Read With Me : You are a Badass

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All hail 2018, the year of the book. You will hear me say this about every possible temperature, weather pattern, and month, but spring is the best time to pull out a book! If it’s going to be raining for a week straight, don’t get caught staring out the window, lose yourself in a book. That’s our attitude at least. I’ve finished a few this past month and I keep wanting to reach for old favorites rather than something new. I might have to read Buddha’s Brain for the fourth time. It’s nice to fall into something comfortable and familiar every once in a while.

Our Read With Me Series is going strong this year, here are all the past installments. Today I’m sharing my thoughts on hugely successful Jen Sincero and her book You are a Badass. Initially, I had some doubts about this book. I felt it was pushy and a little bit bossy or sharp in a way, but after two chapters I became accustomed to the tone and really respected her insight. I think it just took some getting used to at first. I received this book as a gift, so I didn’t really want a kick in the ass at first, but once I found myself shaking my head yes over and over again, I listened hard and took lots of notes. Continue reading

Two Bits

Happy Friday! It’s crazy how a day can carry such emotion, right? Slogging through Monday, hittin’ our stride come Wednesday, feeling great ’cause it’s Friday, and then the mild anxiety creeps up on Sunday. My feelings about each day are a little bit different because I am self-employed and work from home, but for some reason Friday is still the freaking best. I usually put in a good amount of work on Fridays and Saturday, but it just doesn’t matter. There’s nothing like that Friday feeling. Cheers to Friday!

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If you need a little inspiration for your weekend, here are a few suggestions :

Look up a new to you trail and go for an epic day hike. I’m taking a crew on a 7.2 mile hike with over twenty waterfalls next weekend – you should join us! Here is a registration link. Continue reading

Read With Me : Nature’s Healing Spirit

Want to know something neat? Each time you click through to Amazon from our website, we are kicked back a few cents from each purchase with no extra cost to you. If you ever feel like going wild on Amazon, click through from our site and you’ll be supporting us at the same time! Thanks, yo.

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Sup nerds? Are you Reading With Me this year? Last night, I finished two great books. Nature’s Healing Spirit being a quick, devourable read that I finished within three sessions of picking it up. The other, How Emotions Are Made : The Secret Life of the Brain took me nearly eight months to comprehend, and let me tell you, it was sad and shocking when the kindle book ended abruptly when my progress bar told me I still had 40% of the book to read – damn you Appendix A, B, C, and D! More on that read a different day, today it’s all about Nature’s Healing Spirit – Real Life Stores to Nurture the Soul by Sheri McGregor.

Nature’s Healing Spirit is a compilation of  33 accomplished writers’ experiences with the natural world. Some passages are straightforward, concise, and clear in tone, while others tiptoe into the narrative and only slightly pull back the shades on their personal lives. Some stories have a succinct ending while others leave you wanting for more. Luckily, each author’s piece is followed by a short biography where you can find other published works and their websites.

You’ll Enjoy Reading Nature’s Healing Spirit If :

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Devil’s Garden Utah & 5 Reasons to Visit National Parks in Winter

Winter doesn’t stop us. Read about winter hiking, winter van camping, winter photography, snowshoeing, and winter hammocking. Oooo and here’s a link to our favorite winter adventuring jacket.

Feeling cooped up? We know it’s technically Spring now, but if you’re wondering what to do with your last few weeks of what feels like winter, we have a solution for you. Go visit a National Park or Monument before they get hella hot and busy. Here are five reasons why you should visit a national park this winter. Added bonus? We included all the info on Devil’s Garden located in The Grand Staircase of Escalante, Utah. It’s the perfect place to head off to before it gets too hot.

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Two Bits

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 a bit of your week or day in the comments, or if they’re better represented by a photo, tag us on instagram @liveseasoned.

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Sarah here :

Sup spud buds? The weekend is here! Time to infuse some potato juice vodka? Nah? Here are a few book recommendations instead. This week flew by. It started with food poisoning and failing to send out a meditation Monday (here’s a meditation / yoga for your eyes if you want some mindfulness today) and ended with a flight to Kate’s house to celebrate little Luc’s third birthday! Ups and downs, but grateful for all of these days (definitely was not saying that on Monday and Tuesday!) that make up this beautiful, chaotic life of mine.

This weekend I’m planning on perusing REI to finally use my member coupon. (Here are my absolute favorite gear items if you missed it.) Did you see that REI decided to stop carrying brands like Camelbak, Giro, and others owned by parent company Vista Outdoor who also produces ammo and assault-style weapons? I think that’s rad and one of the many reasons I go on and on about my adoration for REI.

Otherwise it’s calling for snow here in the Front Range so we’ll be bundled up on a hike or two, practicing yoga at our favorite local studio and drinking whatever kombucha is on tap at Rayback Collective.

 

Ingredient of the Season : Potatoes!

Every season we like to feature a single ingredient and use it in a variety of ways throughout the house, from the food to beauty to art. You can see our full archive of featured ingredients here. And you can see some of our previous potato posts here.

Potato, patato. However you pronounce it, we’re excited to call this tuber our ingredient of the season. Ah the potato, always the side-dish, never the main dish.

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We think this vegetable gets a bad rap as being full of carbs and too bland (without a boatload of salt and butter) to be the centerpiece of a meal. We’re hoping to change that this season with a line-up of simple but delicious meals. Just a little something to bring spuds into the limelight and inspire you to give them a second (or third!) look.  We’re also hoping to entertain you by putting the potato to work in a few unexpected ways…

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Technical Gear : Winter Jacket

Quick note : today I’m rattling on about a product that I love (for good reason). It’s not a paid or perked post. Just a post from one mom to another – if you have kids and spend many winter days outside, buy this jacket.

I’m a little bit obsessed with my new winter jacket. (Sarah’s probably snort- laughing right now as she reads that; “a little bit” would be the understatement of the season.)

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I tried to talk her into buying one of these for her last Nepal trek, and it was so obvious that I really wanted one for myself.  Picking up on my hints overt gushing, I received this awesome gift for Christmas!

What it is? It’s the LOKI Mountain Extreme Hoodie.

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My obsession is due mainly to the built-in mittens. Now that I’m always adventuring with kids, I find that no matter what gloves I’m wearing, I have to take them off multiple times during an outing to help the little guys with something or other. I’m always worried that I’m going to lose a glove during these moments and the last thing that I want is the trouble of having to go back and hunt for the crucial item.

Enter LOKI apparel: it’s made to simplify our gear needs. The jackets and hoodies have built-in mittens and face masks. Now I can walk out the door with just my coat and not worry about the losing anything. LOKI also sells a puffer that looks great, and I’m intrigued by the lighter weight zip-up (it could be perfect for spring and fall hikes in the mountains!).

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I’ve skied, hiked, and sledded in this coat. It’s so cozy, and the fit has been great whether the gloves and face mask are on or off. Honestly, it’s the best active “mom” jacket around. Now I can adjust goggles on the lift without worrying about losing my gloves. And since that’s my biggest worry, I’m one lucky bum.

IMG_3779 2The only little change I made to my jacket was to add some conductive thread to make them touch-screen compatible for the moments when I want to take a quick phone pic without removing the mittens. You can see the thread in the photo below – I used quite a bit to make sure that I had a good connection between my finger and phone. I wasn’t ready to sew into that brand new thumb material yet, but I’m testing it out this weekend on a ski trip – if I like it, then I may go back and clean up my sewing job to make something that’s more refined.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check out one of our very first DIY posts on the blog!
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Three Easy Infused Alcohols for your Valentine

Hey lovers! We had the best idea, infused ALCOHOL! Make it for your loved ones or yourself, either way, we think it’s the perfect way to celebrate V-day. If you’re on that sober train, we hear ya, here are a few of our favorite mocktails. We’ll be back tomorrow with some delicious love-infused treats too.

The following infused alcohols can be prepped this weekend and still be ready in time for Valentines, so you have a few days to think about what an easy and awesome gift this is before gettin’ to it.

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Ginger Liqueur – ready in just a day

Rosemary Vodka – ready in just a few days

Candy Cane Vodka – ready in just a few hours

Seasoned View Vol. 30

Each month we share our Seasoned View.  Snapshots of nature taken by the Seasoned sisters.

Happy last day of the first month 🙂 Hopefully, 2018 came about gently, without too much hesitation. I find I can become overwhelmed at the beginning of each year. So many possibilities and dreams and wants, where to start, ya know? I only had a few days like that this January, but each time I felt overwhelmed I turned to my meditation practice. Meditation allows me to put some space in between my thoughts and emotions and myself. It’s my mental health medicine and I cannot thrive without it. If you’d like to join, I send out a Meditative Monday email each week with a guided meditation. Sign up here. But, back to the images…

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You can upload one or all of these photos to use as your desktop background or even as phone and tablet wallpapers.  Katie captured all of these in Colorado this past month. To use the images, simply right-click on the photo, save it, and set it as your background.  Enjoy!

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