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Category: Conscious Consumerism: Shopping & Reviews

Words to Sweat By: Fitness Friday Review and Giveaway

Seventy percent of success in life is showing up.
-Woody Allen

Ain’t that the truth? Most days the hardest part is just hauling my carcass off the couch and putting on my sneakers.

I’ve started running, using the Couch to 5k program. I’ve just ended Week 2. The first couple of days I enjoyed it in a way that shocked me, it was liberating to open up and run freely. When I’m stressed I really kind of look forward to running away from the day, putting some distance between me and whatever is bugging me.

But some days… I just don’t wanna. I don’t wanna run, I’m slow and ungainly and it doesn’t seem to be getting any easier. I don’t wanna make myself look presentable and put my shoes on and get to the gym. I don’t wanna put Jillian Michaels in the DVD player. My DVD player is hard to get to and I can’t find the remote.

You know what helps? Seriously?

Having the right clothes for the job.

Vain? Maybe. But putting on the clothes in the morning is a promise to just do it. Not to mention, if Jeff and the kids come home and find me in running shorts and laced up sneaks, they want to know when I’m leaving… hard to cheese out at that point.

My current favorite workout top arrived in a lovely little pouch last week from Words to Sweat By.

Words to Sweat By supplies “functional fitness accessories that provide sassy or serious motivation to get you up off the couch or to help you push through those last minutes of your workout.” They have shirts, towels, snack bags and keychains that are seriously kick-butt cute.

The tank top is a nice weight and a fairly tight rib, not too low cut and long enough that I’m not constantly having to adjust it (I’m long in the torso, this is an ongoing issue with slimcut shirts for me). It’s the standard fit and it is tight enough in the chest that I’m not flashing anybody, but with plenty of give to accommodate my man shoulders and waist. It really has an ideal level of stretch to it and that is not praise that I give lightly. Finding tank tops that fit me correctly is an ordeal.

I’m also totally one of those people who love to wear shirts with sassy sayings or graphics— I love this one. I’m always pleased to find it clean in my closet and put it on.

Once it’s on, I’m committed.

I wanna be healthy.

STRONG.

Happy.

I wanna not look like an idiot in photos. Do not ask me what ails me, I do not know.

(And please to ignore the hair. I shower AFTER running and I need a haircut.)

I also received a Words to Sweat By towel. I had a devil of a time choosing which one I wanted— “no excuses” and “put your heart into it” were among the top contenders, but “take it all in stride” felt closest to my current mantra. You take the good, you take the bad. You keep going.

Ironically, I chose this BEFORE I started running… the world is funny.

The towel is a good size and lightweight, so it dries quickly before you have to throw it back in your gym bag. I love taking it to the gym and using it to wipe down machines, to dry my sweaty hands during yoga or treadmill intervals (turns out that having cooler hands helps you to stick with a workout longer. Fun facts!).

The amount of paper towel waste at the gym has long been one of my pet peeves and I would never, ever remember to bring my own towel. But now I have one dedicated to the task, and it makes me feel good on a lot of levels 🙂

Giveaway!

Words to Sweat By is offering one of my readers their own t-shirt and towel, to help motivate their butt to lace up their sneaks and get moving.

You can enter using the Rafflecopter widget below (subscribers, gotta click through, sorry). I’ll pull a winner on Saturday, March 24th.

Good luck!

Tell me: what’s YOUR mantra?

(more…)

March 16, 2012
Upcycling with Hipcycle: No Trash Left Behind

To think creatively, we must be able to look afresh
at what we normally take for granted.

-George Kneller

I love upcycling: the taking of something mundane, probably intended for the trash heap, and seeing a new use in it. Especially when it is beautiful.

Martha Stewart, god bless her cold-blooded heart, is great at the upcycling. Danny Seo, a PA local, has a book of beautifully upcycled things. It’s titled, appropriately enough, Upcycling.

My husband and I are champion upcyclers. No renovation materials ever go to waste here— whenever he builds something new, it has pieces of past projects in it (which tends to provoke “this is the house that Jack built” jokes from me, but has a sort of beauty of its own; everything he creates holds a history). Somewhere around here I have a photo of an 8ft tall lamp made from copper pipe bits and pieces, somewhat shaped like a man and wearing a little copper bowtie. We called it Mr. Belvedere.

I can’t bear to throw away any bits of ribbon that have potential, a box with a unique shape or texture might be perfect for a use that hasn’t presented itself yet.

And I loooove browsing sites for upcycling ideas. Another local, Paige Wolf (who also has a book, Spit That Out!: The Overly Informed Parent’s Guide to Raising Children in the Age of Environmental Guilt) introduced me to Hipcycle.

Are you ready for this?

I saw bluebirds in our trees last week! I need to hang a new house to keep them here, I love them so.

How happy a picture would they make in this bird house? It’s made from woven reclaimed plastic wrappers.

This is cool. It’s a big folding basket made from single-use chopsticks. The chopsticks are made from bamboo, which can withstand high temperatures, so it can also be used as a colander that can easily be folded up to save counter and cabinet space. Pretty and practical.

I’m totally in love with this pillow. This is sort of the look I’d love to wrap my house in: comfy, simple, neutral but interesting. It was made from an upcycled grain sack found in Central Europe.

I’m a clock addict. Half of the ones in our house don’t even run (one of the exceptions being the one in my office, which runs backwards); their batteries ran out long ago but I consider them a sort of art. This reclaimed wood clock is made from salvage from old boats, schools, homes, and other buildings in Thailand. They’re refinished and constructed by local artisans offering much-needed employment.

I saved the best for last. I NEED ONE OF THESE. These glass bowls are made from Crystal Head Vodka and Agavero tequila bottles, and, I think, would make a perfect Mother’s Day present.

For me, anyway. Let’s see if anyone in my family reads my blog.

Many of the items available on Hipcycle are made in the USA, while others are purchased through a commitment to fair-trade practices. Since everything is genuinely sourced from materials headed for the landfill, every one is slightly different and truly one of a kind, and has its own story to tell.

You can search by purpose (home, garden, office) or by original material (wood, fabric, glass). There is also a Random Category of Fun. If that doesn’t = awesome I don’t know what does, people.

Get some!

If you’re feeling shoptastic, get yourself some Hipcycle— you can get 15% off with code HCC15 (expires 6/30/2012, limited to 1 use per customer).

March 7, 2012
Horny Toad: Fitness AND Eco Fashion Friday. BOOM.
They loved him up and turned him into a… horny toad.

-Delmar, ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’

OK, so the video has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with this post, but it’s what I think of every time.

Back in October I was in Boulder Colorado checking out the Green House, and we were given Horny Toad gear to wear for our Saturday morning yoga class.

I am super picky about my clothes anymore, and I love my Horny Toad gear, in spite of the fact that what I have is a full size too small. More on that later.

It’s not cheap, just so we’re clear on that upfront. It’s meant to be quality wear that lasts, and I don’t mind paying for that.

Horny Toad is eco-friendly

Horny Toad is a Santa Barbara-based company that produces fitness and casual wear. The majority of their line is made with sustainable fibers like organic cotton, and ‘clean cellulosics such as Tencel® and Modal® and also recycled poly.’ They claim their products age well, and I believe it: they are definitely well-made. They also say that they look good longer, so you can go longer between washes, and I can go along with that. They don’t wrinkle up quickly and something about the texture of the color (if that makes any sense) makes them look freshly put-on for longer.

Horny Toad is responsible
- creation of the Planet Access Company: along with Search, a Chicago not-for-profit, PAC provides training and employment for those with developmental disabilities.
- In addition, they fund outdoor trips for PAC workers and Horny Toad employees.
- Horny Toad (and sister company Nau) locations are powered with energy from green-e certified wind farms. Employee commutes and sales force travels are offset for a lighter footprint.
- Support of local issues and events: it’s a long list.
- Voted by Outdoor magazine as a 2010 Best Place to Work, based on work environment, environmentally friendly business process and company-supported employee work-outdoor life balance.
Horny Toad fits true to size

Too bad for me, the only size options they had on hand were large and small. I am broad shouldered and tallish and don’t particularly like when my clothes get too grabby; I generally wear a medium for comfort. The small fits, but since yoga clothes are by nature form-fitting, the pants especially are more tight than I like. Fine for at-home and with a long layer overtop; not so fine for taking photos of myself and posting to the internet. Sorry, Charlie.

Horny Toad is good yoga and fitness wear for tall people

This is probably my favorite feature. The pants have two additional self-healing seams— meaning that they come to you long and you can cut to where you need them and they won’t fray. Usually workout pants are just a hair too short on me and I look stupid in my floods.

Horny Toad is wicked comfortable

I have a thing about seams. I don’t like to be aware of them. These seams don’t bug me in the least and I LOVE THEM. The fabric is also impossibly soft. If it weren’t for the fact that it’s a tad tight (giving me a slight grasshopper look) I’d probably live in my Horny Toad gear.

I DO practically live in my (not sure what to call it; it doesn’t have a hood) let’s say jacket. It’s slightly different than the one that the site has for sale right now (pictured below); it’s a full zip with a collar that I wear folded over or popped depending on my mood or the chill in the air. It’s soft and really warm without adding any bulk, and it doesn’t look like workout gear. The clean lines and quality fabric just make it look nice, not to mention slimming, and I wear it all the time.

Horny Toad offers an awesome guarantee

“Wear any Horny Toad piece, and if you don’t get a compliment within 3 wearings, send it back. Or, if you simply find something wrong with it, we’ll take it back for refund or replacement.” How about THAT?

Horny Toad has this dress.

Ever since I tried the Uniform Project I’ve been especially on the lookout for items that have multiple wear possibilities. I think I need this dress for summer.

Metamorphose Dress from Horny Toad ~ Convertible Wear by robinelton on polyvore.com

Horny Toad seems like real people.

Go check out their website. They just seem like incredibly fun and genuine people with a social and eco conscience and exactly the kind of company I love to support.

Once I get a little cash in my hot little hands I’ll be buying fitness gear that actually fits me from Horny Toad ’cause I’m loyal like that.

What brands do you like to work out in?

Horny Toad Eco Activewear by robinelton on polyvore.com

Check out other Fashion Friday posts here and link up if you wrote your own 🙂
February 24, 2012