It was so fun to celebrate spring with Splendid on Saturday! I hadn't yet visited the Chestnut Hill store, and while I generally prefer to shop online (efficiency model!), there was definitely something to be said for being able to paw all of Splendid's ridiculously soft knits + get dressing room consults in person! I wanted to share some fun photos from the event, as well as my favorite picks for easy breezy spring/summer dressing.
Despite my training in statistics, I'm someone who likes data, but not too much data. Subsequently, I'm loving my Misfit Shine activity and sleep tracker (which I unexpectedly won at Mom 2.0!). It's minimalist in design (countless friends have noticed it on my wrist and asked me about it), operation (it measures distance traveled, calories burned, and sleep), and setup (just pop in the battery, download the app, lay the Shine on your phone to sync, and done). No daily data entry; no need to charge it up.
I'm thrilled to share another Local Gems post today (be sure to check out the Arlington Center, Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Lexington, Medford, and Watertown features)! Today's Jamaica Plain recommendations come from my rad friend Casey, who writes about her city adventures with her wife and daughter over at Life with Roozle. Thanks for sharing these 10 local gems in Jamaica Plain, Casey!
OK friends, today is where I lay my dignity aside for the benefit of your gastrointestinal health. If you ever wrestle with problems with your, er, plumbing, try Smooth Move organic tea. I bought this (somewhat sheepishly) a few weeks ago at Whole Foods and without needing to go into the details, let me just say that this product is effective (typically within 12 hours). You're welcome.
A few Fridays ago I discovered a delightful Friday Find: the Bella Sante HydraFacial MD®. I’ll admit, when Bella Sante first reached out to me about trying the service, I had visions of Kim Cattrall in the Sex and the City chemical peel episode. But au contraire; this “liquid dermabrasion-like” facial involves massage, exfoliation, extraction, hydration mostly via a tool that felt similar to my Clarisonic.
It has felt amazing to get back out running these last couple of weeks; it’s pretty much the only time when I'm alone with my thoughts! A couple of years ago, after reading reviews and trying them on in-store, I bought my first pair of Mizuno Wave Prophecy runners and they are awesome. I have cranky feet (bunions, etc.) and these shoes are wonderfully lightweight and supportive (and colorful!). I bought my second pair last fall and am eyeing these colorful new models when it's time to replace my current pair!
I'm a big fan of my red lipstick, but for everyday I need less high maintenance color. Enter Jordana's twist & shine moisturizing balm stains (which I discovered thanks to a conversation on Twitter). These balm stain sticks moisturize, add a good pop of color, and are retractable and paraben-free. They're also a mega bargain at ~$2.99 (compare to Clinique's $17 chubby stick). It takes me mere seconds to line my lips with MAC spice lip pencil then layer on my Honey Love or Cranberry Crush. Yay for easy routines!
A couple of days before I headed off to Disney with my mom and the girls, I had the delightful opportunity to host a spa party with the wonderful folks at Dr. Smith's. Sometimes I can't believe that my work involves awesome things like helping moms prioritize self-care! The gathering was so fantastic; I wanted to share a recap and also a fun giveaway for you all.
One of my least favorite things about home nail polish jobs is the stink. Also, the liquid accidents. So I was thrilled to discover LA Fresh Eco-Beauty nail polish remover pads (introduced to me by my friends at Tieks, actually). These nail polish remover pads are acetone-free (the fresh Tuscan orange smells delicious), 100% biodegradable, and one pad cleans and conditions all 10 nails. LA Fresh's makeup remover and face cleanser wipes work great too and the packets are super convenient for travel.
I know it's tough to fathom since it's 12 degrees out right now, but remember how balmy it was last weekend? The rapidly melting snow banks coupled with the Marimekko event left me hungry for spring! If you're ever in a grouchy mood, just walk into Marimekko and your happy neurons will start firing; it's pure rainbow awesomeness. Don’t believe me? Check out the evidence below:
Today, Judy shares 12 tips for encouraging healthy dental habits in kids (perfectly timed for National Children’s Dental Health month!):
Pediatric dentists recommend cleaning your children’s teeth as soon as the first baby teeth emerge. According to the CDC, nearly 20% of children 2 and 5 years old already have at least one untreated cavity. Yikes.
Pursuant to my last post, I'm thrilled to kick off my first Friday Find! So, you know how every now and then you buy a piece of clothing that prompts people to ask, Where did you get those?? That would be my J. Crew Factory skinny utility pants. I scored a pair of the tuscan olive on super sale and love them so much I went back for the vintage pewter. They're comfortable, flattering, have awesome style lines and edgy little zipper pockets, and go with everything. I wear them constantly. And people keep asking me about them.
Holidays (national or somewhat arbitrary) offer fun inspiration for projects and lessons for kids. Yesterday was Penguin Awareness Day (though I'm happy to celebrate penguins any day of the year!) and I wanted to take this opportunity to shine a light on this fine bird with project, book, and design inspiration. If you have other ideas to share, feel free to do so in the comments below!
I firmly believe that part of making your life more awesome involves self-care. I also believe in carving out small chunks of time for fitness and tweaking your nutrition gradually so you don’t set yourself up for failure with lofty goals that are, well, too lofty. So, following my post on intention setting for 2014, I wanted to share a roundup of links to help inspire your fitness and nutrition journeys.
Given the holiday break + snow days, I haven't had a chance to sit down and set intentions for 2014. So yesterday I put a meeting (with myself!) in my calendar for a paper and pencil creative visioning session later this week. Want to join me? To get my/your wheels churning, I've rounded up some lovely back posts about tackling goals and setting personal and professional intentions with work and parenting. Let's do this thing!
Today, contributing writer (and fitness trainer) Jules shares 6 killer medicine ball exercises:
It can be daunting to try out new fitness equipment, but medicine balls are easy to use at home for a productive and time efficient workout. Medicine balls are basketball size and come in weights varying from 2 to 25 pounds. It’s helpful to have two different ball weights so you can use them for different exercises depending on your strength. Here are 6 exercises I frequently use with clients:
Today, contributing writer Lindsey (also of A Design So Vast) shares a roundup of cute unisex pajamas:
I love pajamas. Few things are more adorable than a pajama-clad kid, whether it's a chunky toddler or a lean 9-year-old. Now that it's cooler again, my children are back to happily pulling on their PJs after bath. And given that I have an older daughter and younger son, I'm always looking for unisex pajamas, so that they can be easily handed down. Here are six of our favorites:
Do you know about fashionABLE? Not only are their products amazing, but this company works to give vulnerable women in Ethiopia opportunities for employment so they can lift themselves out of lives of prostitution and are not dependent on charity. I had the honor of visiting fashionABLE in Ethiopia last fall and these women are why Asha and I are donating 100% of book royalties this month to Women At Risk (order the book via http://bit.ly/helpwomenatrisk to help the cause!).