Subscribe
Search
Thursday
Dec172020

Nordgreen Watches | All I Want for Christmas

I’m not exactly sure when I stopped wearing watches but let’s just say it’s been a minute (see what I did there?) With a smartphone always in tow, I guess I just got out of the habit and as time rolled on, I thought I didn’t need one anymore.  

But lately, I’ve noticed that my favourite style influencers/muses ALL wear watches. I’ve found myself pining for a pretty watch again and let's face it, I wanted to try my hand at it (I can’t stop). It’s like Nordgreen heard my fashion cry across the pond and showed up in my inbox one day, asking if I’d like to test out one of their watches and give a special discount to my readers (use code SARAHF for 15% off your order btw). I obviously agreed!  Nordgreen, if you don’t already know, is a cool AF Scandinavian brand based in Copenhagen, so it’s no surprise that they’ve got minimalist design down to an art. I was immediately smitten with the Native in white leather - obsessed in fact - and could barely wait for it to arrive. It’s like I suddenly needed to know what time it was ALL the time. Without it, my wrist felt lacking. 

While I love the timeless, ageless, minimalist aesthetic of Nordgreen watches, it’s the company’s values that will make me a repeat customer. 

Nordgreen is carbon neutral; they plant thousands of trees to offset carbon emissions generated by their office in Copenhagen and shipments of their watches across the globe. Plus, their packaging is sustainable and made of FSC-certified cartons and upcycled plastic bottles. 

Probably my favourite thing about Nordgreen, though, is its Giving Back program. Through their partnerships with three NGO’s, each watch purchase allows every customer to donate to an important cause. By registering the serial number on your watch, you can donate 2 months of clean water to a person in need in the Central African Republic, 1 month of education to a child in India, or preserve 200 sq ft of rainforest in Latin America.

 

Since my Nordgreen watch arrived on my doorstep, I wear it every day with EVERYthing. I ordered the 36mm version because I like an oversized watch, and people comment  on it all the time. In non COVID times, I expect I’d get even more compliments but let’s just say the people at my local grocery store reaaalllly dig my watch. Thank you produce guy. Grazie lady in the Express Checkout aisle. Oh, and even the Starbucks drive-thru barista gave me a little 'oooh, where did you get your watch?' too. It's that good. 

You need one. You really do. Don’t forget -  Nordgreen has given me an exclusive promo code just for RLR followers. Use code SARAHF for 15% off your order :) That’s 15% on top of the 20% off they’re already offering on bundles. Plus, between Dec 2nd - Dec 30th, Nordgreen has partnered with KidsOut and my discount code will automatically give a toy to a child who has escaped domestic violence. 

So excited for you to have your own. It’s my fave thing. Oh, and come on - you’ve gotten so many gifts for everyone else this month, it’s the least you can do for yourself, right? Merry Christmas, you beauties!

p.s. What time is it? Time to get a watch. Bahahaaaa. Sorry, I’ll stop now ;)



 

Friday
Dec112020

Bone Brewhouse | The Surprising Skincare Secret You Need RN

Skincare > makeup. 

Since turning 40 (dun dun dunhhhh), I've discovered just how important it is to try to not look 40. I mean, I'm all about aging gracefully or whatever but personally, I'd prefer not to run into highschool randos at the grocery store and have them run back to all their friends and tell them how old I look. Superficial? Maybe. It's fine. 

I have a visceral fear of having needles jabbed into my face - I mean, the thought alone is enough to make me break into a sweat - so that's out for now. And I don't love drinking water. So, I try to stay active and eat relatively healthy, with a generous side of daily Dairy Milk chocolate bars and wine.

If you're still reading, thank you. Clearly, I'm not someone you should be following for health advice. But I feel like my skin hasn't looked this good in awhile, so thought I should share what I'm doing.

The answer, beauties? Bone broth. I swear. I've taken supplements in the past but I begin the bottle aggressively and enthusiastically, and then, I start to forget. Time rolls on and then 2 years later when I look in the mirror and see an old person, I reach up into my bin of vitamins and realize they've expired. And my skin cries. End of story. 

I've heard for awhile now that bone broth is a go-to for New Yorkers looking to stay youthful. Forever motivated by all things yummy and New York-related, I decided to give it a go when Bone Brewhouse reached out and offered to deliver a 6-pack Sampler Box right to my porch. You're telling me I can boost my immunity and build collagen while eating good things? Best news ever. 

Bone Brewhouse, if you haven't already heard, brews up a mean bone broth right here in Canada. It's slow-cooked, all natural, and preservative, gluten, dairy & soy free. I've been trying to stay healthy and stay young, so turns out this is the perfect answer for me. Bone broth is said to reduce joint pain and inflammation, improve hair, skin and nail health, all while strengthening and supporting the immune system. 

I've been cooking with Bone Brewhouse bone broth for 3 weeks now and my skin already looks firmer, more glow-y, and my nails feel stronger. I've tried all of the flavours and they're all delish but my fave right now is the pho and the chicken. I think I just need a good recipe that calls for beef broth. Any suggestions? Some people sip it on its own (which the purists do) but I'm more about making soups with it. So far I've made pho a few times and it was pho-king fabulous. Ha. (see below)

In the colder months, I'm also a huge fan of making soup out of roasted root vegetables so instead of using basic (ugh) chicken broth in my recipe, I've now switched to using Bone Brewhouse instead. BTW, this is my go-to recipe. It's the best. 

I roast carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, parsnips and onions at 375 degrees for about 30-35 minutes. But really, pick any root vegetable you like and then blend in a food processor with your broth. Dayumm girrrl, it's so good. If you're wondering, the homemade croutons are well worth an extra 5 minutes of your time. 

Looking to boost your skincare routine, too? Bone Brewhouse bone broths are now available 24/7 on their website so you can get a safe and free doorstep delivery. Simply choose your fave flavours and they’ll deliver your frozen broths straight to your doorstep. Easy, peasayyy. They currently deliver to select areas of Ontario but are working hard to bring Canada-wide shipping soon. Be sure to order by Monday at midnight for delivery by Wednesday or Thursday.

Thanks Bone Brewhouse. I love you and am thrilled to make this a part of my routine. My 30-something-looking skin thanks you ever so much :) 


 

Tuesday
Oct272020

Waterloo Region's Thrift & Consignment Shops I'll Go Back to Again (& Again)

photo via Lauren Fleischmann/Unsplash

Originally published for KW Joy & Co. 

It’s Saturday night and I am lit-er-ally sorting my sock drawer. It’s October, it’s freezing, and everyone’s fire tables are en route from Wayfair (mine too), so I have zero socially-distant social excuses here. At this point, I’ve done just about everything else around my house, so it’s time to hit up my drawers for a “fun night in”. Before you start feeling sorry for me, I’m feeling quite content; glass of wine in hand, my fave podcast on, kids making TikToks, my husband happily playing video games - it’s just me and my rather giant pile of socks. TBH, organizing my closet is like my own form of meditation, but make it fashion.

I’ve reached expert level at origami-ing my way through any closet. Jeans, underwear, tees; they all look like perfect little hot pockets by the time I’ve tamed them. Don’t ask what a hot pocket is. I don’t actually know. Hmmm...but I’m pretty sure I don’t want my underwear to be one. Even those cropped hoodies - the fitted sheets of clothing - now easily bend to my will. And yet Kondo downplayed the importance of one crucial element in her quest for wardrobe joy: the subject matter. Naturally, the clothes need to fit and make you feel good right now, but all the folding and pretty baskets in the world will never bring true fashion happiness if the clothing in question has no future.

I curate my closet just like I do for my clients: by keeping or repurposing the gems, storing the seasonal and sentimental, and donating/consigning the rest. After years of doing this (and by “this”, I mean compulsive shopping) I now feel any purchases immediately destined for the trash need a reeaally strong case to come home with me - namely that they’re either a) holographic (because holographic things are bomb) or b) made of natural fibres like cotton, so when I’m finally done with them, I know they will eventually biodegrade. I also try to make sure that whatever I buy, I can see myself (or someone else) wearing that piece 30 times over its lifetime. As I’ve evolved into a more thoughtful, purposeful shopper, I’ve fallen deeper in love with thrifted and vintage pieces. For a sick wardrobe, turns out that all you really need is a curated closet of really good basics peppered with beautiful, thrifted finds. Oh, and maybe a Hot Wheels tee like the one I picked up at H&M last week. I’m only human.

With Waterloo Region’s absolute plethora of thrift, vintage, and consignment options, you can shop more sustainably, stick to your budget and score truly special pieces locally. Win. Win. Mother F’in (fashion) win, y’all.

SEE MY TOP CONSIGNMENT AND THRIFT STORE PICKS AT KW JOY & CO. 

 

Wednesday
Jul082020

100 NIGHTS WITH ENDY | My Real Review

How we feel every time we go to sleep on our Endy mattresses. 

Before kids and pets, I always had this feeling: I’m pretty sure it was called ‘well-rested’.  It’s tough to recall - kinda like trying to remember the feeling of hugging people you just met or sharing popcorn at the movies. But I know it was there and I know it was real. I remember yawning in the morning; that smug, satisfied kind where you yawn and then your mouth slowly stretches out into a smile before you either fall back into bed or casually plan a long, impromptu brunch with friends. Since our babies turned into kids and now tweens, there’s been loads of yawning for sure, but it’s the frustrated kind, followed by some twitching and then a few dozen jugs of coffee and then a bunch of sighing throughout the day. But well-rested? Let’s just say it’s been a minute.

We got our last mattress when we moved into our first apartment 15 years ago. I remember going to the mattress store and feeling so grown-up as we inquired about things like ‘pillow top’ and ‘pocket coils’; this one had both, so we were sold. And I’m not gonna lie: I loved that mattress. But as the years went by, it slowly morphed from a young, springy thing into a tired burrito (for the record, I remain a young, springy thing). I’d start on my side but somewhere around 3 am, I’d end up log-rolling into a well-worn dip in the bed, mouth wide open, pressed directly against my perpetually sleep-deprived husband. I’m a cuddler so this was not really a huge problem for me. While I can sleep through just about anything, James has a few issues that make sleeping extra tough: stomach problems (sensitive), inability to turn his mind off (highly intelligent), back pain (captain of his highschool football team). Age - both our mattresses and his... err, I mean ours -   meant we needed a new mattress. But change is scary. Especially when it comes to something as important as sleep. Were we ready to give up this piece of our shared history to give something else a go? I think you know where this is headed…

 

I’d heard all about Endy and SO many friends of mine had raved about their experience, so when the opportunity to partner with them came up, it just felt right. I did a bunch of research and loved that Endy mattresses are made and manufactured in Canada, plus their comfort and support sounded like just the thing we needed. I like my mattresses on the soft side and James prefers a firm mattress and everyone I asked said that Endy was the perfect balance of both. Unlike memory foam mattresses that sink in the summer and feel hard as a rock in the winter, Endy foam is temperature insensitive so it maintains a consistent feel through every Canadian season. They’re also CertiPur-US Certified AND the only mattress brand in Canada to be GREENGUARD Gold Certified, meaning they meet the most stringent health and environmental standards. Plus, Endy mattresses are bomb at minimizing motion transfer which I knew James would love since I move around a lot and stay up too late watching The Bachelor and other intellectual programming, always (always) waking him up when I trip over something and gracefully crash into bed. Research done, I told Endy we were ready to do this. Just a week before COVID hit, we thanked our old mattresses for the memories, donated them to a local thrift store and waited for our delivery.

Our Endy mattresses arrived on our doorstep that afternoon in some impossibly small boxes. Like, how?? They sent a king-sized mattress for us, a double mattress for our 11 year-old daughter  (who had an even older mattress from James’ university days), plus 4 brand new Endy pillows. James had to go to work that day and I’m impatient, so the kids helped me carry the boxes upstairs and we did the unboxing. It was so easy and honestly so much fun. You cut off the plastic with a little tool that comes in the box, and the mattresses just sort of unroll themselves.

Now the real test: would the mattresses live up to all the hype? 

For the first week, Imma be honest. I was worried. James instantly fell in love with the firmness of the mattress but like I said, I prefer a softer feel and missed that sinking feeling of our old mattress. Now it was my turn to wake up in the middle of the night and look over at James blissfully snoozing away while I stressed about COVID and insomnia. With Chlo’ in her new room and her new bed, she was in heaven, too.

I talked to some friends and they gave me that knowing look and told me “just wait” and “you’ll see.” And sure enough, within a few days I was already over our old mattress. Unlike memory foam that makes you feel trapped, our Endy mattresses give just the perfect amount for our bodies, making them cushy and comfy like you get at a really nice hotel, while still providing just the right amount of support. That ‘perfect firmness’ claim is on point. And it just kept getting better. By month two, James had stopped complaining about his back and shoulder pain and we were both constantly saying, “I l-o-o-o-ve our mattress.” Our new dog, Ollie, constantly sneaks upstairs for naps on our bed (the Endy pillows are his fave). And not sure whether this is a pre-teen thing or if I have the mattress to thank, but 100 days in, Chlo’ is now sleeping in on the regular.

Now that elusive “well-rested” feeling - something I never thought I’d experience again - is finally coming back. And we can sleep extra easy knowing we’re supporting a great Canadian company. Endy works with dozens of charity partners to donate new and gently-used mattresses to families and individuals in need, including new refugees to Canada, women and children exiting the shelter system, and youth transitioning out of homelessness. They’ve donated over 5,000 mattresses - if you stacked them up, that’s 2 times taller than the CN Tower. So good.

Looking for an amazing sleep? With the Endy sale on now until July 13th, now is the perfect time to invest in yourself. Head to https://glnk.io/ykyj/realliferunway to save 10% off your entire Endy order. Check out endy.com for more info. And yes, the pillows and duvet are 100% worth it, too. You're welcome ;) 

 

Tuesday
Mar032020

GOOD BUY | Johanna Ortiz x H&M 

via H&M

Scroll down a few posts and you'll see my 2020 fashion pledges. Let it be known that I am inserting an addendum; one that seemed implied at the time but let's make it offish by adding it here:

7) WEAR IT OUT

Before I 'add to cart', I'll ask myself this question: will I wear this multiple times? Many sustainably-minded peeps subscribe to the '30 Wears' philosophy made famous by Livia Firth (Colin's wife), whereby if you don't see yourself wearing the piece 30 times over its lifetime, it's not worth the buy. I'm less of a strict rule follower so my take on it is that I ideally want to add things to my closet that will last for years (not months), and will look amazing for several different occasions and in multiple contexts.

At the H&M Spring 2020 Press Preview in Toronto last week, I fell head over kicks in love with the new Johanna Ortiz x H&M Collection. If you don't know Ortiz, then it's time you did; powerhouses like Michelle Obama and Beyoncé and style-setters like Olivia Palermo and Sienna Miller are all fans of the Colombian designer. Sadly, her designs have remained in my 'life goals' bucket since her full-priced line runs in the $2-3 K range. Ortiz's maximalist aesthetic manages to be bold yet timeless - and such a welcome change after so many years of basics. 

All of the racks on display at the H&M preview were beautiful, but I found myself camped out in the Johanna Ortiz x H&M section, fondling the beautiful fabrics, entranced by the vivid colours and smitten with the chic AF florals, doing some serious fashion math.

FASHION MATH

Cost of dress / 20 wears = approx $4 per wear. Less than a flat white? Done.

20 wears / 4 years = 5 occasions per year.  I have 1 vacay planned for June, at least 2 summer parties sure to happen, a grade 6 grad to attend and I'm sure my sister will want to borrow it at least once. Add weddings, family photoshoots, date nights, and work events to the mix and I'm golden. If I want to amortize it over 30 wears, I'll either consign it or simply book more vacations & enroll myself in some salsa lessons, which I've always wanted to do anyway. Everybody wins.

Cost of the sadness I'll experience if I miss out on a rare amazing designer collab = priceless.

I feel strongly about picking up one of the red palm print dresses (the ruffled one is insane), the B&W one-shoulder bather, and that white shirt dress. I've done fashion math on all 3 pieces and I think it's all highly justifiable, since the collection ranges from only $19.99 - $79.99 CAD. That's it. Uh, I KNOW. Some designer collabs feel watered down but I can tell you from getting handsy with the collection that the pieces feel decidedly luxe and totally legit. 

Click on the thumbnails below to check out the stunners for yourself. The Johanna Ortiz x H&M collection will be in select stores and online March 12th so mark your calendars and tell me what you end up buying. Hope you've enjoyed watching me wrestle with my fashion demons as much as I've enjoyed doing it ;)

Happy Tuesday, beauties!