Massaging Sensations Thanks To Kushyfoot

**I was given free samples of the following Kushyfoot products in exchange for my open and honest review. All opinions are my own and I have license to use all the following awkward cocktail party photos. Cheers!

Sometimes the best-laid plans fall to complete ruin. At least, that's my life lately. I guess it has something to do with having twin toddlers and a husband, a full-time job that has me traveling, various volunteer commitments, a Pure Barre addiction, this little ole blog and a few IRL friends. Oh, and tennis. I also play tennis. And I have a penchant for getting sick. Like real sick: You have a cold? Ehh, give me those germs and watch it become pneumonia—sick.

So back in January I traded emails back and forth with a representative of Kushyfoot, and she sent me some samples for me to review. I was so excited! Of course, our mail is as slow as Christmas; I am convinced it has something to do with having in-door mail slots over the traditional boxes at the end of the drive. I received the products in February and was super excited to put them to the test.

Then we had a heat wave and the last thing I wanted to do was put on knee high socks and knee high boots. But because this is Alabama, our February heat wave quickly gave way for a March cold snap.

During the middle of that cold snap, Mark and I attended a cocktail reception for a society I am a member of through the Junior League. The society celebrates our League's founding president, Lillie Lee Milliner, who got together with a group of her friends 90 years ago and formed what is now our League. She left a pretty awesome legacy. To honor that, we all donned our cocktail best and snacked on appetizers and enjoyed some libations.

Since we never get truly "cold" in Alabama, I never know how to dress for dressier occasions in the winter. I had this adorable French Connection purple dress I wanted to wear to the reception but it was short sleeve and short. THEN I REMEMBERED I HAD THE KUSHYFOOT TIGHTS. And the closet angels sang hallelujah!

So at first I was a little concerned that the tights, which came equipped with ribbed gel at the base of the foot, would drive me nuts and not work. Especially since I knew we'd be standing for hours on end as we mingled, and the only shoes I had that would work with the dress were five-inch stilettos.

I was wrong, oh so wrong. Not only did the little ripples of gel not bug me, they actually worked!! My feet didn’t hurt even the tiniest bit during the evening. I comfortably was able to move from the bar to the food, to groups of friends and acquaintances without worrying that my feet were throbbing. See, this action shot clearly shows my feet weren't a concern. Or maybe it shows I had one too many gin and tonics on an empty stomach and less than five hours after this picture was taken I would wake up with the flu, which would turn into pneumonia, but I digress.

The tights were thick enough offer some warmth traveling from the car to the door, without being too hot once we got inside the building. Don't you hate when the heat is cranked up somewhere and you are wearing warm clothes? I always feel like I am a little sweaty once I step back outside. Not cute.

Black tights are literally the answer to every outfit question I have now in relationship to cocktail parties and cold weather.

In addition to the tights, in my little Kushyfoot goodie bag, I also got some of their knee highs, which worked really well under my Frye boots. Typically I hate to wear knee highs with them, just because the socks always end up poking out the top and that’s just not my style. Kushyfoot's version actually hit below my knee a bit so they were completely covered by the boot, giving me the sock I needed while maintaining the look I like.

My final Kushyfoot product I am now in love with is the flat to-go. I've seen these before: ballet flats that are designed to fit in a purse or glove box and be completely packable. In the past, I was worried that these type of shoes would be cheap plastic and not look good.

Again, Kushyfoot proved me wrong. As fate would have it, our new puppy recently actually ate one of my black ballet flats, so I was in need of a black flat for work. I grabbed the Kushyfoots and headed about my day. They didn't look cheap at all; they are the perfect basic black flat. They are comfortable—feels like I'm not really wearing a shoe at all. I haven't tried the "packable" element to them yet, mainly because with pneumonia and work travel I've gone exactly nowhere I would need a packable flat. But Mark and I have a gala to attend in the coming weeks and I have a feeling they will definitely be making an appearance.

Kushyfoot's online store is currently closed while they transition to spring, but I was able to score a few extra pairs of tights at Nordstrom Rack in Atlanta, on some major sale. One of the benefits of being constantly off-kilter is being able to shop super sales because you're buying tights while the rest of the stores wants you to buy swimsuits. I have spent years working in retail and I still will never understand beginning to sell shorts in January when it is still only 40°. 

 

_____________

Photography by Carter Photo & Design

Product Review: Seventh Generation Laundry Detergent

**I was given free samples from Seventh Generation in exchange for my open and honest review. All opinions, adorable baby pictures, and messy laundry pile photos are my own. 

Since I was little I've struggled with sensitive skin. If you ask Mark he might say I struggle with sensitive everything, but I digress. Since no one thinks a rash is sexy, for as long as I can remember I've used "Free and Clear" detergents when doing my laundry. I usually grab All or Purex, I'm allergic to Tide in all forms. On average I do seven loads of laundry per week for Mark, Fitz, Alex, the dogs and myself. That amounts to a lot of laundry!!

Since we don't have a money tree in the backyard, and I do care about the chemicals in our detergent, I try to shop sales and use coupons. Typically, I grab Purex Free or All Free and Clear at Publix, Winn Dixie or CVS on sale, which helps cut down on the added costs of being without added chemicals.

When Fitz and Alex were born, I would buy the jumbo containers of Dreft—I wasn't sure about their possible allergies and the last thing I wanted to deal with was a baby with a skin rash. The more I can do to cut down on baby fussiness on the front end, the better.

When I was approached, through Generation Good, to sample Seventh Generation's Free and Clear detergent, I jumped at the chance. I already knew that I loved their diapers, so I was curious about their detergent. Not being a stranger to the "free and clear" game, I went in prepared to rewash my clothes.

With some other brands I've tried, that don't have the added chemicals, I've noticed they just don't get clothes clean enough. Taking that into account, I was obviously concerned that a plant-based product without artificial brighteners might not be tough enough on stains.

Because let's face it, twin toddlers mean stains.

Generation Good sent me three packets of detergent. I used one on a load of my clothes; one on a load of baby clothes and I gave one to a friend.

I was pleasantly surprised on how well the detergent handled both loads of my clothes. On stains that were pretreated, you couldn't tell at all. On stains that I missed pretreating, they were mostly gone, with the exception of a chocolate chip smear on a white onesie—which let's be real, that sucker probably wasn't coming out no matter what I had put on it.

Overall, I thought the detergent performed better than some brands and as well if not better than my go-tos of All Free and Clear and Purex Free.

The friend I gave the third sample to reported similar findings.

Will we change over to Seventh Generation all the time? Probably not. Will I add it to my arsenal of brands I buy when on sale? Absolutely.