Anything and everything coconut makes me hungry...I also am a huge lover of the goodness of quinoa and chia so this pudding is my perfect healthy treat.
Creamy Coconut & Quinoa Pudding is a recipe by Pauline Hanuise a Holistic Health Coach. She has a webpage and a blog loaded with yummy and healthy ideas for the whole family.
enjoy friends!
oxo
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Rain is forecast for this weekend's weather report. Already I can hear it pit, pit, a pattering on the skylight above my desk.
Ry has a special friend for a play date so after we eat dinner we are going to do this little project...
You can find this project and more on my Pinterest Eco-Savvy love page.
A bag of lemons is very inexpensive this time of year and I have been keeping the fruit bowl filled with them. So we are definitely going to make a batch of lemonade and use the seeds to start a couple little lemon plants. Hope it works. Even if it doesn't the kids will giving it a try. It's also a fab way to utilize one of a kind vintage cups or even chipped mugs or cups you have kicking around.
Happy Weekend friends,
I am multi-tasking... bbq-ing chicken while I write and visit Pinterest which is a very risky for a scatterbrain like moi so I better say bye for now and say hello again soon.
oxo
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As I raked away the dead leaves and grasses around the edge of our lawn this weekend, I was so excited to find this sight peeking out from a couple places...
Well hello Rhubarb! So happy to see you again!
Especially since I was negligent in August and you sort of shrivelled up and turned into mush. My wonderful friend Joy went to such pains to dig you up from her garden and share you and I was feeling huge guilt...but now you are back and she will never know. I am going to baby you this year and even put up tomato cages where you are peeking out to protect you from boy feet running wild.
This summer I am definitely doing a batch of Strawberry Rhubard preserves and trying a recipe for Rhubard Strawberry Yorkshire Cream Scones, both recipes and images are available on my Summer Love Pinterest board.
Rhubard Mojito or Margarita anyone? Come see me in late July.
oxo
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Sorry friends, I have been a negligent blogger lately. Holidays, apres holiday catch up, then a big party to host soon after, and right into the job of spring clean up in the yard. Love it all but it does eat up my days and leaves little time for writing.
As overwhelming as our yard can be at times, I adore working outside. Today a friend came over to help us with a long overdue job, removing a very dead and dangerous tree. I have always been a big fan of chainsaws. Despite the fact they scare me a bit, I used to like watching my Dad cut trees at our cottage and house. Look at this beauty...
Here is the poor tree that died a year or so into our move, I think the roots got damaged when the septic tank hole was dug. That darn septic tank, it was also the reason my beloved stand of birch trees that gave Birch Hill it's humble namesake got chopped. Unfortunately both are part of the risk you take living five hours away during a build.
Go Jason, he felled the tree with expert precision. It dropped between two other trees and hardly broke a branch. That would not have been the case if we tried this job ourselves, we would have surely have added a new skylight in our roof, or even worse... gifted our neighbour a skylight.
As for that party I mentioned, it was relatively easy to host as far as parties go as it was for ten year olds. A year end hockey party. in honor of Liam's Lumby Stars Atom team and the families.
The boys are busy, wrestling soon ensued on the trampoline...
I had to step in fairly quick and teach them a game that didn't involve beating the poop out of each other.
Then they took their wresting to the ring, the sumo ring that is...
Luckily my hubbie is a strong guy as the kids were not capable of getting up alone in the suits and they were hard to lift, I couldn't do it. He got stuck lifting silly sumos for a couple of hours.
The food was easy- peasy thanks to some help from Erin who arranged a few finger sandwiches....NOT!
Subway party subs are so fun and fed everyone with leftovers to spare.
For desert I made a sundae bar, 25 litres of ice cream (f.y.i. next time one bucket would be enough, two was excessive but fun) , homemade chocolate and caramel sauce, whipped cream and goodies. Such an simple way to feed a crowd.
Mexico is the perfect place to find silly gifts for hockey fans...we bought these year end gifts at a beach market...
Our kiddo hockey would not have happened without the awesome men who gave their time and shared their passion for the sport with our boys. So grateful to you all and I know the boys will always remember the lessons you taught and modelled for them.
So, that's a bit of a catch up...I am in total denial of a memory card holiday image issue I am having. Tomorrow I am comitted to getting the nerve up to look into it and face the impending frustration that is going to be required to get my images back and getting to work on some reviews.
Or perhaps I will just throw on my boots, grab a rake and hit the yard for another day of blissful procrastination.
night friends,
oxo
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I love the smell of fresh laundry. In the summer I can wash two loads of laundry and have them dry in the morning sun on our deck before lunch...I actually really enjoy it. Especially collecting the warm clothes and folding them when they are dry. Same thing in the winter, I really like taking warm clothes out of the dryer and folding them...I just hate putting them away.
As it's eco Friday I wanted to share a little tip a friend gave me months ago that is pure gold when it comes to doing laundry chemical free. As much as I adore the smell of some fabric softeners I try to avoid them...and quite a few give me and the boys a slight skin reaction which isn't cool. So 90% of the things I wash are cleaned naturally with Soapnuts which I order from JSM. There is a button on the right on my sponsors bar and you can read lots about Organic Soap Nuts here...They work so well and actually reduce the need for fabric softeners. A big bag is $20 and lasts months and months and I do LOTS of laundry.
As for static I despise it.
My natural solution is Natura Dryer Sheets from Home Hardware. One lasts for 500 loads so you only need one package...it comes with two sheets.
I was missing the scent of fabric softener (especially for smelly hockey items!) though until a friend told me to add essential oils to the sheets...now I have laundry perfection.
Simply find an essential oil scent you adore and add several drops to the dryer sheet before each load. You also don't want to pick a precious oil like Rose oil...oils like lavender, lemongrass or blends work nicely and are inexpensive. I'm a little leary of getting oil on my clothes so I load up a part of the sheet and fold it over just in case.
Another option is using an old cotton sock if you just want the scent. Add several drops of oil and fold the sock over and pop it in the dryer with the items you are drying...it smells amazing. Use this trick to quickly freshen up linens or towels for company as well.
Happy weekend friends...hopefully you won't be doing much laundry but if you do try these tricks to keep it natural and safe for your family. I am still struggling with my taxes...I'll share my chaos in a future post as I am an amazing example of how not to run your business!
oxo
p.s. Keep entering for the lovely Feather pendant and chain from Sasha Eillena Jewelry
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Tonight as I was cleaning out files I found this image I took at the beginning of the winter. A magical moment looking out the kitchen window when we spotted a beautiful owl in our tree.
Right away I popped it over to photoshop and as I edited this quote I love echoed in my mind...
In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible
summer.
-Albert Camus
This year I was not ready for winter....I wanted more healing evenings paddling on the serene lake...more warm sunshine on my skin...more time puttering in my rather sorry looking gardens...more yoga in the morning light on the deck...more sundresses and flip flops...more summer sounds of softly rustling leaves on these same snow covered branches...more reading in heaps with the boys on the sofa on lazy mornings...more cool strolls in the forest filled with bird songs...more fresh picked fruit and sun warmed berries...more unscheduled days savouring my boys...more evenings on the porch at sunset...more boy time at the beach...more biking and badminton matches...more campfires...more star gazing...more summer.
It's been a really challenging year filled with questions, soul searching, growing as a parent, wife and a person and just getting by at times. I know this long winter of impossible dilemmas and a heavy heart has come for a reason and I have faith that I will find my way back to the ease and comfort of summer. My season of hibernating and hesitantly finding my way is nearing an end, I am ready to embrace my invincible summer within.
Winter has a beauty of it's own and some lovely aspects but I hope you will join me friends for the best summer ever.
oxo
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Okay I left you hanging last night with no eco-friday post. Today I have just enough time before hockey to finish up.
Face cloths are really rather unexciting, you can get different weaves and colours but generally a face cloth is a face cloth right? Maybe not.
Years ago I was invited to a Norwex eco-friendly cleaning product party. The Norwex rep asked if someone wouldn't mind washing their make up off and since I am rather simple in the makeup department I volunteered. She gave me a cloth and I washed my face feeling quite silly with everyone watching. It was amazing...it literally sucked off my mascara and it gave me a really nice exfoliation. A quick rinse and squeeze and it dried my face as well and I was ready to go.
They come in three packs and are under $20 for three. Perfect their are three shades for my family as each boy has their own hue of beige. Now...it's been years since I got my first cloth and this sounds gross but it's still good and hubbie uses it in the shower...I have replaced my face cleaning ones with three boys I guard my face cleaning one and don't let it near the shower as who knows what it will be used to clean.
The best part is they never get that musty face cloth smell as they don't hold any bacteria...I even bring mine on trips I love it so much.
The Norwex Antibac Body Pack cloths, which come in packages of three, are made of the highest quality microfiber. Each fiber is split 200 times, and each split in the fiber is a “grabber” that picks up dirt and bacteria. They are excellent for keeping skin clean and healthy. Here’s why these cloths are so great:
Norwex has a full line of cleaning products that are fabulous. My dear friend Amy Remark who runs Green Clean in the Sea to Sky corridor uses nothing but. Do ask her if you have any questions about the products and you can also order directly from her Green Clean page or from any of the Norwex links in this post. Also Amy writes a great blog with cleaning tips and more...I learned a brilliant way to get mineral stains out of our toilet bowls on the Green Clean blog.
Say no to toxic cleaning products...cleaning green is easy, effective and less expensive in the long run.
oxo
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I was well into a post and just discovered the boys shut it down by accident. As much as I love you all I am fading and don't have it in me to start again just now. We have hockey playoffs in the morning so I need my hockey Mom beauty sleep and after two longs nights tending to Ry with a fever I am looking forward to a restful sleep. Plus I am reading a fascinating book!
So... please stand by for a little eco-Friday post on Saturday.
happy weekend friends,
oxo
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Years ago while camping at my favorite campground, Nehalem Bay near Manzinita Oregon, I saw my first yurt and I was immediately smitten. I adore the simplicity, the round shape, and how they allow you to be protected, off the ground and cozy...yet still very much amidst nature.
When we bought our land to build Birch Hill I did my bestest begging to convince hubbie to let me have a yurt in the woods to live in during the build and then claim as my studio/guest bunkie once we moved into the house. He was not so passionate about yurts and was happy to let the house get built mostly sight unseen...sigh.
When the snow is freshly fallen, or when the woods are bright green with spring, or the summer sun is unbearably hot, or the scent of fall is rich in the air, I head for the forest. Not far from home we have several spots where it's lovely to just sit while the boys play. The bros fort is a huge fallen tree that's hollowed out with rot and perfect for little Ry to tuck into. This is the place where I can see where the deer sleep...it's mossy and cool and magical. Near this place is where my dream yurt would be.
Never heard of a yurt?
Originated by nomads in the steppes of Central Asia, a traditional yurt is a portable, felt-covered, wood lattice-framed dwelling structure that is lightweight and super strong. Modern versions are now manufactured in canvas by a number of US (and Canadian now) companies and shipped all over the world.
They can be year-round structures, insulated, heated and even joined together for great square footage. You choose your yurt by diameter and add-ons, and they can be erected in a matter of hours (but they do require a round platform to be built first). - apartment therapy blog
Now there are endless colour and option possibilities for yurts and many companies that make them. Most can be customized to your liking.
I like the simple cream or beige exterior for the woods. Inside I definitely want a decadent bed to daydream on, cozy sheepskin rugs, an easel, a small table and chairs to share a snack with a friend. Here are a few lovely ideas I pulled off of Pinterest and my new Yurt love....board.
This one looks so cozy with a pretty Middle Eastern style, wood stove and I adore the layered rugs but it's a little posh for my needs.
What a beautiful bed...not a fan of the cow skull but everything else is so earthy and gorgeous.
This image shows a smaller yurt with amazing striped bedding and a cleaner, simple look....more me.
At the Glamping Hub you can find yurt rentals all over the world...some as close to my home as Whistler BC, and Vancouver Island. Yurts can be quite luxurious like this one on Vancouver Island,
Now that I've wasted away my evening swooning for yurts I should get back to reality...laundry awaits folding, photos and client orders need attending to and one little doggie is eager for a starlit walk.
They say you need to verbalize what you want to the universe to open up the possibility of making it a reality. This was my intentions statement and I look forward to sharing my little yurt project with you someday in the near future (fingers crossed).
oxo
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