Tag Archives: welcome april

Welcome April

by Sarah | Leave a comment

 On the first (or second) Wednesday of every most months, you can find us checking in with what’s coming up on the calendar, both literally and figuratively. 

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Spring is officially here, but have you seen the signs in your own backyard or city? According to the National Phenology Network, the Spring leaf out continues to arrive early in the West, Southwest, Ohio Valley, and parts of the Mid-Atlantic, compared to a long-term averages (1981-2010). In parts of the Midwest and Great Plains, we’re about a week behind schedule and conversely parts of Nevada and eastern Washington, Oregon, and California are 4-5 weeks early.

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Welcome April

by Sarah | Leave a comment

On the first Wednesday of each month we like to pause and take a look at what’s going on in the world around us.  We’ll highlight some nature and environmental news, give you a bit of inspiration, and ask you to partake in a monthly sustainability initiative with us.

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The month of April really has our spirits soaring. Trees are leafing-out, flowers are blooming, the world around us is coming alive! Are you seeing changes in your yard and neighborhood too? We love this green wave tracker as it helps us to imagine what life is like for each other (since Kate’s in Colorado and I’m in North Carolina) and our loved ones who are sprinkled across the states. If you have a moment, read about becoming a citizen scientist and partake in the green waver tracker yourself! Even if you don’t partake in the green wave tracker, take a moment each and every day to look around whether it’s during your daily dog walk, commute to work, drink on the stoop in the evening; whenever you are outside, notice the tiny changes that nature is constantly undergoing. Notice too that you are constantly transforming, change takes nurturing and time, don’t expect to transform overnight, take a cue from nature and make tiny changes every day.

   Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.             
                                       - Ralph Waldo Emerson

In the News

Science has shown us what we can’t see, There’s Far More to the Galaxy Than Meets the Eye, (just like what lies within you and I 🙂 ) and it’s spectacular! Check it out and make it a mission to see the Milky Way for yourself this year.

What is slow fashion? Well, in a word it’s responsible. Read about the environmentally-sound trend here, and see our monthly goal below!

This article provides a number of beautiful examples of the signs of spring in nature.

 

Small Steps : Shop Your Closet

How did you do with last month’s challenge of cooking more at home? I only ate out once, but don’t pat me on the back toooo hard because I rarely eat out – that’s the life of a frugal freelancer!  Kate shared an on-the-go breakfast option, I let you in on my snacking habits, and we both shared a dinner option: so what will it be? Chicken or sausage? I also shared a simple homemade cold brew coffee recipe – let’s get those coffee to-go cups out of our lives and our landfills! Oh and don’t forget about dessert – banana cream pie & double vanilla cake were on the menu (more than a few times) last month.

For the month of April, we’re continuing our goal of looking inside the home instead of out, but this time in terms of fashion. As the seasons change, we all tend to buy a new frock or five and this time around the sun we’re trying our hardest to shop our closets instead.  Sift through your clothes and find old favorites instead of buying another cheaply made garment.  Are your favorite pair of jeans your next favorite pair of jorts?! Cut ’em up, breathe new life into your threads.  Do your knits need a little polishing? Buy a sweater shaver, I have that exact one and it’s perfect for removing pills from any fabric. Shaving my clothes is actually one of my favorite pastimes – scouts honor.

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Why is shopping within your closet important? Why should we all strive to buy less clothing and say no to trends? First, clothing production uses a lot of water. It takes approximately 1,800 gallons just to produce one pair of jeans and over 700 gallons for a single t-shirt! I have a grand total of three pairs of jeans and I still feel bad about those numbers. Notice I didn’t admit to the number of t-shirts in my closet?

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It is thought that apparel production is the second largest pollutant on earth second only to oil production. Ick. It’s hard to quantify the pollution produced by the clothing industry, but there’s no doubt fast fashion is a detriment to our waterways (it’s estimated that 17-20% of water pollution comes from apparel production) as well as the individuals who work and die in factories overseas. We aren’t writing this post to make you feel immense guilt (I’m feeling it as I research and write though 🙁 ), but we are hoping that you will make conscious decisions when faced with all the cheap, cute clothes you could ever want at America’s mega malls and shopping centers. Just because something is $5 doesn’t mean you need to buy it. I’m totalllllly talking to myself there.

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So what should you do?! How do you stay lookin’ cute if you can’t buy a shirt with pineapples on it? Well, we’re not saying you can’t buy anything new, but this is what we’re asking of you (and us too!).

  • Look within your own closet first. Find your favorites, wear them, love them!
  • Rearrange your drawers. It’ll let you review everything you own, and we’re sure you’re likely to find some old favorites that were hidden under the big pile of mismatched socks. We can’t be the only ones?
  • Breathe new life into old clothes by altering them to fit you better, fixing them up, or dyeing them.
  • Host or attend a clothing swap. They’re damn fun and a great reason to drink wine and chit chat with your friends on a week night.
  • Trade a few items with a friend just for the season. Maybe you’ve adored your best pals scarf or tank from afar. Ask her to make a trade with the promise that you’ll each get your goods back in a month or so.
  • Buy used clothing. There are SO many amazing finds in thrift and vintage stores… just look at that amazing bathing suit!
  • Sew your own! I made the sweetest skirt (shown above) that I’m constantly being complimented on and Kate is plain and simple an overachiever when it comes to knitting her own socks and sweaters. (All three of those sweaters plus the one on little Luc were made by her.)
  • Wear your threads bare. Completely wear out your clothes and feel really accomplished about it – or is that just me?
  • If you do buy, buy responsible. Shop ethical brands and search out slow fashion. Make fashion an investment, not a spur of the moment, I’ll throw you away next season, shopping selection.

I will be one hundo percent honest with you guys, this initiative is hard. It’s deeper than shopping for clothes. For me, it’s about being comfortable in my skin. It’s about letting go of my ego. It’s about dragging myself away from Pinterest and unfollowing fashionistas on Instagram. It’s about deciding to do what is best for my planet instead of hoping people will think I look cute on a Friday night, but you know what? People still think I look cute. People still love me. People still compliment me, because if you have a great group of people around you, they could give two shits about your clothes. They could care less that you’re wearing your favorite dress every time you go out because they care about bigger issues, they dig deeper than the surface, and I challenge YOU to do the same. Please. You are beautiful and your clothes have nothing to do with it.

Bit of Inspiration

 To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you
 something else is the greatest accomplishment.    
                                               -Ralph Waldo Emerson

This quote speaks volumes towards our monthly initiative and what we’re trying to achieve with Live Seasoned and our social media channels in general. There are thousands of peeps who appear to lead the perfect life, but we all know photos are half truths. No one is perfect, no one has it all together all the time, neither you, nor I, and we’re cool with that. We strive to keep it real. We strive to stop the comparisons, the constant wanting for more and the need for perfection. It’s difficult sometimes. We see which images are well received and usually they’re a bit curated or beautified, but we earnestly attempt to present our lives as they stand in the middle of our chaotic homes.

Life is messy and beautiful and so are we.  Make a commitment to yourself to appreciate you as you are today, in this moment. Appreciate yourself sans makeup and beautiful clothes, appreciate your extra five, fifteen or fifty pounds, because those pounds, those nourishing meals, brought you to where you are today.  Appreciate everything that makes you you and like I said at the beginning of this post, if you’re wanting to make a change, take it slow and make sure you’re working on yourself for yourself, not for someone else. And remember, we love you just the way you are. Too much? Too bad, it’s true.

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Welcome April

by Katie | Leave a comment

On the first Wednesday of every most months, you can find us checking in with what’s coming up on the calendar, both literally and figuratively. 

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Don’t you feel like April is the month when we have at least one foot firmly planted in Spring? Sure, there was a little snow shower up in the mountains last week, but it didn’t seem to dampen any spirits, because there’s no going back to winter now : the first flowers are blooming, and spring is definitely on its way!  I love seeing the definite transformation from winter to spring.  Tiny buds, blossoming flowers and pollen in your sinuses.  It really is a beautiful world we live in. That and it’s finally dress and moccasin season.

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I’m so excited to see how the perennial gardens develop at our house in the mountain. Currently, the daffodils and grape hyacinth are in full bloom. The larger hyacinths are starting to develop, but I think it’ll be a couple of weeks until we have flowers yet, but down the mountain in Boulder proper, I saw a few hyacinths in full bloom just in time for Easter! It’s expected that peak bloom for the National Cherry Blossom Festival will be April 11-14th this year, again later than the average bloom date of April 4th.  In Sarah’s neck of the woods (North Carolina) the magnolias, dogwoods, crabapple and cherry blossom trees are blooming already.  The weather has hovered in the seventies for the past week and looks to be warming up even more next week.

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I have to be honest, we have bees on the brain this season (maybe we need an insect of the season category!). During last month’s welcome we highlighted bees and talked about some of the early spring activity that you may observe in their colonies. When introducing nuts as our ingredient of the season, we mentioned the valuable services bees provide as pollinators to the country’s almond crops, but their work doesn’t end there. Migratory beekeepers have many miles yet to travel this spring as they move their hives across the country. Around this time, hives have been placed in the cherry, plum, and avocado orchards in California, some have moved north to the apple and cherry orchards in Washington state, and others have traveled east to pollinate the tupelos and gallberries in Florida.

In other buzzin’ buddy news, hummingbirds are on the move! I spotted my first of the season earlier this week, which prompted a post about filling and hanging hummingbird feeders. Unfortunately I haven’t seen any drinking out of the feeder yet, but I’m hoping that’s because they hit the nectar early in the morning.

Besides birds, I’ve seen lots of reptile and insect activity this past week.  There was an enormous black snake in the driveway of the pottery studio and I saw a tiny green garden snake in my yard yesterday.  Spring is a popular time of year for our slithering friends.  They’ll be boppin’ about during the warmer days this month and next so watch where you step!  In insect news, I spotted my first tick yesterday *groan* while I was hiking with Cash. It was crawling on my leg.  If you’re a dog owner, vaccinate your pup!  It looks like we’re getting a little bit closer to preventing Lyme disease for humans too.  I’ve also dealt with my fair share of fire ants this past week.  Apparently my yard is full of fire ant mounds, which became apparent after a few barefoot escapades. Ouch.  As the season rolls on I’ll let you know if I take action or try to ignore the enormous underground anthill that is my yard.

Arbor Day is celebrated on the last Friday in April, which is the 24th this year and the eve of baby AMax’s second birthday! We’ll have to plant a tree in honor of that little guy and all the growing he has done over the past 24 months.  If you’d like to plant a tree or ten, you should become a member of the Arbor Day Foundation. It’s only $10 and you receive ten free trees when you sign up! Sounds like a steal to me.

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Earth Day – It’s the 45th anniversary of Earth Day this year and we think focusing on the health of our environment is of utmost importance today and every day.  We also love a good Earth Day celebration.  There’s an Xtreme Zero Waste event going on in Boulder that we may have to check out.  How will you be celebrating? Planting any trees? Walking to work?  Every bit counts.