Sustainable Baddie’s January Staff Faves
Happy Aquarius Szn Baddies! Does anyone else feel like January flew by!? We’re not complaining though. Mercury and Mars's retrograde are over, we’re finally picking up speed in achieving our New Year's resolutions, and in NYC, the sun has finally begun to set after 5 PM. We might’ve had a slow, rocky beginning to 2023 (especially for victims of winter viruses) but it has granted us the time to really think about what we hope to accomplish and recharge for the experiences ahead. Here’s what the Sustainable Baddie team has been loving during the first month of 2023! And say hello to our new editor, Carla!
Spoiler alert! You’re gonna be pampered with planner recs below…
What's the Juice – Organic Olivia has been Natasha’s angel Leo queen since she started following her back in 2018. She inspired her to learn more about plant medicine and healing her relationship with food. She even almost became a botany major, “if you were there when I was set on this my Sophomore year of college, I’m sorry I did that to you.” She has been listening to Olivia’s podcast, What’s the Juice, all month long. The episodes cover topics such as mental health, plant medicine, astrology, and inner healing, and Natasha’s always left feeling wiser.
Fennuala Belle Corset – For Christmas, Natasha gifted herself a custom handmade corset by UK-based susty designer Fennuala Belle. Their pieces are made from upcycled vintage fabrics and the main fabric she chose has a pirate ship on it, “I’ve said multiple times that I am currently in my swashbuckling era.” This corset makes her feel like Kiera Knightley in the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie. It’s “made perfectly for my body and doesn’t make me feel as constricted as other corsets have in the past.” Fennuala Belle included her in the process of making the corset and even sent her multiple fabric choices. She is absolutely in love with this piece, and highly recommends getting something made that is just for you and your body <3
Chani Lunar Planner + App – Natasha’s not the only one who has bought a physical planner only to use it for the first couple of weeks or months and then forget about it. She still loves and appreciates planners and how they help her organize her thoughts, but she didn’t want to risk wasting paper this year. Last fall, Natasha became an iPad girlie, which inspired her to opt for a digital planner this year. As she also begins her astrology journey, she chose SB fav Chani’s Lunar planner (shoutout to Natasha’s sister for recommending this planner to her). She likes it because she learns more about current transits each day and what these mean for her, gets to take a moment to answer reflection questions, set an intention for her day, and even keep track of her dreams. She’s also been checking the Chani app and incorporating their guided meditations and rituals into her routine when she’s feeling up for it!
Dance Workouts – Natasha’s always known that exercise and movement have an extremely positive effect on her mental health, but a strained relationship with diet and workout culture made moving her body unenjoyable for a long time. She’s realizing she doesn’t have to overwork her body every single day with a crazy gym routine to feel like she’s taking care of her physical self. She’s picking back up her walking habit, “can’t wait to get back to my walkable city,” and has been absolutely loving dance workouts! “Pamela Reif’s dance workouts on YouTube are such a fun way to get me up and moving. Even though I sometimes feel a little ridiculous doing them, it's also fun to laugh at myself.” We love anything that makes us feel safer and better in our bodies!
Journaling + Bando To Do List Planner – Zibby is seconding the love for a new planner during January and decided to go with the Bando To Do List Planner! Sustainable baddies know the guilt of planner-related paper wastage, so Zibby found one that will maximize their planner usage. “I love this planner because it is so cute (mine has strawberries all over it) and because it is undated, I don’t feel like I am wasting paper. I can use every single page instead of accidentally forgetting to use a planner for weeks,” they said.
Credit: ny.gov
The Farmers Market In The Winter – Zibby has found themselves becoming an avid farmers market goer this month, frequenting both Grow NYC markets at Union Square and Prospect Park. It’s easy to stay home and order groceries for delivery in the middle of winter, but the farmers market is a great motivator to step outside, shop in season, and support local vendors. “Right now, I am loving getting my bread, apples, kimchi, and produce like sweet potatoes at the market on a weekly basis,” they said. What better way to romanticize the bitter Northeast winter than bundling up and heading to the farmers market?
Credit: Grammarly
Grammarly – If you stopped using Grammarly once you graduated high school or finished college, you are missing out! “I don’t know why it took me this long to get on the bandwagon, but having it installed on my desktop is so helpful… even my texts are matching tense <3,” Welcome to the club of writers who recently learned they don’t know how to spell, Zibby!
Dina Ogon – Zibby always has the best *chef’s kiss* music recs. This month, they have been vibing to Swedish band, Dina Ogon. We can picture them now, frolicking through Brooklyn, happily headed to the farmer’s market with some light “Swedish Fleetwood Mac love child” music as the soundtrack to their life. “It's great background music, but also just swaying-in-the-kitchen music,” they add. Thank you Zibby! We will be swaying in the kitchen to this band now.
Hobonichi Techo Planner – Another spectacular planner recommendation for the first month of the year! Aparna chose to go with the Hobonichi Techo Planner for 2023. “I’ve had my eye on the Hobonichi for years and I finally felt justified taking the plunge because I have multiple digital calendars to combine in one place,” she says. Hobonichi Techo has both English and Japanese editions of their planners for bilingual speakers and language learners alike. If you’ve got a Japanese Duolingo streak going, opt for the Japanese edition!
"The Ghost of Heaven" – by Carolyn Forché We love a lover of poetry and all of Aparna’s reading recs. This month, she has been obsessed with Carolyn Forché’s writing and particularly, her poem “The Ghost of Heaven”. Forché is known for what’s called “poetics of witness”. She traveled around the world as a journalist reporting in conflict zones for much of her early career and her poetry captures the minutiae of how conflict affects people in everyday life. Check out more of Forché’s writing at The Poetry Foundation!
HYPNOS by Ravyn Lenae – Every January, Aparna finds herself in a major music funk, deep-diving into every “best of the year” album list, from Pitchfork to NPR. Funk no more, but funky instead because the playlist gods have placed an amazing artist into her heavy rotation! Aparna has been jamming to Ravyn Lenae and their album HYPNOS. The album was a standout debut that is sure to be enjoyed by all R&B lovers and anyone who likes innovative music. Thank you Aparna for sharing the blessings with this music rec 🙏🏻
Credit: HBO
Atsuko Okatsuka’s HBO special “The Intruder” – Atsuko Okatsuka (who has probably made you laugh on TikTok at some point with her grandma) released a comedy special on HBO last month. Okatsuka inspired the viral #dropchallenge with her grandma last year. “Her performance in this special is fun, energetic, improvisational, and sometimes abrupt, making you laugh at unexpected times,” says Carla. If you’re experiencing some winter blues, you’ll want to cozy up and check out this hilarious comedy special that made Carla’s January a whole lot funnier.
Credit: Bikini Kills from The Daily Beast
Riot Grrrl Music – Ugh! We love rediscovering the interests of our past selves! Carla is constantly playing Riot Grrrl Music on their Spotify. “I am returning to an era where, in college, I would listen to punk music made by folks not catering to men. It’s fun to listen to women and queer folk screech, growl, sing loud and free, play repetitive punk riffs, and just be unapologetic,” they add. Couldn’t agree more!
Credit: Annie’s Catalog
Light-Up Crochet Hooks – Carla found possibly the greatest thrift find of all time this month: light-up crochet hooks! Not even the night will stop them from crocheting now! The hooks come in a pack of five, use very tiny batteries, and come in a colorful array that lights up to help you crochet when you don’t have enough light. It’s safe to say that Carla is taking a futuristic approach to entering their grandma-era.
Credit: Patch
Volunteering At Second-Hand Craft Store, Remainders – Carla spent some time volunteering at the secondhand craft store Remainders this month. “[It] has been one of the highlights of my January so far. What can I say…this place is magical. They have all things you could ever imagine for your craft project at very discounted prices,” they said. Craft items are either donated by individuals or groups and they are secondhand or deadstock. Carla gets to spend their time with a friendly staff and helping others take up crafting. They’ve even been buying their yarn from Remainders to make their crochet clothes more sustainable!
Collina Strada Water Bottle – This year, Jaz has become a gym girlie and was in need of a water bottle that brings her style and love for susty fashion with her, even when sweating profusely. Catch her at the gym donning her new Collina Strada water bottle! “I’ve wanted one for years, and I was about to finally pull the trigger since I’m a gym girlie now and wanted something cute. Turned out my friend got me one as a belated present and I love it so much,” she says. Shoutout to the friends who know exactly what to gift us!
Credit: @tharcurlytop Instagram
DIY Bows – Jaz’s first DIY of 2023 was some super cute crocheted hair bows! Jaz notes that she had another project in mind, but when she realized she couldn’t find her second knitting needle, she resorted to using a “simple finger knitting” technique. As she was finishing her first row, she noticed that the technique would only work for a single chain. “HEARTBROKEN, I decided to then turn this single chain into a bow, which in the end is WAYY cuter than the OG project I wanted to do,” she says. Just goes to show that if something doesn’t work out the way you planned, there might be a different (even better) route to take!
Her “I want to go to there” Playlist – What better way to accompany a month of slowly picking back up the pace than a curated escapist playlist? Jaz created a playlist that perfectly embodies the craving we all have to escape into pretty paintings and never look back. Her “I want to go there” playlist is the perfect soundtrack for closing your eyes and imagining yourself in a place completely unlike your reality. “Perfect form of escapism and so comforting, I’ve been listening to it non-stop,” she says.
What have you been loving this January?