Is Your Coffee Green?

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It's National Coffee Day so I though this was the perfect time to discuss "green" and yummy coffee! (And in honor of a missed Treehugger Tuesday!)

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I loooooove coffee. I read somewhere that over 500 billion cups of coffee are drank world wide each day. Unfortunately coffee isn't always grown in the most eco-friendly ways. Coffee plants are a shrub usually grown in the shade of the Rainforest canopy. However, full sun coffee produces more beans than shade. Because of this much coffee available is grown in full sun destroying the precious Rainforest and the animals that inhabit them. Pesticide use and "sweat shop" conditions are more problems plaguing coffee growth.

The best coffee to look for is organic, fair trade, and shade grown!

Some yummolicious green coffee we heart:

Equal Exchange Coffee

Organic Coffee Company

Organic Green Mountain Coffee

This is such a small list of readily available green coffee there are many, many more. Lately we have been loving local organic roasted beans from our co-op!


Have you gone green with your coffee? What is your favorite "green" coffee, I'd love try it!

I linked up with:
House of Hepworths, Finger Prints on the Fridge, Shabby Nest, Thirty Handmade Days, Whipper Berry, Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, Clean and Scentsible, Be Different Act Normal, Young and Crafty, Tatertots and Jello, I Heart Naptime, Stylish Once Again


  

* I was not compensated for this post just lurve me some coffee!

BOOtiful Letters

A life without Halloween decorating is like a day without sunshine.  Ok so maybe not..but seriously I.love.halloween and fall.  I just get so stinkin' excited decorating for Halloween.  This weekend I picked up some letters and spidery scrapbook paper 50% off (woohoo) at Hobby Lobby!

Then I traced all the letters and cut them out of the scrapbook paper.  Then mod podged the paper to the letters and put a thin layer on top the paper to seal it.  Once the mod podge was dry I flipped the letters over and painted the back, sides, and insides black. 

You know it's near Halloween when WalMart is all out of the small bottle of black craft paint (I had to buy the massive size).  Once the paint was dry I made a few touch-ups to the front of the letters with the black paint.  And then some BOOtiful letters (I just couldn't resist).

I used black "spider web" I already had and mini pumpkins we bought last week, placed them with the letters on our new (yes it's Pottery Barn and yes it.was.free, from a friend!!) mirror/hook combo thing.  Our Halloween entryway is almost complete!

Are you loving all the amazing Halloween/Fall inspiration out there in blogland? I know I am!

I linked up with

CraftOManiac, Sew Chatty, Marvelously Messy,

C.R.A.F.T., Itsy Bitsy Paper Blog, Tip Junkie, New Nostalgia, Lil Luna, Night Owl Crafting, Blue Cricket Design, Clean and Scentsible, Somday Crafts, The Thirfty Home, House of Hepworths, Finger Prints on the Fridge, Shabby Nest, Thirty Handmade Days, Whipper Berry, Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, Be Different Act Normal, Young and Crafty, Tatertots and Jello, I Heart Naptime, Stylish Once Again, Censational Girl 




   

Eating In

I just read that Americans on average eat out five days a week!  Can you believe that? I read while flipping through my September 2009 Better Homes and Gardens Magazine.  I'm sure that satistic is still true today.  We rarely eat out, I actualy don't like eating out that much.  We love cooking our own food! ...So on to the food. 

Breakfast:  Look familar? peanut butter toast with banana on top - black coffee- water

Snack: Kashi pumpkin flax bar

Lunch: leftover chili - whole wheat crackers-greek yogurt & green grapes - water

Snack: apple

Dinner: Yummy veggie bake! Onions, Leek, Potatoes, Butternut Squash, & Tomatoes out our of garden!-Water - Appetizer of baked pita & hummus. 

Snack: Piece of cheese-water

So what do you think about Americans eating out that much?  Do you prefer to eat out or cook at home?

I linked up with ...

The Danger of Fresh Cut Flowers

  I don't know about you but I love flowers.  Thankfully, the lady who owned our home before us grew a large flower garden so I have been enjoying the beauty the flower garden gives as all summer.

This picture was right after we moved into the house!

And of course there's nothing more beautiful than a bouquet of fresh cut flowers.

Source (Pinterest)

Unfortunately, fresh cut flowers are not eco-friendly.  The floral industry uses the most pesticides of all agricultural sectors.  And many flowers available for purchase here in America come from other countries that don't have pesticide regulations.  The Environmental Working Group tested roses in 1997 and found that they contained residues of many pesticides up to 1000 times the amounts of that in comparable foods.  Furthermore, these pesticides can pollute our streams, rivers, and oceans. 

Fortunately there are organic florists where you can purchase bouquets.  Better yet, you can buy local!  Many farmers markets have organically grown cut flowers.  Check out LocalHarvest.org for local flowers in your area.  If you have a nice flower garden you could just cut a small bouquet from your garden. 

The best option would to be reduce the amount of cut flowers we buy.  Instead receive or give a potted plant.  This way the flowers can be enjoyed for a long time and transplanted into a garden instead of being tossed out in a week!

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Whats your favorite flower? Do you already buy flowers at the farmers market or your own garden?

Yarn Wreath Time

Don't you just love all the yarn wreaths that are popping up on Pinterest?  I do! So I decided to make one of my own.  I was inspired by the yarn wreaths from ItzFitz on Etsy. They.are.gorgeous

So here's my Halloween Wreath

I started with a straw wreath form, they are much cheaper than foam.  I used a cream colored 100% cotton yarn. 

So much yarn is made from acrylic material which is not the most earth friendly.  Acrylic is a petroleum based material and may contain residues after processing which off-gass into the air.  Although conventional cotton comes with its own issues i.e. pesticide use it is a better option than synthetic material.  I reserve buying organic cotton yarn for my knitting, since it is a little pricey.

I started wrapping the yarn around the wreath and pulling tight, wrap and pull, wrap and pull, wrap and pull till the cows come home.  Seriously it took me about 2.5 hours to wrap the wreath.

Then I traced out the letters out of "felt".  This "felt" is  Eco-Fi felt which is made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles. I found it at WalMart and was super excited because I won't use real wool and try to be as eco friendly as possible when crafting.  Who knew this neat "felt" existed not me! Then used my trusty hot glue gun to put the letters on the wreath.

I followed this awesome tutorial from Home Stories A2Z to make the "felt" flowers and glued them in place on the wreath.
And there you have it!

My very own Halloween yarn wreath!
I can't wait to decorate the rest of the house for Halloween!

Are you as smitten for the yarn wreaths as I am?  What is your favorite Halloween decoration?  



I linked up with

Shabby Nest

Funky Junk Interiors

Simple Organic

Censational Girl

Fall Food (What I Ate Wednesday)

Is it feeling like fall where you are? It feels like fall here, the cool air, the falling leaves, I can smell fall in the air.  Although I love summer, fall is hands down my favorite time of year.  And all this fall weather is making me hungry for comfort food...

Breakfast: Peanut Butter/Banana Toast + Black Coffee + Water

Lunch: Polenta with mushrooms, green peppers, and cheese...yuuuuuuum (no picture sorry!) + Water

Snack: Vegan Fluffernutter courtesy of Dandies vegan marshmallows

Dinner:  Last Minute Soup (why is it called this well because I made it up in about 2 minutes tonight)

Last Minute Soup:
1 onion
2 carrots
1 yellow summer squash
4 red potatoes
4 cloves garlic
8 cups veggie broth
1 can chickpeas
1 can diced tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1/2 tbsp simply organic garlic n' herb

In a large pot I sauteed onions and garlic until golden then added carrots, potatoes, and squash
sauteed for a few more minutes.  Then I added all the remaining ingredients, brought it to a boil, and then down to a simmer.  I let it simmer approximately 45 when the potatoes were soft. 

It was delish and the warm soup hit the spot with the chilly weather!

What is your favorite comfort food?




Sorry the pictures aren't the greatest quality