second half...

of the "dirty dozen" of body-product chemicals is below, as a follow-up to yesterday's similar post. 

the culprit: lead & mercury. appears under the guise "hydrated silica" in toothpaste, "lead acetate" in men's hair dye, and "thimerosal" in many mascaras. 

the crime: lead is a proven neurotoxin. exposure to mercury has damaging effects on the brain. 

the culprit: nanoparticles. teensy bits of minerals used in makeups and sunscreens to increase blending properties. zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are of highest concern. 

the crime: particles "may" penetrate the skin and damage brain cells. 

the culprit: parabens. hang around in all types of cosmetics and toiletries. appear on labels in many forms, but always have the word "paraben" at the tail end of the word. example: methylparaben. 

the crime: it is becoming ever-widely recognized that parabens have estrogenic properties, and methylparaben has been proven to lower testosterone production in laboratory mice. parabens have also been linked to breast cancer. 

the culprit: petroleum distillates. a.k.a. "petroleum" and "liquid paraffin."

the crime: possibly carcinogenic, but banned for use in cosmetics in other countries. 

the culprit: p-phenylenediamine (ppd). re-invents itself as "1,4-benzenediamine, p-aminoaniline, and 1,4-diaminobenzene. often found in hair dyes. 

the crime: lung irritation, severe allergic reactions and blindness. yikes. 

the culprit: hydroquinone. found in undereye bleaching creams, skin-spot lighteners, etc. 

the crime: a known neurotoxin and allergen, and also a suspected carcinogen. 

whew. that's a lot to take in. 

i take some good relief in knowing that most of our daily-use products don't contain any of this junk. and certainly nothing that we are putting on lucy has even a single of the aforementioned additives. but even when armed with this information, it still seems so difficult to pick out safe products. since many of these toxic chemicals have numerous aliases, there's a real sense of trickery involved. it's almost as though you've got to make an educated guess--which is better than a shot in the dark but still a guess, when it all comes down to it. i personally have avoided long lists of unpronounceable ingredients after opening my eyes to all of the crap we're exposed to on a daily basis. avoiding "fragrance" is by far the most difficult, but we're managing. i disposed of stuff that was glaringly hazardous to our health. and we're using up stuff that falls into the moderate category, with no intent to rebuy. 

did you ever read the laura ingalls wilder books as a kid? i LOVED them with a passion, and read each one multiple times. now, as a grown up, i've been rekindling this adoration with the series--but now i'm listening to it on cd while driving in the car. okay, that was only a little embarrassing to admit!

anyway, what gets to me now is just how independent people of that time period were. they made nearly everything--and sometimes absolutely everything--that they needed to survive though the years. clothing, linens, furniture, food, toys, medicines, tools. everything, down to the straw-tick mattresses on which they slept. i don't want to give up my super-comfy king mattress for one made of straw, but to me, theirs was a (albeit difficult) lifestyle of which to be somewhat envious of. they certainly weren't coming in contact with harsh chemicals every time they turned around, and with every breath that they took. in contrast, i wander around the grocery store, searching out as much organic food as i possibly can afford, all the while worrying about the chemicals that lucy's being exposed to as she gnaws with gusto on cereal box that i intend to buy. i've totally fallen out of love with the idea of brand-spankin' new. not that i don't want new things here and there--a nice pair of warm sweatpants is high on my christmas list. let's just say i'm a little more conscious of the true cost of fresh-from-factory newness. 

and my king-sized mattress? totally non-organic. full of flame-retardant chemicals, pesticides and other neuro-toxic crap. for which jeremy and i paid and arm and a leg. 

the organic straw tick made from hay grown in my big backyard? it's sounding all the better... 

quick reference...

here's half of the "dirty dozen" of additives in body products--chemicals best to avoid at all costs according to the environmental working group (ewg). i'll post the second half of the list (along with a few thoughts) tomorrow!

(list taken from the green guide, the complete reference for consuming wisely)

the culprit: antibacterials.
crime: wiping out good bacteria along with the bad. commonly used triclosan produces dioxins when exposed to sunlight. is found in breastmilk. yuk.

the culprit: coal tar. often found in dandruff shampoos. shows up as fd&c blue 1 in toothpaste and fd&c green 3 in mouthwash.
crime: widely recognized as a carcinogen.

the culprit: diethanolamine. also known as dea, with compounds and derivatives tea and mea. boosts lathering effect of shampoos.
the crime: reacts with other ingredients to create carcinogenic compounds. listed as a possible hormone disruptor.

the culprit: 1,4 dioxane. hangs out with sodium laureth sulfate and other "eth" ingredients. lives in shampoos & bodywashes.
the crime: proven carcinogenic in animals. 15 percent of shampoos have levels higher than recommended by the fda.

the culprit: formeldehyde. can also occur as a breakdown product of diazolidinyl urea, bronopol, and quaternium compounds.
the crime: a proven carcinogen.

the culprit: fragrance. appears in nearly everything, from personal products to candles to laundry soap.
the crime: synthetic fragrances may contain phthalates, which act as endocrine disrupters. effects of endocrine disruption include reproductive issues.

keeping busy...

like, totally busy. i'm neck-deep in christmas crafting at the moment... why on earth did i put it off for so long? anyway, i so wish i could post more about what i'm making (and the zillion problems i've encountered along the way) but i've got a few nosy readers out there and don't want to spoil a single surprise. i've also realized that i can't make everything--there's just no way. but i've bought a few handmade and non-new items to supplement my inadequacies as a crafter! i'm happy to say that as of now, i've only made 2 purchases at well-known retail stores (for non-craft items). pretty good. here's to hoping that will be it!

instead of sharing my work, i'll leave a couple of links that have helped to inspire me in my christmas crafting.

the ultimate handmade holiday master list at sew mama sew
a week of christmas projects at the purl bee

i'm also putting together a cloth gift bag tutorial. i've got lots of wrapping paper left over from previous years but i also scored a huge piece of white canvas-y material for 99 cents at a thrift shop, so i am toying around with making some reusable gift bags. a few tweaks are needed, but i think they will be nice. if all goes as planned, i will put it up as my monday post!

just in time for the holidays...

here's a read-worthy article that discusses the general overabundance of toys in american households. an excerpt:

"The average child in America gets seventy new toys a year, and the United States, with 4 percent of the world's children, consumes 40 percent of the world's toys. This is doing our children no good. Rather than bulldozing their way through dozens of one-note, breakable, and possibly harmful toys, children benefit from repetitive use of old favorites, finding new ways to play with them as their minds mature and expand."

seventy toys? i must admit that in nearly 10 years of nannying, i'm all too familiar with toy-mania. some families had more, some families had a little less, but in general, all of the children i watched had more than enough toys to go around (the block). the best memories of my nannying days don't include any recollection of store-bought playthings. the kids and i went for long walks, did art with found objects, took trips to the park. board games were fun on rainy days, as were forts constructed from sheets & blankets, neverending sessions of hide-and-go-seek, cooking lessons (cupcakes, yum) and playdough whipped up from scratch.

lucy, at 7 months old, has a very large basket (think laundry basket-ish) filled with toys. there's not too much in the way of craptastic plastic--so far we've been able to stick pretty well to a few sets of blocks, stuffed animals and cloth creatures, a couple soft stackers and shape sorters, a puzzle, a vintage xylaphone, finger puppets, sophie the giraffe and a whole mess of secondhand books (the books are in another basket). i like her toy stash--it's big enough so that she doesn't get bored, but it's not running the risk of overtaking our house. yet. i've always believed in the "one in, one out" rule--at some point soon i'm sure we'll have to implement it.

her newest toys (as pictured above) include a container full of tupperware lids, a wooden spoon, metal measuring cups (good for banging, mom!) and a rolling pin. recent additions to her bathtub collection are a trio of metal scoops i found in the cooking drawer, burried beneath more frequently used tools. once again, they are quite good for banging. they sink when you drop them, too. wow!

fun times, this mommy stuff.

if you're in the mood for a bit more reading, please take a look at this post. handmade toys are in danger of becoming extinct due to impending legislation that will require extensive testing prior to sale. while this is good in theory (who doesn't want safer toys?) it means that lots of small toymakers and work-at-home crafters will no longer be able to sell their goods. they simply won't be able to afford it. which means that so many of the things on my "someday" list for lucy will be gone, and in their place will be crappy plastic toys from big box stores. yuck.

instead of...

buying cheap plastic-y garland from target or michaels, why not make your own from leftover fabric scaps? check out this cute & easy fabric paper chain tutorial at filminthefridge--what a great idea for a handmade decoration to fancy up the place for the holidays. sadly, i don't think i'll get around to it this year, as my personal handmade holiday has me in kind of a panic. where, oh where, has the time gone?

anyway, i think it would be really neat to make links year-round as good scrap is available. by christmastime there'd certainly be enough to go around the tree--and then some.

we wanna win!

blueberry and swaddlebees are calling for photo submissions of babies wearing their line of diapers. we've got both--they're a popular pick in this house, for cuteness and functionality. lucy and i had a mini-photo shoot and are sending off lots of entries. winning pictures will be added to the blueberry/swaddlebees website, and $25 gift certificates will be awarded for every picture chosen. we're hoping for a win! if your baby wears these diapers, make sure to enter the contest--who wouldn't love $25 to put towards brand-new fluffy stuff? deadline for entry is december 15th. 

tried it--trader joe's tea tree tingle...

the only image i could find. quite the swanky place to set the shampoo, no?

i think i've found my new shampoo and conditioner. i have been using this stuff for a couple of weeks, and have not a single complaint. i first tried it on my trip to monterey--it was what the homeowners of our rental property supplied in both showers. i stood there reading the ingredient label, about to suds up with my own shampoo, and realized that the list was without parabens, sls, or a long list of un-pronounecables. i'm generally not a fan of tea tree oil--it's way to strong and medicine-y for my personal taste. but a tentative sniff revealed that this line has mostly a peppermint fragrance, with just a hint of tea tree.

so i used both the shampoo and conditioner with excellent results. i found the shampoo to be more sudsy, and the conditioner more creamy, than the bee-hair-now shampoo and conditioner that i was using at that time. the main list of ingredients is natural plant extract, with both using sodium hydromethylglycinate as a preservative in place of parabens. i did a little bit of research on this chemical--it's listed in the skin deep database as a 2 on their 0-10 spectrum, which qualifies as a low hazard. there are some concerns that it's still a manufactured chemical, and therefore not the "natural" preservative that it's touted to be. at this point, with what i've researched, i still feel okay coming into contact with this ingredient.

the best part about this new product is the price. at under $4 per bottle, it's significantly cheaper than the bee-hair-now. comparing the two, bee-hair-now does still come out on top in a couple of categories--lots of their ingredients are organic, and the products are certified fair trade. however neither of the lines are tested on animals, both come in containers i can recycle curbside, and when all is said and done, i like how my hair is feeling with the trader joe's line. i'll continue to use both brands on a regular basis, but certainly plan on buying trader joe's again. bee-hair-now will probably not become a standby in my shower.

speaking of showers, lucy has decided she's ready to move on from her countertop baby bath. how did she communicate this desire to dear old mom & dad? well, she started attempting to climb out of the tub, which is all too funny because bathtime is one of her favorite times in the day. we've since transitioned her to the regular bathtub, where she can float on her back, kick, attempt to crawl, and otherwise flop like a fish. the metal plug chain seems to be her newest fixation.

where's all this going? well, it's kind of an eco-issue, as we're now using a lot more water nightly. as always, i'n trying to cut back where we can, but in general i just feel like we're using tons of water. like most people with babies, we've got an endless pile of laundry. like most people who stay home all day, we've got extra dirty dishes. like most people that LOVE hot showers, we LOVE our hot showers. next month's water bill will indicate the true story--we may be no longer watering the yard, but i suspect that we're still using too much, especially with water restrictions due to a current shortage in the california bay area.

p.s. the tea tree tingle really does tingle!

a handy little item...

i've had my cup cooley  laying around for quite some time--since last year, maybe. i originally bought it to keep my hands from getting cold while holding my coffeehouse iced teas. i never though about the fact that it's also supposed to be used for hot drinks in place of the cardboard sleeves that were designed to replace the (very wasteful) second cup. the cup cooley takes the idea of the cardboard sleeve a step further--it's completely reusable so there's no need for any added waste on top of the coffee cup itself. 

i am extremely happy to report that i've pretty much shaken my daily coffeehouse addiction. i am now down to a once-per-week visit (sometimes skipping it altogether). the money i'm saving by not buying coffee is pretty much funding my mom & lucy yoga class on fridays. i've taken to drinking lots of decaf chai tea lattes that i make at home, and my new friend molly has even shown me how to make my own chai tea. it's as good as store bought, if not better since i'm totally in control of what ingredients get used. 

anyway, i've been pouring my lattes into pint glasses, which hold the perfect amount of tea and also fit into the drink holders in my car and stroller. the only issue with using a pint glass is that there's no handle to protect my hand. i was cleaning out a drawer the other day and came across my cup cooley. perfection! no more burning my hand as i rush to carry my steaming drink to the car. 

this would make a great stocking stuffer for people who want to be a little more eco-friendly, but aren't yet able to make the jump of bringing their own mug to the coffee shop. and it really is nicer than a cardboard sleeve--small enough to keep in a purse or glove box, dishwasher safe and it comes in several pretty hues. 

we're in love...

with wool. i thought i knew everything fabulous about cloth diapering, but i had no idea just how wonderfully wool fits into the mix. lucy had recently begun leaking in her overnight diaper--that girl produces a heck of a lot of pee in 12 hours. i was putting her in a double-stuffed bum genius 3.0 (which is supposed to hold 24 ounces of fluid), but alas, every now and then she'd wake up in the morning with her jammies soaked. requiring a sheet change by me. not fun.

enter the disana organic wool diaper cover. jeremy refers to this as lucy's "nighttime sweater," and indeed, it does look pretty comical on her. i'm trying my best not to shrink it at all while washing--at $30 a pop i sure don't want her to outgrow it any time soon! it's on the large side though--when not folded down, the waist of the cover goes all the way up to her lil' armpits, and the legs openings hang around her knees. i figure it's just another layer to keep her warm on these chilly nights!

anyway, this cover is made in germany from ultra-soft merino wool, and is designed to be snug around the legs and at the waist to prevent leaks. i pair it with a bamboozle fitted, and add a hemp/bamboo velour doubler for extra absorbency. the end result is a super-bulky, yet super-absorbent overnight diapering solution. we have not had a single leak in 2 weeks. success!

wool, i'm learning, is excellent for diapering. it's a natural fiber that takes the place of PUL (a waterproof synthetic--today's answer to plastic pants of the past). substituting wool in place of PUL allows air to circulate, helping little bottoms stay rash-free. wool is also naturally antibacterial, and is apparently cool in the summer, warm in the winter because of its breathable properties.

i was pretty apprehensive about caring for wool, but i'm finding it simple. i air the cover out during the day, and wash it about every 5 uses. washing basically equates to filling the bathroom sink with warm water, adding a bit of ecover delicate wash and letting it soak. i roll the cover up in a towel to absorb extra moisture and set it outside to dry. to lanolize the cover initially (that's what helps it repel moisture) i used leftover lanolin i had on hand from my early breastfeeding days--i melted the lanolin in a pot of boiling water, let the water cool to a warmish temperature, and dipped the cover into the pot several times to pick up the oils of the lanolin.

i've got another wool cover headed to our house, intended for daytime use. it's much trimmer, and has a velcro closure instead of being a pull-on variety. i will post a review when it arrives and we've had a chance to try it out. hopes are high!

give a goat...

or a can of worms. a cow. a crocodile. fair trade honey. fishing rights. a bicycle. seeds. trees. a boat. 

this christmas list, put together by oxfam america, goes on and on. oxfam is an international relief and development organization, working in over 120 countries to provide everyday essentials to people--things that people like myself often take for granted. their holiday program lets people gift these essentials in the name of others. check out their website if you have time, i think it's quite well done. they've even taken the time to organize items into categories you'd see in a department store catalog... "gifts for mom," "gifts for a new baby," "gifts for gardeners," etc. 

the oxfam website does disclaim that these gifts are somewhat symbolic--donations are used in ways that have maximum impact in helping people living in poverty. a goat might not actually be a goat, but food for a village's goats, or education on how to raise goats, etc. important to know, i think, but not a dealbreaker--helping people in need is helping people in need. 

how does this kind of gift go over, i wonder? switching out "stuff" for a card that describes a gift given to someone actually in need? i'm actually having a hard time writing out my christmas list this year. a scaled-back lifestyle, coupled with baby things taking up extra room(s) in our house has me wanting a whole lot less than in years past. still, i do so love unwrapping presents. i like stuff. and i'm okay to admit it. 

maybe there's a perfect balance to this whole christmas thing. making gifts and buying handmade, but giving to perfect strangers when things become superfluous. i mean, it might really, actually FEEL better to have given someone living in poverty a dozen baby chicks than to have a scented pillar candle sitting on the mantle. and since the real joy of christmas is in the feelings that we get, from the traditions that we make, perhaps it's best to try a new tradition. 

 

the garbage is gone...

a month's worth of trash was set out for pickup on friday. good riddance!

the whole trash-watch thing didn't take shape entirely as expected, but it was educational for us nonetheless. in all, i think we did very well:

2 trader joe's paper bags, semi-tightly filled with non-recyclables--"true trash"
2 trader joe's paper bags overflowing with recyclable plastics #3-7, which are not accepted by our local curbside pickup company
we filled 1 & 1/2 of our 2 recycling bins--each container holds 65 gallons
a lot of compost. how much? well, we couldn't really keep track, but i'd say enough to have filled our 25-gallon curbside trash can at least halfway
7 toilet paper rolls

what did we learn?

it shocking how much of our trash, recyclable and otherwise, comes from food packaging. one of the benefits of whole-foods septemeber was a sharp reduction in this kind of waste. having fallen off a good bit from baking and from-scratch cooking, the packaging is back--cereal bar wrappers, tortilla chip bags, my trader joe's lemonade boxes--most of which falls into the "true trash" category.

i think we're way below the norm for how much we're sending to the landfill, at least around these parts. i regularly see trash cans overflowing when set out for pickup. we've opted for a liner in our can (a plastic insert which reduces the capacity of our trash can from 35 to 20 gallons). it's rarely--even in this month-long case--ever filled to the brim. i know we're only 2 and a baby though, and i might be comparing myself to households filled with a lot more people.

with christmas drawing nearer by the day, i'm thinking more about all of the garbage that comes with it. i'm trying to come up with a clever (yet inexpensive) way to package some of my gifts. i won't be buying any wrapping paper or ribbons this year, though i've probably got enough stored out in the garage to get me through several holidays with ease. i've heard of wrapping smaller gifts in a tea towel or something similar, but doing so for all gifts might be cost-prohibitive. not to mention most guys wouldn't be thrilled with a tea towel.

there's much to think about, but i happen to be totally exhausted. so that's it for now.

spotted...

nicole richie, her daughter harlow, and... sophie! she's everywhere!

i saw a vintage sophie over the thanksgiving holiday. she belonged to a boy who is now about 14. her spots were a bit darker and her squeaker was much louder, but all in all she was the same lil' sophie that lucy knows and loves.

our personal sophie got chewed on by lucy's 4 year-old cousin over the holiday, too. since emma is 4 and all, i thought i'd ask her just what was so great about this specific toy. the conversation went something like this:

me: "emma, do you like chewing on lucy's sophie?"

emma: (with sophie leg in her mouth). "uh-huh." (squeak).

me: "why do you like it so much?"

emma: "it swkeek in my teef!"

cuteness. if you're looking for a wonderful gift for a little chomper this holiday, sophie can be purchased for $20 through the hunger site, and they will fund 50 cups of food to people in need as part of the purchase.

lucy is seven months!!!

new talents include:

~ scooting around the room (in reverse)

~ practically crawling forward--see photo #4

~ showing off her new tooth-and-a-half--see photo #1

~ gleefully shrieking at the top of her lungs, most often while mommy tries to catch up on sleep

~ sticking out her bottom lip, valleygirl-style

~ taking a dainty approach to solids--rice and peaches only, mommy!

"this getting old thing is rough..."

cheers!

something's wrong...

when people are trampling other people in a rush for stuff. black friday stuff. i don't care about shops opening at 4 a.m., or people skipping out on thanksgiving dinner with their families to camp out in front of big box stores (as long as they're not my people!). but the following story about today's trampling death of a walmart employee is absolutely sicking:

"...As many as a dozen people [were] knocked to the floor in the stampede of people trying to get into the Wal-Mart store, according to Nassau County Police detective Lt. Michael Fleming. The employee was "stepped on by hundreds of people" as other workers attempted to fight their way through the crowd, Fleming said."

i, for one, skipped out on black friday this year. well, kinda. i did hit up joann's late-morning to get supplies for holiday gifts that will be in the works soon. but other than that, i stayed home and kept my wallet buried safely in the depths of my diaper bag. i cannot recall the last time i sat out on this nationwide spending spree. in the past, i've been the kind who rises in the wee hours of morning to shop 'till i drop (armed with a master plan of stores to visit, stacks of ads, and a few snacks to give me that much-needed energy as i power through line after line). i typically convince jeremy to come along for the ride, and together, we basically talk each other into buying things. gifts for people on our lists. gifts for each other. gifts for ourselves.

this year we hardly even looked at the ads.

still, around 7:30 a.m., jeremy and i felt a little forlorn. like we were missing out on a great big party or something. we briefly considered going out (though we had nothing to buy) but steadied ourselves in the face of consumerist temptation.

less stuff. less stuff. less stuff. that's going to be my mantra for the next few weeks. if you see me talking to myself in a corner... feel free to ignore. or, you know, join along!

lucy's first thanksgiving...

aside from the basics like mommy & daddy, if lucy could talk, i think she'd give thanks for doggies. doggies big and doggies small, not much else makes her so happy. except for kittens. lucy sure does loves fluffy lil' kittens. anyway, we had a wonderful thanksgiving filled not only with yummy food, but also the excellent, loving company of our families. it just doesn't get much better than that. except, of course, to see lucy thrilled to bits with her very furry friends--molly, jenna, and lucy-the-dog-not-lucy-the-baby.











happy thanksgiving!

news from the formula companies...

and it's not good. i've been lucky enough to be able to feed lucy without any formula supplementation. though challenging at times, i'm so glad not to have to worry about stories like this. melamine has turned up in brand-name infant formula here in the united states. the same stuff that, you know, killed a bunch of dogs awhile back, and later put thousands upon thousands of chinese babies into the hospital (many of whom are still there). reports state that only trace amounts have been found in u.s. infant formulas, in levels that are for now being considered harmless. my take? melamine has been found in infant formula. enough said.

the findings make me sad for formula-feeding mommies, many of whom want to breastfeed exclusively but aren't able to, for whatever reason. the simple act of feeding a hungry baby (be it by bottle or by breast) shouldn't come with doubt, worry or guilt. if it's not melamine in formula or bpa in bottles, then it's the presence of dioxin and other nasties in breast milk, appearing in concentrated doses due to the ever-rising prevalence of chemicals in our society.

did generations past have to deal with these types of worries? overhanging guilt of things that simply could not be avoided? where did society fall off, letting our tiniest members come in contact with questionable chemicals and known carcinogens? this all goes far past formula--to baby shampoos and lotions, baby diapers, baby clothing, baby food, baby toys. something is just not right with this picture, and the very worst part is that despite all that i know about all of this, i can't shove my daughter into a bubble. she's exposed. i may have reduced her exposure, and i will try my hardest to continue to do so to a reasonable extent. but lucy, like every other baby in america, is exposed. and there's nothing i can do to change this.

an eco-score...

recently a gardening company that i do a bit of freelance writing for had a sample sale. i was lucky to have gotten a chance to attend--in addition to scoring a few nice things for our home and yard, and a half-filled bolt of sunbrella fabric (for an upcoming sewing project), i was also able to get a bunch of eco-friendly items for super cheap. my take-home pile included a big stack of books--lots of gardening, birdwatching, and nature-inspired books for kids, including a 'grow it, cook it' cookbook. i'm giving a few of the books as gifts this christmas (in handmade book bags), but am also keeping a bunch of them for lucy.

books for me included '1,001 ways to save the earth' and national geographic's 'the green guide, a complete guide to consuming wisely.' more on the green guide in another post--it's seriously a good but scary compilation of eco-info. not for 'take-it-to-heart,' 'believe-everything-that-you-read' people such as myself, but i digress.


i also scored 3 envirosax and a reisenthel mini maxi shopping bag. i've already gifted the envirosax to friends (they got a lot of play during our trip to monterey) but the mini maxi is mine to keep. it's a bit bulky on my keychain, but i swear it makes my keys easier to find in my overstuffed diaper bag...or in the couch cushions...or under the bed...or left hanging in the front door. you know. not to mention that with it, there's no worry of ever not having a bag in my possession--i've already used it on a number of occasions. i highly recommend the mini maxi, despite the fact that it holds less than an envirosax bag.

another great score at the sale was an indoor planting kit crafted by green toys. green toys is a great company that makes kids toys out of recycled milk containers--without the addition of nasties like bpa or phthalates. all of their products are made in my home state of california. from californian milk jugs, no less. maybe even some of mine? i'm familiar with the company because of their tea set (pictured below), which is on my 'someday' list for lucy. i'd never seen the planting kit before, but i think it's pretty cute. they also sell a sand play kit and a cookware and dining set. hmmmm...

mirror, mirror, on the wall...

lucy has a favorite mirror in the house. a big one, right above the fireplace. there's always this cute baby in it, staring right back at her, and the two of them are always pleased to chat and giggle back and forth. as a result, the mirror is full of tiny baby handprints, drool and smudges. today i gave a shot at cleaning it without the use of windex. plain vinegar, squirted from a spray bottle, and wiped with a flannel cloth. all the smudges gone, without any streaks left behind. i was really impressed at just how well it worked. so well, in fact, that i might just get around to cleaning the glass slider sometime soon. and some windows. maybe.

windex actually gets a low toxicity rating on the household product saftey database. still, lucy will soon be getting around on all fours and i'm already highly aware about what's beneath the kitchen and bathroom sinks, not to mention what'll be in contact those little hands and knees. we've gotten rid of nearly all of the toxic stuff, and don't use anything more than water, vinegar, baking soda and dr. bronner's castille soap in our day-to-day cleaning. but even these, in larger quantities, can be hazardous. still, it's nice to know that what we're using in our home does not pose an elevated risk to us, to lucy, or to our animals.

a happy birthday gift...

in an effort to give handmade whenever possible, i fashioned up this pretty picnic blanket for my lovely friend nicole's 27th birthday. she's an outdoorsy kind of gal so i though she'd appreciate it. and it turned out beautifully, if i do say so myself. i'm making one for myself next, if ever i can find the time.



this is a simple, straightforward project well-suited to any beginner such as myself... the hardest part by far was picking and laying out the fabrics. to make the blanket, i used a wonderful tutorial that can be found here. it's written by a very creative blogger named erin at house on hill road. her addition of rock pockets, sewn on the reverse, are really clever and super cute. the blanket is nicely oversized, and can be backed with a full-sized flat sheet with good scrap to spare. i didn't get around to adding the buttons that are pictured on the tutorial--instead i designed a matching bag to tote the blanket around in. the folded blanket fit perfectly, with a little extra room for a few beachy things. i even added a pocket. ooh-la-la.



pictures of my completed blanket are below. and who would have thought we'd be able to use it to lounge around on the beach in mid-november? chalk it up to some birthday luck. good things are in store for someone this year!

home again...

lucy and i are home from the monterey coast. we had a wonderful time with 2 of my very best friends, and all stayed together in a nice house very near to the beach. we were spoiled rotten with 85 degree temperatures, zero fog and hardly a breeze to speak of--and were able to lounge around on the beach as though it were summertime. the only bummer was not bringing enough warm-weather clothes, but we made due with what we had.

our rental property was not only within walking distance to the beaches, but also to several grocery stores. this is a luxury that i don't get to experience during my regular life, and it was so nice to be able to hit up the store for a bottle of milk (and, um, doughnuts) while out on our morning walk. i'm jealous of people who get to do this kind of thing on a regular basis! and i was also excited that the homeowners of the rental property kept a compost bin in their backyard. i didn't find it until the second day there, and tossing out food scraps after composting all this time felt very strange.

we were able to spend a long morning at the montery bay aquarium. i hadn't been since i was quite young, and hardly remembered any of it. we had a wonderful time. the sheer varieity of sealife that they house there is amazing. i liked the jellyfish and sea otters best, but lucy was enthralled with the pengiuns, who tried to nibble at her wiggly fingers through the glass wall. as far as eco-related stuff, there was loads of information about ocean sustainability, especially as related to responsible seafood consumption and the permanence of plastics.

anyway, here are just a few lucy pictures from our trip. i took way less pictures than i normally do--she's getting more and more active (and also a bit clingy) and without jeremy with me it's hard to have the camera out all of the time to capture those random, priceless moments. enjoy!