Home grown

Just before we moved to Perth, Tom, Sophie and I lived in a house with a veggie patch in the garden and we had just got to the point where we were eating food from our own garden on a daily basis.
I loved the satisfaction I got from growing veggies at home and there was something so nice about walking out to the garden and pulling a lettuce from the dirt just moments before you are going to eat it.

As much as I can't wait to move into our own house so we have our own space again, I am really looking forward to growing our own veggies again. In the meantime, I am lucky that Tom's mum and step-mum both have amazing veggie patches and are regularly donating produce to our fridge!

Trashed

Doesn't this documentary look brilliant (and scary!)

Down to Earth

I ordered this book a few weeks ago after I had seen it popping up all over the place. Tom always gives me a hard time when I buy books like this and says something like "Oh great, you spend money on a book about not spending money" and while I often laugh in agreement (there is something funny about buying things to tell you how to have less things) I don't regret the money I spent on this book for a second.

I am halfway through reading it and I don't want to put it down. It is full of ideas about how to live a more simple life and become more dependant on yourself and your own skills rather than living a life filled with more things. It's not a new concept and certainly one that I know a lot of people strive towards but what I really like about this book is how it makes the kind of life that I dream of living seem so achievable.
It's also not a preachy book, she says very honestly that if you are working full time or have young children then making your own soap, keeping chickens and growing all your own produce may not be a realistic goal.. and that's okay. You do what you can at the moment and work towards those goals in the future.

This book inspires a life where days are spent living simply.. growing veggies, sewing clothes, making delicious nourishing food from scratch, knitting and turning your home into a place that nurtures everyone in it.. whether they live there or have just popped in for a cup of tea.

I really recommend reading it if you can get your hands on a copy. Now all I need is an actual house!
(You may remember that we are staying with Tom's parents while I am on bed rest. Our whole life has been in storage since we moved to Perth last year and my gosh, I can not wait for the day that we get our own place. But.. one thing at a time I guess!)

'Down to Earth' by Rhonda Hetzel available at Booktopia.

Rhonda also has a blog by the same name.

Conscious chocolate

I wrote a long post about ethical chocolate choices and the health benefits of raw cocoa, but all I really wanted to say was that this chocolate tastes so good.

Check out their website here.

A winner.. Me!

Last year I wrote a post about 'Oh Mabel!' A wonderful small Australian business that makes the most adorable organic bed linen I have ever seen.
I had been swooning over the sheet sets for some time and had convinced myself that there could not be a better time for me to indulge in some new sheets, when I WON a set!
I entered a giveaway over at 'Gallop Lifestyle' and won the yellow pinwheel sheet set.
I could not believe my luck!

'Oh Mabel!' bed linen is available online at 'Gallop Lifestyle' - a lovely online homewares store (their online shop stocks some really great products.. make sure you check it out).

Thank you so much to the girls at Gallop Lifestyle and Oh Mabel.

Image via 'Oh Mabel!'

Homemade Christmas

Last Christmas we made every single gift that we gave to family and friends. We made marmalade, lemon cordial, roasted muesli and I made clothes for all the kids. This year I had the same intentions.. we were going to make chutneys and pestos and all sorts of things, but we have been so busy that we never got around to it.

I made up for it though, by buying everything from lovely little shops in my local area like this one and this one, that sell handmade (and often Australian) products. It was actually nice to choose thoughtful little gifts, and I know that Tom's little sisters will be happy to get something other than muesli! (Do you really think that a 19 year old uni student wants lemon cordial for Christmas?! Especially since before Tom met me (and had a lovely disposable income) he would spend about $200 on each sister every Christmas (remember he has FIVE little sisters)! Of course, none of them would ever complain about getting a bottle of homemade cordial after they are use to getting a new MimCo wallet (they are all lovely, down-to-earth girls), but I think they will be happy to get something non-edible this year!!)

Did you do a homemade Christmas? Any suggestions for things I can make next year?

Only 4 more sleeps..

Natural beauty

I am forever on the hunt for beauty products that are free from toxic chemicals.

I remember reading years ago that the average woman puts over 200 toxic chemicals onto her body everyday (shampoo, make-up, moisturiser, etc.. and most are full of really yucky things!)

These are my favourite (mostly) natural products at the moment...



Kora tinted day care cream
-NO Sulfates, Parabens, Synthetic fragrance, Synthetic colours, T.E.A., D.E.A., Glycols, Silicones, PEGS. Ethoxylate and Formaldehyde free.
-Made in Australia. (Don't you just love Miranda even more now?)

Suvana bio-lash mascara
-Bio Lash contains no parabens, no artificial fragrances or colourants and no harsh preservatives or chemicals.
-Made in Australia

Burts Bees tinted lip balm
-100% natural.

Do you like to use natural products? let me know if you have any recommendations..

P.s I really like this video about toxic chemicals in cosmetics.

Face masks and Foolishness

I have always been a fan of Carla Oates and her love of home-made beauty products, so I was really happy to find her blog last week which is full of great recipes for beauty products that you can make from the contents of your fridge/ pantry..

I made the mandarin and almond face scrub which was divine!







These photos are of Sophie and I a few months ago playing silly buggers in the bathroom!

Make Do

Sophie got some fantastic presents for Christmas and her birthday (which is 2 days after Christmas). So I thought that I might share some of them here in case you ever need to buy a present for a 3 year old..

For her birthday, Sophie got this great Makedo dolls house kit form Tom's parents..



It contains everything you need to construct a dolls house from household items/ rubbish. We have made 3 dolls houses from the contents of the recycling bin (empty boxes etc.)

On the box it is recommended for ages 5+ but Sophie has loads of fun making houses with our help. Great eco-friendly gift!

Like mother, like daughter

My mum is a total greenie. When I was growing up I felt like I was given such a hard time. If I ever came home with a new top or a nice dress I would get a lecture that would go something like this.. "How could you spend $40 on a new dress when there are starving children in the world? It's not even 100% cotton and its made in China.. How much do you think the poor child slaves got paid to make this? Plus they spray the clothes with toxic chemicals so that rats don't eat the fabric as they are shipping it to Australia. Did you think about how far that dress had to be shipped? Why do you feel the need to fill you life with stuff" Etc. Etc. And the lecture about the toxic chemicals in make up was even worse...

It was enough to drive a teenage girl CRAZY!!


(photo of my mum in the 70's)

So, for a few years after moving out of home I rebelled, but the last few years, especially since I had Sophie I realise that my mum had some very valid points, although..

Yesterday, I was in the supermarket with Tom and I would not let him buy any of the deodorants. I picked up each one and went on and on about the different chemicals in each one and how this one causes cancer and this one messes with your hormones..
I concluded that he would have to walk around smelly because he was not allowed to use any of them..

I stopped for a moment and realised that I sound EXACTLY like my mum!! Word for word. Ahhhhh.....

Eco-living

I was reading a post over at Mon Petit Poppet about eco-living goals and I was inspired to start my own list of eco-goals.



I think that we are quite a 'green' family already, but I know that there is soo much more that we could be doing. We always take our own shopping bags, recycle all our paper, plastic, glass and aluminum. We have a compost bin and a worm farm that collects all our food scraps. We have a veggie patch. I try not to buy anything covered in plastic packaging and I limit my showers to 2 minutes (Okay, I never manage to shower in 2 minutes, but I'm trying.. really.. I am!)



So this week I decided make my own eco friendly laundry powder. I followed the recipe over at Mon Petit Poppet and it was soo easy..

1 1/4 cup bicarb soda

3/4 cup borax

1 cup lectric washing soda

2 bars of finely grated pure castile soap

I managed to find all the ingredients in the cleaning isle of my local supermarket, except castile soap so I bought sunlight pure soap bars instead.



I grated the soap bars and added all the other ingredients..



and PRESTO.. you have your own eco-friendly, skin-friendly washing powder!

I know that it is hard to find time to sit around making your own laundry powder, but there is something so rewarding about it. Its a bit like sewing your own clothes or growing your own veggies. I don't know about you, but I get the biggest sense of achievement when I finish a dress for Sophie or pull veggies from the garden that I grew from seeds.. The satisfaction that I made this, or grew this myself.. its addictive!

Plus I am pretty sure that buying all the ingredients was cheaper than buying a box of laundry powder. So why don't you give it a go..