day 184 : spread 'positive change'

this one is super easy!
in the March Be Nice Box, everybody received 10 pennies ; all with smiley face stickers on the 'heads' side.
the mission? 
drop the pennies. hand them out. leave them random places.
spread positive change {get it?} 

they see a penny {with a bright yellow smiley face!}, they pick it up, they feel better {even if its for a second!}

i had a few pennies leftover, so i dropped them on the bus, on the sidewalk, and at the entrance to the library! 

so easy!

and, because its never a bad time to be reminded : 

day 183 : April Be Nice Box REVEAL

hi everybody! 

happy thursday!! we hit 70* yesterday in minneapolis {first time in 6+ months!} and all the snow is gone! the bike trails are finally clear, which means i can put away my heavy bike with snow tires & get moving on my race bike {woo hoo!}

lets talk about the be nice box! 

the april boxes went out a couple days behind schedule {one of the packages was stuck in illinois for d-a-y-s!} & now that everybody has had time to unbox & share photos on social media ; i thought it would be a perfect time to show you everything that was in this months box! 

Be Nice Box : April Edition! // this month we sent boxes to folks in 17 states {including first-timers Kentucky, Alaska and Oklahoma!!} 

our theme : Tree Huggers & Planet Savers {each good deed this month has to do with taking care of Mother Nature!} 

___________________________________________________________________________

this months good deeds : 

1) all month long : make an effort to lessen your impact ; use less & recycle more

2) see a piece of not-super-gross garbage? pick it up! {it takes a village!}

3) feed the birds! INCLUDED // bird feeder

4) April 10th is National Sibling Day. send a sibling or friend a rad card! INCLUDED // card from smock paper

5) SELF-CARE! drink more water! {avoid plastic bottles}

6) measure your carbon footprint & share the small changes you will be making

7) April 16th is National Librarian Day! head to the library check out a book or donate one of your favorites

8) offer someone a breath mint. INCLUDED // pack of mints from Project 7

9) attend a community event ; a food drive, school place, sports event, ect

10) April 22nd is EARTH DAY! find a way to volunteer and be involved in your community

11) grab a friend & spend time in nature! refuel with trail mix! INCLUDED // Enjoy Life Nut-free trail mix

12) use a reusable bag wherever you go ; leave it in your car, take it shopping, ect. ask if your store will give you a bag discount

items in the boxes include : bird feeder to hang up // nut-free trail mix from Enjoy Life // breath mints from Project 7 {for every purchase you make, they donate to awesome causes around the world} // bamboo Thank You cards {made in the US, with wind power!} from Smock // handmade coffee sleeve from the women at LIFEline

the april box is one of my favorites! all of these companies are doing really incredible things & i am so happy to be able to share them with our awesome subscribers! 

if you are interested in joining us for may, you can head here to sign up! 

day 182 : take what you need {a good reminder that we all need something}

back in january, i hand drew a 'take what you need' sheet ' and included one in each of the Be Nice Boxes. 

it really was one of my favorite good deeds that has ever gone into the boxes.

last week, blake & i took daph for a super long neighborhood stroll & happened upon someone elses handmade 'take what you need' sheets. 

i think we saw about 4 or 5, all taped to different utility poles around the neighborhood.

i love stuff like this! 

i do! 

signs like this & tiny acts of kindness are the total basis of my 'year of minnesota nice' project & the Be Nice Box! 

small, good deeds that cheer people up & bring a smile to someones face is so powerful! creating small change in your neighborhood leads to big changes in behavior & community! 

so, to the stranger who stapled these all over ; thanks! 

day 181 : hand out a gift card to a stranger

no pictures, today!
one of the good deeds in the march be nice box was to purchase a $5 gift card & hand it to the person behind you in line.

like all other good deeds from the boxes, they are meant to be used as an outline. i love the idea of taking something on the list & then making it your own.

i keep a few small-value gift cards in my wallet. that way, if we are out & a great opportunity arises, i can just reach in, hand one out & make someones day!
a few weeks ago, i had the perfect opportunity.

blake & i were walking down a pretty busy street in the city, getting ready to run a quick errand.
we passed a man on the street with a sign, asking cars at the red light for money & food.
i have a rule that i dont hand out cash to people who are panhandling, but i am happy to help in other ways {i also keep fruit & granola bars with me}

as we passed the man, i remembered that i had a $5 gift card for mcdonalds with me {the gc was gifted to me from klout} i ran over, handed him a gift card & showed him that there was a mcdonalds at the other end of the next block.

super simple & easy!

tell us : do you keep 'kindness emergency' items with you?

day 180 : announcing our April charity {be nice box}

its that time of the month again!
time to announce another super-rad charity that is helping change the world!

this month, we are doing things a bit different over at the Be Nice Box!

in past months, we give $1 to charity for each box sold.

this month, the gift that subscribers are receiving will count as our financial donation.

make sense?

for April, we are supporting L.I.F.E. line ; a CTC international organization.
L.I.F.E. line is one of my favorite groups! we have been supporting them for a couple years!
blake and i have donated money, purchased items for their store {here, here & here} & are always excited to spread the word about what they are doing!

L.I.F.E. line is a group people {makers & manufacturers in kenya} who are creating amazing items. a group of 27 women {most of whom have children with disabilities} handcraft all of the items from this line, while the maasai mums are a co-op of over 400 women who create all of these amazing pieces by hand.
by supporting them, we are giving them a living wage & health insurance, supporting their local economy and providing a safe life & education for their children.
you can read more here.

CTC international also recently launched cafe ubuntu! {you can purchase their coffee in whole foods!}
the cafe itself is the very first coffee shop {EVER} in maai mahiu, kenya! they will serve coffee & pastries & will have indoor bathroom facilities and be a safe meeting ground for travelers, locals and tourists.

so, how are WE helping this month?!

{i cant give everything away because we still want the subscriber gift to be a surprise!} 

the mums from L.I.F.E. life fashion are creating something for cafe ubuntu and we have purchased them!

so this month, our purchase will directly impact the organization we are serving.

also, we have 10 April boxes left! 

they are shipping out at the end of this week, so if you would like to join us {please do!}; you can sign up here.

connect with CTC international : 

facebook // twitter 

day 183 : be inspired, cry during a movie & then eat free pizza

all of those things happened in a matter of a couple hours recently!

last week, b & i were given the chance to see the 2013 diana nyad documentary 'the other shore' for free at our local movie theatre.
luckily, i had the day off & my goodness, i was *so thankful* we went.
you guys, it was incredible! 

diana nyad is the 63-year old woman who swam non-stop from cuba to key west.
you can watch the trailer below & read more about the film here.

her story, her drive, her past, her physical ability ; ah, SO AMAZING! 

after the house lights came on, i looked around and seriously, almost everybody was bawling! 

after the film, there was a small local business fair happening in the lobby.

i was lucky enough to win a $25 gift certificate to a local restaurant.

i also won a steel water bottle {which i gave away to a random woman ; i already have a water bottle} and blake won a travel coffee mug that he is gifting to his coworker! 

since i had the day off, we used the gift card right away! we each had pizza & ended with splitting dessert! 

i will say it again ; renting // watching this documentary is well worth it! 

day 178 : pick up trash

trash {and littering} drives me nuts! 

seriously, of all the things on the planet, watching people litter makes my blood boil.

i am such a strong believer in 'it takes a village' and i get so frustrated when i see people who aren't taking care of their surroundings.

see? mad about trash ;)

the other afternoon, i was waiting for the bus & a young family was waiting near me. the mom gave the little boy a plastic bag to play with & hes ripping it up & running all over the road {this was a good lesson is not judging people!} finally, mom decides its time to go, offers the boy a snack cake & they leave. as they go, he drops the bag & she drops the food wrapper.

*also, they were about 18 inches away from a city trash can!*

so, instead of getting super mad and chasing after them {advantages of turning 30 & maturing!} ; i picked up their garbage and threw it away! 

as the snow & ice are melting, it seems there is a ton more trash around. be the person to pick up a piece or two and place them in the garbage!