Let Me Be Your Witch Doctor

Not long ago, I used to tease Marcus about how cautious {read: paranoid} he was about safety, not just safety as in not doing obviously dangerous things like jumping off cliffs or riding on motorcycles, but smaller things, like using a seasoning that might have MSGs, holding the phone to your ear, or getting X-Rays at the dentist. He was raised with a mother that made him ultra aware of these types of dangers, and I was raised with almost the complete opposite of a mother, who basically believed bad things only happened to you if they were supposed to happen to you, so no need to stress too much.

But a funny thing happened to me.

Last year, I got pregnant.

I had just found out and we hadn't told anyone yet. I was at my mom's house microwaving a bowl of soup. The time was almost up, so I walked over to the door, getting ready to open it up once it beeped and suddenly I was sure the waves were pulsing straight into my belly, radiating my tiny fetus. I quickly jumped back from the microwave and waited til it had beeped and cooled before I could convince myself I was being crazy (but not totally convince myself, as I have avoided standing by microwaves ever since! HA). Since that experience, I find myself somewhere in the middle of my two mother's beliefs, as I don't think it's healthy physically or emotionally to spend too much of your life stressing about every little thing that could cause your body some bit of harm, but I also believe we have a responsibility to take care of our bodies and learn the things we need to be able do so.
Pregnancy/the discovery of the coolest/most eye-opening app called Think Dirty, led me to set a goal of a toxin-free home. At first I felt overwhelmed--making meals was hard enough with a new baby, now I was going to be making soaps, deodorants, cleaning supplies, etc....but I will say, my career aspiration as a child was to become a Witch Doctor when I grew up, so this was kinda in line with that. YAY!

As I started looking up recipes and deciding what were the most important things to go, I realized, most of these things only took a few minutes to whip up! Most of the supplies could be ordered on Amazon (thank you Prime!) And most of them worked awesome (and looked way prettier too!). Plus, news flash! I'm not the only one who desires to live this way, so there are lots of small businesses you can support, if you don't want to do it yourself!

Something I haven't branched out in trying to make myself, is facial products (although I think it would be fun, and hope to experiment with in the future). But I found Klurskin on IG and I just had to give them a try. They're products are 100% natural, organic, with no artificial fragrances (but they smell so FREAKING GOOD! like a lemon dessert!) I tried several of Klurskin products, but my absolute favorites were the Organic Fusion Radiance Oil and the Hyaluronic + Vitamin C Serum. They give you the perfect dewy glow under your makeup and have cured me of that pesky flaky skin I always had around my nose, plus you only use a few drops, so they last for quite some time! The woman behind the brand is a total GirlBoss from LA and I love supporting her as she lives her dream, but mostly I love that I'm respecting my body, by ridding it from chemicals and toxins!

I'll be sharing my favorite tried and true natural recipes and products on here from time to time. I hope it inspires you to take baby steps to a cleaner life. Feel free to Pin anything that looks interesting and share with me any great recipes/brand I should try out!

You can see some of my favorite recipes on Instagram under the hashtag #swapitoutsaturday

Lunch Dates 4 Your Sanity.

Her: Round Sunnies//Oasap (similar here and here) Jumpsuit with Sleeves//Forever21 (similar here here here here here and here) Belt//Jcrew (similar here) Sandal Clogs//American Eagle (similar here and here) Zip Transport Tote//Madewell (buy here)

Him: Linen Shirt//Old Navy (buy here) Watch//Citizen (buy here) Sunnies//Jcrew Factory (buy here) Jeans//Jcrew (buy here) 1883 Boots//Wolverine (buy here)

Several months ago now, Marcus' sister, Alice, insisted on babysitting Simon for us...we didn't resist to much :). Simon was 4-months-old and we had only been on one other date without him (2 months prior). I remember thinking we weren't gonna be that couple, we were definitely going to get babysitters every week and go on regular date nights, but parenthood quickly makes you learn, YOU ARE GOING TO BE THAT COUPLE for a lot of different things. So, word to the wise, just don't ever say, "I'll never..." because, you just might.

It's weird, it was one of those things that we didn't really realize we needed until we actually did it. While it was hard taking Simon with us when we went out to dinner, we also loved him so much that we liked being with him, so it didn't feel like a burden. But let me tell you, going out with just the two of us again--IT WAS GLORIOUS! We held hands in the car (instead of trying to dangle toys over a screaming baby's head the whole drive). We hugged and made-out in the parking lot (Oh yeah, we did!) and we just about cried doing it because it felt like we hadn't just plain old hugged without a baby in one of our arms in a lonnnnng time! It was just a lunch date at Culinary Dropout, another Fox Concept Restaurant that we love (I'm starting to feel like they should sponsor me, given all the plugs I give them...). Marcus had the Pastrami Sandwich and I always get their pretzel fondu...mmmm! We talked and ate our meals at the same time as each other (something you don't get to do with a high-needs baby at the dinner table). It was so refreshing. I know it's important to foster the marriage relationship, and it's something we're going to work on making more of a priority for sure!

Dates FTW! I like my Marcus.

Shop My Closet @shoptheunicorn

Just listed a bunch of goodies on my instagram closet right here! Come shop @shoptheunicorn!

Flowerchild.

OUTFIT DEETS: Orbit Stroller//here, Boater Hat//similar here, Acid wash tee//similar here or here, buffalo check flannel//here, Lace up booties//similar here, Jeans//here, Midi Rings//here, Hidden Crown Hair Extensions//here, Simon's onesie//here, Marcus' linen top//here

So about a month and half ago, I won a dinner feast at Flowerchild through IG and I think I screamed out loud when I saw my name announced. Marcus and I are HUGE fans of all the Fox Restaurant Concepts here in the Phoenix area (let's face it, he's a genius) and had recently discovered the wonderful magic of Flowerchild thanks to an event the generously sponsored for The Shine Project. It's unfortunately a bit of a drive from Mesa, so we only head out there when Marcus has the day off and we're feeling fancy at lunch time ;). Usually when we go, we get the avocado hummus with pita and fresh veggies, and it's insanely good and I highly recommend it. The prize was to choose a protein and three sides, so we were 'forced' to branch out. The only thing I was set on was the corn and quinoa side, because I had had that before and craved it for a straight month after. OH EM GEE, it's yummy. I actually told Marcus we should get two sides of it so I didn't have to share, not realizing that the dinner sides are way bigger than the usual side--luckily he talked me out of that plan. For the rest of our choices, we basically asked the staff what we should try and left it up to them. The beet salad was rich and creamy and really good. The indian spiced cauliflower was for Marcus' sake--I don't like indian food, but he liked it. And the tomato, watermelon basil salad was really unique and quite refreshing. The steak was great, but again, huge portions, so we had it for like three meals after this. Also, be sure and get their daily lemonade--we've tried about 6 of their flavors and everyone has been a treat! 

Here's my final top recommendations {based on this trip and prior ones}: Avocado Hummus, Corn & Quinoa, Lemon Olive Oil Cake,  Flying Avocado Wrap, Any flavor of Lemonade, and the Beet, Avocado & Citrus Salad

Have you tried any of the Fox Spots? What's your fave?

You can check out how we spent our whole day on @orbitbaby --I took over their IG account yesterday :)