being green

REPREVE // Review + Giveaway

January 3, 2014 by Rachel 9 Comments

I’ve been called a hippy a LOT. I, in fact, prefer to be referred to as ‘crunchy-granola.’ Why? Because that means absolutely nothing to most people. To us it means that we’re very eco- and health-conscious and do things that may seem ‘weird’ to other people.

I love finding companies who share the same philosophies and put them into action, which is why when I was introduced to REPREVE I fell in eco-love!

REPREVE is a recycled fiber that helps turn plastic bottles you recycle into cool stuff you can wear and use every day. Now there’s no excuse not to recycle!

A lot of brands you love use REPREVE to make their products greener:

• Volcom graphic t-shirts are made with REPREVE, using 2 recycled plastic bottles.
• One Patgonia fleece jacket with REPREVE has 40 recycled plastic bottles, so you can be a real “active-ist.”
• Life Khaki by Haggar uses REPREVE to put 7 recycled plastic bottles in every pair of pants; so wear what you believe.

Other brands made with REPREVE: The North Face, Polartec, Patagonia, Beija-Flor, Lauren Conrad’s XO(eco) by Blue Avocado, Swiftwick socks, and more.

I was already a fan of companies like Patagonia and The North Face for their philosophies on nature and love of the outdoors, so to find out that these companies are also acting responsibly. And it’s nice to hear that all of our recycling efforts are not in vain! Our bottles are being turned into fabric which is being turned into awesome clothes!

REPREVE will take recycling to new heights with a special green event at the 2014 Winter X Games Aspen (Jan. 23-26, 2014).

It’s not just about free swag, though. This is an event with a serious mission: to show the world that we have to get everybody involved in recycling—to create a reprieve for the planet.

The luckiest plastic bottles get made into a recycled fleece beanie made from REPREVE. One REPREVE green beanie is made from 6 recycled plastic bottles! SIX bottles!

I have one of these amazing beanies and it’s been keeping this pixie cut head warm for the last week! Comfort + style + eco-friendly = HUGE win!

PLUS I have a second beanie for one of YOU! Use the rafflecopter widget below to enter to win a REPREVE Fleece Beanie of your own!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck, friends! And keep trying to #TurnItGreen!

weekend wrap-up!

August 26, 2013 by Rachel 3 Comments

Weekends like this past one are complete bliss for me.

Unfortunately, Chad was out of town for most of it — he had to go to Columbus to work some overtime Friday morning through very early Sunday morning. So I hunkered down with Ari for a “mommy and me” weekend.

Friday night I took Babycakes on some errands. I had to exchange our pillows at Sleep Number, then we hit up Earth Fare for some Vegan yummies, followed by Babycakes & I splitting a FroYo from Menchies!

I had our sitter set up to come over pretty early Saturday morning because I had signed up for Yoga Rocks The Park Cleveland like a month ago. So I said goodbye to Ari, grabbed some green juice, picked up my friend Carli and headed to Tremont.

Truth: Tremont is one of my favorite places in the whole universe. Well, at least in Ohio. The other? Ohio City. Oh how part of me would love to live right in the heart of Tremont or Ohio City! Perhaps just Highland Square here in Akron someday?? Perhaps.

We arrived at the park a bit early. So we grabbed a pre-yoga coffee at Civilization. And then headed to registration where the YRP CLE staff was happy and helpful!

After checking in, we set our mats out in the sun and settled into our pre-yoga thoughts. Before the practice started, we met up with Alicia from Poise in Parma and Andy from YRP Cleveland.

Our practice was led by two fantastic teachers from Inner Bliss (located in Rocky River & Westlake). The practice was challenging and intuitive, just like I’d hoped. The practice ended with a live performance by Jeff Tucker.

Vita Coco and Good Greens (a local CLE company that we actually frequently purchase from), sponsors of YRP Cleveland, gave us yummy post-yoga treats (which I saved for later, of course!).

Cause, of course, Carli, Alicia & I had a lunch date at La Bodega. We were also joined by Alicia’s fellow yoga teacher Kevin. We ate, we chatted, and I babbled. Why oh why do I find myself babbling on like an idiot sometimes? LOL! Sorry Alicia!! Ha!

Lunch was delish! I had a ham, pineapple, brie, and honey mustard sandwich on sourdough. Oh. My. Goodness! Alicia wasn’t kidding when she said this little hole-in-the-wall place was completely worth it!

Since we were in Tremont, I asked the girls if they would help me hit up some of my favorite spots before I headed home.

Like Lily Handmade Chocolates. Ever since the Ohio Blogging Association February meet-up with Sweet Designs, I’ve been obsessed with chocolate. I used to hate it. I know, crazy, right??

Once I saw the Sweet & Sour Chicken truffle, I couldn’t say no. I know, I know… it’s weird, right? But that’s what made me want to try it even more. Odd – Chad can rarely convince me to try new food — but I’m always more than willing to try odd/fun desserts.

Alicia suggested that we swing by Wine & Design, which happens to be right next to Lily! I grabbed a bottle of Malbec and then — jackpot! — found out that Saturday is Tremonts’ day for Fresh Fork CSA pickup. Although we chose not to be members this year, I pleaded my case to the nice guys running the pickup to let me ‘shop’ for a weekly bag and some extras. Thank goodness they agreed. Cause I miss the crap out of that amazingly tasty local food.

Thank you, to those guys working that pickup location! I promise we’ll be CSA members again soon! 😉

After all of these Tremont shenanigans, I headed back home to my very sleepy Babycakes. After a quick nap, Ari & I went to a mommy & me dinner at a local restaurant. We were even home in time for his early bedtime ritual — bath time and all. Ya know, I know that you may think a lot of motherhood is so boring & routine (which I’ll admit it — it is) but bath time and our bedtime ritual is by far my most favorite part of the day.

After all of this fun, Sunday I was completely wiped out. We spent the day exhausted and pretty much laying around. Well, besides a trip to Target where I snapped this adorable picture:

Aaaand spent! That’s exactly how I feel after this fun and exhausting weekend. And I’m totally looking forward to the next one. 🙂

tales from a working mom // the truth about feedings

May 24, 2013 by Rachel 3 Comments

Having a baby means all kinds of grand planning.

And then real life slaps you upside the head and knocks some sense into you.

When we were going through the great solids debate, we knew we wanted to try the unconventional by using the baby led weaning approach. And in many ways, we have done that.

But we’ve also gone the convenient route.

Because, well, it’s convenient. And, more importantly, he likes it.

We started out giving him pieces of the foods we were eating — avocados, bananas, whole oats, etc. It went well. He was hesitant, but my little champ went with it.

But my milk supply continued to decrease. And the stress of not being able to make my baby feel full was overwhelming. So one day at Target I noticed that some of the Happy Baby organic, no-GMO, food pouches were on sale. So I picked up a handful of them.

Right away, he loved them. He ended up going nuts for them!

So I sent some to the sitter with him and ever since, he’s been eating about 2 pouches [or 8 ounces] of food a day. Sweet potatoes, broccoli, carrots, sweet peas, bananas, beets, pears, mangoes and more. He loves it all.

One thing we didn’t do conventionally was feeding him one type of food for a week straight. Cause that’s boring for everyone. And who’s allergic to green beans?? Probably 1 person out of a million. Seriously.

So I guess we’ll continue with what works for us [which is what parenting is all about, right??].

We’ll feed him pieces of our meals and we’ll make sure he’s getting all of the necessary nutrition through alternate routes — like organic pouches and breast milk — keeping our baby happy and healthy!

Green Living // Green-Cleaning

March 7, 2013 by Rachel 1 Comment

We’ve been fighting off some sort of funk in our house for a few days. Chad started to come down with something Saturday and Ari was acting funny at the sitter Monday — my poor babies! 🙁

I’ve been trying to keep the germs away as naturally as possible. I wash my hands a lot and I never touch my face or Ari if I’m out in public and have touched a door/shopping cart/etc. It seems obsessive, but I’d much rather be paranoid than deal with Babycakes getting sick.

But this opens up a question: How do I effectively clean our house without introducing hazardous chemicals, while getting the “germ-free” deep-clean I’m looking for?

Well I’ve been reading The Daily Green for tips on how to use green/sustainable products to keep my family and house healthy and happy.

These days I’m exclusively using Method products for all of our daily-cleaning. It’s safe, effective, and adorably packaged.

I know there’s a give-and-take with using green products. Using products without bleach won’t ensure a germ-free house; but using bleach will ensure that my baby and husband are subjected to hazardous fumes and chemicals. So that’s a risk I’m willing to take.

But knock-on-wood, Ari D and I have yet to get sick. The Method all-purpose cleaner and toilet bowl cleaner have been lifesavers. I’ve always regularly used the Method all-purpose cleaner, but now I’ve been using it more than ever — in the kitchen, the bathroom, dining room, etc. I never have any issues with breathing or headaches when using green cleaning products, which is why I’ll never go back to the toxic and harmful products I used to use.