Hello, beautiful people, and welcome to our second dose of 10 Ways for 2017. We're taking things oh-so-gently this afternoon as we ease through mid-January. We've already overcome 'Blue Monday', but as we burst into the new year, full of new excitement, ideas and hopes, it can be easy to forget to take moments to pause and be still, to think about how we can resolve to expand and further how well we self love, to make conscious, eco-friendly choices, and engage with the divine feminine that's in us all... Of course, lucky for you, we pop up on a fortnightly basis to remind you how!

So, today we're gonna be converting your entire beauty regime over to bars (and presenting a case for why that's an awesome idea!), reusing and recycling fabric with some awesome DIYs and we'll be chatting about how we engage and revel in sisterhood with our fellow females (from artists, to book shares, to vocalists!).

It's taking a strong coffee with a shot of maple syrup to get us moving this today, so grab your tipple of choice, put your deserving feet up to rest and let's get into it...

Now, I'm under no illusion that some of you babes might take a little bit of convincing on this one (I know I did!), so here it is: soap bars.

Shampoo, moisturiser, facial cleanser, heck even my face serum! They all now come in bar form.

'But why?!'

Good question, here are my logical (and some not so logical) advantages to converting to the bar life:

• Ummm, they're cute and they smell like HEAVEN
• They last, my goodness do they last!
• They're SO much easier to travel with (lightweight, compact and won't spill)
• When travelling, shampoo bars can get you out of many fixes (many can be used as a body wash too and can even wash dishes!)
• Natural ingredients, need I say more?!
• No nasties, the vast majority of shampoo bars are SLS/SLES free, so they'll leave your hair clean without stripping those lovely natural oils
• Reduced packaging, many bar products come 'naked' so there's no plastic to dispose of when you're done!

So far on my voyage into the world of bars, these are my tried and tested faves (and yes, they're almost all by Lush, sorry! I promise to try brands soon!):

Movis - Facial cleanser by Lush

Full of Grace - Facial serum by Lush

Dr Bronner's Organic Tea Tree soap bar (for hands and body)

Soak + Float - Shampoo by Lush

Peace - Moisturising massage bar by Lush

I honestly never thought of myself as a soap bar kinda person, but you gotta try it!

A good friend of mine challenges and inspires me in so many ways, but not least is her ability to reuse things. Her endeavours to reimagine products, using them until she can no longer salvage something from what's left is so refreshing to see in the disposable all-consuming climate we live in today.

While for some, (I think I'd have once included myself in that category), the idea of recycling rather than buying a-new is kinda exhausting and just 'not your thing', I'd like to encourage you that this practice is what you make of it: have fun being creative, let any sense of perfectionism go and feel good about the conscious choice to reuse and repurpose.

My upcoming repurpose projects revolve around fabric, as I've some clothes that I'm no longer wearing, but are made of sublime fabrics that I've just got to find a use for! I'm looking to create a yoga bag (I'm no sewing master, far from it in fact, but this in depth tutorial's looking like it might see me through!), cutting squares to use in place of paper to Furoshiki, the Japanese gift wrapping tradition, and in light of reading all about 2017's sleep trend in our previous 10 Ways post, I'm planning to make some super cute sleep masks to get a completely dark restful night's sleep!

Yes it's a labour of love, but these little projects can be so fun!

Books. We talk about them all the time here in our 10 Ways posts.

There's so much to be gained and so much to enjoy. Not least when literature is shared.

The past few weeks have reminded me of how much I enjoy discussing the media I consume, and particularly how much I enjoy discussing it with like-minded sisters. Be it fictional escapes, challenging articles, thoughtful podcasts or informative books that are teaching me so much... Of course there's enjoyment in reading for myself, but that joy is so enhanced by sharing those ideas and stories, and hearing another's thoughts and interpretations.

So I'd encourage you, join a bookclub, in person or online, or grab a sister and start talking about what you're reading. Share your books, ask to borrow or take a trip to the good ol' library with friends and discover and share the wealth of the words you read!

Ps. How much do y'all miss the library?! I realised recently that it's been years since I stepped foot in a library, I've just been buying all my books instead, so I'm looking to revive that habit this year!

Talking of sisterhood, we have been LOVING a female vocal this month.

Ironically, these gorgeous tracks were recommended to me by a brother who knows how much I love a smooth lady vocal, and my goodness they're all just beautiful; totally different from one another, but all totally beautiful.

From Kaytranada (all the heart eyes!) remix of TLC's 'Flippin on you', to Ms Marling's latest single 'Wild Fire' (I remain unashamedly obsessed with her) to a new-to-me artist, Badbadnotgood's track 'In Your Eyes' feat. a soulful vocal from Charlotte Day Wilson...

So, so smooth. Enjoy, babes!

Alarm clocks.

Not exactly synonymous with 'Gentle January' eh? Well lemme expand on this: the alarm is a byproduct of banning your phone from the bedroom... See where I'm going with this?

Furthering our notion of an increased digital detox for 2017, my beau has been well and truly leading the way on this front. Completely banning his iPhone from our room and replacing it with this fun Gingko click clock for his alarms.

It's a challenge - one that I totally haven't managed yet - but it can only bring more intimate conversation, more quality sleep and more, well, ahem... You know, love liness into our bedrooms!

Plus, alarm clocks are kinda fun to shop for, I'm totally sponsoring this amazing Kickstarter for a coffee brewing alarm clock!

This one is a game changer. Now, I haven't talked to enough people about this to figure out if this is a given yet, but just in case any of y'all aren't already... Period/fertility tracking apps, you need to get on board!

Wherever you're at in life (or your cycle!), be it trying to avoid pregnancy, get pregnant, simply track your period or track menopausal changes, there's an app for that and they couldn't be more helpful!

'Why bother taking all that time to input symptoms and data, and even take your basal body temperature every morning?!'

Well, I gotta say, I felt the same when I first starting using these apps. I put in the bare minimum data and used it more as a calendar than anything else, but over the past year I've found that the more I track, the more I begin to understand myself and my cycle, often helping my to pinpoint why I'm feeling a certain way, or reassure me that certain symptoms are just a part of my regular cycle.

...Being in touch and connected to your cycle is lovely, trust me! And if you haven't already, check out Kindara (my favourite app!), Clue or the Glow app collection to find something that fits your needs and happy tracking!

Menstruation and our cycles are things we sisters need to get talking about, it's life itself and there's such loveliness in shared knowledge + experience! Drop us a comment below if you've got a favourite app we need to take a look at or if there's a related topic you'd like us to chat about in future posts!

Continuing with the sisterhood theme, a moment of loveliness that I had to share this week was discovering the Women Who Draw instagram feed.

Oh my. Just beautiful.

A newly developed directory of women, drawing everything under the sun, but most powerfully for me, they're women drawing women.

How women interpret themselves and each other: realistically, naturally and beautifully imperfect.

Not only is their art totally gorgeous (like, I want to plaster all my walls/devices in it!), but it's poignant and provoking, check it out!

That yoga pose piece by Danielle Kroll is one of my favourites. The colours are just divine!

A little earth-friendly purchase for you this week: bamboo straws.

Hands up who's been on the smoothie/juicing wagon this January?

Yeah, me too, and when it comes to smoothies, I am totally a straw kinda person. Of course, it's been a long time since I used disposable straws (not cool), and I've since been using the wide gauge re-usable metal smoothie straws that came with my Kilner jar glasses.

Now, don't get me wrong I love them, but there are days when I'm feeling... 'Particularly sensitive' shall we say (?!) when I kinda resent using that hard metal straw. I dunno, it just feels so harsh on your teeth sometimes?!

Enter the totally sustainable, re-usable, biodegrable bamboo straw, with its softer natural feel.

It's the little things in life...

Plus, they look so. dang. cute.

This one's for all the mamas out there. Or should I say 'mamas-to-be'.

In a recent conversation with a friend who's a midwife, we ended up discussing life after baby's born, and the need for a recognised 'Fourth Trimester' in terms of the level of attentive care that mother (as well as baby, of course) should continue to receive and foster in their own environment after birth.

Then I had a little déjà vu, and remembered I'd definitely heard that phrase, 'Fourth Tri', before somewhere...

Meet @fourthtrimag, a magazine I stumbled upon months ago while cruisin' the instagram wave and fell in love with. Describing themselves as 'An indie print magazine supporting life after birth' we love everything this biannual piece is about. Here's the basis of their ethos...

"All of the pain will just go away when you see your beautiful little bundle of joy." Yes, creating a baby is absolutely amazing but the pain doesn't just go away - physically, emotionally and mentally - the fourth trimester can really hurt! However, it helps to know you are not alone. Not the only one wondering if you really do love your baby. Not the only one avoiding the mirror so you don't have to see those stretch marks. Not the only one asking for help. This is where we come in. We are a community of mothers just trying to support other mothers during their life after birth. Offering honest, friendly advice from people who have been through or are going through this crazy journey of motherhood.

And, just incase that wasn't awesome enough (!!) they've recently released a 'Fourth Tri-Man' mini-print too! Shop them both here.

And the artwork, oh the artwork! Such a beautiful magazine concept, in every way! Hit it up, mamas!

Ummm, is anyone else constantly at the movies recently?! With the Oscars just around the corner, there's been an influx of incredible films landing the cinemas this month.

From the already profusely nominated musical 'La La Land', to the challenging watch that is Sundance breakout movie 'Manchester by the Sea', to 'Moana' a film that many are calling 'the best Disney film ever' (I'd agree, if that counts for anything!)... Get yourself down to the movies tonight - there's so much goodness on offer right now!

And that's it from us for this week, lovely people. We hope you find loveliness as you try out some of these ideas and products, do let us know what you think in the comments below, or if you have anything you think we should try! We love hearing from you!

Have an amazing weekend and we'll see you on the flip side!