TwoFemmeGems – Q&A with Cassie & Alexa

Tell us a little bit about each of you, your relationship, and your story. 
Alexa is a modern hippie that loves all things crystals, plants, and sustainability! She is also the most delightfully weird person you will ever meet and spreads lots of laughter wherever she goes. Cassie is a badass UX (User Experience) Designer by day and a DIY queen by night. On any given day you can find her learning a new DIY skill and plotting to adopt all of the baby animals. Together we make up @twofemmegems which first began as a way for us to stay connected while we were long distance (DC to Seattle). We met 3 years ago right before Cassie was moving to grad school in Seattle, and have since moved in together, gotten engaged, and are renovating our first home.

What is one of your favorite places that you have traveled to?
New Orleans was the last place we traveled to before the pandemic and it holds a special place in our heart. The energy, talent, and creativity of the city is just unlike any other place, and you can’t beat the southern cooking!

Why do you do the little swaps in your house?
Little swaps to become more sustainable enable us to make changes that don’t feel overwhelming and can be long-term swaps rather than just fads. Trying to change everything all at once can be overwhelming so we find that making a new swap each month has been totally sustainable for us. Plus, after a few months the swaps really add up!

What are some of the favorite sustainable swaps you have made?
Just to name a few:
-Shampoo bars from Lush Cosmetics vs. single use plastic bottles
-Reusable grocery bags and produce bags
-Swedish Dish Cloths and bamboo paper towels vs paper towels
-Beeswax wraps vs. plastic wrap
-Reusable water bottle
-Bamboo toilet paper vs. traditional
-Composting
-Gardening herbs and vegetables as much as possible

Tell us some tips and tricks for composting or starting a compost.
Composting can be intimidating to begin, but is actually super simple! I would recommend starting with a composter that tumbles (this will make turning your pile much easier), and has 2 compartments (so you can have 2 batches going at once). Before you add any food scraps line the bottom of your composter with leaves. This layer of brown material will help absorb liquid and prevent an unwanted mess. Always put more browns in than you think you will need, they break down easily and can help prevent a lot of nasty composting side effects! For extra browns use a paper shredder to shred bills and junk mail.

Explain your relationship with nature and sustainability.
Alexa has always been one with mother nature. She thought when she was younger that she was going to grow up to be a volcanologist but ended up falling in love with Geology! The Earth is a great reminder that the best things take time and move at their own pace. As far as sustainability, it’s our responsibility to give back to the thing that gives so much life to us! Any little sustainable change helps! You won’t really find Cassie out in nature (too many bugs!) unless she’s snowboarding down a mountain or swimming in the ocean. After living in Seattle for a year and moving back to the East Coast, she realized how much more she could be doing to help the planet in small ways every day!

Do you believe in climate change? Tell us your views.
Absolutely! Climate change exists and we’re getting closer and closer to a point where we can’t turn back. Everyone must do their part for the sake of our planet.

What is your favorite natural environment to be in? Forrest? Ocean?
We both love the ocean, and are in awe of its power! We also love watching documentaries about all the creatures that live beneath the surface! Shark week is like Christmas for us!

What are some ways that people can show that they love the Earth?
Make the small swaps!! Challenge yourself to change a behavior like single use plastic water bottles or plastic sandwich bags. Focus on small steps and incorporate more and more swaps as time goes on!

How do you (or don’t you) handle the bugs?
Cassie does not do bugs haha so Alexa is the sole bug manager. Bugs are a part of life, and while neither of us enjoy them we appreciate them and try to manage them without destroying them. We use natural solutions like planting rosemary and lavender to help deter pests like mosquitos.