love of lavender

i've wanted to get myself some lavender for a while now.  i feel like there is so much you can do with it!  i finally gave in and bought a 1lb bag from amazon.  that doesn't sound like much... but there is so much in the bag that i don't know what to do with it all (yet).

that's one big bag of lavender!

i have some fun lavender ideas coming up soon.. and hopefully many more in the future.  i am waiting on The Lavender Lover's Handbook from the library and am super excited to see all the great ideas in that book!

DIY liquid hand soap

this was such an easy and fun diy project--making liquid handsoap from bars of soap!

all you need is:
2 bars of soap and a grater
vegetable glycerin
water

to start, you grate the bars of soap (which is actually very quick and easy).

then you put the grated soap into a pot and add 2 tbsp. of vegetable glycerin. (this amount may change depending on the bar of soap you use.  i started with 1 tbsp, and it just wasn't enough).

next you add 10 cups of water.

and heat on the stove until the soap is completely dissolved.

then you let the soap completely cool, and it will be ready to use!  i poured it through a funnel into my soap dispenser and am storing the rest under the sink for future use.  

what a plant knows

i just finished this book the other day.  it is a fascinating book and a quick read.  each chapter covers a different sense and how plants use that sense (what a plant sees, what a plant smells, etc.).  thinking about plants in terms of human "senses" shows how intelligent plants can seem to be.  the book presents intriguing information with scientific studies and findings--but i never felt overwhelmed or inundated with the research.  this book gives an excellent view into the story of plants--a story that most people never think about.  i would definitely recommend this book if you want to learn about a different side of plants.

i also happened to catch a super cool special on PBS called What Plants Talk About.  it was an excellent special and directly related to the book i just read!  how cool is that?

simple homemade toilet bowl cleaner

i recently used up the remainder of our store-bought toilet bowl cleaner, so it was time to create my own homemade version.  we have been using the eco-friendly options from the store for a long time now, but man are those expensive (especially if you have multiple toilets in your house)!  here is my super easy, super quick, inexpensive option that really cleans!

 the ingredients are simply borax, baking soda and tea tree oil!

 measure out 1 cup of baking soda and pour it into your mixing bowl.

 measure out 1 cup of borax and pour it into your mixing bowl.

 mix these ingredients together.

add 1 tsp. of tea tree oil and mix together.  tea tree oil is great to use in this because of its disinfecting properties.  pour your mixture into your toilet bowl and scrub it clean!  as an optional last step you can pour 1 cup of vinegar into the toilet to aid in the cleaning process (plus it is fun to watch it fizz!).  leave the toilet like that for 2 hours and then flush.  then you shall have a super sparkling clean and disinfected toilet! yay!

Redwings Horse Sanctuary

last weekend my husband and i visited Redwings Horse Sanctuary.  i recently read Black Beauty--i never read it as a child.  when i finished reading it, i wanted to be around horses.  i had a desire to spend time with horses that were rescued and would no longer be used and abused by humans.  i did a quick Google search for sanctuaries and found the Redwings Sanctuary was only a couple of hours away by car.

it was so beautiful and peaceful there.  it was at times difficult to hear the back stories of many of these horses (as is usually the case when hearing the stories of many animals in sanctuaries).  but the good news is that i can take comfort in that these amazing horses (and burros!) now have a wonderful home that will take care of them and not use or abuse them for the rest of their lives.  it is definitely a relaxing and rejuvenating experience whenever i go to visit animal sanctuaries--i find it hard to leave and return home.  i would definitely recommend looking for a horse sanctuary or farm animal sanctuary near you to visit--you won't regret it!

happy spring!

english primrose from my mini garden

happy first day of spring everyone!  this is one of my favorite seasons--although i do love all seasons and get excited as each one approaches.  i love the beauty as all the flowers start to bloom, the renewal of life and new life forming.  i love being surrounded by pollenating bees and graceful hummingbirds.  it is such a beautiful and refreshing time of year.  of course all this beauty does bring on seasonal allergies in many people (more on that in a future post).

i have many goals for this spring season--cleaning out the house, getting the garden back in working order, coming up with new healthy vegan recipes, and continuing my yoga practice to name a few.  here's to a beautiful spring and a new beginning!

call the midwife

i just finished reading this book.  i had originally seen one episode on PBS (back when i was watching tv) and loved it!  obviously i had to check this book out of the library... there were several holds on it, but after a few months it was my turn to borrow it.  i was quite excited and had high expectations after the one episode i saw, and i was not disappointed--this is an excellent book!  it reads like a fiction novel, but it is a memoir/biography.  it is a fascinating look at midwifery in the 1950's in the UK.  one of my favorite stories is the one about len and conchita warren.  i loved how he was such a devoted husband and stayed with his wife throughout labor which was unheard of in that time.  a truly lovely story! highly recommended!

the joy of walnuts

ah, walnuts!  the sweet and delicious nut that looks like a brain...  this is one of my favorite foods to munch on each day.  walnuts are full of omega-3 fatty acids--which help reduce inflammation and help reduce the risk of many diseases.  they also help lower cholesterol!  walnuts are also a good source of antioxidants--providing health benefits against aging, cancer, and neurological diseases!  they are a good source of vitamin e which is good for your skin (amongst other things).  they also have many of the important b vitamins and minerals (such as zinc, calcium, and potassium).

you can see why i love walnuts and make sure to eat them on a daily basis!  they are so packed with nutrients, how could i resist them?

i have mostly just been eating these raw, but i am now planning on coming up with a handful of recipes for my walnuts to be a part of.  check back soon for pics of these!

simple homemade toothpaste

we were running low on Tom's of Maine toothpaste (our go-to toothpaste) and instead of running down to the store to get more, i decided to try making my own first. here is my super quick and easy homemade toothpaste recipe:

start with three ingredients:

baking soda, coconut oil, and peppermint essential oil (or whichever mint your prefer)

coconut oil is antibacterial and antifungal, making for a great toothpaste base. baking soda is slightly abrasive, which helps clean your teeth. it is also alkaline--so it neutralizes acids in your mouth.

basically you want to use the same portion of coconut oil and baking soda.  i started off with just 4 tsp of coconut oil.

i heated the oil up for a few seconds so it would be easier to mix in the 4 tsp of baking soda.  i also added in about 15 drops of peppermint essential oil and mixed it thoroughly.  

 then i set it aside until it was back to a solid consistency.  you can dip your toothbrush right into it...

or scoop some out and put it on your toothbrush.  simple as that! 

i've been using this toothpaste for several days now and i love it!  i will probably add some more peppermint oil in the next batch because i would like it to be more minty.  besides that, my teeth feel super clean and refreshed every time i brush!

Nanuk, the lost husky

we saved a dog yesterday and reunited him with his daddy!

we were on our way home from the library and saw this dog wondering along an offramp of the expressway.  we immediately exited and followed him through a large company parking lot.  luckily, a security guard noticed him too and was following him and trying to keep him from going back out on the busy road.  i had my husband get out of the car and call to him; we got his attention but he kept wandering.  he was about to walk back out to the expressway when he (thank goodness) decided to turn around and come back towards us.  we were calling to him excitedly and this time he came over!  my husband grabbed his harness, but he had no id on him.  we took him down to the animal control and they had already received a report that he was missing.  we waited until his daddy showed up and reunited this beautiful husky with him.  what a relief that this story has a happy ending!

getting back to the core

hi, and welcome to my new blog!  this blog will follow my continued journey towards a simple and natural way of living.  my husband and i have been vegan for 6 years and are always trying to live sustainably for our own health as well as that of the planet.

this year we decided to get back to a more natural way of living by cutting out the excess and waste from our lives.  basically, we have decided to stop all the wasteful spending--how much new clothing do two people really need?  another big thing was our addiction to the tv.  we realized that we spent far too much time in front of it--from eating dinner all the way up until we went to bed.  not healthy at all.  our evenings are spent being active, going on walks, reading books to educate ourselves, and just talking!

so, there's a little back story to my evolving journey towards simplicity.  i hope you enjoy following me and maybe even joining in on getting back to the core of real living!