Hi again!

It’s June! Almost July. In other words, it’s peony and lemonade and not-sad-salads-for-lunch-everyday season. June is my happy place.

What are you guys drinking today for the coffee date? I boldly enjoyed a half-caf coffee this morning because we were all out of decaf, and I’m not going to lie: I am feeling it. As in, I AM ALL OVER THE PLACE. My brain feels like a ping-pong ball. I need snacks! A checklist! A quick sprint on a treadmill! And then there’s Bjork, who could drink an espresso at 10pm and fall asleep within exactly three minutes. God bless his relaxed, adaptable brain.

Okay, so better choices for me in the drink department today: green smoothie, which I’ve already sipped on this morning; regular water, which is sitting next to me now; and coconut water for when regular water starts to get boring later this afternoon.

Grab your watermelon smoothie (OMG aren’t they the best?), your sparking water, or your Vietnamese iced coffee if you are so bold and lucky to be able to handle the buzz, and let’s do this thing.

Costco

We recently restarted our membership up again after two years away. It is stocking my fridge with the most juicy, candy-sweet nectarines my lips have ever touched and that is a beautiful, beautiful thing.

But also, I am having some love-hate things with it after having been away for two years.

Love:

• Organic produce times one million. There is so much good, organic produce, especially in the summer. Strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries galore. And honestly, I wasn’t kidding about the nectarines. I bought them last week at the Maplewood Costco. SO GOOD. Fruit – and more specifically, organic fruit that doesn’t cost your life savings – is the number one reason we restarted our membership. I love you Costco!
• Samples and more samples.
• XL bags of Veggie Straws. The end.

Love/Hate:

• Being tempted to buy more than we probably need. For example, deck furniture, air purifiers, and a new TV while going to casually get groceries. (We haven’t gotten any of these yet but let’s just say there have been considerations.)
• Needing to have extremely good organization in the fridge and pantry, because when you buy in bulk, and you have a very tiny kitchen… it gets a little problematic.

Hate:

• The amazing snacks are – as stated – amazing. Little snack cheeses, a new type of protein bars, and individual coconut waters which are delicious. But guess what? I’m all of a sudden realizing that these are all individually wrapped and non-recyclable. SAD TIMES. I’m super bummed. This is probably obvious to people who have been aware of plastic and waste reduction for a while now, but this is kind of a new thing for me (started back here with the straws) and it’s bumming me out because the low-maintenance side of me really loves convenience packaging. Do I have to stop buying the individually wrapped cheeses and the little coconut water juice boxes? Can’t there be another way that is equally as low-maitenance?
• Also, Costco doesn’t have recycling in the store, even though they sell lots of drinks in plastic cups that could be recycled. No recycling?! What the heck! Come on, Costco.

What are your thoughts on Costco? Specifically on convenience or individually-packaged snacks and drinks? It’s so basic of me, but I am genuinely sad to give up the individually wrapped snacks.

Getting Clothes Altered

This week I’m going to be taking some ill-fitting maternity clothes in to get altered (this dress is not one of them – it fits like a glove and clocked in at 40% off).

The clothes were not ill-fitting when I bought them, but after wearing them, and washing them, and working with a body that is literally changing shape week by week… you guys know the drill. Suddenly things that were fine are gaping and pulling and doing weird things in weird places. Alterations to the rescue? I don’t know.

I have never had my clothes altered before. Tell me: Is it weird? A waste of money? The best idea ever?

Maternity Pillow

Laugh all you want because I’m sleeping amazingly well tucked into that little stuffed donut.

A) It looks completely ridiculous.

B) I ADORE IT WITH ALL MY HEART.

C) Honestly I am at the point where I’m not sure how people sleep without them.

C) Sage LOVES it. I have already willed it to her when I am done.

Paint Your Pet Night

Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh.

Okay, we did this in June, and I can’t stop laughing. I have no pictures because we were running late and it was a little stressful, and it was at a brewery which was of no use to either of us, and then (possibly because of the lack of a beverage?) I became a little too heavily invested in my artistic process and got wayyy too bummed that my 2-hour painting of Sage didn’t actually turn out like a Bob Ross masterpiece. THIS IS SO ME. I just care too much sometimes.

It’s supposed to be fun, Linds! Bjork said. No, it looks great! Bjork said.

I am not exaggerating to say that it took me at least an hour to not be really disappointed in my painting. Lols. We laughed a lot and it was a really fun night.

Even given my over-zealous attitude and resulting disappointment in my skills, I would do this again in a heartbeat! Bonus is that it was a fundraiser for the rescue where we got Sage from, so it was a super fun way to support the organization that gave us our fur baby.

Have you guys ever done a paint/sip night?

Clean Living, Etc.

On the last coffee date, someone suggested that we talk about clean home / clean living. I love that idea!

Let me just say, I am not an expert on clean living. We do / eat / use a lot of things that are very mainstream and not necessarily “clean.” But I really like the positive snowball that happens from making little changes here and there, and that’s how it has to be for me to make any progress at all.

Here are some of the small things that we currently do in our home to keep it less-toxic and more-green-and-clean:

• No air fresheners.
• Unscented soy candles, or soy candles with essential oil fragrance (most of the time).
• Clean laundry detergent, dish soap, hand soap, etc.
• Wool dryer balls with essential oils instead of dryer sheets.
• Organic lawn care.
• Composting (which recently became available as a city service in St. Paul – yay).
• Glass food storage containers (Pyrex and mason jars).
• Paper straws and reusable water / coffee tumblers.
• Monthly drop off to recycle plastic bags and soft plastics (thank you, Target).
• Clean beauty (you can see my favorite products here).
• Mineral sunscreen.

There’s still A LOT I’d like to do to help us keep our home and personal care clean and toxin-free, especially with baby girl hopefully coming home with us this fall. But this is a start.

I’ve found it to be extremely overwhelming to try to clean it up all at once, so we’ve just started with one thing at a time and tackled the rest month by month by month.

What are your favorite clean living tips and tricks?

And now, a word from Sage.

She would like to take a moment to remind you that June (and July!) is a very good time to go outside and play and just get yourself all up in that dirt! This is true even if you’re not really the playful type (and she’s not). The laundry will still be in the basket. The email will still be in the inbox. The dishes in the dishwasher can sit for a day. Go play! Enjoy that hot sand and sun, and then go all the way under the water. Full dunk. You know, hair and everything.

Thanks for the coffee date today! *glasses clinking* Wishing the happiest of the warm weather times to everyone this month.

Goooo summer!

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