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I can't wait for Hawaii- I get a chance to wear this:
The folks at The Real Deal just sent me this fabulous hat made from Brazilian tarps. When I first opened it up all I could think about was summer and gardening- but what more perfect place to wear it than hiking up and down a volcano!
The hat is amazing, it looks like it has been worn for 20 years- like a great pair of boots. And it fits PERFECT, meaning if it gets winding, it is probably going to stay on. (Unless my hair gets really curly in the Hawaii humidity, then it might be a touch tight).
The best thing is, the Real Deal has a whole page dedicated to how to bend your hat. Who knew there were so many great ways to wear it. I'll have to put up a photo of me in it-but the self portrait thing just isn't working today!
While it is not a cleaning Whip it up, it is a fun, EASY, crafty Whip it up, enjoy!
We've been slowly hanging photos in the house. I love the touch of color they give our white wall! I also have been trying to figure out a way to display my kids art and "too cute" photos. I found this on Apartment Therapy! PERFECT!
Check it out here!! I'm going to start collecting bottles today, and try to figure out a way to get a photo into wine bottle.
Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday. The first day of Lent, where Christians give up a vice for the next 40 days. Now I am not Catholic, or much of a Christian, but I have to say I love what two Senior Bishops (The Bishop of Liverpool, Rev James Jones and the Bishop of London, Rev Richard Chartres) in England said- They asked their congregation that instead of giving up a favorite food or drink, to give up CARBON!
*Maybe you could give up paper towels or bring your own coffee cup to Starbucks in the morning.
*I've said it a MILLION TIMES but stop using paper and plastic and buy yourself a cute reusable bag.
*Get rid of the plastic water bottle! It takes 5 bottle of water to make 1 water bottle.
*Giving up meat is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint. I have a friend who does this during Lent and every Friday night they have a huge pancake party. They make huge pancakes with all the toppings from syrup to M&M's to whip cream and strawberries-see you can have fun with no meat. Plus her husband is a huge hunter, I have no idea how she managed this!
Well can you do it?
Welcome to Monday! We spent our weekend relaxing at a WaterPark in Duluth! It was just what the 4 of us needed...now if only I could have gotten a tan in that indoor park!
Mother Earth News is a great magazine, with resources on EVERYTHING. Win it at Thyme-For-Herbs
TheFullMommy is giving away a reusable bag that actually folds up and fits in your purse-NO excuse not to bring it now!
GreenMomFinds has some great LunchBots up for grabs! Even your husband would carry these!
I know I love white teeth. However I am not a fan of all those in home and dentist whitening, err, bleaching kits. I've heard that besides them being somewhat toxic, they also break down enamel on the teeth. No good! Here is a simple whitener you can use at home and feel safe about.
Whitening Toothpaste
Mix baking soda and 3% Hydrogen Peroxide to form a paste
Brush, spit, and smile!
I have it, and I have it bad. And I have it for one main reason. I can't wait to plant our garden.
Now I am by NO means a gardener, and in all honestly, I barely know one plant from the other, but I'm learning.
Well, I found a guide that helps with everything when it comes to planting your garden.
The 2009 Spring Garden Guide. " Once you establish the frost-free date for your area, this planner will tell you each week what seeds can be started, what can be planted out, and what can be direct sowed from now through the end of the spring planting season." It has areas for you to keep notes on what is planted and where. This is going to be my bible for the growing season...I can already taste the fresh green beans!
Go here to download.
A short and straight forward list this week! I was busy hosting my sister's birthday party last night-we had a fabulous time, good food, good wine and beer, great company, and total kid chaos. A perfect mix.
I love VivaTerra-I bought a scarf from them that I get so many compliments on. Enter to win a $2,000 gift certificate from them!
CelebrityCafe is giving away $50 worth of Organic Santa Cruz juices.
OrganicGardening is giving away seed starter kit-Anything to get my mind off winter!
OrganicBabyProducts101 has a huge basket of organic baby skin care products.
I'm enjoying my green M&M's at the moment. And not green because they are eco-friendly, just green because M&M's are strange and want to introduce a whole new color to this holiday. The kids are decorating their valentine's cards-cutting, pasting, stamping, drawing, sticking, who knows what else! I'll be serving organic wine and dinner at my restaurant tomorrow night, wishing I was home with my hubby- but somewhat glad at the same time-I'm not much of a "Hallmark Holiday" kind of girl. There I said it! But, take time to give everyone you love an extra special hug and kiss.
Happy Valentine's day.
My husband and I just did a really un-green thing. We booked a flight to Hawaii! To make up for our long flight I did book us an eco-friendly car, which I doubt we'll be driving much. I literally plan to lay in the sun for about three days and do nothing!
So now I am off to search for a cute eco-friendly bikini (can someone help on this?), and some sort of natural hair remover-because I just can't go to a salon for that! Has anyone had any luck with Bikini Kitty?
Have you ever noticed that no matter WHAT you do, right after your kids take a bath you get that really nasty soap scum ring? (No? I must have dirty kids...)
I hate cleaning it, and it seems like I am cleaning it every day- this is the one thing I don't think daily shower misting can take care of. So, while this doesn't clean itself, it does make it a little easier on the elbow grease.
Soap scum remover
Apply baking soda, scrub with a damp cloth or sponge.
Baking soda is Non-abrasive and will not scratch.
Do not use Borax, it is abrasive and will scratch.
Now I'm off to make the tub even dirtier than my kids can-Our dog realized that the ground thawed just enough for him to dig again...nothing better than mud all over a white dog.
We are getting back to normal. Getting some answers for our daughter, and enjoying the, ahem, warm (35') weather. Hey that is a heat wave here!
I've been wondering about Vlogging lately. Would you be interested in seeing me talk? I'd love to feature the Whip it up Wednesday in the vlog version. Make and actually show how well the green cleaners and recipes work- BUT, to do so I NEED a camera. CraftyMamaof4 is giving away a flip camera-if you'll make the commitment to vlog. I'm so up for it!
I love growing rye grass around Easter. It is just a sign of Spring. DKMommy is giving away probably the cutest little planters I've ever seen! Even if I don't win they definitely going in the Easter Baskets!
This is not a giveaway, but have you checked out Ecosteal? Just as good a GreenBabyBargains.
Thinking about trying cloth diapers. I loved Fuzzi Bunz. Now you can try it out for free from DexterPhilip. (They sell for almost full price on eBay once you are done, weird I know!)
Want to make doing the laundry and little more fun and a lot more green? WishingPenny is giving away a complete green laundry system. Ok- they are balls, but they decrease drying time, help wash clothes better, and let you stop using those NASTY dryer sheets.
A while ago I was sent some cough drops from TryingToBeGreener for Bee MD Organic Honey Throat Drops. I was super excited, till I saw that they contained...menthol.
I was traumatized with menthol as a kid. Remember those Halls drops that contained menthol. I couldn't even suck on them for a minute. It would burn my nose and mouth and it was all my mom would give me. Since then I have stayed away from ANY sort of cough drop with menthol-so much so that I usually just suck on Lifesavers when I have a tickle in my throat for fear that they forgot to list menthol on the cough drop ingredient list.
Well last night laying in bed, I got a cough. I tried everything to stop it. Then Andrew finally got annoyed, put his knee in my back and told me to go get something for the cough. I searched our medicine box-nothing. Then I found the Bee MD Organic Honey Throat Drops in back of the closet. Hmmm..."I guess since I'm desperate I'll try them" I thought.
So I grabbed a few drops and a tissue to spit them in. Laid back down and put one in.
At first all I tasted was honey. So much so that I doubted their was menthol in it. Then, I started to taste it, but it was light and not at ALL overwhelming. I kept it in the whole time, and it stopped my cough, made my throat a little less sore, and allowed Andrew to get some sleep!
Today I still have my cough and have been using the drops all day. I love them for two reasons.
1. All organic ingredients (have you ever seen that in a cough drop before?!)
2. NOT an overwhelming menthol flavor AT ALL! And I now understand WHY people enjoy menthol in cough drops!
You can buy them online at Drugstore.com. Let me know if you see them in a store near you!
Maybe you're lucky and you live where you can open your windows every once in a while in the winter and "air out". Not here! The stale winter house smell is starting to get with me.
Hopefully by now you know the dangers of air fresheners-"Most commercial spray, plug-in, and other type air fresheners contain numerous toxic ingredients. From aerosols, ammonia, and bad synthetic fragrances to those tiny plastic plug-in holders that need to go somewhere and it’s unlikely they get recycled." -TreeHuggingFamily
So- what to do...wait for spring, NO WAY!
Here are two options:
Home Made Air Freshener Spray
Fill a spray bottle with water
Add 5 drops of your favorite essential oil per 1 cup water
Spray and enjoy!
My FAVORITE way to scent the house
Honestly my favorite way is to bake fresh bread or apple pie. YUM! But when I don't have the time I take a pot of water and boil orange peels and spices. (Cloves, Cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, etc.) Smells like I baked something fantastic, but there are no calories laying around the house!
I can't wait for spring though, there is nothing better than an air fresh house-wait, I totally forgot about line dried sheets...
Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow yesterday morning, which means 6 more weeks of winter.
Yuck. Is anyone else in agreement that this winter has gone on far too long?! (And I'm usually such a winter girl!) We have had snow since the end of November and this winter it has actually stuck around. On Saturday we lucked out and had a beautiful 45+ degree day, but that has made it even harder-but boy Spring cleaning sure set in that day-especially since it broke our 38 day streak of below freezing temperatures.
There are a few things to keep you (or just me!) cheery through the rest of winter:
1. NieNie is back- she's been back for a little while. Her posts actually make me a little teary eyed every time I read them, but I love every one of them!
2. GreenBabyBargains...I'm addicted to anything that has the word Green and Bargain in the same sentence! Love this site!
3. Girl Scouts are out in full force! Hurray for cookies. (probably not green, but Girl Scouts is a great thing for little ones!)
4. Eve has one more big test and answers are on their way. (We already found out that she does not have Long QT Syndrome which was something we were very nervous about.) What a trooper for a freshly turned 2 year old!
5. Because of the recession a lot of stores around here still have a lot of Christmas stock left. We went out shopping and found deals at some of my favorite green boutiques at 75-90% and at the national chain Pottery Barn, up to 90% off. Wow. I even bought a gift book to write down WHAT I bought and where it is- I'm all about organization this year.
6. My son LOVE's preschool. He wakes up and tells me he dreams he gets to go to school every day.
7. Mambo Sprouts has printable coupons for organic goods again! YAY!
8. Maybe you can win $10,000 for green home makeover!
So be honest, How many contests did you enter last week? Unfortunately we were too busy running from Dr. to Dr. that I only was able to browse for one evening, but there was a lot of great stuff up for grabs.
So this weeks Gimme More Monday is taking a rest. I'm sure your fingers are sore.
Plus we are at an MRI this morning and I just couldn't pull myself together to get a list up! But I think we are getting back to normal!
Fingers crossed.
