Diapers always magically appeared on our door step thanks to Amazon Family. (We also saved 20% on those diapers and wipes! And vitamins! And more!) Prime continues to be good to us. We never pay for shipping, gifting is super easy, and we store all our pictures in the cloud there, too.
We use most of what Amazon Prime has to offer, including Prime Music, but every now and then we come across an album or song that isn't included. Most recently it was the soundtrack to the My Little Pony Movie - Friendship is Magic. Our daughter asks for it every time we're in the car...if you have a kid then you've been there. You know.
So Andrew sprang for the 30-day free trial of Amazon Music Unlimited, which gives us access to ALL of the music Amazon has its fingers on. (Including that soundtrack! Yay!) Plus we also get to enjoy these benefits:
We can holler at Alexa (great for driving!) through the Amazon Music app for hand-free music selection.
Songs can be downloaded onto our phones.
Songs can be played in offline mode so we don't drain our data when we're away from WiFi.
I haven't yet come up with a song that I couldn't find in that library.
Here's what we have to say about the free trial so far, and whether we plan to actually pay for it! Pardon the giggles and the extra appendages...our daughter wanted to join the fun.
We have a 5-year-old daughter, so naturally we care very much about what goes on her skin. We also care a lot about what's in what goes on her skin. (We also care a lot about what goes on our own skin, too, which is why I use skincare like this brand.)
There are lots of good options out there when it comes to safe(r) sunscreen, but they vary in some specific ways.
1) Zinc Oxide and/or Titanium Dioxide as the active ingredient.
These are minerals and block the sun using a physical barrier on the skin. They offer excellent UVA protection and do not disrupt or mimic our own hormones.
Some brands that still claim to be natural use chemical sunscreens, which are suspicious when it comes to safety. Examples of chemical sunscreens are: Oxybenzone, Octinoxate and Homosalate. All of these have evidence of being hormone disruptors and have been found in mothers' milk.*
2) Safe inactive ingredients.
What's supporting the active ingredients matter to me as much as the safety of the active ingredient, which is why I choose a sunscreen that does not have contain any
parabens (preservatives that are suspicious of being hormone disruptors)
fragrance (a lot of things can fall into this category are not regulated for safety)
nano ingredients (these are teeny tiny ingredients that may bond to us on a molecular level.)
3) A Reasonable Price
You and I both know that products that have the words "organic" and/or "natural" can garner some excruciatingly high price tag. You do get what you (often) pay for, but I admit that I want the safe ingredients without breaking my budget.
So which do I choose when it comes to our sun protection?
This:
Here's what I love about it:
It has an EWG rating of "1" (the lower the number, the better!)
It uses Zinc Oxide as the active ingredient.
It applies easily and rubs in well.
It's pleasant smelling (read: friendly on kids' noses!)
It's free of yucky ingredients like parabens, phthalates, PABA and 1,4 dioxane and formaldehyde.
I love Acure Organics. I use their line of skincare on my face, I use their shampoo on my hair (and my 5-year-old daughter's!) This line uses great ingredients and is very reasonably priced for a brand that contains so many organic ingredients.
Right now on Amazon, you can purchase four full-size products for only $19.99 - a savings of almost 50% buying the products individually! These four items are my personal favorites of their skincare line - though I'd add in their night cream as well.
Check out my review of the brand and the set here:
Have you tried this brand? Are you going to get a set?
PopSugar released a double sneak peek for the upcoming February PopSugar Must Have Box:
I love anything coconut, so I'm really excited to try this lotion. I'm curious to find out what the ingredients are, though, and how much actual coconut milk there is!) What do you think of the spoiler? Are you going to get the February Box?
PopSugar just released the inspiration behind the February box!
January's box is sold out, but you can order now and have February's box delivered to your door as soon as they start shipping! (Don't forget to use MUSTHAVE5 to get $5 off your first box.)
Curious to know what kinds of things come in the PopSugar Must Have boxes? Check out my review of the January Must Have box here.
The Pop Sugar Must Have box is a monthly lifestyle box with fun, useful items with a hint of luxe. Subscriptions start at $39.95 per month, and new subscribers can get $5 off their first month with coupon MUSTHAVE5 Here's what's inside this months's box:
I was amazed at all that was packed into this box! Each box comes with a fold out card with details on each item and their retail value. There's usually a website listed for each item, too.
There were seven total items in this month's box, with a total retail value of about $120.
This heavy-weight canvas bin from Pehr Designs is very sturdy, and I imagine it has a multitude of uses. I'm going to start off using it as a hamper. The gray pebble design has a universal feel and I imagine it would fit in with any decor. sugg. retail: $40
In this day and age of everything digital, it was refreshing to get to actual book-type things! On the left is Spark Joy, by Marie Kondo. It's the companion book to her best-selling The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. I read her first book and found it to be wonderful, but too much of an undertaking. It seems that this second book offers a simpler approach, which I think will be a good fit for me. sugg. retail: $18.99
On the right is a gorgeous robin's egg blue day planner from Blue Sky. I admit I've gone the way of iCal for my daily reminders, but this is inspiring me to take it back to the ol' pen and paper. The nice thing is that it also has some pages for goal-planning, too. sugg. retail: $15.99
Front: Patchology masque trio. I love that you can use these masques in 5 minutes and you don't have to rinse them off! Do be aware that when you take them out of the pouch they're a bit drippy. Sugg Retail: $20.00 Left: ChapStick! This is listed as a "special extra" and is a full-size tube of their Total Hydration line. It's very smooth and perfect for this dry winter weather. Sugg. Retail: $2.99
Right: Project 7, Inc Summer Snow Sugar Free Gum. This gum is super fruity and tasty. What I love most is that proceeds from every 7th pack goes towards anti-bullying.
Back: Not Soap, Radio bath and shower gels. These are super fun, travel-sized, and have fun names that match different moods. I may be gifting these, because they contain artifical colorants that I try to stay away from, but they smell amazing and they don't contain any sodium lauryl/laureth sulfates, which is something I look for in my bath products.
All in all I think this has a great value at about $120 and goes well with a new year/new you theme. As of this posting, the January box is still available. Get yours here. Disclaimer: this post may contain affiliate links.
Humor and creativity are two of our favorite things. That's why we got so excited to be featured in the humor issue of Courageous Creativity! An intro from the editors:
"Have you ever considered that humor is essentially creativity? Check out stories and insights from TED speaker Hannah Brencher, renowned artist Chad Crowe, comedic writer and improv artist Lisa Warsinske, Indian classical vocalist Srivani Jade, multi-entrepreneurial duo Andrew and Sarah Zahn, poet Farah Abdul, and our two young minds, Madhurum Bhuvan and Nadiya Narula! All set to the backdrop of Devasmita Chakraverty's keen-eyed photography."
This fantastic ezine is put together by a wonderful group of professionals and we're honored to have been part of this month's publication.
Just click on the Courageous Creativity picture below to read the ezine. We're on pages 18-22. Enjoy!
