Coffee Posts Round-up

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With cooler nights and crisper air, I’m definitely starting to feel the change in seasons. Of course, the abrupt shift from our carefree summer adventures to the more rigid school schedule has further confirmed that we’ve turned the corner. The combination of weather + sticking to a schedule has left me feeling extra thankful for my morning and afternoon coffee breaks.

If you’re craving a bit of inspiration to caffein your days, here’s a round-up of some of our favorite recipes and products.

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First Bikes for Kids

We originally published this post 4 years ago, but we’re re-posting it again today because May is National Bike Month. The weather’s beautiful, so get out there, get your kids on bikes, and get ready to make some memories!

There’s no doubt about it, we are a biking family. Did you see our ride in Rocky Mountain National Park? That was 4 years ago, but guess what? We just went on that ride again this spring!

Calder’s the intense guy you’ve passed in your car; the one riding up the steepest of mountains and making it look like it’s no effort at all. In my heyday, I biked all of Philly & Boston and was so proud when my car would sit unused for a week at a time.Thanks to the generosity of my mom, we were early adopters of the TAGA. When we moved to Boulder, C added an extra basket so that I could do all of my grocery shopping and errands via the bike. I have such fond memories of getting to know our new city by riding the bike paths with Alex! I would still bike everywhere if I could, but kids and living on the mountain make it a challenge. Continue reading

Waste Less Wednesday: Refillable Art Supplies

On Wednesdays we offer suggestions for ways to reduce your waste. You can find our full archive of Waste Less Wednesday posts here.

Like many of our Waste Less Wednesday suggestions, this one is pretty simple.

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10 Spring Gifts for Kids

If you’re looking for more Easter basket inspiration, we shared a couple of themed basket ideas here and here.

With Easter just over a week away, we wanted to share a few unique outdoor gifts for kids. I think you’ll agree that these gifts focus on connecting kids of all ages to nature in one form or another. We have something for the artist, the bug-lover, the bird watcher, and the explorer.

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Easter Basket Idea : Bugs!

This post was originally published 4 years ago. How can that be(e)?! We’re republishing it this year because it’s such a great collection of bug treats for your little ones. 

I’m so excited about this post! It may leave some of you squirming in your seats, but this sort of themed gift with unexpected items makes me so happy.

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If you’ve been following us for a little while, you know that the boys in my house are really into bugs (and any animal, really).  They like looking at them, holding them, talking, and reading about them. Our boys are 2 and 4, so I geared this basket theme for that age, but I do think this basket could easily be scaled up or down depending upon the books you choose.

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Cuppow + Holdster: The Best Travel Mug

With the new year, we’re starting a new weekly series called “Waste Less Wednesdays.” Our passion for preserving Mather Nature is strong, but we recognize that we live in a consumer-driven society. As such, we try to be honest with ourselves about our own consumption, our needs vs. wants, and the opportunities that we have to reduce waste. We are often sharing tips and tricks to reduce our consumption, and this series was born from those conversations.

Today’s post is actually a throwback from 2019, but hoooopdiehoo, this cup is still one of my favorites and standing strong in my beverage vessel rotation.

Did you catch Good Stuff : The Cup Part I? If not, check it out! Also, know that I’m totally joking when I pair them together. They both involve cups, we think they’re both good, but that’s as far as their connection goes.

The cup is really just a wide-mouth Mason jar. The brilliance comes in with its leather zarf (didn’t make that word up, I promise) made by Holdster USA and its sippy cup lid – the Cuppow. Sweet Katie actually bought me this set up about five years ago. She’s the best!

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Waste Less Wednesdays : The Cup

If you like this post and want to read more about our uterus-related topics? Click here for Sarah’s Mirena IUD experience and click here for her 2+ year IUD update.

Waste Less Wednesdays

With the new year we’re starting a new weekly series called “Waste Less Wednesdays”. Our passion for preserving Mather Nature is pretty strong, but we recognize that we live in a consumer-driven society. As such, we try to be honest with ourselves about our own consumption, our needs vs. wants, and the opportunities that we have to reduce waste. Sarah and I are often sharing tips and tricks to reduce our consumption, and this series was born from those conversations.

We’re starting the series by bringing back one of my most favorite waste-reduction choices: the menstrual cup. Why start with this post? Well, I’ve used my cup for every period for 2+ years. I had heavy periods requiring both pads and tampons. There was nothing fun about my period, but switching to the cup paired with period underwear (more on that below) has been a game changer and a major waste-reducer! I haven’t used a single disposable period product since making the switch.

That’s right. Not a single disposable product in over two years! I can confidently say that I’ve made the money back that I spent on the initial cup + underwear investment,  and at this point I’m saving saving money that would have gone to more pads and tampons.

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To be honest, I’m much more bashful when it comes to talking about certain topics than Sarah is. Kudos to her! But, I’m so happy + excited about my experience using a menstruation cup that it’s time for a post…. happy enough that I’ll repost this information every year with the hope that it will help others make the switch.

I’ve become the crazy lady that will talk to anyone about it if they just mention the word cup…. Oh, you were just talking about Boulder’s awesome new cup-sharing program? Well, let me tell you about my new cup anyway. You were just asking about the difference between a question mark and a period, we’ll let me answer all of your questions about my period cup.

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Multipurpose Garment Rack

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I’m turning 40 this year. And nothing says 40 like hitting “publish” on a post titled “Multipurpose Garment Rack”. So boring adult is the role that I now fill here. That said, please (I’m begging you) read on to find out why your house, apartment, and tiny house needs this garment rack. It’s the best boring-adult-thing for everyone, whether you’re in your 20s or your 40s.  Continue reading

Christmas Lights

The holidays may be over, but there are some lights that I’m keeping up all winter!

At the top of that list are these trees. I have them in pots outside our front door, and it adds just enough sparkle to make the long winter evenings special.

When ordering these trees, I didn’t realize how particular my tastes were until a few different models arrived… and they just weren’t right.
tree_lights2 The Hairui models that I’m linking to throughout this post is my absolute favorite. There are a few different sizes. I bought the 4 foot trees, which are currently out of stock (and that was a problem throughout the holiday season – hopefully there will be more in stock soon!).

The Hairui 4 ft model has 72 lights, and then their larger trees have more lights. There are other producers that sell 4 ft trees with 160 lights (160!). It’s blinding. I know, because at one point when the Hairui trees weren’t available, I bought one with double the lights, and I’m still seeing stars.

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Besides the light count, the other main difference that I noticed between trees is that some, like this one, end each branch tip with a light. Others will have branch ends that end without lights. And some of those will have branches that awkwardly transition from thicker branches to ends that are wire thin (and again, those wire ends don’t have lights). All-in-all, it just looked more shoddily designed.

My only frustration with my favorite model is that its stock on Amazon is always absurdly low and I haven’t found another reliable place to buy them. Luckily you have 11 whole months to track some down before next winter.

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Fall Favorites

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Fall has been feeling really special this year. I think it’s due to a magical combination of beautiful weather, kids that are SO excited about Halloween, and having the time for special trips like our recent visit to the pumpkin patch.

It definitely helps that I’ve been making all soups in my favorite pumpkin cocotte (that’d be a fancy word for Dutch oven). The mushroom quinoa soup above comes from Easy Soups From Scratch with Quick Breads to Match. If you’re looking for a kitchen gift for someone, you can’t go wrong with that pot+cookbook combo.

If you don’t have the pumpkin pot or the soup book, we recommend this old fall favorite: veggie and sausage gratin in a pumpkin! You can find that tasty recipe here.

And the next time you’re making soup or gratin for dinner, pick up a beeswax candle-making kit. You’ll have just enough time to roll candles while everything is simmering. And dinner will feel extra special the moment you light those candles.

What are you enjoying this fall? Any favorite books we should know about? xo