ON THE BLOG//
archive
Five Things On My Christmas Wishlist
I shared my gift guide recently of 100 gift ideas for those you love and hope that it has been a good resource for you during this season of gift shopping!
I shared my gift guide recently of 100 gift ideas for those you love and hope that it has been a good resource for you during this season of gift shopping! Today I am sharing a quick list of five things on my Christmas wishlist this year. Keep reading to find out what they are...
CASUAL-COOL SWEATSHIRT
I love the Anine Bing brand and this sweatshirt would be one I reach for on repeat with denim or sweats
--
BEAUTIFUL CUTTING BOARDS
These boards would go perfectly in our new kitchen and not to mention, V useful
--
PERFECT FLEECE PULLOVER
I absolutely love to be cozy in the winter, especially when spending time in Idaho, so this fleece is a must
--
NEW POTS FOR THE NEW HOUSE
Must-have pots for home-cooked meals now that we are settled in our new home
--
A VERY PRACTICAL AIR FILTER
Pure air in the home is so important and these are the best filters out there
--
What are you wishing for this year? Let us know in the comments!
Our New Custom Closets
You might also know that organizing is such a passion of mine, so partnering with The Container Store to customize our closets was a complete dream. The Container Store Custom Closets is made up of 4 closet lines that fit any size, style, or budget. The particular line we used in both closets is called Avera, and it not only helped maximize the space in each room, but it created a relaxing and organized atmosphere. We were drawn towards the clean lines and peaceful color + the choice of adding LED lights under each shelf was a game changer. My sweet friends from The Home Sort came to completely finish our closets with the drawer organizers, shoe boxes, and in Jason’s closet (hence the extra space), beautiful wooden hangers.
As we are approaching the holidays and the new year, right now is the perfect time to invest in a custom closet by taking advantage of the Avera and Laren spend and save! The best feeling entering the new year is a fresh space, especially a fresh closet!
Old Jeans Can Insulate New Homes
Y’all have probably seen that Jase and I recently moved into a new home that we are so excited about. The renovation has been quite a journey (updates + lots of blog posts coming soon!), but the one thing that struck me the most happened this week. #ad
We moved out of our home in February anticipating a month of living in a hotel while our renovation was in progress, so we packed a month’s worth of our clothing to prep for our time away. One month turned to eight, and this week I started tackling the clothes in the garage; doing loads of laundry (pun intended) and processing the need for another purge. My denim is in major influx and to be honest, it astounded me. It’s almost like it took living on a minimal wardrobe to realize how we definitely don’t wear all of what we have.
To get to the crux, I struggled with knowing what to do with my old jeans! Did you know that since authentic denim is made from cotton, a natural fiber, it can be recycled and used to create something new? I became aware of the Denim Stack Challenge by Cotton’s Blue Jeans Go Green™ denim recycling program and was so elated! I had no idea that I could support sustainable living through recycling my denim + I never had any idea that my old denim could create natural cotton fiber insulation to help building efforts around the country.
-----
Want to join me? P.S. by participating, you enter to win a $150 gift card to Madewell.
• First, gather all of your unused denim, snap a pic, and share it on social tagging @DiscoverCotton with the hashtag #DenimStackChallenge.
• Tag your friends and encourage your peers to do the same.
• Drop off your old/worn denim for recycling at one of the many participating Cotton’s Blue Jeans Go Green™program brands or retailers, or mail it in for free by downloading a prepaid shipping label from Zappos for Good.
• Any type of denim apparel can be contributed for recycling so long as it’s at least 90% cotton so be sure to check your labels.
Happy recycling! 👖
& thank you, Cotton, for partnering with me!
The Process Of Moving In
Just wanted to chime in with a quick update on our process of moving in!
Hi friends!Just wanted to chime in with a quick update on our process of moving in! If you follow Jase and I on Instagram you will have seen that it has been a lot of work with a lot of stuff (especially pillows...!), patience, time, help, energy, understanding, and LOVE. We are so thankful for this new home and cannot wait to see the chapters of life that unfold within these walls.The main words I keep thinking about during this move are patience, grace, and gratefulness. My acupuncturist a few weeks ago talked to me about the act of “reframing,” which is taking a situation and turning it into a positive perspective rather than a negative. I keep saying that I am so grateful that I get to unpack and create a space for my family.For instance, the dust has been a nightmare for me, and it’s somewhat helpless to avoid it at the beginning of the move and after a renovation (no matter how much you clean). The stores and dusty boxes bring in more dust, the items in the box that have collected dust do the same, and the foot traffic brings in all the things too! We just keep cleaning and continue being grateful for the progress!
I am the type that diligently finishes every project I start. And y’all probably know, my home reflects the Marie Condo theme that everything has a place. Organization, creating a home, cleaning, and feeling settled is in the heart of who I am so this process can be mentally tough. I keep reminding myself that this is a process and I am so grateful for this space now and what it will develop into. It’s such a parallel for life. We often want something to be complete, but the time of work and waiting is often times a struggle.My parents came in to help and it was a game changer. My dad literally did over 30 hours of laundry (he is a pro!), and my mom is the best organizer of coordinating the rooms. She also set boundaries for us to stop when we were tired and to rest when we needed it so we didn’t fully exhaust ourselves every day. I could not be more thankful on how well we work together and how much they sacrifice for us, even though they just view it as a gift to help!Our method in unpacking was to unpack everything first, and then organize it into categories in the appropriate room. We also first vacuumed and cleaned every cabinet thoroughly. And P.S. we are only using Branch Basics in our clean up! Then we organized drawers and cabinets + write a list of organizers we needed to order to make it fully complete.
It’s so nuts to me because we purged so much before the move, and so you think you are good to go with purging when you move, but this was not the case for us! We are continuing to purge items, which is the best feeling in the world.Other keys to a successful move-in: blasting music throughout the house, laughing, making sure you get enough food and water, rest when you need to, and HAVE FUN!!Also, last but certainly not least, I have been praying over our house as we unpack - such a special and powerful thing to do, inviting Jesus into the process.Thanks for reading and share this post with anyone who is preparing for and praying over an upcoming move themselves!xo, Lo.
Serena & Lily Bedding: A Guest Room in the Works
Moving brings up so many feelings, right? It’s so rewarding yet so overwhelming, and project manager mode goes into full gear (at least for me!). But the biggest blessing after a tedious renovation is that the furnishing and decorating process starts now.
Moving brings up so many feelings, right? It’s so rewarding yet so overwhelming, and project manager mode goes into full gear (at least for me!). But the biggest blessing after a tedious renovation is that the furnishing and decorating process starts now.
Favorite Cleaning Tool: Nellie’s WOW Mop
For all of you that know me, cleaning is a top priority in my every day life. I live with lavender wipes in my car, a hand vacuum at full disposal, and now, my new favorite cleaning tool, the Nellie’s WOW Mop.
For all of you who know me, cleaning is a top priority in my every day life. I live with lavender wipes in my car, a hand vacuum at full disposal, and now, my new favorite cleaning tool, the Nellie’s WOW Mop.You guys. This cordless and rechargeable, lightweight mop is first of all the cutest mop in all the land, and not to mention, it’s super easy to use!It comes with reusable pads that can be thrown in the wash and reused up to 100 times. It is great on ceramic, hardwood, and tiles floors...and my favorite part? The Floor Care solution is plant based, contains a naturally derived fragrance, and is the best tool for removing dirt and odors.
Other benefits I love about this product line:
1) the products come in tins, which are easier to recycle and are in turn eco-friendly.2) they are biodegradable and friendly to the environment.3) they are hypoallergenic and are perfect for sensitive skin.4) the powder is more concentrated than liquid detergents, so you’re not shipping water all around the world. Another eco-friendly perk.😉5) the dryer balls are used to replace dryer sheets, which are usually very toxic!
P.S. Did you know? Most scented detergents just mask your clothes in a chemical fragrance instead of actually cleaning. Nellie’s powders are fragrance-free, leaving your clothes and dishes scentless – so you know they’re clean!This line is becoming one of my favorites and a staple in our home. Shop it here and use LAUREN for 25% off at checkout!Thank you, Nellie's, for sponsoring this post!
Tips On Purging Your Home Before A Move
Hi friends!If you are following along on Instagram, you may know that Jase and I moved out of our first house together a month ago! We didn’t post a lot about it as it has been a bit of a whirlwind, but the circumstantial events that led to this move brought so much clarity and peace that it was time to leave. We are moving to a new area that is in the middle of nature and 15 minutes from one of our favorite beaches, so our excitement level is through the roof.A little update: we are living in a hotel for a few months because we are about to fully jump into renovating our new house. This is a story all in itself, so stay tuned for that + we are doing a completely nontoxic remodel from the stones, tiles, and paint we use to the glue, furniture, and lighting we buy. I have learned a lot and will have so much to share with you guys!
Now to the topic I have been dying to jump into: purging the home before a move! I think we can all agree that although moving can be stressful in some ways, but the best part about it is cleaning out every inch of the house, from the closets to the kitchen cabinets to the office shelves.I tend to clean out our home every few months because if you do it often, the process becomes super easy and far from daunting. But there is something about moving that sparks an even greater purge. Jase and I donated or tossed out about ten to fifteen super large bags of stuff. Isn’t it crazy to think that we had that much in our already non-cluttered home being unused? We donated loads of clothing and shoes, work out attire that sat in the bottom of our dresser drawers, beauty products, handbags, candles, books, lamps that were lounging in the garage, and we tossed products that were recently expired!
I know we probably all know of Marie Kondo and her new series on Netflix; it’s creating such a beautiful movement! A friend recommended her book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, to me a few years ago, and the two things that stood out to me were:1) Everything should have a place.2) If something doesn’t spark joy, get rid of it.It’s easier said than done, right? But from implementing this and purging extra recently, doesn’t it lift such a weight off your shoulders when you empty your house of things that are unnecessary? I also read this article recently that connects clutter to health; it’s so fascinating!! Not to mention, it brings more intention when purchasing things because it feels so refreshing to live with less.I would love to hear your experiences with tidying up in the comments below! xoxoimages: The Home Sort- best organizers ever!
Molekule Review for Allergy Relief
Has anyone else been struggling as much as Jason and I this season with allergies? Even my family in Dallas has been saying that it is the worst they have ever experienced. [show_shopthepost_widget id="3236950"]
Has anyone else been struggling as much as Jason and I this season with allergies? Even my family in Dallas has been saying that it is the worst they have ever experienced.
[show_shopthepost_widget id="3236950"]Thank you, Molekule, for gifting me this air purifier!
Q&A With Branch Basics' Founders: Part Two
Hey, friends! As you guys know, we are BIG fans of the toxin-free, safe, plant-based cleaning products brand known as Branch Basics. We first talked about the brand here, and then last month we interviewed one of their founders, Allison, in part one of this Q&A series. If you missed that post, you must check it out! Allison's words are so inspiring and will really open your eyes to the true significance and importance of ridding your home of toxic products. To follow up on Allison's story, we have another one of their co-founders on LSK today for part two of the Q&A series with the Branch Basics' founders. Also, they are kindly offering a promo code for LSK readers...use code LSK20 for 20% off at branchbasics.com! Now without further ado, meet Kelly Love. Scroll down to get to know her, her journey with Branch Basics, and why she is so passionate about toxin-free living.How did you become part of the Branch Basic team and what do you love most about it?Goodness, so much to say about this! Allison and I were roommates and best friends in college at The University of Texas at Austin. Our junior year, Allison turned to Marilee (her aunt) for health advice because her body was failing her and none of the many doctors she saw over a two year period could figure out what was wrong. She was feeling hopeless, depressed and was in constant pain. Within six months of changing her diet and the products she used everyday per Marilee’s recommendations, along with doing all kinds of cool detox treatments and taking food-based supplements, she finally started getting a lot better. I witnessed the transformation and was hooked. I wanted to know everything Marilee was teaching her and I started bugging Marilee with tons of questions for my own wellbeing. As graduation approached, we thought it would be amazing to live with Marilee for a summer before starting “real life”.. Thankfully she said yes! From my perspective, Marilee taught and modeled for us what it looked like to live as close to God’s design as possible. We filled ourselves with pure air, pure food, and pure thoughts. We meditated on scripture, spent time in nature, and didn’t put a single thing in our mouths that wasn’t part of our Food as Medicine prescriptions. The results were powerful and truly life-changing for both of us. Allison was a new person and I, the “healthy one”, was feeling better than I ever had in my life. My painful menstrual cramps, dry and itchy eyes, random headaches, and joint and muscle pain all disappeared. I didn’t even have body odor when I got sweaty! It was a snapshot of our body’s potential and also, sadly, of how so many suffer because of what they eat, breathe, put on their bodies, and focus their minds on. Allison and I now shared Marilee’s passion for wanting to help others live a healthier, fuller life and avoid unnecessary suffering. So again, Allison and I went to Marilee asking for something that seemed crazy to her: Would she start a company with us so we could get her knowledge out to the world? In 2010, we launched Three Branches Healthy Living, an online shop for all things healthy - the safest organic mattresses, air purifiers, food-based supplements, non-toxic cleaning, etc. and then that turned into Branch Basics, which focused on cleaning, in 2012. As for what I love most, it’s a tie between getting to work with people I love so much and having the opportunity to learn something new from Marilee everyday. My life, my husband’s life and my daughter’s life are no doubt better because of her and everything she’s taught me. 
Tell us about your journey of ridding your home of toxic products. How did you become passionate about clean home products?I could feel the difference! I can now 100% tell that my constant dry eyes were from the conventional laundry detergent and dryer sheets I was using up until my “detox summer.” When I got to Marilee’s she had me put all my clothes in the sun and wash them several times to get the chemical residues out of the fibers. After giving my body a break from that non-stop toxic exposure (clothes, towels, sheets - you never escape it!), I was finally able to realize how crazy strong those smells are. I was so used to them that I couldn’t tell before! It’s like smokers that quit smoking and then can’t stand the smell of cigarettes. The laundry switch was such an obvious difference for me, so it was a huge motivator to change everything. (In addition to dry eyes I now notice I get a stuffy head, tingly and tight muscles especially in my face and neck area, headaches and I don't sleep as well when I’m around conventional stuff.)It also just made so much sense to me that our homes should be a safe haven, free of products that put stress on our body’s detoxification and immune systems. Cleaning products are such a simple thing to change, and getting all the toxic ones out makes a HUGE impact on your indoor air quality and on your body. Understanding what is and what isn’t safe is so important, though. We want people to know what to look for in products so that they are using the safest, most effective cleaning products possible and ultimately to inspire the entire industry to make human health the #1 priority when formulating.If there is one piece of information that you think people should know about the importance of using safe, pure cleaning products, what would it be?It’s about so much more than being “green.” It’s important because it means you’re not exposing yourself to endocrine disruptors that can make it difficult to get pregnant, or neurotoxins that can affect brain development, or carcinogens that can increase the risk of cancer, or skin irritants that can contribute to eczema, or allergens that can induce nosebleeds. Our hearts long for people to understand the true weight and importance their cleaning and laundry products carry in relation to their wellbeing. This is the reason we do what we do.How do you balance being an entrepreneur and a wife + mom?This is a daily struggle for me! Still haven’t nailed it down yet!Thankfully my husband is a very helpful, hands-on dad and also helps me make dinner most nights. (Green Chef has been amazing for us!) I’m also extremely thankful that my daughter has always been a good napper because I work during her naps and at night so I can focus on her while she’s awake. I have to be careful though, because too often I’ll tend to stay up way too late (since it’s a time I can focus without interruptions and distractions), and I’ve gotten myself into a situation where my adrenals are super fatigued and working on overdrive. (I’m kicking myself because it’s 1 AM as I type this!!) But I’m getting better and I’m also getting better at saying no to things so I don’t overcommit myself. It means Branch Basics isn’t growing as fast as it could, but it’s worth it for my health and time with my family.
In addition to using clean products, do you also value a clean diet? What are some of the grocery staples in your home?Absolutely! A clean, nutrient-dense diet is so foundational and critical. One of the things I learned from Marilee and am totally on board with is that one diet does not fit all, and the body needs different foods, prepared in specific ways at different times of the year, during different phases of life. Especially for women. For example, there are various foods to emphasize when trying to conceive, while pregnant, and postpartum that aren’t as important in other seasons of life. Another example I love is that a person in Jamaica is not going to eat the same diet as someone in Alaska. Some foods are cooling and some foods are warming. Some people do better with little to no meat, while others should eat meat regularly. I am an O blood type and have been nursing my daughter for 16 months, so I try to get in a lot of healthy fat and protein.Some of my staples are organic eggs, butter, coconut oil, and olive oil, Applegate Organics turkey, beef and chicken hot dogs (so easy and convenient!), Safe Catch canned tuna, wild-caught salmon, organic/grass-fed bone broth (Bonafide brand when I don’t have any homemade), organic and grass-fed yogurt with no sugar added, Go Raw sprouted granola, Once Again organic almond butter, Alvarado-Street Bakery bread and bagels, organic sauerkraut and other fermented vegetables, and plenty of organic fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. I also keep Amy’s Soups on hand for times I don’t have time to prepare food and spruce them up with Vital Proteins collagen, bone broth and butter.Besides Branch Basics of course, what other clean brands do you love? They can be home, beauty, or anything else!Ah, so many! The tops ones that come to mind are W3ll People (makeup), Primally Pure (deodorant and skincare), Innate Response (prenatal vitamins), and Simple Mills (cookies, crackers and baking mix - I don’t use their icing though), Epic (meat bars), Hu Kitchen (chocolate bars) and Pact (organic cotton sports bras, underwear, and leggings).
---