially, it’s a two for one deal for any Southwest flight. And depending on how you time this, you could have the companion pass for almost two entire years. We plan on opening this card in January, because it will enable us to take advantage of the pass for as long as possible.

The easiest way to accumulate points towards the companion pass is to open both a personal and a business account and get the sign-on bonuses. This is available to us because we are not current Southwest Rapid Rewards cardmember holders and we have not redeemed bonuses in the last 24 months. This is the personal card we plan on opening to redeem 40,000 points towards the 110,000 necessary to obtain the companion pass.

Minimum spend: $1000 in 3 months
New cardmember offer: 40,000 points
Annual fee: $149, but $75 in travel credit
Timeline: <1 month
Application month: January

3. Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Credit Card

Combining the points from the Southwest Priority card and this business card, we will total 110,000 points, enough to redeem the Southwest Companion Pass. You have an entire year to accumulate the 110,000 qualifying points, and then you will receive the companion pass for the next year. Since we will open the first rewards card in January and finish the second card by April, we will have the companion pass from April/May 2020 through December 2021. But be sure to time this correctly, as it is a calendar year and not a year after you open the card. It would be optimal to begin accumulating points using one of the two Southwest credit cards in January, giving you the maximum amount of time to utilize the companion pass.

With the companion pass we could plan to do a lot of travel within the US, or wherever Southwest flies… which now includes Hawaii. Two round-trip tickets to Hawaii for the price of one! Say no more.

Minimum spend: $5000 in 3 months
New cardmember offer: 70,000 points
Annual fee: $199, but $100 for global access
Timeline: About 3 months
Application month: February

We do plan on opening the Southwest cards in Andy’s name, to prevent any mishaps with the 5/24 rule. It would make sense to open cards depending on where we want to travel to (different cards have different travel partners, etc.). It is likely that we will be able to get good use out of the companion pass and travel locally within the states relatively frequently.

I have very little experience with this, but all I know is I want to travel more, so here goes nothing! I hope to update as we go and maybe share some of our travel plans and how we intend to use our points.

Questions/comments are welcomed below!