HELLO (or A Real RAD Review)

 I'm back here, on the pretty side of my blog, with a few more extras for the month of June! 
 Ive never done a full fledged "review" of a product before however, these folks are worth the added effort. It began a while back while visiting my M2B. She had recently picked up a new soap and body lotion at the Saratoga Farmers Market. In addition to the picture of Alice and the Mad Hatter with the title TEA PARTY RED (enter my obsession with all things Mad Hatter), it was beautiful to look at!  A thick bar with one side rustically cut to an imperfect perfection, reminding me of something that could have been pressed together by hands back when my great grandmothers created their very own versions in the water basins out back. Then I smelled it! The label (which of course i hadn't seen at my first introduction) has the description "pomegranate and hibiscus", yet when i sniffed it for the first time i imagined endless fields of the most lush fragrant blossoms rolled together with expensive lavish oils to create this bar (wordy and dramatic, possibly but you haven't smelled it yet)! :)
I literally fell in love with this soap. Made with the good stuff, this little family run company boasting proudly "handcrafted in the USA" stole my heart along with my soap dish. 
 So a few minutes later (minutes could have been months, its difficult to say sometimes), the W2B was shopping the FM without me and happened to bring home a wonderful new soap and body cream she found! You guessed it! I know we had both loved it a while back but i thought she may have forgotten about it. Turns out nope! So now we own our very own TEA PARTY RED. Being the overzealous and easily-excited-by-simplicity gal that I am, I couldn't wait to get back to Saratoga to stock up. Turns out, we use it so frequently that we were almost out by the time we made it there to grab some more. In our search for the favorite scent, we also ended up giving a new one a try as well. We picked up the ROCKSTAR bar which is the spearmint and eucalyptus. I can't wait to lather up with that one. 

 

 *on a little side note, the bars are so nice and big, we cut one into about 5 smaller bars! Makes them perfect for travel and fit in your hands even easier! This way, you can have one in every room of the house too!:) 

 We had hoped to purchase the TEA PARTY RED in a pump lotion but no such luck at the stand. They do however, have a fully loaded website option that we can go to and order so that will be our next shop stop. I wholeheartedly recommend this little company called RAD Soap Co (i can not do it but, on their logo the "o" in soap and co are uniquely transformed into the male and female symbols...which i can't be sure the exact meaning intended but either way, I'm loving the idea). 

 I urge you to check them out, whether it be finding them at a nearby market, grocer or online and giving their products a sniff test and sampling many of their scents and lotions available on any given day. Their website is at radsoap.com (go ahead and use the link here for a quick and easy pop over) and the rest of their info (including a nice 10% promo offer) is listed on the snapshot below. 
I just LOVE supporting the little homemade, handmade, local and family businesses that are still out there neck and neck with the big boys and proudly remaining true to themselves, their values and their beliefs. And we get to smell awesome now too! Radical is right! 

 In other Pretty-Little news, although last month I did say I would no longer be expecting my favorite little beauty bundle in the mail for a while, I received a surprise BirchBox this week. I have yet to use any of the products but this one looks to be a good one! The samples are larger than usual and include a tiny spray bottle of a perfume called HELLO! I did sneak a quick sniff to that one and i love it already. The best part is this box cost me nadda! $0. Cant get much better than that i suppose. When I spoke to the sales rep she kindly explained that they had received my cancellation notice just after the shipments went out, that she would be sure to refund me this months subscription fee and for me to keep and enjoy June's box. Although I am taking a hiatus from them, if you've been curious and contemplating giving BirchBox a try, i highly recommend them. 

 That's that for now my pretties. Hope all is well in your summer so far. School is ending soon and vacations are coming. For us that means some camping, some bike trips and a lot of back yard hangin! So get your spf and your helmets and meet us on the trail! 

Sometimes Doing Less is More Than Enough

 Good day beauties! Here we are again, another month just ticking right on by. At least we are heading into the warmer season. Sunkissed skin and wind blown hair. Sounds so lovely, doesn't it? Of course, there IS the sweating, sticky, humid moments but hey, its better than frigid and buried in snow! It is, right? Lets just say I prefer balance and not extremes. Anywho...

 So, in relation to my Pretty Little Pick Me Up's, which I needed a few this month for sure, I am going to keep this entry short-n-sweet so we can get back to enjoying the great outdoors! 

 May was a busy month and (for me) had a bunch of endings and new beginnings. Finally we were able to see winter officially stay behind us and the blossoms of spring fully present! Even those like me who suffer from allergy sniffles and itches can not deny the absolute beauty in the first bloom of (my favorite) our local magnolia trees. They smell delicious and look divine, a bright white and splash of color fading from vibrant to cotton candy pink along the petals. They do not last long but during their fleeting appearance, the magnolias make even the harshest of winters seem ages away. 

Then enters the lilacs. Another favorite of mine, although this year seemed to come and go so fast I was unable to even snap a picture. Mom has two little trees in her yard that we like to clip from and bring indoors to fill the house with what i call "natures perfume". We decided to leave what few flowers bloomed on the trees this year. The violet puffs were here and gone and now all that is left are the green leaves. Still pretty though. Thank you mother nature, for at least giving us a quick glance. 

 So we came, we saw, we left. Mid month we flew (i use that term loosely seeing it took as an added extra 3 days on a 4 day vacation) to Folly Beach, South Carolina. The trip hit snag after snag, leaving us stranded in Washington overnight, hotel and transportation costs rising above plans, and finally arriving in Charleston exhausted but thrilled to be in the presence of palm trees and family! We spent 5 amazing nights (supposed to be 4 however the good ole airlines messed up not only our flights there but also back again leaving us stranded in SC an extra day too...this time we didn't care so much though) soaking up the sun, skimming the waves, devouring the local delights and relaxing with our loved ones. It turned out to be a fantastic adventure we hope to be on again soon! 

 Since the second half of May brought a few tears and some emotional reflections, I found myself looking into new avenues of where to put my hard earned (and soon to be non existent) flow of income. I had decided to move on from the job Ive had this past year and truly take care of my needs. Physically, mentally and emotionally (which of course always means spiritually as well). I have decided, with the loving support of my beautiful W2B, that there is much needed healing to be done within this self of mine. I will be patient with life and allow opportunity to seek me out instead. Certain perspectives need adjusting and views need clearing in order to see (and feel) myself once again. I have not disconnected as much as maybe closed my eyes for a bit or dimmed the lights, however it is time for illumination. Lightness. I adore my life and the blessings in it, therefore i plan on using my time and energy more wisely in order to truly say "thank you" for it all.
 In the spirit of cutting corners or simplifying just a tad (for the time being), I am putting BirchBox on hold (along with cable tv, Dunkin lattes and eating out...as much). And lets be fair, there will still be lattes! ;) However there are some Pick Me Ups that can be gone without...and our little brown box delivery will be one of them. Of course, there is still the need for a few "Prettys" which for me consist of a few basics. Among these are my ELF mineral makeups, my like-spa-experience haircare (the must have trio: Pureology Hydrate shampoo, Aquage Uplifting foam and Kenra 25 hairspray) and the skin essentials that include Aubrey Organics and Alba products and sunscreens. Following right behind these essentials are my scent candies: Pacifica Island Vanilla roll on and Young Livings Stress Away roll on(with lime, vanilla and lavender). I love to smell delicious! 
 One thing that can make a tighter Pick Me Up budget smile are unexpected freebies! Ordering from ELF often does this to a gal and my last order was no different. After ordering the summertime face essentials (a warmer toned spf mineral powder) and a warm shade of gloss, i received their bonus gift of their Baked line that included 2 Baked bronzers, 1 Baked blush and the Baked eyeshadow box. They also threw in 3 brushes. What lovely friends I have at ELF! I like to imagine they know me well and although we don't speak as often as we would like, we send one another gifts from time to time. Darlings!

 

 Now we are swiftly headed into summer Pick Me Ups, which as far as were concerned have a whole lot to do with the food we eat and the nature that surrounds us. Be ready for the next couple monthly updates to be full of flowers and foodporn (i stole that one from an awesome new found blog I'm following called This Rawsome Vegan Life, full of gorgeous food and smoothie pics...foodporn)! Go check out her pics alone, they are well worth the trip. We have officially begun our local CSA pickups (Common Thread) as well as the Farmers Markets so our counter tops and giant wooden bowls are adorned and overflowing with fresh healthful goodies. We will be taking advantage of the warm yet fleeting months ahead by filling our plates with whats in season and enjoying many dinners together in our cozy outdoor oasis. 

 Happy Summer to you and be sure to grab a lettuce wrap and meet us by the water! Lovely wishes!

~be sure to sign up and sign in here at Gmail to be a part of the Pretty Little Pick Me Up and Living Authentically sounding board! I want to hear from you and always love new suggestions and input! Peace y'all!