Category Archives: nurture

Posts focused on taking good care of our mind and body.

Bedtime Stretches To Relieve Lower Back Pain

by Sarah | 24 Comments

Want more yoga and exercise? Become a woods warrior, try this lower body workout, then end the day with bedtime stretches that relieve lower back pain. Check out my 200hour yoga teacher training experience and read about the school I attended here.

liveseasoned_sp15_BedtimeBackYoga-19 Ohhhh lower back pain and pressure. How many times have I groaned, moaned and cursed at you?  In fact, here I sit, back throbbing and hips aching, worrying about my future.  I have to admit, I don’t stretch or do yoga each day like I should and it’s evident in the way I feel when I lay down at night.  While these eight bedtime stretches are not a cure for lower back pain they help sooo much! Instant relief.  My tightly, tangled ball of rubberbandy back muscles relax into alignment and allow some comfort before bed. If you’re in the same back pressure out your ass predicament, go stretch out!

Continue reading …

Homemade Lotion Bars

by Sarah | 7 Comments

I feel like these homemade lotion bars should be rose scented to keep with this week’s unintentional theme.

liveseasoned_winter14_lotionbars-3 copy

Does your skin resemble dry, cracked, dusty earth? Mine does.  It’s the worst, especially in the winter.  Poor, poor me.  No, but really, my entire body has dandruff and I know you probably didn’t want to hear that, but I said it.  It is disgusting and it plagues me.  Dry skin is the monkey on my back.  You might think I’m being a little dramatic, but applying lotion six times a day (REALLY) is no joke!  This is my life. Welcome. Instead of spending a quarter (maybe I’m being a little dramatic here) of my annual income on lotion, I mixed up a double batch of this homemade version and called it a day well spent.  This easy lotion bar concoction only requires three ingredients! Yeah Kate, we know, your no-heat rosehip jam only has two. Congratulations.  No, congrats to YOU after you read through this lotion bar recipe and immediately order the supplies. I applaud you.  Happy moisturized skin to you my friend.

Continue reading …

Two Bits

by Sarah | Leave a comment

We want to break down these internet barriers and invite you into our lives and we’re hoping you’ll do the same.  You are welcome to share your a bit of your week or day in the comments, or if they’re better represented by a photo, tag us on instagram @liveseasoned

Sarah Here:

liveseasoned_winter14_twobits-1

Another week of job hunting and crafting in these parts!  This week I designed, printed and put together these simple, but fancy-looking invites for a friend’s bachelorette party.  I don’t know about you, but I love any chance to plan a party.  When I lived in Philadelphia, my roommates and I would throw parties that would overflow out of our living room and backyard and into our alleyway (we had a pretty tiny house).  We loved bringing a bunch of fun and beautiful souls into one place. Ah, parties. They make my heart grow. Just putting together these invites, finding a great airbnb, and activity planning pumps me up.

Continue reading …

Monday Meditation Challenge

by Sarah | Leave a comment

BREATHEHappy Monday! I feel bad for Mondays. While everyone is busy hating them, I’m going to make an effort to be mindful of Mondays. Poor Mondays. I’ll keep you.  Last year we talked a tiny bit about mindfulness and  meditation. I will be the first to admit that I’m not an expert on meditation.  I just know I feel darn good after a few minutes of peace and mindfulness.

MANTRA

I’m giving myself a meditation challenge and I thought I’d mention it here in case you want to play along.  I’m going to meditate every day for the next twenty-eight days. I’ve tried to get into the habit of meditating, but I always end up practicing before and after yoga only.  If I skip class for a week, I’ve gone a full week without focused meditation. I try to practice walking meditation whenever I think of it, but it’s less than once a day.

MEDITATE

So here goes, guys. Twenty-eight days of meditation.  I’m starting small. My plan is to meditate for two minutes a day for the first week! I really want to succeed and I think if I get in the habit of sitting down and keeping my mind quiet for just two minutes a day, it will be a real victory.  The next week I’ll work on five minutes a day.  I don’t want to get ahead of myself so that’s all I have planned for now.  I’ll keep you updated.  Are you going to try it too?  I’ve been using this website to help get in the zen zone.

RELAX

I also created a few images to remind myself to relax, breathe, repeat my mantra and meditate.  For the past few weeks, my mantra has been patience and compassion.  I hate when I cut someone off, get impatient or irritated so I’ve really been trying to work on that.  Wish me luck!

Katie here : Good luck, Sarah! I think this is such a great challenge! I finally did some yoga this weekend with a few minutes of focused meditation afterwards (after a couple of weeks without any), and it felt so good. I used a 20 minute class from YogaDownload that I had on my phone, so I didn’t have to leave the house and could easily squeeze it in during Alex’s nap. The point is, that short dose of yoga and meditation had me feeling good for the rest of the day and left me determined to fit more of both into my days, so I’m excited to take on this challenge with you… I’m going to make one of your images my desktop background as a little reminder to step away from the screen and meditate :-). 

New Year, New Goals.

by Sarah | Leave a comment

Happy New Year!  I finally got around to thinking about goals for this trip around the sun.  Each year I make a whole host of goals and if I feel like I’m slacking, I make mini new moon resolutions too! Fingers crossed that I abide by this list in 2015.

liveseasoned_winter14_newyearsresolutions

  • Establishing a daily routine is of PRIME importance this year.  I work as a freelance photographer so most days I’m at home editing photos or simply taking a day off.  I find I get a bit anxious and unhappy if I’m just ‘sitting around’ all day even if I’m doing something I enjoy like reading or cooking.  I’ve read that ‘happy’ people often have morning and/or daily routines. What about you? What do you do when you roll out of bed?
  • Ugh. The subject of sleep. I love sleep SO much. I could sleep at least 16 hours a day and often times I do sleep eleven or twelve hours a night.  Why am I complaining, right? Well, most times I wake up feeling lousy instead of well rested. I feel like I’m wasting the day and the last few hours of slumber are usually punctuated by alarms and crazy dreams anyway.  On that same note, I think creating a regular sleep pattern will help with my overall health. Hopefully I’ll feel more energetic and ‘ready’ to go in the morning even though I only need to cross the hallway to get to work.
  • I finally made a budget.  I’m sure some of you have had budgets for years and others want to go run and hide at the mention of it, but I’m pretty excited about it.  I’m extremely thrifty and therefore I always have enough money for the essentials, but I realized it is important to know how much you’re spending and saving each month.  When I travel I write down EVERYTHING, like every single thing, that I purchase and it is so helpful.  I can see how much I spend in each sphere of life, which is really helpful for future planning and squashing buyer’s remorse. Budgets are also super, duper helpful if you are a freelancer like me.  It is easy to sit back and relax and kind of slack off for a couple weeks, but if you have an earnings goal you’ll actually know if taking a few days off is a good idea.

 

  • Make soup once a week! Possibly my most favorite goal of all time.  I’ve been wayyyyy into soups lately. They’re so easy to make, usually only take one pot and they reheat so well.  Some of the tastier soups will be featured on the blog so sit tight 🙂
  • I need to camp more often.  This year I went for a bajillion day hikes. I probably averaged four or five a week, but I only camped out a couple times.  In 2013 I slept in a tent for over three months! The disparity is insane, so I plan on fixing that. Oh and I got an AMAZING new tent for Christmas.
  • I think I’ve had more yoga and meditation on my goal list every year since 2011.  Last year, I started strong in January by practicing 27 days in a row, but on the 28th day I came down with mono. That was a big bummer and definitely signaled that I need to practice more, but also pay attention to what my body needs. This year I plan on doing all that and traveling to Nepal to become a yoga teacher! I’m over the moon about my yoga-centric trip.
  • I spend a lot of time on Instagram.  I used to feel guilty about it, but then I remembered my professors were always saying something like, ‘look at photos, decide why you love them and go out and shoot.’ Now I think of my IG habit as an investment in my work!  I see so many beautifully styled photos on my feed and I realized I want to create some of my own.  I’m a trained photojournalist so I was taught not to manipulate the scene at hand, but now that I have a blog those rules are out the window.
  • I have at least four books started at all times.  My goal for the year is to read at least two a month, which shouldn’t be too hard, but we shall see.  What are your favorite books?! What do I absolutely need to read?
  • I feel like I’m pretty good at taking time to get inspired.  I have at least a dozen ideas floating around in my brain at all times, but I completely fail to write them down.  If I don’t write them down, I usually forget them and a majority of the time I never act on them.. I have a ton of cute notebooks and this year I’m puttin’ em to work!

 

  • Guys! Podcasts! I’ve been listening to them for years, but these past few months I’ve really started to nail down some favorites, which makes driving an absolute breeze! No idea what the hell a podcast is or how to listen to them?  It is SO simple, which is why I want to tell everyone!  Podcasts are basically episodes of radio shows.  You simply subscribe to each one by going to their websites or subscribing in iTune or the Google Play Store. Once you subscribe they will show up on your device without you doing a damn thing! (Go on and google it, you know you wanna) Over the past few weeks I have driven approximately 2,705 miles. Actually, more than that, but whatever, that’s a lot of miles.  During those drives I listened to just about every Freakonomics podcast and lots of Stuff You Should Know, That’s Deep Bro, This American Life, Your Mom’s House, and a bunch of others. Find your favorites and enjoy your time in the car. Stop scanning the awful pop radio, please!
  • These next two goals seem relatively simple. Gather my friends at my house and listen to what they are saying.  Doesn’t it feel good to get something off your chest? Don’t be that friend that only calls for that reason, be the one that calls for no reason at all 🙂  If you’re any friend of mine, you know that I hate the phone. I hate dialing, hate answering, just hate it, so this goal will be a test for me, but I’m hoping I’m successful. I realize, gathering friends at my house is kind of a test for others, but if you fail you’ll still get a phone call and a sticker 😉

 

  • Say #NOPE to self-inflicted guilt, external expectations and silly societal norms. I don’t think this needs too much explaining, it is basically an excuse goal of mine to be easier on myself. Please, please, please adopt this goal too.  I need to constantly remind myself that others’ paths are not my own and that is fine. I’m vowing to focus on mine this year, but LOTS and lots of luck on your journey too!
  • Be mindful. Think big. Act with intention.  This will be my daily mantra and again, it’s just another step to self love so if you’re ready, get on the love train with me 😉
  • Am I living a balanced life? Am I taking care of myself? Am I following my inner voice?  Personally, these are all important questions concerning my individual happiness.  You may have another set of questions.  I’m urging you to figure out what YOU need to ask yourself in order to start living a happier and healthier life.  Although we post lots of recipes, crafting and adventures on Live Seasoned, you may have guessed that our daily lives are not always pumpkin pies and snowshoeing. We sift through the muck of daily living too and for me sometimes it’s a struggle. These few questions bring me right back to square one and basically force myself to identify why I’m feeling just so so.  Find your own set of questions. Be honest with you and remember, “Our first and last love is self love.” so be a better lover!

liveseasoned_winter14_seasonedview10-1

We are interested to hear if you made any resolutions this year or if you’re anti-resolutions, tell us more! Xo

Welcome January!

by Katie | Leave a comment

Typically, 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, with a particular focus on animal activity, celestial events, and our farmers’ fields, but our January’s off to the most fantastic slow and lazy start, so excuse us for this delayed post!

Screen Shot 2015-01-12 at 1.41.57 PM

Baby it’s cold outside. so. so. cold. At least that’s the case on the East Coast where we’re being hit with an Arctic cold front that’s bringing the coldest temperatures of the winter so far and setting records. We’re considering ourselves lucky that we woke up to single digit positive and not negative temps the past few days. Bundling up to go outside got us thinking about all the non-migratory animals and their strategies for surviving the long, cold winter. So, we’ll be exploring that today along with this month’s celestial events and a touch of what’s planned for our kitchens this month.

arctic_temps

Earth and Sky

There are a number of different strategies that non-migratory animals use to survive the winter. In addition to the freezing temperatures, these animals are also faced with low food supplies and little to no water. Some mammals will hibernate, finding or creating a safe space where they will hunker down, reduce their metabolic activity, thereby lowering their body temperature, and wait out the winter. Some reptiles will bruminate, going into their own form of dormancy that’s similar to hibernation. Other animals will remain relatively active, living off of the food supplies they stored the previous winter.

Black Bears

Growing up in the woods of central PA, we are well aware of the local bears’ annual cycle. Catching glimpses of them in the fields and woods during the summer, knowing that they were gorging on food in the fall to build up their fat supplies, thinking of them “sleeping” the winter away, and then seeing that they raided the bird feeders in early spring when they are starving for food and in need of an easy meal. The bears typically hibernate for 3-5 months, and during this time they don’t eat, drink, urinate, or defecate.

The black bear’s method of hibernation is atypical in that they do not lower their body temperature as far as many other mammals, but they are still able to lower their metabolic rate by up to 75%. Their heart rate can fall from an average of 40-50 beats per minute down to 8! Because their body temperature doesn’t fall, the bears are able to remain relatively alert and may take advantage of relatively mild winters by leaving their den to forage. The bears may lose 25-40% of their body weight over the winter, using their stored fat to meet their nutrient and water needs, but surprisingly, they do not lose much muscle over this period. Since the bears are not urinating or defecating over the winter, they are able to process the nitrogen in their waste and use it to build lean muscle mass.

During this month or next, pregnant females will give birth to their young. The baby bears weigh less than a pound when born. They won’t open their eyes or begin walking for over another month, and even then they will weigh less than two pounds!

Beavers

Beavers are an example of a mammal that doesn’t migrate or hibernate, instead it remains relatively active and relies on food it stockpiles for the season.

Every fall with the return of frost, beavers begin preparing their dens for winter. They add a fresh coating of mud to their dens. The mud freezes with the colder temperatures, creating a solid barrier against predators. While preparing their dens, they are also gathering sticks and logs for their winter food supply. Beavers are herbivores, feeding off the tender underbark of Aspens, Willow, Birch, and Maple along with other aquatic plants. The beavers are able to leave their dens through underwater openings, giving them access to their food supply even when their pond is frozen.

Gray Tree Frog

Unlike the bears and beavers we’ve mentioned, many frogs have a very unique method for surviving the winter. The gray tree frog bruminates, which is often called hibernation, but involves different metabolic processes. As cold weather approaches, the frogs burrow under roots and leaves. As the temperatures drop below freezing, ice crystals will form under the frog’s skin, and in their bladder and body cavity, but not in their vital organs! A high concentration of glucose in their organs acts as an antifreeze protecting them until spring. When frozen, the frogs will also stop breathing and their heart will stop beating. Once the warmer temperatures of spring arrive, their bodies will thaw and their organs will begin functioning again. {amaze.balls.}

Sky

The January skies are quiet! We’re posting this so late in the month that we’ve already missed the Quadrantids Meteor Shower on the 3rd and 4th as well as the full moon on the 5th. But hey, there’s a new moon coming up on January 20th, and the dark skies will be a great time to bundle up and do some winter stargazing.

Fun Fact : many moons ago (heehee), we talked about the names given to the full moons. While researching today’s post, we learned about another name for the January full moon ~ the Bear Moon, because this is often the month when the hibernating bears give birth.

Fields and Festivals

While many farmers’ fields may be For us it’s going to be a month of eating like the beavers; digging into the potatoes, squash, and other hardy winter veggies that we’ve stockpiled from our farmshare. I’m sure there will be many soups, but Sarah just gave me the cookbook Plenty for Christmas, so I’m excited to do some experimenting with our vegetable dishes. I’m also armed with a new pressure cooker and our pantry full of dried beans, because, you know, they’re good for your heart. On the fruit front, we’ll still be eating piles of oranges and indulging in the final weeks of pomegranate season!

It seems like the whole world slows down in January. We didn’t see any amazing festivals or holidays on the horizon, but maybe we’re missing something? Do you know of any?

We’re planning on indulging in the quiet darkness of this month. Spending plenty of evenings in front of the fire, catching up on our reading, and planning for the coming year. We hope this month affords you the same mellow moments.

Black bear in grass found here. Black bear and cub found here.
Beaver lodge found here. Adult beaver found here.
Frozen tree frog image found here.

Seasoned View: Vol. 10

by Sarah | Leave a comment

Each month we share our Seasoned View.  Snapshots of nature taken by the Seasoned sisters. Find last month’s here and past month’s here.

Happy New Year!  Katie and I took a major blogging break over the holidays.  We were both busy traveling and celebrating with family, but not each other! During Christmas and New Years, Kate hung out with her in-laws in Colorado and I visited my boyfriend’s family in Pennsylvania.  Our family get together starts today, just in time for Russian Christmas! I can’t wait to see Katie and my little nephew along with the rest of the Schu crew.  Bear with us this week, the blogging may be slow due all the hugs and conversations we need to catch up on.  If you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, these photos will seem a little unrelatable and hey, good for you! If you are currently freezing your bum off in the Northern Hemisphere, know that we’re with you.

Screen Shot 2015-01-05 at 1.59.47 AM

You can upload one or all of these photos to use as your desktop background or even as phone and tablet wallpapers.  Simply click on the download link below each photo and save the image.  Enjoy!

liveseasoned_winter14_seasonedview10-5Click here for Snowy Branches.

liveseasoned_winter14_seasonedview10-1Click here for Happy New Year.

liveseasoned_winter14_seasonedview10-1-2Click here for January Hike.

liveseasoned_winter14_seasonedview10-1-4Click here for Frosty Sweetgums.

liveseasoned_winter14_seasonedview10-3Click here for Greenery.

liveseasoned_winter14_seasonedview10-2-2Click here for My View.

liveseasoned_winter14_seasonedview10-4Click here for Winter Bouldering.

 

Welcome December!

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, with a particular focus on animal activity, celestial events, and our farmers’ fields.

liveseasoned_winter14_welcomedecember-1-2

Earth and Sky:

The sky is a flurry of activity this month. Dust off your telescope and bundle up because there is a lot to see.  This Friday (December 5th) I’m hoping to light a campfire and gaze up at the Cold Moon also known as the Long Nights Moon.  It rises during sunset and sets around sunrise on Saturday morning.  This is the only night all month when the moon is in the sky all night long; the other days, the moon is present, at least for a bit, in the daytime sky.

  •  Also on Friday, the full moon passes a bit north of Aldebaran, the red giant star, and the Hyades star cluster making for an amazing conjunction.  A little bit about Aldebaran: It’s the red eye of Taurus the bull and it’s also 66 light-years away.  If you’re familiar with Taurus you know that the rest of the face is made of the V-shaped Hyades cluster.  The glare of the nearly full moon will block your view of Hyades, but you should be able to see the cluster with a pair of binoculars.  The moon will glide by the Hyades cluster over the course of a few hours on Friday evening making it easy to witness the moon’s motion across our sky.
  • If you have access to a telescope, now’s the time to use it.  On Saturday evening (December 6) you can see the sky’s most famous and apparently the best example of a supernova remnant.  Find the moon, hold your arm out straight, pointing at the moon and now make a fist.  Crab Nebula should be about 4 degrees above the moon, which is a little less than the width of your fist.  Crab Nebula is about 7,000 light-years away and shines only faintly. According to National Geographic, Crab Nebula was first seen in the sky by Chinese astronomers during 1054 A.D. when it exploded.
  • The Geminid meteor shower peaks on the evening of the 13th and early morning of the 14th.  The last quarter moon will interfere a tad, but you should still see some action.  Each of the meteors can be traced back to Gemini, which rises in the northeast late at night.  The best meteors will be visible about ninety degrees away from Gemini.
  • I hope you kept your telescope handy. Shortly after midnight on December 15th, the shadows of both lo and Europa will fall simultaneously on Jupiter.  The event lasts for about fifty minutes at approximately 1:12 – 2:02 a.m. Good luck!
  • If you’re an early riser, you’ll see a pleasant sight on Friday, December 19th. Saturn returns to its station as a morning star sitting close to the waning crescent moon just before sunrise.  

Of course these aren’t the only sky events going on this month, but it’s an exciting list to start with.

Winter is not my ideal time to visit the farmers market, but I do try to make an effort to go several times a month.  Mostly I just feel bad for the frozen farmers, but I also need to eat veggies too and what better place to purchase them, am I right? I was considering signing up for a winter farm share, but I never ended up sealing the deal. Did you catch any of Katie’s posts or pics about her  CSA this season? So envious! Even though it’s a lot colder here in North Carolina than it was at this time last month, there is a lot in season. I spotted beets, turnips, broccoli, cauliflower, pumpkin, winter squash and oriental veggies at my market. There were also a bunch of collards, kale, mustard greens, lettuce, and spinach among other fall and winter veggies. Need I mention that it is the best place to buy handmade wreaths and other holiday greenery?!

liveseasoned_winter14_welcomedecember-1-6

 Earth Days and Events:

Speaking of holidays, along with Bodhi, Festivus, Kwanza, Christmas and Hanukkah, there are also a couple earth holidays this month.  December 5th is a big day for sky events, but also for our soil!  The World Soil Day campaign aims to connect people with soils in order to raise awareness about their critical importance in our lives.  If you are a gardener you know that much is obvious, but many might not see the important connection.  Soil is neglected by many.  We pollute the water, air and environment, which all equates to poor soil quality.  Without proper care for our soils, it turns full circle and we neglect the overall quality of our food, water, biodiversity and overall quality of life. So speak about soil on December 5th!

liveseasoned_winter14_welcomedecember-1-14

 

liveseasoned_winter14_welcomedecember-1-8

On December 11 the world celebrates International Mountain Day.  The United Nations General Assembly founded the day in order to encourage the international community to highlight the importance of sustainable mountain development.  I’m sure we have all viewed a mountain fondly, maybe hiked up one or even lived on one so we know the importance of taking care of that sacred space.  This years theme for International Mountain Day is farming.  According to the FAO, mountain farming is predominantly family farming and has been a model for sustainable for development for centuries.  I had the opportunity to work with Jamaican farmers on disaster preparedness and most of my work took place in the Blue Mountains.  I hadn’t known about this holiday until an hour ago, but now I’m going to explore options for spreading the word and awareness about the importance of sustainable mountain development.  This year provides an occasion to discuss how family farming in mountain regions is undergoing rapid transformation due to economic globalization, growing populations, and urbanization.

liveseasoned_winter14_welcomedecember-1-11

I feel like the Autumn Equinox was just yesterday, but alas the winter solstice takes place on the 21st.  Solstice comes from the Latin words “sol” which means “sun” and “sistere” which means “to stand still.” So what does this day mean in terms of the sun?  The sun is the farthest from the equatorial place, which causes longer days and nights. The sun reaches its southernmost position in the sky, and begins moving northward again.  If you are in the Northern Hemisphere, the December solstice marks the longest night, but if you are in the Southern Hemisphere it marks the longest day. I love the winter solstice because it means the days start growing longer again! Just typing this paragraph is making me smile and lifting the weight of the winter darkness off my shoulders.

While I couldn’t nail down too many compelling migration stories for this December Welcome post, it got me thinking that as humans, we do a lot of moving during this month.  We flock to stores, tree farms, holiday parties, family homes and even go on vacations.  Personally, I’ve done some of my favorite traveling during the month of December whether it was sunning myself near the Andaman Sea or freezing my buns off in Germany, the cheer and relaxation of the end of the calendar year was always present in the air.  Here are a few quick traveling suggestions for the month of December:

Antarctica is buzzing with activity right now.  The seabirds are courting and mating and the penguins chicks are starting to hatch.  The days are twenty hours long, which means more time to spot penguins feeding their tiny chicks!  I always said that if I ever went on a cruise it would be to Antarctica and after reading Where’d You Go Bernadette, by Maria Semple, I am very tempted.  The feeling of seeing a landscape like nothing I’ve ever experienced before lights a fire in my belly. One day people, one day.

Guatemala has a few intriguing festivals in December.  On December 7th you can help the Guatemalans burn the devil. In local traditions, the devil lurks in the corners of homes, beneath beds and among garbage. Each year, as a prelude to Christmas, homes are cleaned, rubbish is collected, an effigy of the devil is thrown on top, and it’s all set aflame. From the 13-21st the highland city of Chichicastenango (Chichi) celebrates its patron saint with a week of typical festivities like parades, traditional dances, fireworks. On St Thomas’ Day (Dec 21) wooden poles as high as 30m are raised in the plaza beside the Iglesia de Santo Tomás and the dance of the palo volador (flying pole) begins.  It sounds absolutely terrifying to me, but as I understand it, two ropes hang from the top of each pole and the dancers ascend in pairs, scaling the poles on wooden steps and tying the ropes to their bodies. Then they leap, swirling around the pole at high speed, the ropes unravelling as they go, lowering them to the ground. Some hang onto the rope with their hands, and others tie it around their ankles. That doesn’t sound like something I’m capable of doing without peeing my pants, but I would love to witness it!

Last, but surely not least, Europe has all kinds of amazing Christmas markets taking place this month.  Katie and I had a chance to visit the Christkindlesmarkts of Germany and they were AMAZING. Each and every one was awe-inspiring and it really put the joy and wonder back into Christmas.  As an adult, I think it’s easy to overlook or take for granted the magical feeling of the season – all the giving, cheer and pure love that is flowing around, but after visiting the historic markets and experiencing the culture and tradition my wonderment was recharged.  It is almost like the medieval markets simplified (in the best way) my holiday season.  I’m finding it a little hard to explain right now so you may just have to visit the markets yourself.  Kate and I plan on reliving our week of Christkindlesmarkt experiences in a blog post later this month so that you can get a better feel for the adventure and maybe plan your own for next year!

Personally, as I welcome December I try to make a concerted effort to simplify and shed for the coming year.  I can easily get caught up in buying in excess because an item is cheap or has immediate appeal, but I try to keep a handle on it.  With all consuming I try to remember that the product used energy to be made and shipped to my city and that it will also take energy to dispose of it. Along with the season, what are you welcoming this December?

Give Thanks

by Sarah | Leave a comment

liveseasoned_fall14_thanksgivingquote

Thanksgiving is a great reminder to be grateful for our daily joys and all that we have, even when sometimes that feels like not enough.  Today everything we have is plenty. Tomorrow we will have enough too.  Be thankful for it all and spread around the excess today and every day.

If you are here in the U.S., how are you spending your holiday?  I’m hitting the gym with my best friend and then we are going to a Friendsgiving where we will stuff ourselves silly.  Last night we prepped some potato stuffing, peanut butter pie and a pumpkin roll, except it turned out more like a pumpkin blob.  Sometimes life doesn’t pan out the way you expected, but practice thanks anyway 🙂 Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Katie’s Pregnancy Favorites

by Katie | Leave a comment

If all goes well, we’ll be adding another little guy to the fam this spring! Of course we’re super excited, and we thought it would be fun to do a series of posts on pregnancy and baby-related products and tips that worked for me. Maybe they’ll work for you too?

First up, I wanted to share some of the products or tricks that I found useful while pregnant with A. Max, and that have proved helpful this time around too. I’ve made it a point of trying to be low maintenance when it comes to pregnancy and baby-related items, but even with a minimalist attitude, there are still some things that are worth the purchase. Below are my essentials along with some of the tips & tricks that made it easier to buy less maternity-specific stuff. To go to the product pages, you can click the numbered links below each collage or the links provided within the post’s text.

liveseasoned_fall14_pregnancy copy

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10

Prenatal vitamins.

Ugg. I hate taking them every day, but am serious about doing it before, during, and after a pregnancy. Luckily I’ve found the brands that work well for me and minimize some of the negatives associated with other vitamins. I really like this multivitamin. It doesn’t have as strong as a smell as other vitamins, I never get an upset stomach with it, and generally felt healthy (although I never took another vitamin, so I don’t have a good counter example there). I also took a DHA supplement. DHA is one of the omega-3 fatty acids that’s important for brain development. Taking a prenatal DHA supplement is helpful because you won’t get as high of a dose of DHA if you take a basic omega-3 supplement. Also, while this supplement is made from fish oil, I’ve never had any issues with a fishy smell or aftertaste. I didn’t take a calcium supplement with Alex – I just tried to get plenty through my diet, but this time around I found Calcet’s lemon creamy bites, and no I’m hooked! I use them as a healthy treat when I need just a little something sweet, and I like them so much more than the other calcium chews that I took years ago but got tired of. The only thing I don’t like about these is that each chew is individually wrapped in a plastic shell – not that great for the environment, but it seems to be the key to their fresh, creamy texture. So I’ll probably be done with these after this pregnancy or this box… but I had to mention them, because if you need a calcium supplement, these are outstanding.

Clothes

When it comes to clothes, I’m fortunate in a number of ways. First, I’m pregnant during the exact same time of year, so I’m able to use all of those maternity clothes again.  Second, I mainly work from home, and while last time I had to go in to a job, I really only saw people a couple of days a week. So, many days yoga pants and long stretchy t-shirts or tanks were enough to cover my belly and keep me comfortable. I found that many of the dresses I already owned (I love ones from Title Nine with a touch of spandex, like this) were stretchy enough to fit over my growing belly for at least the first 6-7 months of my pregnancy. I was also lucky that sweater dresses came back into fashion – so I picked up a few of the boxier ones, some tights, and my favorite boots to get me through the rest of my pregnancy – this was an especially great outfit for days I had to teach.  Once my stomach got too large for my pre-pregnancy pants, I bought four pair of maternity pants and a few shirts to go with them – that’s it!

But, even so, there are a couple of specific items that are worth sharing. This maternity tank from Target is so comfortable, and I love how long it is. Late in pregnancy, it was hard for long non-maternity tanks to stretch around my stomach, but this tank does without trouble. I still have the only one I bought, and am thinking it’s time to add a second one to my closet – they are a perfect first layer under any shirt.

As I mentioned, I bought a few maternity shirts, mainly for work days to go with the pants I picked up. I didn’t know it at the time, but there are whole lines of nursing shirts with ruched fabric around the torso – making them perfect for a growing stomach during pregnancy and a slowly shrinking one afterwards. Buy these, especially if you want to try nursing, rather than buying a maternity-only shirt (I found that the BOOB brand really held up well to the wear and tear that is nursing and carrying a little guy).

Books & Other Info

We are just over halfway through this pregnancy, and it was around this time with Little A that I was ready to start learning about labor, labor support, and breastfeeding. Along with taking a labor class, there were a few books that I found really useful.

  • The Big Book of Birth – this book is packed with useful information, so at times it can seem a bit dense, but I really loved the straightforward and concise writing. She covers basic biology of labor as well as types of medical interventions and natural methods for easing discomfort and dealing with different problems that may arise during birth. Calder didn’t read the whole book, but I marked some sections that I thought would be particularly useful for him to read before our delivery, and I think it was helpful to both of us.
  • Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth – This book focuses more on natural childbirth and methods for finding comfort and support through it. I have to admit that I didn’t read this one cover to cover like I did the Big Book of Birth, but I did find it extremely useful, and Ina May’s an expert if ever there was one.
  • The Ultimate Breastfeeding Book of Answers – Before I had Alex, it seems like I often heard about how hard or tricky breastfeeding could be, but I knew I wanted to do it. Knowing that I didn’t want to find myself with a newborn in my hands and unsure of what to do next, I decided to read and learn about the process before having the baby. I found both Jack Newman’s book and his website to be extremely helpful for covering the basics of breastfeeding and providing many useful images and videos of successful and unsuccessful breastfeeding – so I was able to get a sense of what I should look for and red flags for when things weren’t working.

In addition to these books, Calder and I took a seven-week prenatal and labor class together. Our class covered everything from the baby’s development in utero, to the biology of labor, support for labor, types of medical interventions, caring for a newborn, etc. It was so amazing, and really helps you to work through all of that material, especially when you’re working and are so tired that you would rather crash on the couch than read a book. We had the option of taking that class or shortened version of the class over the course of a weekend. I highly recommend spreading your course out over a few weeks – there’s so much information to learn, and you may find that questions develop only after you’ve had days/weeks to think about something from class – there’s no way you and your labor partner would get as much out of a weekend course (but, if that’s all you have time for, it’s better than nothing!).

General Beauty Products

In general, I use very few beauty products, but when I do, I try to stay as chemical-free as possible. One place where that’s hard to do is with nail polish. I would skip it altogether (and that’s what I did with my first pregnancy), but this time around, my nails are really suffering from the dry air. When they are dry, they crack, peel, and just become a general mess. A coat of polish along with daily applications of cuticle oil really helps to keep them healthy. So, this time around I tried Spa Ritual’s 5-free polishes, and really (really) love them. I use them with a base and top coat, and have found that they can go at least 5 days without chipping (less if I’m really doing a lot of mess work with my hands).

Another product that I’ve been devoted to throughout both pregnancies is Burt’s Bees Momma Bee Body Oil. I slather it on my belly after every shower throughout the whole pregnancy and for a few weeks postpartum (about 3 times per week). I was really lucky to end up with no stretch marks last time around. We’ll see what happens this time!

liveseasoned_fall14_stayinghealthycollage copy

1/2/3/4/5

Staying Healthy

When you’re pregnant, you hear over and over again that it’s important to get plenty of exercise and stay hydrated. Staying hydrated is even more important for me this time around since we’re in a dryer climate.

Honestly, after months of drinking water, tea, and chocolate milk, I start to go crazy for anything else to drink (we’re not big juice drinkers, just as a rare treat). I found a few tricks to help me stay hydrated. I’ll treat myself to cartons of coconut water – you get an electrolyte bonus! Trader Joes’ brand is always a good price, but I’ll take any brand that’s on sale. I also mix up my drinking vessels. The first time around I picked up one of those cold cups with a straw, and found that just switching between my drink bottle and that would have me drinking more. I also found the cup easier to drink out of while breastfeeding and rocking a newborn (rather than having to tilt my head back to use the drink bottle).

When it comes to exercise, having Ca$h the dog was such a big motivator. When he’s with us, I’m his main walking companion – so that meant that I went out on long (30 minutes to an hour+) walks with him twice a day. I did that all the way until the end of my first pregnancy and I know that it really helped me to stay in shape and stay a healthy weight. This time around we don’t have the pooch with us (he’s with Sarah!), but I’m making sure to get plenty of play time in with Alex, and it seems to be working :-).

In addition to the dog walks and Alex adventures, I liked to take some time to do some good, deep, yoga stretching. I tried out a few prenatal yoga classes, and they were great, but I also found it really hard to fit them into my schedule. After a bit of searching, I came across Yoga Download and was an immediate fan. There are a number of ways to access their classes, but I purchased a couple of prenatal yoga classes and downloaded them onto my laptop. It was nice to have access to them at any time and without having to worry about an internet connection. I’ve since purchases some regular (not prenatal) classes and have used them whenever I need a yoga boost – while I would love to go to a studio, practicing at home has become my new norm since Alex arrived.

Finally, there’s one other simple thing that I’ve done during both pregnancies to help myself eat right. Whenever I make a big pot of soup or stew, I put a quart jar of it in the freezer. So far I have about six jars in the freezer this time. This takes zero thought or planning, just fill the jar, label it, and freeze. They are so useful towards the end of pregnancy and during the first few months with a newborn when you’re too tired or busy to cook.

~~~

Wow, I know that was a wordy post, but I’m hoping some other expectant moms may find this helpful… or if you know a momma-to-be, you may get some useful gift ideas from this post. A case of coconut water with a big bow around it never hurt anyone!

Did I miss anything that you found essential? I would love to hear what you found essential.