I've been meaning to get stuff in the ground for a few weeks now, but I finally did this past Friday :) It was a rare sunny spring day, so I kinda had too.
The house where I'm at these days has a cute fenced in garden bed that my housemate grows all sorts of delicious in. Since I didn't get around to sheet mulching & cover cropping the bed for the Fall (oops), I decided that the soil definitely needed some help before the summer crops. I did all sorts of math stuff to try and estimate what amount of compost I needed to buy. Our bed is 144 sq ft and a half yard of compost would have been good. But, I ended up being able to eyeball it at the store anyhow. I went with 2 bags (ea. 2.8 cu ft) of organic compost from the garden store 2 streets over, Livingscape, and turned them into the beds a la digging fork. I put in beans, peas, radishes, purple carrots (!), kale, and chard because they all will produce by the end of May (except the beans) and be outta the way for the heavy hitting summer crops. Also, they're all "light" feeders, meaning that don't deplete the soil of much nutrients and the roots & legumes are "nitrogen fixers" - bringing useable N to the upper parts of the soil where the next round of crops can reach it.

Making the garden map is one of my favorite parts. If I was really detailed, each of those dots would represent a seed planted so I'd have a more accurate estimate of how many plants I'd end up with, but that's ok. My map is pretty minimal in style, but has all the info I need when I'm trying to remember when I planted something and what should go where the next season.

p.s. Here are a couple fotos from the weekend.

sunset picnic at Skidmore Bluffs

Thyme infused vodka + limeade at Beech St Parlor. Their food is good, too!

Lumi OBJCTS :: Etsy shop

Hi everyone!

So part of my new year goals, loosely, was to complete a project every month (that will live on a website to be presented soon). Making candles and putting them on Etsy was my February project. It did take me much longer than February to get this together (notice March is almost over, ha), but that was a short month anyhow. I am happy to say that the Etsy store is open and stocked with two delicious scents; Ginger-Lemon Drop and Vanilla-Wood. Also, I keep a Tumblr about learning to make candles and the Etsy shop set up process. Check it out if you're interested.

food intolerances

chard + spinach salad w/ salmon in balsamic vinaigrette 

Woo! More pictures of food. Many people have asked me if I blog about food because I take photos of my meals often, and it's funny because I never really thought about it. Anyhow, I've been on a new "diet" or rather got tested for food intolerance awhile ago because I was having digestive suckiness. My intolerances seem to be potato and then a combination of fruit + sugar. So, all this month I'm on a potato and sugar free! It's a fun experiment and I've also been taking bitters to aid my digestion. Avoiding potatoes is hard, not just because I like them, but they're in all sorts of processed foods. Yeast is often grown from potatoes, so that eliminates a lot of beers, breads, etc. Also, maltodextrin and dextrose, often used as preservatives, are in about everything at Trader Joe's. Good news is, I've found a lot of stuff I can eat. Bad news is, I pretty much have to cook everything I eat because I haven't tackled how eating out will work yet ("Hi, can I have a list of all the ingredients in all the products you used to cook this?"). I've also been eating more meat than I use to, which is neither good or bad, as I'm not a vegetarian. Having more chicken/canned tuna/ etc. in my diet makes being full easier, with the loss of most starches. Even with an increase in my meat consumption, I eat way less daily than most - which I only mention because I support actions like Meatless Mondays, etc.

falafel (from powder) w/ chard, olive humus, & yogurt sauce

I've been potato & sugar free for about a week now. I feel like I have more energy - this has also coincided with a weekend of glorious sunshine in Portland, so it's hard to be sure. A more obvious improvement has been in less hunger pangs and stomachaches, which I appreciate.

Some other fun food adventures have been:
One ingredient banana ice cream (this is so great and cool!)
No knead bread (a time commitment, for sure, but worth it!)

No More Dirty Looks :: Day 3

Today my order from Essence of Vali came! I realized I forgot to request a sample of the perfume and was sorta bummed. But, then I opened it and I got 3 samples, plus the 3 lovely mists I ordered (Passion, Detox, Balance).  Hurray :)
All the scents are lovely, light, and vibrant. None are overwhelming or heavy. I really enjoy the citrus notes in Detox and the spiciness of Passion. Definitely a good purchase and I'm excited to use them now that my three day challenge is over (via No More Dirty Looks).
Update on that: It's been relatively easy adjusting to no face wash and just using oil and a toner. I do miss the feeling of washing my face, but overall I think this method helped with dryness. Also, using oil on my face didn't cause any break outs or extra grease, which were some initial concerns. I'd like to invest in some Ctonics shampoo now, so I think I'll stick with this method for a bit more since I've saved at least $10 not buying face washes or moisturizers. At least that's what I'll tell myself when purchasing a $34 shampoo!

No More Dirty Looks :: Day 2

So, after a day of "not washing" my face, my face feels good. It actually feels less dry and itchy. It's not too oily from using olive oil and overall, feels less irritated then a day ago when I was using Trade Joe's face wash (which, among other things, has fragrance). Maybe this routine will stick after the 3 days! But, I will probably wash my hair after the challenge. To include hair products in the 5 items was too hard! Plus, I don't wash my hair everyday anyhow. Last year, I did the "no poo" thing - just washing once in awhile with baking soda and following with apple cider vinegar. My scalp got dried out, since I can't rub essential oils + jojoba oil on my head. Also, the ends of my hair needed more moisture. So, I've gone back to shampoo and conditioner for now. I'm also going to try argan oil or aloe vera on the tips of my hair to combat winter dryness. Anyhow, that was sorta a tangent, but wait - here's more info than you ever wanted!

I really like things in lists or steps, so I don't have to think about anything and can just replicate a routine. So, this is how I don't wash my face, more or less.

Morning Rountine:

Splash face with water

Rub Olive Oil between fingers to warm up/emulsify and then apply to face

Put a steamy, warm wash cloth over my face and then gently wipe down after a few seconds

Spray my face with DIY Lemon Mint toner

Nighttime:

Same as morning +

spot apply clay mask - I mixed my first batch with cooled Chamomile tea, instead of water. Chamomile tea is good for calming down inflammation. I mixed too much clay for one use, so I left it in the bowl and it's fine for multiple uses. I suppose I should be cautious about introducing bacteria with my hands, but for a few uses, no big deal.

So far, I would definitely like to get these re-useable face pads or some plush organic cotton hand towels. Even though the point of this challenge is to focus on simplifying and quality over quantity, it's hard to not want some luxuries.

fun experiment time!

I'm doing the No More Dirty Looks challenge. Essentially, picking 5 "clean" products and using them exclusively for 3 days. If you haven't been over to their blog, check it out! It's pretty interesting & I always have like 5 different tabs open of all the articles I want to read.

Initially, I spent an hour reading product recommendations and routines to find out what I wanted to try. Natural products can be a challenge for me; I'm allergic to Jojoba Oil and fragrances which seem to be in everything. What I found is that when I have money, I'll probably try out John Masters Organics (Linden Blossom Facial Cleanser, Green Tea & Rose Face Serum, Zinc & Sage Shampoo), Acure, and possibly SkinnySkinny Dry Shampoo. But, since I am saving my money, here are my 5 product choices:

01. DIY Lemony Mint Facial tone (recipe below)

02. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I keep this in a tincture bottle w/ dropper)

03. Aztec Secret: Indian Healing Clay Mask (I'm mixing in some green tea powder too)

04. Burt's Bees chap stick

05. Canus Goats Milk bar soap

So, check back in three days to see how it works out. I'll also post my daily routine, to give a sense of how I'm using these products. I'm gonna be trying the not washing my face thing.

---

Lemony mint facial toner

Ingredients:

1 peppermint tea bag (I used loose leaf Numi)

1/4 cup witch hazel (I used Dickinson's)

1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice

1 cup of boiling water

Preparation:

Steep tea in water for 10 minutes

Remove the tea bag and let cool

Mix in the lemon juice and witch hazel and store in a glass jar in the refrigerator

Storage in fridge and use every daily.

Recipe source.

foggy morning.

Woke up at 6:15 am today! I'm doing an immersion class at Yoga Shala - so attending Vinyasa M-F every morning at 7:15 am. It'll be the first time I've had a consistent daily practice, which I find exciting. I enjoy being able to walk several blocks to class - I met the neighbor's chickens in the road exploring. Everything is still & mostly asleep at 7 - though I saw a lone pâtissier at Pix.

Our teacher plays the harmonium and we began with chanting/singing. It might sound a bit kooky, but is quiet effective at distracting the mind and bringing joy. The harmonium reminded me of the melodica - which Ryan got me for xmas. When I asked the internet what to play, the first thing was music from the Amelie soundtrack. So, that's what I do. Luckily, people have transcribed & shared sheet music.