Have You Heard? // Joseph - "White Flag"

We have tickets to see James Bay here in just a few weeks (EEP!), and it turns out that his opening band is pretty awesome too! I saw him post about it on twitter, and then my friend Jessica posted the video for it on FB, and I knew I needed to take a listen!

Wow, what a cool sound. Very melodic, anthem-y, and with touches of that lovely bluegrass soul that I love in country music (even not being a country fan) and other alt bands like Mumford and Sons, or like "Renegades" from X Ambassadors.



What do you think? Cool sound, right?

Up to anything exciting this weekend? We are super busy with at least a wedding and a Rosh Hashana / Birthday Dinner...!

Other Posts This Week: Eco Beauty Reviews Vol. I // Featuring CORA and Snapshots of Jekyll Island, GA.

XO,

Alexandra

Snapshots of Jekyll Island, GA // June 2016

I know it is officially fall (HOORAY!) but I'm here to share the last of our summer trip to Georgia. If you've been reading along you'll know that we spent some time in Savannah, on Tybee Island, and then also Jekyll Island.

Jekyll is located on a protected part of the coast, so it has a decidedly wild, laid back, and natural feel to it. I spent most of our time there at my conference, but we did make sure to catch some afternoon/evening beach time, and do a little bit of touring and eating while we were there.

Eat: There are a decent number of places to eat on the island... but most of them are not particularly special. One place that we enjoyed quite a bit was called Driftwood Bistro. Everything that we tried was really good, and the people who worked there were super nice. :) 

See: The beaches (driftwood beach too!), the river, the nature everywhere! The old buildings by the river.

Shop: Because it's so small and based around the nature preserves there is not a ton of shopping to do on Jekyll. We visited a bookstore that was a little bit pricey and several of the shops near the Jekyll Island Club Hotel for souvenirs. On the newer side of the island there is a market/grocery store - which has lots of little stalls and gift type items in it. Overall not a shopping destination, but that's ok... especially if you've just left Savannah... :P 

Do: Visit the beaches, rent bikes or kayaks and see the trails and waterways, play mini golf, visit the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. 

- we loved the sea turtle center. You can go and learn about turtles and obstacles they are up against, you can see them recovering and sometimes even being operated on. It's got a lot of information and a lot of turtles. The gift shop is nice too. It would be a good place to take kids and learn about how to protect turtles and coastal environments. :) 

Favorites: The beaches, the low country boil that we did via the conference, and the Georgia Sea Turtle Center.

New Experiences: Fried green tomatoes, low country boil, going to a conference for work, seeing crabs and marine birds feeding by the beach.

We were so glad to finally check Georgia off of my list. :) 

Have you been somewhere scenic and undeveloped for vacation?

Do you love the beach? Or is it just land-locked me...?

Other Georgia Posts: Savannah and Tybee Island.

Happy Travels!

XO,

Alexandra

Eco Beauty Review Vol. I // Featuring CORA

As you guys know, I am very into keeping it green and chemical free around here. You may have read some of my past posts, especially my recent one about our Honest Bundle... but I don't share my favorite products or product reviews as often as I would like to!

Today I wanted to share a few new eco products that I have been trying, and how I like them so far. :) I hope to do a recurring feature on the products I try, and how I like them. Are you interested in reading more? Let me know in the comments! :)

1) Sensitive Skin Moisturizer via ACURE Organics

I use ACURE organics for nearly all of my skincare products. I love the products and you can read more about my skin journey here.

While I am happy with all of the things I currently use, I recently decided to try the sensitive skin moisturizer. This moisturizer is $17.99 and comes in a 1.7 fluid oz squeeze tube. Overall, I think this is a nice heavier moisturizer, it seems to be working well with my sensitive skin. I try not to put a lot on the spots where I am breaking out or prone to break out because it's too heavy for that skin. This moisturizer is unscented.... but it smells kind of weird. Salty maybe. Maybe that's the sunflower oil? Not sure, but I don't really like the smell that it has. We'll see how continued use goes and whether or not I decide to buy more when this one runs out. I think it would be really nice for the colder months for when you need more moisture!

Purchase Here.

I currently also use the day cream - which is less heavy, and has a nice citrus scent, much better for warmer seasons.

2) Organic Cotton Tampons c/o CORA

CORA is a relatively new company that has a great business model! A few things I love are:

1) Organic cotton! ... and they don't contain any of the nasty synthetic materials and chemicals that the FDA doesn't require a label for. -yay!

2) For every month of CORA you buy, a month is delivered to girls in need. Over 100 million girls and women don't have access to feminine hygiene items! This means that they miss school and work because they have no other option!

3) It doesn't stop at #3! Through CORA, "Small scale manufacturing units" are set up in communities of need, where feminine hygiene products will be produced for the area. The women working in the unit will be local women, who will be paid a living wage. They also work to teach women's health education to their employees and their daughters.

4) Their branding is SO DARN CUTE. I love the packaging, the little vegan leather case that you can stash in your tote bag, and the larger box for your stash at home. I found the small one really handy on our summer vacations!

Overall, these tampons are great. They work well, they're cute, they are easy to conceal in the cases. I love that they don't include nasty chemicals and synthetic materials, and that they are delivered right to your door, much like the Honest bundles. The biggest plus is of course the cause! Incredible work being done there! I'm very impressed by their goals and the work they are doing, and I can't wait to find out more as they grow!

The things that I don't love about CORA are mostly related to their applicator and packaging materials. They currently have a plastic applicator and a plastic wrapping for each tampon. I like that the applicator is BPA free, and I see that they are in the process of developing a bio-based plastic, but for now I'm not a big fan of the waste the plastic is creating. I am VERY excited though, that they are working to reduce that already! Maybe someday they will have an applicator free version as well. :)

Purchase & Learn More About CORA Here. - price varies based on your preferences in your order and payment plan.

For $5 off your first order you can use my code: CORA5ALEXANDRA . :) 

3) Brow Filler by Honest Beauty

You guys know that I love The Honest Company and that I am really loving their essentials bundle! What I haven't shared yet, is that I am also trying out their makeup/skincare line, Honest Beauty. I will happily share more on other products soon (let me know if you are interested!), but I wanted to share about the brow filler today!

I am one of those people who just has the scraggliest eye brows. They have never been full or dark, they have always been different shapes, and many eco-brow products I have tried just looked strange, like I have tried to paint over them or something! Not good. This pencil is what I've been looking for for a LONG TIME! It goes on easily, fills in my brows without looking harsh, obvious, or fake, and is eco! :) The pencil is $15 on it's own or part of a 3 item $50 per shipment bundle. It comes in 4 colors: blonde, auburn, brunette, and black.

I wish that it didn't have the brow brush on the end, because I have a brow brush with my makeup brushes, and it feels wasteful to get a disposable brush with each new eyebrow pencil. Other than that, I love it.

Purchase Here.

Are you interested in learning more about Honest Beauty Bundles? Let me know!

4) Naked Palette by 100 Percent Pure

I have been using 100% Pure makeup since college, I love that it's eco and that it works well. They have a HUGE inventory... so there is always something new to try. I decided to pick up their naked palette with one of my orders. The palette is $45 and contains three eye shadows, a powder blush, and a luminizing powder. I had tried the luminizer before and I really like the subtle shimmer it gives over my blush. However, I hadn't tried any of the other products in the palette. After months of use the luminizer is gone and I am still using the eye shadows. I haven't touched the blush yet, because I just don't use a lot of powdered blush. Overall, the palette is not my favorite, mostly because my daily go-to eye shadows have a bit of shimmer to them. However, if you like a daily shadow without shimmer, this is the palette for you. The colors are neutral and work with all skin tones.

I probably won't order this again, but I will continue to get the luminizer, and other individual eye shadows as well as cream blushes from them. See a review of three of my favorite 100 Percent Pure products, here. - though they have sadly discontinued my favorite eye shadow. *sobs*

Purchase Here.

What beauty products have you guys been trying? Any that you love?

Are you interested in seeing more eco-beauty posts?

This post does not contain affiliate links, but this blog was given a free product from CORA to review. As always, I'm giving you guys my honest opinion!

Thank you for reading!

Alexandra

Have You Heard? // Silversun Pickups - "Circadian Rhythm"

Another bit closer to fall, another moody tune.

I have to admit I really love the story-like lyrics of the Silversun Pickups songs that I have heard so far. I like to imagine they'll get turned into a really fascinating book or tv show someday.

This is one of their newest singles, "Circadian Rhythm". I really love the sound of it and that it's a little bit romantic.



What do you think? What do you like to listen to in the fall?

Any fun plans this weekend?

Other Posts This Week: Book Ban 2016 and Snapshots of Tybee Island, Georgia.

XO,

Alexandra

Snapshots of Tybee Island, GA // June 2016

As the weather cools down here, I'm recapping the hot and humid Georgia.

On to Tybee Island!

When we went to Savannah we knew we wanted to drive out to the ocean a few times. Being land-locked Kansans we love to see the water - and get to the coast any chance we can. :) Tybee Island is just 25-30 minutes from Savannah, a very easy drive, and a perfect little beach town. It's known for it's light house, it's beaches, and it's laid back island charm. We went primarily to check climbing a light house off my list, and on our third try we *finally* got to go up! This ended up being one of our favorite things we did on this whole trip!

Eat: We actually did not eat at all on the island. We did stop for limeades on the drive back to Savannah once, which were really yummy, but WAY too big.

See: The Southern beaches. Our photos were taken on North Beach. The light house, and it's cottage and compound. Especially the view from the top! :)

Shop: There are a few little clusters of shops on the island. We only visited a few, but it was fun to see local artist's work, and fun little items here and there. Lord knows I didn't need to buy a ton after Savannah... not saying I bought nothing... 

Do: Climb the light house and explore the cottage and compound. Imagine that you are living there, get swept away in day dream... Hang out at the beach! In June the water was lovely! We got caught in a storm that was very intense but exhilarating.

Favorites: The light house, and swimming in the ocean!

New Experiences: Climbing a light house, getting caught in a big coastal storm, learning anything about light houses really. :) 

Random Tip: If you happen to get caught in a coastal storm, just keep following the cars with local license plates. This is by no means official advice... but we were on the high way, driving slowly in intense wind and rain - when some sort of emergency vessel lit up and started making fog horn sounds! So intense, I don't know what that means.... so following the cars eventually lead us out of the island and out of the storm. I figured the locals would know when it was too bad to keep driving!

Have you been to Tybee Island? What did you think?

Do you mind storms? Have you ever been caught in one that you didn't know how to react during?

What's your favorite destination you've visited by the ocean?! I want to know!!

Other Georgia Posts: Savannah and Jekyll Island.

Happy Travels!

XO,

Alexandra