Scrappy Stockings

We have always had a mix of Christmas stockings. A couple of standard red and white fuzzy ones, some knit ones picked up at a drugstore that looked semi-handmade. I had one handmade several years ago, but unfortunately it didn't turn out the way I'd hoped.

I've become addicted to this wonderful website called Etsy.com where everything is handmade. I've met some of the nicest people from this website and the products have been fantastic. My latest purchase was a set of new Christmas stockings for the whole family. I chose this "envivronmentally friendly" seller because she uses scraps to make her products and the end result is an extremely unique item! Huge green thumbs up from me!

Spongetta (The Land of the Misfit Fabric) gets her materials from lots of different sources, such as a local seamstress who does alterations for bridal salons, discontinued upholstery samples from a furniture store, thrift stores, yard sales and rescues from the back of fabric stores. All of these materials would have been thrown out otherwise. I'm drooling over the patchwork pillows she has listed right now! :)

I received my stockings in the mail today and I am so pleased! I chose three out of her store and then had a fourth custom made for my oldest daughter who loves purple. They're a bit oversized, which is awesome for stuffing them full of goodies each year, fully lined and well-made so they should last for years to come.





Happy shopping!

Mosquito Control - Gotta love Mother Nature

Thought I'd give everyone an interesting update...

The mosquito craziness is gone! It was the weirdest thing ever, but also quite fascinating. Because of all the little babies flying everywhere, it attracted more dragonflies. We always get a lot of dragonflies, but suddenly there were tons. There were also a lot more of those hover-flies (the ones that look like bees). Both predators absolutely DEVOURED my out-of-hand mosquito population!

So I actually have FEWER mosquitos now than I've had in previous years. WEIRD!

:)

Green Carpet Cleaning

So excited! We've hired a local "green" carpet cleaning company called Alpine Specialty Cleaning.

They should be here in about an hour and I'll be sure to report how they did on our horrible, builder-grade, white carpets. *sigh* Previous owners put in new carpet to sell the home... grrr... It's that situation where you ask yourself, "Why replace brand new carpet, even though it's crappy carpet?"

This company uses BioKleen products as well as another green, botanical product to clean the floors. :)

Help! Mosquitoes are taking over!

We just had twenty cubic yards of bark dust and garden soil delivered the other day. Along with the bark dust came hundreds and hundreds of baby mosquitoes. OMG the horror... I already despise our existing mosquito population... but now hundreds upon hundreds of new residents????? I have at last 10-15 bits on me right now. My natural repellent is helpful, but was no match for THAT MANY at once. *sigh* They're so small that they can fit through our screens so I couldn't even cool off the house last night (we don't have A/C). I had to wake up at 5:30 this morning to cool it off while the little winged vampires were sleeping.

I did some research last night on natural repellent/exterminator products and found a really interesting one. It's called Mosquito Barrier and it's made with some super-duper strong garlic juice that disolves their exoskeleton and kills the larvae. Anyone have any experience with this product??? I read their testimonials and none were from Washington state. Several from Texas and Arkansas though and they seemed very pleased.

After some of that research, I also read that cinnamon oil works quite well so I went running to my spice cabinet and grabbed my big Costco container of cinnamon. I know it's not cinnamon OIL, but I was freaking out over the sheer number of mosquitoes outside. So I went running outside at 9pm (being bitten in the process) shaking cinnamon all over the beautiful, newly spread bark. Smelled wonderful! LOL And to my total amazement, it seems to have worked a little - I was able to go outside for an hour this morning and didn't get bitten once without any repellent on! So it must have killed some of them, although I could see more swarming where I hadn't put cinnamon.

I'm not desperate enough to use DEET though... I'd rather get bitten and risk getting West Nile Virus than spray neurotoxins anywhere near my body, yard or children.

Suggestions please!!! :)

Green Linens

So I was chatting about blankets yesterday and realized I should post some of my favorite linens here. I am always cold, while hubby is always warm... So for the longest time, I've had a small, twin-sized electric blanket added to my side of the bed. I never plugged it in, but it was enough to keep me warm during the winter.

Even though I never plugged it in, it seriously bothered me to be sleeping under all of those wires... every night... Anyway, I subscribe to the magazine Natural Home and loved looking at all of the natural linen choices. But man is that stuff expensive! So I set out to find some less expensive alternatives and here's what I found.

Hammacher Schlemmer WASHABLE Merino Wool Blanket has been WONDERFUL! It's thin, it's a natural fiber and it breathes. It keeps me warm when it's REALLY cold outside and when it's warmer, it makes a nice light cover. I keep it under my big comforter. I've only had it for about 6 months, but already I can see how it would work perfect into the summer after I remove my regular comforter. Also, I wear contacts so wool can be annoying... This blanket doesn't bother my contacts at all and isn't itchy. LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT! Did I mention they're on sale right now??? I think I'm going to order two smaller sizes for my little ones.

Bed Bath & Beyond Pure Beech Jersey Sheets, 100% Modal are so soft! You'll feel like you're sleeping on silk sheets! I set out to find bamboo sheets, but everywhere I went they were blends and weren't that soft. Bamboo or Modal would have made me happy since both are sustainable and neither need chemicals to grow. Anyway, once I felt these sheets I was hooked. They are so soft and stretchy. Not all BB&B stores carry them so make sure you call ahead.

I'll post more later!

Green Solutions

I was reading my new Real Simple magazine this morning and am LOVING their latest website recommendation. It's a website called Solutions and they have TONS of "green" products! I could just get lost in a website like this.



I mean, how cool is this? Magnetic sustainable bamboo file boxes??? CUUUUUUTE!



This is one of those horrible websites where you go and say to yourself... "Oooooh, I could use that... and that... and that... and that..." EEEEEEK! I bought the Qwikie Paint Cups below. LOVE THEM!!!!!