Selfie

We are sharing our favorite subscription boxes, from beauty products to clothing to meal kits. Kristen shares an update on minisculpting her chin with Cosmeticare and Sarah laments her shaving woes and the cold weather that is thwarting her walking routine.

In this episode we talked about:

* David’s Tea Advent Calendar

* Youth Baseball Cotton Ball Caps

* Osmia Sandalwood Mousse

Here are some of our favorite subscription boxes:

Beauty Products:

* Beauty Heroes

* Petit Vour

* Boxwalla

Cleaning Products:

* Mighty Fix

Monthly instagram printed photobooks

* Chatbooks

Razors:

* Angel Shave Club

Food:

* HelloFresh

* Sunbasket

* Daily Harvest

Clothing:

* Stitchfix

* Trunk Club

* Amazon Subscribe and Save

Global goods and gifts that give back:

* CauseBox

* GlobeIn 

Photo by Dmitry Mashkin on Unsplash

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While holiday stress may be peak #firstworldproblems, it’s also a very real phenomenon for many of us. Between school commitments, trying to be extra at buying the most meaningful gifts, maintaining boundaries with difficult relatives and overscheduling woes, Kristen and Sarah are sharing how they are keeping themselves sane this season.

In this episode we talked about:

* Lisa Eldridge makeup videos

* Sarah’s Happy Holidays playlist on Spotify

* Travel Cable Organizer

* DevaCurl Wavemaker Texture Whip

* If it makes you yell, it’s a no.

Sarah’s holiday stress meditations:

This holiday season may I see the joys in front of me, big or small

May I have the strength to rest when I need rest

May I be kind to myself and others if things are not perfect

May I offer myself love and care

StoryWorth makes it easy and fun for your loved ones to share their stories.  You purchase a subscription for someone you love, and each week, StoryWorth sends them an email with a question about their life. They simply reply to this email with their story, or they can record it over the phone by calling the StoryWorth number. After a year, their stories will be bound into a beautiful keepsake book. This is a great way to stay in touch with family all over the country and world, but also a great way to learn more about your relatives. For $20 off, visit StoryWorth.com/selfie. 

Outdoor Voices designs gear for Doing Things, being active and having fun. Whether you’re hoping to add versatile pieces to your wardrobe or looking for an activity- specific collection like running shorts, Outdoor Voices has gear for everything. We have a great deal for you – For 20% off your first order of $100 or more, visit OutdoorVoices.com/SELFIE and enter the promo code SELFIE. 

Myro is a new natural deodorant made with essential oils that release over time. It’s made to work, and it’s long-lasting, but with no toxic anything. 0% aluminum. 0% parabens. Their ingredients are clinically tested for safety and efficacy. And did we mention it’s a subscription?? Get a refresh every 3 months, delivered straight to your door, conveniently timed for when most people run out. Switch scents, press pause or stop literally anytime you want. It’s refillable cases are good for you and the planet we live on. Because the case is refillable, Myro refills reduce plastic waste by approximately 50% versus typical drugstore deodorants. Myro has a great deal for our listeners today.  Get 50% off your first order and get started today for just $5! Visit mymyro.com/selfie and use promo code SELFIE.

We’re talking about great gifts for husbands, boyfriends, dads, grandparents, coaches and kids . . . as well as some items you might want to put on your own wishlist. We’ve got recommendations on travel, books, candles, and skincare stuff, as an assortment of unique gifts for the younger set.

FOR MEN

Travel

The ABLE Alem leather passport holder is a great gift for anyone who travels a lot, and it’s made by artisans in Ethiopia who are earning a fair wage.

Pinch Provisions Travel Set has everything you could need in a tiny little bag. It’s great for emergencies or to have on hand in case your luggage was lost.

The Herschel Backpack is a classic. It’s canvas with leather straps and a simple, masculine vibe.

Away has the perfect gift for everyone on your list because they make suitcases for the way we all actually travel, with features like an ejectable TSA-approved battery or a built-in front pocket, and they come in a range of colors and materials to suit your travel style. Also, every suitcase comes with a 100-day trial that gives you plenty of time to decide on the perfect size and color—which also means you can gift with confidence. For $20 off a suitcase, visit awaytravel.com/selfie and use promo code SELFIE during checkout.

Tech

Who doesn’t love a Roku stick? It can turn any tv into a smart tv, and gives access to Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and more. It’s a great option for cutting cable, and a perfect gift for young adults.

A Home Movie Projector is a fun gift to turn your living room into a big-screen movie room, and for only $62 it’s a lot of wow factor for not a lot of money.

For anyone who has multiple tech devices this Eco Bamboo Charging Station is a great way to charge multiple devices at once without cords getting tangled, and the bamboo gives it a softer look so your charging station isn’t an eyesore.

The Amazon Echo is a great gift for anyone. It can play your morning news, operate your Sonos speakers, keep your shopping list up to date – both of us have these in every room.

For the person who is constantly losing their keys . . . the Tile Mate Key Finder is a practical and thoughtful gift, especially for dads.

Clothing

Patagonia has great jackets and puffers and we love their environmental impact: with the 10 million tax credit it received from the Trump administration, they donated all of it to non-profit environmental groups!

Krochet Kids is one of our favorite companies because their sewing program empowers at-risk women in Uganda and Peru. They have a great collection of cozy beanies and super-soft t-shirts for men.

Home/Games

This Cork Desktop Globe allows you to put pins into the cork to mark places you’ve been or bucket-list destinations.

This Hookey Ringtoss Game is a great alternative to a dart set.

Designed to look like a Marshall guitar amp, the Marshall Kilburn Bluetooth Speaker i...

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re talking about great gifts for husbands, boyfriends, dads, grandparents, coaches and kids . . . as well as some items you might want to put on your own wishlist. We’ve got recommendations on travel, books, candles, and skincare stuff, as an assortment of unique gifts for the younger set. In this episode Sarah also gives an update on her pelvic ultrasound and the weird thing she learned about her cycle, and Kristen talks about hosting foreign exchange students and her 2nd round of freezing her chin fat away with cool-sculpting mini at Cosmeticare.

Now, onto the gifts!

FOR MEN

Travel

The ABLE Alem leather passport holder is a great gift for anyone who travels a lot, and it’s made by artisans in Ethiopia who are earning a fair wage.

Pinch Provisions Travel Set has everything you could need in a tiny little bag. It’s great for emergencies or to have on hand in case your luggage was lost.

The Herschel Backpack is a classic. It’s canvas with leather straps and a simple, masculine vibe.

Away has the perfect gift for everyone on your list because they make suitcases for the way we all actually travel, with features like an ejectable TSA-approved battery or a built-in front pocket, and they come in a range of colors and materials to suit your travel style. Also, every suitcase comes with a 100-day trial that gives you plenty of time to decide on the perfect size and color—which also means you can gift with confidence. For $20 off a suitcase, visit awaytravel.com/selfie and use promo code SELFIE during checkout.

 

Tech

Who doesn’t love a Roku stick? It can turn any tv into a smart tv, and gives access to Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and more. It’s a great option for cutting cable, and a perfect gift for young adults.

A Home Movie Projector is a fun gift to turn your living room into a big-screen movie room, and for only $62 it’s a lot of wow factor for not a lot of money.

For anyone who has multiple tech devices this Eco Bamboo Charging Station is a great way to charge multiple devices at once without cords getting tangled, and the bamboo gives it a softer look so your charging station isn’t an eyesore.

The Amazon Echo is a great gift for anyone. It can play your morning news, operate your Sonos speakers, keep your shopping list up to date – both of us have these in every room.

For the person who is constantly losing their keys . . . the Tile Mate Key Finder is a practical and thoughtful gift, especially for dads.

 

Clothing

Patagonia has great jackets and puffers and we love their environmental impact: with the 10 million tax credit it received from the Trump administration, they donated all of it to non-profit environmental groups!

Krochet Kids is one of our favorite companies because their sewing program empowers at-risk women in Uganda and Peru. They have a great collection of cozy beanies and super-soft t-shirts for men.

 

Home/Games

This Cork Desktop Globe allows you to put pins into the cork to mark places you’ve been or bucket-list destinations.

This Hookey Ringtoss Game is a great alternative to a dart set.

We’re talking about great gifts for friends, for your sisters and moms, and for teachers . . . as well as some items you might want to put on your own wishlist. We’ve got recommendations on self-care gifts, cookbooks, candles, and skincare stuff, as well as gifts that give back.

Beauty/Self-Care

Kosas is one of Sarah’s favorite green beauty brands and their Weightless Lip Color Trio is made from moisturizing ingredients like mango seed butter and jojoba oil. This set of three neutral everyday colors is $58. You can see all of the Kosas lip colors on Sarah here.

AHAVA’s Purifying Mud Mask is made of real mud from the Dead Sea, the most mineral-rich mud on earth. It detoxifies but also makes skin softer, and it’s great for all skin types. It’s also free from parabens, petroleum, animal-sourced ingredients, mineral oil, SLS/SLES, and phlathates.

Osmia makes incredible handmade soaps and their Simple Gift set for just $28 includes their best-selling Lip Doctor, your choice of one of their handcrafted soaps in fun scents like Lavender Pine or Citrus Pearl, and a soap saver to keep your soap from getting gummy. It’s. a great “gateway” gift for someone who’s trying to use fewer chemicals.

SheaMoisture’s Coconut & Hibiscus Hand/Body Scrub smells like a dream, makes your skin super soft, and is made of all-natural ingredients.

At only $9 a jar, it’s a great teacher gift or stocking stuffer.

MUN’s Travel Set is a great way to try the full line of this organic, 100% natural beauty line for $75. If you are wanting to change up your skincare to something clean and luxurious this is a perfect introduction. It comes with a cleanser, toner, moisturizer, body serum, and argan oil.

A jade roller is a great item for encouraging the relaxing self-care routine of facial rolling. It feels luxurious but Amazon’s $16 real jade version, which includes a gua sha scraping tool, doesn’t break the bank.

Personalized

A Personalized Address Stamp is a great, practical gift for just about anyone. Amazon has cute fonts and designs for around $30.

Make someone a surprise photo book by downloading their facebook or instagram photos and creating a book for them on Shutterfly (photobooks are currently 50% off.) You can use a chrome extension like DownAlbum to stealthily grab photos from the social accounts of loved ones to make sure it’s a surprise.

Home

Capri Blue candles in Volcano scent poured into Mercury glass $19-40

Bisby Holiday Candles are hand-poured in Oklahoma with natural soy wax, chemical-free fragrance oil, and recyclable packaging. The new holiday line is only $12 per candle.

Cookbooks

Danielle Walker’s Eat What You Love: : Everyday Comfort Food You Crave; Gluten-Free,

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re talking about great gifts for friends, for your sisters and moms, and for teachers . . . as well as some items you might want to put on your own wishlist. We’ve got recommendations on self-care gifts, cookbooks, candles, and skincare stuff, as well as gifts that give back.

Beauty/Self-Care

Kosas is one of Sarah’s favorite green beauty brands and their Weightless Lip Color Trio is made from moisturizing ingredients like mango seed butter and jojoba oil. This set of three neutral everyday colors is $58. You can see all of the Kosas lip colors on Sarah here. 

AHAVA’s Purifying Mud Mask is made of real mud from the Dead Sea, the most mineral-rich mud on earth. It detoxifies but also makes skin softer, and it’s great for all skin types. It’s also free from parabens, petroleum, animal-sourced ingredients, mineral oil, SLS/SLES, and phlathates.

Osmia makes incredible handmade soaps and their Simple Gift set for just $28 includes their best-selling Lip Doctor, your choice of one of their handcrafted soaps in fun scents like Lavender Pine or Citrus Pearl, and a soap saver to keep your soap from getting gummy.  It’s. a great “gateway” gift for someone who’s trying to use fewer chemicals.

SheaMoisture’s Coconut & Hibiscus Hand/Body Scrub smells like a dream, makes your skin super soft, and is made of all-natural ingredients. 

At only $9 a jar, it’s a great teacher gift or stocking stuffer.

MUN’s Travel Set is a great way to try the full line of this organic, 100% natural beauty line for $75. If you are wanting to change up your skincare to something clean and luxurious this is a perfect introduction. It comes with a cleanser, toner, moisturizer, body serum, and argan oil.

A jade roller is a great item for encouraging the relaxing self-care routine of facial rolling. It feels luxurious but Amazon’s $16 real jade version, which includes a gua sha scraping tool, doesn’t break the bank.

Personalized

A Personalized Address Stamp is a great, practical gift for just about anyone. Amazon has cute fonts and designs for around $30. 

Make someone a surprise photo book by downloading their facebook or instagram photos and creating a book for them on Shutterfly (photobooks are currently 50% off.) You can use a chrome extension like DownAlbum to stealthily grab photos from the social accounts of loved ones to make sure it’s a surprise.

Home

Capri Blue candles in Volcano scent poured into Mercury glass $19-40

Bisby Holiday Candles are hand-poured in Oklahoma with natural soy wax, chemical-free fragrance oil, and recyclable packaging. The new holiday line is only $12 per candle.

Cookbooks

Danielle Walker’s Eat What You Love: : Everyday Comfort Food You Crave; Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, and Paleo Recipes comes out on December 4th, and is full of practical, healthy recipes.

Dinner: Changing the Game by Melissa Clark is a great cookbook for one-pot, one-tray meals. So many good chicken recipes plus stews and salads. Sarah’s favorites are Sesame chicken with Cashews and Dates, Paprika Chicken with Crispy chickpeas and Baby...

Kristen discusses going off Cymbalta, Sarah shares about posting about herself in a bra, and we discuss our rules around what we post (and won’t post) on social media.

This week we talked about:

* Athleta Primaloft Tights

* Nude Slim Fit Layering Tees

* Schitt’s Creek

* Capri Blue Alpine Juniper Candle

Podcast (selfie): Play in new window | Download

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Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kristen discusses going off Cymbalta, Sarah shares about posting about herself in a bra, and we discuss our rules around what we post (and won’t post) on social media.

This week we talked about:

* Athleta Primaloft Tights

* Nude Slim Fit Layering Tees

* Schitt’s Creek

* Capri Blue Alpine Juniper Candle

We also have a great offer from Canvas People, a company that prints your favorite photos on canvas for really unique and beautiful prints. We have a special code that you can use to get an 11×14 Canvas People print FREE. This is a $69.99 value.  All you do is pay the shipping and handling. Visit CanvasPeople.com, upload your photo, and enter this special code: SELFIE.

Buffy makes comforters that are better for you and the earth, using skin-friendly eucalyptus fabric and fluffy fill made from 100% recycled water bottles. Buffy’s hypoallergenic materials shut out dust, mold and mites – preventing nighttime breathing of harmful allergens. The inside fill of each comforter is made from 100% recycled, bpa-free water bottles that are transformed and given a second life as a soft, fluffy fiber. Buffy believes bedding is personal, so they offer a complimentary trial. Try a comforter in your own home for 30-days. If you don’t love it, return it free! For $20 off your Buffy comforter, visit Buffy.co and enter the promo code SELFIE.

 

Photo by Sandrachile . on Unsplash

Going through a divorce has been the single most difficult transition in my life. It’s not a path I ever wanted to walk and the effects have been far-reaching, from my finances to my social life to my physical health. However, as is true with many trials, it has also been a season of growth . . . of reshaping and learning, and re-evaluating my own identity. Here are ten of the biggest life lessons I’ve gleaned in the past few years.

You have more strength than you think

I never knew how much moxie and tenacity I had until I went through a divorce. I’ve learned that I have reserves of strength beyond what I could have imagined. I’ve been able to walk through fire and hold my head up. I’ve been able to rise up independently and rely on myself. I’ve been able to identify with my own strength and truly own it, and that has been a gift.

You can be alone

I have struggled with codependency my entire life. I bounced from one boyfriend to another and got married while only 21 because I wanted to lock down that relationship. Much of this stemmed from a lack of connection in my own childhood. I felt like I needed to be in a partnership to be okay. I am realizing that being alone and being lonely are two different things, and that I do not need to be in a romantic partnership to be a functioning human being. I’ve strengthened other relationships but I’ve also come to value my alone time.

Never assume you could not get a divorce

I grew up in evangelical circles where divorce was seen as a very shameful thing to avoid at all costs. I came into marriage hoping it would be forever. And while I think this is true for most people, the shame I felt around divorce made me believe it was not an option for me, even when things were so bad that it should have been. As a result, I lived in such a way that assumed I would always be married, and abdicated some of my own financial independence as a result. I would advise my kids to go into marriage hopeful, but also to always have a backup plan for financial independence.  

Always keep your career options current

I fully support families who make the decision to have one partner leave the workforce to stay home with the kids. But I think it’s always wise to have a career path that you could fall back on in the event you needed to. Unfortunately, I let my license lapse and had to go through a year’s process to get it renewed in the wake of my divorce. I am now working towards making sure that I have all of my available options open.

It’s okay to not be perfect

This was the hardest lesson for me because I have spent my life trying to control the optics of my family life. While I’ve been open about many things in my life, I was very guarded about my marital issues. I was skilled at playing the part of a happy couple and glossing over things going on at home. I wanted to believe my marriage was as good as I could make it look in a photo or a Christmas card. I let myself believe that optics could control outcomes. I let myself believe that the narrative I told was a true one. Getting a divorce is a public failure, and it was a failure of something that I cared about very deeply.  I had to do a very conscious detachment from what others think of me – which may be one of the most difficult but life-affirming lessons to learn in all of this: detaching from the fear of judgment.

It’s okay to be messy

I have also learned the value of being vulnerable with others, and letting them see my mess. When you don’t share your real life with others, others don’t really know you and you end up feeling alone. I’ve been skilled at stuffing my crap into closets my whole life. As I child, through many painful circumstances, I learned to hide my mess.

We are sharing our favorite subscription boxes, from beauty products to clothing to meal kits. Kristen shares an update on minisculpting her chin with Cosmeticare and Sarah laments her shaving woes and the cold weather that is thwarting her walking routine.

In this episode we talked about:

* David’s Tea Advent Calendar

* Youth Baseball Cotton Ball Caps

* Osmia Sandalwood Mousse

Here are some of our favorite subscription boxes:

Beauty Products:

* Beauty Heroes

* Petit Vour

* Boxwalla

Cleaning Products:

* Mighty Fix

Monthly instagram printed photobooks

* Chatbooks

Razors:

* Angel Shave Club

Food:

* HelloFresh

* Sunbasket

* Daily Harvest

Clothing:

* Stitchfix

* Trunk Club

* Amazon Subscribe and Save

Global goods and gifts that give back:

* CauseBox  

* GlobeIn   

We also have a great offer from Canvas People, a company that prints your favorite photos on canvas for really unique and beautiful prints. We have a special code that you can use to get an 11×14 Canvas People print FREE. This is a $69.99 value.  All you do is pay the shipping and handling. Visit CanvasPeople.com, upload your photo, and enter this special code: SELFIE.

Photo by Dmitry Mashkin on Unsplash