Archives for October 2020

A review: Viori Shampoo Bar + Conditioner | Hint: My New Favorite Thing Ever

October 27, 2020 by Rebecca Leave a Comment

A little intro: I have been on a lifelong journey to find a good shampoo for my hair. I have most definitely tried every shampoo under the sun. Grocery store shampoo, salon shampoo, natural shampoo, no ‘poo method, you name it! I have fine, color-treated (aka highlighted to all heck), wavy hair. It’s an incredibly hard combo to manage and keep healthy.

I will also admit to you that I am the Facebook Ads team living and breathing dream! I’m a total sucker. I’m pretty sure I’ve been their “Employee of the Month” once or twice. I’m a mom of two. I shop from my phone. I go to Target. There are a couple of my favorite little local shops here that I go to for gifts, but other than that, I shop online. I support a TON of small shops and business from all over the country and really the world that way. But like I said, I have bought many, many a thing from FB ads. Razors, vitamins, clothes, toys, and now my latest thing: the Viori Shampoo Bar.

Full disclosure, I have only been using it for a couple of weeks now. But that’s how much I love it, I already want to share it with the world. You may be thinking a shampoo bar??? Trust me, it’s actually easy to use.

In two weeks it has made my hair so soft and it feels soooo healthy- for me, that’s a WIN. I have been so dang impressed by how much it lathers and how well it actually washes my hair.

I only use sulfate-free shampoos because I color my hair and sulfates can drastically fade your color. Not to mention, they dry your hair out. So this one fit the bill as it’s all-natural and free of sulfates, parabens and all the yucky stuff we don’t want on our hair.

The whole company is based on the ancient haircare rituals of the Red Yao Tribe- the woman use shampoo bars with longsheng rice in it. It’s what is touted as keeping their legendary beautiful hair long and free of turning gray. And the bars are full of other amazing, natural, nourishing ingredients.

Packaging: A win in my book! It was so pretty and fun to unwrap the shampoo bar. I bought the citrus one as it said it was good for oily hair and my hair, being so fine, can get oily quick so I thought it would be my best bet. It smells lovely. The soap was slightly smudged in the paper, but no biggie. I also bought the conditioning bar- Hidden Waterfall scent. Also lovely. Their packaging is plastic-free and sustainable. Bonus and bonus.

Use: The website has a very easy description on how to use it. Wet hair, lather the bar, rub all over hair, let soak in for a few minutes, dampen, work in and then rinse. Sounds like a lot, but it’s really not. If you have used sulfate-free shampoos before, you know they don’t lather as much as traditional ones. So it’s a treasure when you find one that actually lathers. This one does! It covers hair easily. Follow their directions and it will cleanse your hair thoroughly. And the conditioning bar does a great job at softening and making hair manageable.

Storage: We have a little shelf in our shower so I keep mine on that, safe from the water so it won’t disintegrate. The company recommends and sells a little bamboo holder if you feel like it needs more protection. But mine has been 100% fine just sitting on the shelf, not in a holder. It also seems like the bars will last quite a long time, so budget friendly.

Viori also gives back to the Red Yao tribe- I LOVE THIS. We should all be supporting companies that are giving back to the world and their communities.

Don’t forget to enter your email for 10% off your first purchase and you can subscribe to save 20%. Learn more about it all and try them here: Viori. Tell me if you end up liking it as much as I do! I’ll report back once I’ve been using it for a while but so far so, so good.

Nashville Guide – Private Pottery Lesson with Rebecca Blevins

October 14, 2020 by Rebecca Leave a Comment

Ceramics and pottery are one of my true loves in life. I collect pottery from all over the world thanks to the beauty of Etsy and I try to grab little ceramic treasures every where I go. I’m specifically drawn to the undone ones, the rustic and raw ones. I have many, many little bowls and cups that I like to put little trinkets and treasures in around the house and I’m sorry but drinking out of a beautiful cup just makes it more fun. Head to my Pinterest for some beautiful ceramic inspiration or find me on Etsy to see some of my favorites. It’s been a goal of mine for a loooong time to take pottery lessons for a semester somewhere here in Nashville. But as any parent knows, it’s hard to squeeze that in when you’ve got littles.

Enter “Airbnb” Experiences. If you haven’t been on their app yet and checked out this new feature…you MUST. You can sign up for/join so many cool and interesting little lessons going on around the world. Prices vary…but there are things like making a cocktail with someone in Barcelona or doing an art lesson with someone in Rome. I stumbled upon Rebecca Blevins of Blevins Ceramics on there and found her private lesson offering for two hours for $95 (ended up being $75 because Airbnb cancelled my appointment and I signed up with her privately).

If this pandemic has taught me anything it’s that life is NOW. We truly do not know what tomorrow is going to hold so do what you want now. Take a leap and jump right in. Don’t wait.

One afternoon of wheel throwing lessons for me was perfect. It satisfied my desire to start learning how to sculpt pottery and I learned so much. It was so so so much harder than I never would have thought. Being an artistic person I thought it would immediately come naturally to me. But I was humbled in the plain and simple fact that it did not. But that just makes me want to learn more and practice harder.

Rebecca was lovely and professional and her pottery is beautiful. We worked along side each other for two hours, her modeling what to do and me following. You make two pieces and she will fire and glaze it for you.

Her studio is located in the Elephant Gallery at 1411 Buchanan St. in the Buchanan Art Distract. Parking is on the right of the building toward the back. There are several artists and ceramicists housed here, a fun place to check out and Rebecca offers open studio for those who have already taken a class or lesson. 4 weeks of three hour sessions and 1 week of learning how to fire in the kiln and glaze.

Yes, I went to the grocery store like this.

My second piece that had to be scrapped. But my first cup came out cute and I say one outta two ain’t bad.

If you’re here in Nashville or just passing through and want to learn the basics of pottery and how to wheel throw- check her out- I highly recommend!

I Want You to Know

October 14, 2020 by Rebecca Leave a Comment

I want you to know that before you were born
I decided to give you the world

It’s yours to enjoy
It’s yours to explore
It’s yours to make all your own

I want you to know that now that you’re here
I decided to protect your heart

It’s okay to cry
It’s okay to feel
It’s okay, I’m by your side

I want you to know that as you grow
I decided to let you go

It’s your time to shine
It’s your time to rise
It’s your time to show the world

I want you to know that as you live
I decided to learn from you

You’ve shown me true love
You’ve given me life
You’ve made my dreams come true

Nashville Guide – Azafran Park

October 9, 2020 by Rebecca Leave a Comment

Charlie and I have always been park people. It’s just one of our special date places. Blazing hot, sunny, cloudy, breezy, even drizzly, we don’t care. Give us a park and we are happy. And now of course Tessa is part of our park dates and it’s been so lovely watching her love it as much as we do. When it was just me and Charlie, I would take her to a park I would say at least 2-3 times a week. Not always for a playground. Sometimes that’s just where we would go to eat lunch or dinner if Blake was out of town. It was our way of getting outside, getting out of the house and getting into nature. A lot of times we just lay on our blanket and watch the clouds roll by. Tessa was born in October, so I was majorly pregnant with her all through out that summer. And wouldn’t you know, it was record hot hot hot that summer. And I STILL took my girl to the park at least once a week- pregnant belly, out of breath and hotter than heck but it was important to me that we had those dates. And now our school/PDO schedule lets Charlie and I have one day a week- Thursdays- where it’s just us. Mama + Charlie day. So we park it up.

We have our favorites for sure- Sevier Park in 12 South is our home. It’s one of my favorite places in all of Nashville. But we also like ourselves an adventure and to go park exploring. We live in the Woodbine neighborhood of Nashville- one stop past Berry Hill and not far from downtown. There is a bright, funky, fun park not far from our house- Azafran Park. To me, it’s kind of a hidden gem. If you’re looking for colors, something outside the box, water features and not crowded, this park is for you. And! There’s a huge snail. NEED I SAY MORE??

Address: 2187 Nolensville Pike

PROS:

Unlike any other park out there! Totally unique.
Brightly colored
Great for climbing
Water Fountain/Splash Pad
Musical instrument features
Never crowded
Covered picnic bench area

CONS:

Not a lot of shade. Only shaded part is picnic area. In the summer, it is HOT.
No bathrooms
No swings
Not next to, but not far from Nolensville Pike, a busy street

Pro-tip: The “button” for the splash pad was hard to figure out. There is no sign. But if you are facing it from the sidewalk, it is on the ground in the upper left hand corner. You may have to step on it a couple of different times for it to take. Try tapping lightly. I’ve definitely been the mama stomping on it for a couple minutes with no success. But keep trying- it works! And the kiddos will love it.

Note- There is a crosswalk at Nolensville where you can safely cross to South Side Kitchen & Pub and Red Bicycle Coffee.

Your Feelings Are Yours | A Poem on Parenting Hard Emotions

October 8, 2020 by Rebecca Leave a Comment

The girls and I were driving around the other day running a couple of errands. This usually goes really well. We almost always turn the music up, roll the windows down and dance. And talk, and point out cloud shapes. Or play pirate and mermaids….where Charlie pretends to be a pirate captain getting the mermaid (me) in the front seat. We took coffee to Daddy and all was good. There was laughing, there was sunshine. But as parenting goes, that was one moment. And the next, we’re stuck in line between two cars at the Walgreens drive through picking up a prescription. Charlie tells me she needs to go potty. Can you hold it? I ask…We’ll be home in a few minutes, I say. I’m going potty mommy, she says. So the poor thing couldn’t hold it and had to sit in her now soaked car seat while we were stuck in line. And this made her really, really upset…she was crying, Tessy was crying, I was crying (kidding). But Charlie is incredibly sensitive to thinking I might be upset with her. She is now 3.5 and she’s in the midst of figuring out her emotions. I find this awesome. How powerful to witness a human literally growing and figuring herself out. Of course I wasn’t upset with her- I felt awful for not being able to provide a potty for her when she needed it. But such is life and that’s how the day goes sometimes. Nothing bath time and laughing at the craziness can’t fix.

But she kept saying, “Mommy, I won’t cry, I won’t cry.” “You can always, ALWAYS cry, my love,” I kept repeating. There has been a lot of teaching lately that emotions and feelings are good. That they are your right as a human to have. No matter what they are. There are times when I set boundaries about snacks, or bedtime, or treats. And she’ll tell me she’s angry at me. Good! Learn that emotion. You are allowed to be angry. But I am allowed to still set the boundary. And then the teaching goes on to talk about even through anger, it’s important to still be respectful.

I find myself saying little lines to her throughout the day and sometimes putting things into beautiful words can help bring the message to light in a more powerful way.

I am a huge poetry reader and Charlie sees me reading it all the time. She often asks me to read some of my books out loud to her, which I love. I used to write when I was younger a lot and my brain often thinks in little lines -sometimes I write them down. So, a poem I wrote and have been reading to her so she knows that feelings are good. They belong to YOU and they are yours to feel and process. And you have every right to feel whatever you want.

Your Feelings Are Yours

Today was a hard day
You were mad you were angry you were sad you were glad
Tomorrow we’ll try again

It’s okay to feel
It’s okay to be
Letting out feelings makes you feel free

The thing about feelings is that they’re all your own
You’re allowed to be all those things

You can feel how you feel
Your feelings are real
So listen to what they say

Don’t push them down
Let them be heard
So they don’t just sit in your heart

Say them out loud
Give them a voice
But then be done with them for the night

In the morning we’ll wake
And give thanks for the day
And see if those feelings have gone

For yesterday was hard
You were mad you were angry you were sad you were glad
And tomorrow we’ll try again

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