Five Simple Things (December 24)

Hello.

Here are five things this week.

1. This House.

We did simple, sustainable decorations this year. I enjoyed the fact that they were easy to clean up and didn't take much to make the house look cute and festive. Best part is, when the holidays are over I can throw them into the compost, or even into the duck house for bedding.

2. This Surf.

We took off this week for a surf trip, but only got a few waves in before a storm rolled in. The wind picked up so much it turned the seven foot swells into 13 foot swells. We tried to stick it out, but decided against it. Everyone else in the water followed us out, as well. It was good surfing otherwise, though and we are all three getting better at navigating in larger swells and especially ones that are unpredictable.

3. These Pomanders.

Skylar and I spent the day making eco-friendly Christmas decorations this past week. These pomanders are super easy to make and the smell of them with the whole cloves is one of my favorite smells around the holidays. Along with these, we also made another decoration with oranges below. The best part of these decorations is that they can be composted after their time is done.

4. These Cutters.

I found these small cookie cutters at our local Walmart and used them to cut out small orange peel decorations for Christmas. These are super easy to make and smell amazing as they dry out. We will probably keep these hanging in the window even after the holidays. You can get the same set here.

5. These Samples.

I received these three items for testing purposes. The Dove deodorant was a great concept, I really like the fact that it can be refilled without throwing away the entire container. The downside to this product is the refills come in a plastic container and that ends up in the landfill just as a plastic deodorant case would. Although, the concept is great, it needs improvement still. And, the smell was a bit much for me. I plan on trying out the other scent, but the cucumber and green tea was not a scent I enjoyed. You can get this deodorant here. The second samples are from Influenster. It's from Almay and it's their Clear Complexion line that's formulated with salicylic acid, prebiotics, and aloe. It's formulated for acne-prone skin and is part of the #YourBreakoutMakeup campaign. I really enjoyed the Clear Complexion Concealer, but the Clear Complexion Makeup broke me out and dried my face out a lot. The concealer was a great coverage makeup to wear all day, and I highly recommend it. You can pick up the concealer here. The one pictured here is in the shade 100 Light. And, if you wanted to give the makeup a try, you can snag it here and try it yourself. The one pictured here is in shade 200 Buff.

Did you catch Uranus near the Moon this week (15), or the Full Oak Moon (18), and the Winter Solstice (21), and Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn lined up (23)...