Over the last few month’s I’ve been working on lowering the amount of single use items in my life, being more thoughtful about the food and vitamins I consume, and paying attention to the chemicals in my skincare. Its shocking when we realize how many ‘bad’ things we do everyday, from using 15 plastic bags in a single trip to the store, to using a face cream that’s completely full of chemicals.
With the world slowing its pace due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are seeing how big a difference a little less pollution can make. Everything from dolphins in the canals in Italy, to enjoying smog free views of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Small changes today can help build habits that will positively impact our world when we are all back to the busy pace we were used to before.
Fresh produce is where I found I feel like I regularly overuse plastic bags. One huge bag for a single head of lettuce or a handful of onions. Typically I would try to combine as many items into a single bag as possible and let the checker sort them out during weighing but that always felt like things were being touched more times then they need to be.
Reusable Mesh Produce Bags from Purifyou are my new go to. Completely BPA Free and using a fine mesh they work perfectly for both produce and bulk items like rice or seeds. Each set includes several of each size, allowing you to select the right bag for the items you are purchasing.
Each bag includes tare weights so the cashiers can easily remove your bag before processing the weight of the items. A full set includes 9 bags so you won’t have to worry about running out on even a big trip to the store.
Mesh Produce Bags | Organic Cotton Produce Bags
I drink a lot of water throughout the day so I’ve always keep a water bottle at my desk. My new office has a flavored sparkling water machine [Like La Croix on tap] and I’ve discovered that even if wash out a plastic bottle after using it still has a weird floral taste for the next few days. Purifyou’s glass bottle is my favorite new work accessory. It’s easy to use a single bottle for everything from tea to water without needing to do a heavy cleaning in between beverages.
A silicone sleeve exterior means that even when my hands are full I don’t have to worry about dropping it on the hard floor and provided extra insulation for keeping drinks hot or cold. A stainless steel lid keeps ‘funk’ from building up in the cap and keeps the bottle 100% leak-proof
Developing good skincare habits is important, and in Colorado locking in moisture is a daily ritual. Your since is the largest organ in your body and up to 60% of what you apply to your skin is absorbed into the bloodstream. With that in mind, high quality and healthy skincare is a priority.
Goddess Garden is a Colorado based brand with a mission to remove harsh chemicals from skincare products. Using only organic plant-based ingredients they provide everything your skin needs to stay healthy in even the driest seasons. The Day Undone Softening Night Serum is a magic worker for surviving the Colorado winter. It may seem counter intuitive to put oil on your face but it’s actually one of the best ways to keep your skin smooth and soft. I love the smell of the Night Serum and am constantly shocked by how much better my face feels in the morning!
Essential oils can be used directly on the skin (as long as there is a carrier oil) or in a diffuser bracelet like this one. Diffuser bracelets help keep the scent active for longer and provide the benefits of aromatherapy all day long.
On busy days I enjoy the Take 5 Blend. The combination of Lavender, Orange and Chamomile provide a great combination to stay balanced.
After work the Amber Fire roll on perfume is is a great alternative to chemical laden scents. The roller ball applicator makes it easy to apply to push points as a final touch while getting ready. Bright floral scents provide a natural perfume experience.
Amber Fire | Aromatherapy Bracelet | Take 5 Aromatherapy Blend | Day Undone Night Serum
Another go-to solution for dry skin is natural shea butter is a thousand times better for your skin then perfume heavy lotions. Most lotion contains alcohol that actually dries out your skin, encouraging you to use more. Shea butter is made from tree nuts, and can be applied liberally to dry hands, elbows and feet.
NOW has been leading the natural products industry for over 30 years and I consistently love the quality of their products. Shea butter is naturally unscented, but if you want to add a nice aromatherapy touch a few drops of orange essential oil is the perfect trick.
Shea Butter | Orange Essential Oil
We all know how important eating the right things can be. Food fuels your body and provides the energy you need to get through the day. While going organic for everything isn’t a solution for everyone, selecting organic when you can helps lower the amount of extra chemicals you ingest everyday.
Known in some cultures as the “Tree of Life” Moringa is a green superfood packed with nutrition. Moringa powder is harvested by drying and milling the leaves and then prepared for use in tonics, smoothies or even mixed in your morning yogurt. Kuli Kuli is introducing the US to this amazing superfood through a wide variety of Moringa Products.
I tried out the Kuli Kulu Green Tea Energy Plus+ Shots and was delighted with how amazing the flavor is. Most healthy tonics have a heavy aftertaste but Kuli Kuli’s do not. Each shot is perfectly balanced to provide just the right amount of sweetness along with the health benefits intended by the drink.
Herbal remedies have been used for helping with health ailments for hundreds of years. RidgeCrest Herbals is an all natural line of botanical formulas developed by health professionals to provide safe and natural herbal treatments. Life is stressful in the best of times, but for the time being it feels downright overwhelming. Full of herbs known for helping sooth the restless mind, Anxiety Free is a an Ayurvedic solution for supporting the body’s natural ability to find calm.
With allergy season just around the corner, RidgeCrest’s Clear Lungs is a natural solution for helping with respiratory health. Clear Lungs uses Traditional Chinese Medicine and a combination of 13 natural herbs.
At the end of a long day there is nothing I love more than a hot cup of tea. Heading to bed with a warm tea makes everything in the world feel right. I’m a classic tea ‘over buyer’ and have more flavors of tea in my cupboard then anyone could consume in a reasonable time frame. I love variety, so when I found Numi’s Collection I knew I would enjoy getting to sample all of their flavors.
With blends of 100% Organic teas and herbs, Numi is dedicated to offering a natural and flavor filled experience for tea lovers. Numi’s collection features 16 different teas in individual tea bags, ideal for flavor hoppers like myself.
Disclaimer: I received product samples to help inspire this article. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Amazon links are affiliate and purchases through Amazon will support the production of this publication.
One of the beautiful (and challenging) parts of living in Colorado is understanding how to properly dress for the weather on any given day. Known for 300 days of sunshine that means a day that starts out as 20 degrees can end up in the 60’s by lunch time.
For dealing with Colorado’s temperamental weather my favorite looks are from Royal Robbins. Known primarily as an outdoor clothing company, the durability and comfort built into each clothing design makes it a go to for the winter season.
As a knitter merino wool is one of my favorite fibers, because its breathable and temperature regulating. For a day at the office I love the Women’s All Season Merino Skirt II paired with the Highlands Cowl. Warm enough for chilly mornings it’s both comfortable and professional to wear all day long.
When styled with my favorite boots it’s the perfect look for giving a presentation at work, without needing to worry about getting overheated while standing in front of a large crowd. Both the sweater and the skirt are constructed from Merino wool, making it lightweight but warm.
Women’s All Season Merino Skirt II| Highlands Cowl
For a comfortable day on the town the Lucerne Ponte Slim Leg Pant paired with the Highlands Pullover is my new favorite outfit. After a winter snowstorm this outfit is my go-to, providing the warmth and comfort that makes crawling out from under the covers worth it!
With all the comfort of a pair of leggings the Lucerne pant is both flattering and stylish. Travelers will love that these leggings are wrinkle free and come in three classic colors making them perfect for styling with all of your favorite blouses. Highland Pullover is a closet staple every woman should own. A longer length provides full coverage so there’s no need to worry about showing off your assets when wearing with a comfortable pair of leggings.
Lucerne Ponte Slim Leg Pant| Highlands Pullover | Havana Fedora
For Men’s winter fashion flannel is a must have. Royal Robbins Performance Flannel is a soft cotton blend with enough warmth to wear on even the chilliest Colorado Days. Machine washable and wrinkle resistant means it easy to toss in your luggage for a trip up to the mountains without worrying about having to shake out all the wrinkles upon arriving at your destination.
The nylon Echo Creek pant is perfect for all your winter outdoor activities. Reinforced knees and cuffs provide the perfect solution for hikes or yard work throughout the season.
Performance Flannel | Echo Creek Pant
When it’s really chilly, layers are the way to make sure you are comfortable all day. The All Season Merino Track Jacket is a versatile staple that can dress up any look while adding warmth and comfort. Zippered pockets and machine washable yarn make these and easy care style that the guy in your life will love.
I’m not joking when I say that the Crag Pant is Drew’s new favorite pair of pants. The bright Blaze color adds a pop of brightness to any look and makes these men’s pants a fashion statement.
Designed as a workman’s pant, it’s perfect for how hard Drew is on his clothing. Durable organic cotton provides a soft but sturdy feel while reinforced pockets help keep his phone and any other gear like a pocket knife close at hand.
Crag Pant | All Season Merino Track Jacket
Disclaimer: Royal Robbins provided product samples to facilitate this review. No other compensation was received. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
With a cost of nearly $300 it’s not surprising to me that a lot of women want to know how effective the Ava Fertility Bracelet is before they decide to make the purchase. I’ve seen a lot of women looking for feedback and since I’ve been using Ava for a while now, I wanted to put together a quick Ava Fertility Bracelet Review.
I decided to get an Ava after we had been trying for about a year and while I’ve shared where we are in our fertility journey, overall I’ve been very happy with the Ava as a fertility tracking tool.
The Ava Fertility Bracelet is worn at night and tracks the 5 physiological signals of fertility. Specifically it tracks skin temperature, resting pulse rate, breathing rate, heart rate and a few other items that are indicators of your health. There are definitely other, more cost effective, ways to track those things but Ava specifically uses those to feed information into their app to provide more comprehensive information about your overall fertility.
Using the data compiled while you sleep Ava provides a six day estimate of your fertile window.
The Lutenizing hormone (LH) increases 24-48 hours prior to ovulation. This surge is what triggers the release of an egg from your ovaries. For just a few dollars per test strip you can easily measure LH throughout the month.
There are a few tricky elements to monitoring LH that I didn’t enjoy through the strip method. Similar to a pregnancy test, the strips go in urine and the low cost options are ones that require starting out by peeing in a cup. As fun as that is to do every day for a two weeks the other complicating factor is knowing how to read the tests.
There are two lines that appear on the test and as you get closer to ovulation the second line will become darker and thicker. A positive test is when both lines are ‘close’ the same color. This is literally the biggest pain to read and if you interpret it wrong you have to start all over again next month.
Once you get a positive test you have 24 hours approximately before ovulation. So 1 day notice that its ‘time’ to start trying.
The more expensive electronic tests do the interpretation for you and provide a ‘fool proof’ smiley face when you get a positive. These tests cost around $40 per month to use. If you consider that the average woman takes up to 6 months to get pregnant you’ve already spent $240 just on test strips.
Another method for monitoring fertility is using basal body temperature (BBT). Basal Body Temp is your temperature when the body is fully at rest. Ovulation will cause a small (1/2 degree – 1 degree) change in BBT.
To do BBT monitoring you need a special thermometer that shows to the hundred degree and you need to measure everyday at exactly the same time, without moving or getting up. After you have the temp you need to chart it (there are apps) and when you see a positive change it means ovulation has ALREADY HAPPENED. At that point you’ve completely missed the window and have to start again for next month.
I tried both LH strips and BBT monitoring before getting an Ava Fertility bracelet and honestly I hated the experience. I am not a morning person so BBT was impossible for me to get a consistent reading. LH strips were simply too difficult to interpret and buying the electronic ones is just as expensive as using the Ava fertility tracker, especially when you consider that we’ve been trying to conceive for over three years now.
I love the simplicity of the Ava Fertility tracker. All I have to do is wear it every night and I get a full download of detailed information about how I slept and where I am in my cycle. It updates based on the data provided each day and alerts me when I’m entering my fertile window.
That said, I am one of the people who did not get pregnant after a year of use. That’s not because of the Ava, that’s because I have unexplained infertility. It’s an entirely different reason and Ava works exactly as it is supposed to. I’ve even verified the data my fertility bracelet provides me using LH test strips.
If you’ve already been trying for a while and want to purchase an Ava Fertility Tracker it’s definitely worth it to pay for the 1 year guarantee. Infertility isn’t something a smart monitoring device can control.
My favorite thing about using Ava is being empowered to know whats going on with my body, without having to jump through a ton of hoops and guessing games. With all the pressure related to infertility, testing is the last thing I need to be stressed out. Now that I’m all the way down the infertility testing rabbit hole, I still use the Ava app for monitoring and tracking.
If you are interested in checking out the Ava, head over to their website using my affiliate link. Ava did not sponsor me to write this review, but I will receive a small commission if you choose to buy one using my link.
This post contains affiliate links. Purchasing items through the affiliate link will support this blog.
For Colorado natives like myself, Denver has changed a lot in the last few years. Heavy population growth and rising home prices are both a good and a bad part of living here, ultimately resulting in a much longer commute into the city. I work downtown and live about 30 minutes north of the city. Depending on the day my commute into work could be anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.
While Colorado is working hard to improve public transit options, we have a long way to go. If I want to take a bus or train I have to drive to the station and can only get within about a mile of my office. With the possibility of our office parking lot turning into a new building, finding a good way to commute is becoming more and more important.
When I attended CES in January I had a chance to visit with the folks at the Razor booth and learn a bit more about their electric scooter options. Razor has a scooter share program already in place here so I knew that the scooters existed but I didn’t realize that they also have a number of options for people to buy and own.
Being able to hop on a scooter and jet from Union Station over to my office makes commuting so much easier. What would normally be a 20 minute walk turns into a 5 minute scooter ride and there’s no need to worry about being gross and sweaty for the rest of the day.
I’ve been testing out the new E Prime Air Electric Scooter and it hits all the marks for everything I need for a commuter scooter. With the ability to go up to 15 mph and a battery that lasts 40 minutes on a single charge I can easily get to and from Union Station downtown without needing to worry about charging during the day. The scooter itself folds up, so when I jump on the bus or train I don’t have to worry about storing it securely or keeping it locked up.
Just so you are aware, 15 mph is pretty fast! It doesn’t seem like it inside of a car but when you are on a scooter you can feel the speed. Having a good helmet and proper lighting so cars can see you is important both for your safety and those around you.
Both the throttle and break are thumb operated making it easy to speed up or slow down depending on the flow of traffic. In Colorado electric scooters are allowed to use marked bike lanes, so being able to easily stay with the other vehicles in that space is really important for safety.
In addition to being a great option for getting to work, both college and high school students would love the E Prime Air for commuting to class.
My sister Emily is starting her first year on campus at CU Denver (Go RAMS – It hurts me too) and she’s living in the dorms. Her classes are throughout the downtown campus so being able to get there quickly is really important. My cousin Kerry is in her second year at Metro and together she and Emily both are attending classes on the same campus. Kerry was amazing enough to help show me around campus and share how a scooter is perfect for students!
With the E Prime Air it’s easy to zip from the dorms to class and fold up the scooter before going inside. It becomes as compact as a skateboard so you can safely tuck it under a desk and not need to worry about finding a place to lock it up between classes.
Overall I love the E Prime Air and have been really enjoying spending more time outside, and less in a car! The added value of lowering the amount of times we have to use a car makes having an electric scooter a no-brainer way to work towards protecting the beauty of Colorado!
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Disclaimer: I received a demo product from Razor to facilitate this review. All photography and opinions are my own.
