A Fun Day

Today, my friend Rebecca and her daughter Bianca came over and we had a garage sale. It wasn't wildly successful monetarily, but we did get rid of a lot of stuff and now the rest will be packed up and donated. So nice to purge. Bella and Bianca are about 6 months apart in age, and love to play together. Bella is learning how to share things...a hard lesson when you are two! We had a great time talking...I got to hear more about how she met her husband, Mauro, and their time in Brazil.

Rebecca wanted to go to Outlaw Ink and get her nose pierced today...so we met up there and watched her get stabbed with a needle. It was quite lovely. I think she looks adorable with it! Her friend Megan was in town...so she hung out with us for the rest of evening as well.

After that, we went for supper at Planet Sub (try their Pesto Bello!). While there I mentioned an independent video store that a friend had recommended and Rebecca said it was just down the street, so we went to check it out. It's called "Best Place Ever" and it's all independent films, hard to find films, and documentaries. I was in heaven! It's only $2.65 to rent there...I picked up City of God on Rebecca's recommendation (it's set in Brazil).

Then we headed to Valley Junction for Jazz in July and listened to some music for a bit. The girls were entertaining for all those around us...they each had a stroller (that I got on Freecycle) to walk their babies in. They loved dancing to the music.

It was a great day...so beautiful and sunny. Full of the warmth of new friendships and children's laughter. God is good.

| Click here to see the entire photo set |

Sweet Friendship

Just looking through these photos (click here for entire set) makes me happy again. Happy like I was when Kristin came to see me...we have such wonderful times. We pretty much always do the same thing...but we like it that way. This time it went like this:

Farmer's Market: This was Kristin's first time to our farmer's market...which I think is the best thing around. We had lattes and caramel pecan rolls. We bought flowers and talked to interesting people and saw neat stuff. We bought metal stars and rusty roosters. Lunch at home: I made some coconut curried veggies with tofu. Yum. Movie: We went to see The Devil Wears Prada. Cute little flick. Gong Fu Tea: It just wouldn't be the same without our tea fix. We had a great time chatting it up. Thai Flavors: Shared some red curry with tofu...along with some delicious spring rolls and crab rangoon. Oh so heavenly. Ritual Cafe: Latte and a Mocha. Waited for the music to start, but didn't start until later. Left for JJ's. Java Joes: Before this, we walked across the river to the East Village for fun. It was a beautiful night. Got some iced tea and a toffee cookie and listened to the Gwen Mitchell Experiment. It was GREAT fun. Mars Cafe: Went here to show Kristin this new coffee shop. We read each other questions from the "90's" edition of Trival Pursuit. Turns out we don't know as much as we thought we did. Tea and a Walk: On Sunday, we got up and had a leisurely morning reading and having tea. We went for a walk around the neighborhood before Kristin had to say goodbye.

It was a fabulous weekend with my best friend. I'm looking forward to spending some time in Kansas City in about a month. Yay!

Choose Cloth

Back by popular demand...a "re-print" of "Choose Cloth" (newly updated): Over the last couple of years, we have slowly been getting rid of everything that is disposable in our house. In a society that is obsessed with disposable everything...sometimes I feel like an odd ball. But hey, what's new? The progression has been as follows:

PAPER TOWELS: These were the first thing to go. They were expensive and I was addicted to them. I just bought a few more cloth towels and I grab them for everything. We have darker towels for staining spills.

PAPER NAPKINS: We didn't use these a lot to begin with, but I switched to all cloth napkins after I found the cutest little red ones with stars. Adorable. Now I have several sets and I *love* using them at every meal.

DISPOSABLE DIAPERS: We cloth diapered Bella from day one. It's one of the most enjoyable things about being a mama so far. They are so adorable, healthy, and easy to use. Love them.

FEMININE PRODUCTS: After I had Bella, I started to use what many affectionately call "mama cloth". Basically, reusable feminine hygeine products. I have a GREAT set of reusable hemp pads. After I get my period back I will switch to using The Keeper or The Diva Cup. And for those of you that are saying "ooooh gross!". Get over it...have you ever researched what is in a tampon? Sick.

TOILET PAPER: Our latest switch has been from paper to cloth toilet paper. This was definitely not a hard thing because we are already using cloth wipes on Bella (the cloth wipes we have are so soft and wonderful...most are made of flannel and velour or sherpa...2-ply). Before I decided to do this, I was intimidated because I didn't quite understand the logistics of it all. So, in order to help some of you "get it"...I will explain further and offer a pictoral description of the setup.

Basically, we have dry and wet wipes. Dry for pee, wet for poop. The wet wipes are in a wipes warmer on the back of the toilet. I put them in there every day with a solution of water, apricot oil, Dr. Bronner's soap, tea tree oil, and lavender oil. It's a lovely smell...much more fun than plain 'ol scratchy toilet paper! The dry wipes are just next to that on the toilet. I will eventually get a cute wire basket for the dry wipes. After you are done using the wipe, you just throw it in the wet bag hanging next to the toilet. Update since this photo was taken: The wipes are now in a basket in a drawer next to the toilet. Easy as pie. Here it is:

I know some of you have just vowed never to use the bathroom at my house ever again. But never fear, I will keep ONE roll of regular TP for my less "natural" guests. We do have one last box of tissues right now, but will just use the cloth wipes for that as well. And please don't worry about the sanitary issues...everything is washed in super hot water with soap, baking soda, and the occasional vinegar rinse.

GROCERY BAGS: I bring my own bags to the grocery store. I LOVE my string bags from Reusable Bags. Ecobags is good too. Many grocery stores will give you a small credit for bringing your own.

All in all, switching our house to completely cloth has been a GREAT experience...one that is environmentally sound, and also financially sound. We save SO much money by not buying disposable stuff.

I still have a few more changes to make. I would like to get sets of cutlery and plates to take to events where I know there will be disposable dinnerware. I don't do take out a lot, but if my restaurants were more eco-friendly, I would also get the stainless stell food carrier so they could just put it in there instead of the disposable boxes. The first time I heard about this, I was so excited. It was when I was visiting the Ecopolitan in Minneapolis. They asked me if I had brought in my own take out containers or did I need to purchase one from them. I did have to purchase one, but it was a recycled, compostable container. I love that place!

I also need to better at bringing my own travel mug to coffee shops. I have probably filled a landfill with all of the to-go cups I've drank from and tossed in the garbage 5 minutes later...so wasteful!

Re-evaulate your choices today...and choose cloth/re-usable!

If you would like to read another blog about this topic, check out my friend Sarah. She is a swell gal. She has her own business, Wallypop, and makes great stuff. Here it is.