Tag: natural

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Tips for Hot Process Soap Making Beginners

Once. I admit it. I bought all the stuff, designated a hand mixer and a stainless steel pot, and made soap from scratch with my sister, just once. Now the soap-making equipment sits in my basement. But, after reading this post on hot process soap making, I’m starting to feel inspired to get another batch going. It’s really a fun bonding experience, as long as you have patience. Homemade soap takes about a month to cure before you can use it. We did not use a crockpot, but I really like the idea. A professional soap maker on Twitter assures me she uses a crockpot. It’s not cheating.

Check out this pressed article from Natural Beauty Workshop for more about hot process soap. Source: Tips for Hot Process Soap Making Beginners

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What’s one choice you made to live more natural lifestyle

What’s one choice you made to live a more natural lifestyle? Just one little change. Every night when you go to bed you face two choices: Option 1) beat yourself up for not making healthier choices or Option 2) give yourself credit for the healthy choices you have made.


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Please choose Option 2. Share some of the healthy choices you’ve already made. I know you can think of at least one. Maybe someone else reading this will be inspired, or will realize that he or she has made a similar choice and finally give him or herself credit for it.

Like what kind of healthy choices?

Ok, I can help you brainstorm.

Think about your meals. Made any changes in the things you eat or how you cook them? Do you grow anything yourself or buy locally?

How about the things you drink? More water. Water with lemon. Less sugar. Less alcohol. Any of those things would count.

What about your skincare or haircare routine? There’s a lot of chemicals in that cheap, store-bought stuff. I don’t expect you to go broke buying the luxury natural skincare, but maybe you found something with less chemicals in it that worked for you. Here are some handcrafted soaps I found for under $10 a bar.

Are you using any natural cleaners around the house these days? For most of my life, I didn’t realize how easy it would be to just make cleaners myself or to use more natural cleaning products, like biodegradable dishcloths.

Exercise? Me neither. Actually, since gardening season is over in New England, you’re probably doing better on this one than I am. But, I said we won’t beat ourselves up today! I’m going to at least stretch and do some yoga poses when I finish typing this and get off the couch.

Here’s a good one. More actively thinking about your breathing. Getting that air flowing through the body. Speaking of air…

Good old outdoors

Remember when someone used to tell you to go outside and play? If you are still doing that, you are living a more natural lifestyle. Gardening. Taking a walk. Putting your feet in the ocean.

You know for me, if I had to pick one thing I do to live a more natural lifestyle, it’d be gardening. Oh, but you might say, I just told you the gardening season is over where I live. Yes, the outdoor gardening season is, but I keep the party going inside all winter.

My natural lifestyle choice is having fresh herbs growing in my kitchen. I use them when I cook at least a few times each week.

Speaking of indoor natural living choices, having some fresh flowers or remembering to water a potted plant would totally count as making good natural living choices. It just gets you in touch with nature a little bit more. Every bit counts.

Maybe it’s just your mindset

Healthier living doesn’t have to always be physical.

Maybe just reading this post and reframing the way you think about your choices is a more natural approach. It means you’re shaking off some social sterotype or negative mindset that comes from living in a highly commercialized culture.

Hey, maybe you found yourself here, reading this post, because you just needed to hear me remind you not to beat yourself up. You probably did something this week that made you 1% healthier. If you did that every week, you’d be 52% healthier at the end of the year.

Actually, that’s not true. It’s better than that. The finance student in me needs to be true to who I am and tell you that with compounding, you’d be more like 67% healthier at the end of the year with a 1% gain every week. But, forget the finance blabbler. Since 67% is better than 52%, it’s fabulous news!

There’s one more thing

One of the most natural choices human beings can make is to connect with other people. We are meant to share ideas, to teach and to learn. We are at our best when we are supporting each other and our communities.

Thank you for supporting this natural living online community. And, thank you for leaving a super quick comment with even one word or one little idea about a healthy choice you’ve made. You’re great. And, you should know how much I appreciate you!

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Best 5 items at Midway Farm Stand, Durham, CT

A basket of colorful orange and white gourds minipumpkins

September 29, 2018

How’s this for stumbling on a gem?  I had the family in the car on our way to the Durham Fair. A really beautiful, classic New England autumn fair, you should visit next year. Go early in the morning, as soon as it opens. We didn’t. After 30 minutes of waiting in the line of cars trying just to get a glimpse of the parking lot, I asked the kids if they’d rather go pick out one toy each at Target. A unanimous “yes”! It worked for me. It worked for them. A win-win. I pulled a U-ie and as we headed back up the country road, I spotted a captivating farm stand, pulled another U-ie and parked the car.

I hope you enjoy these finds from the Midway Farm Stand in Durham, CT, as much as we did. The kids loved the pies, breads, honey and stepping stones. I loved the displays and the kind, honest people who ran the stand. One thing, in my opinion, they are UNDER-charging their customers. They could really up their prices just a little and still be fairly-priced.

#5
Giant orange carrots

carrots

Whether you are planning to make a vegan soup or a roasted chicken, these awesome giant carrots could play a powerful role.

#4
Handmade stepping stones

Handmade DIY mosaic stepping stones for a garden

There’s a certain kindness about a handmade stepping stone. You can almost feel how sincere the artist was as she or he planned the design, chose the colored glass and placed each mosaic piece with care. I find it moving to think about all the time and thought put into each stone; so did my five-year old who would have bought every one.

#3
Raw ginger root

raw ginger root in a farm stand basket for sale

Raw ginger root. You should eat more of it. It’s so healthy it makes broccoli look like junk food. It’s rare to see it offered at a local farm stand. Use it in tea, yogurt sauce or stir-fry. You’ll feel healthier if you do.

#2
Colorful gourds

A basket of colorful orange and white gourds minipumpkins

Colorful gourds appear in several of my posts and Instagrams. Ok, I may possibly overuse these visually-stimulating baskets of gourds in my Insta gallery. In my defense, it’s autumn. Find some gourds and decorate the house, office, and car. Just imagine these babies on your fireplace mantel or above the entryway. They’re lovely.

#1
Pickled anything

pickled jars of carrots and cucumber homemade

Pickling is having a moment. It’s funny; when I was a little girl, my mother’s Eastern-European farm folk family used to take anything left over from a garden harvest and toss it into the pickling brine from store-bought pickles. Now, this simple garden hack has become a movement. Whether you make your own brine or just borrow one from the grocer, you and your guests are sure to be pleased with farm-fresh pickled veggies. Put some on the apps platter at your next get-together.

 

Midway farm stand Durham connecticut

 

Hope you’re enjoying my top picks from local farm stands.

Have you seen this farmstand5?

Fancy’s Farm Stand, Orleans, MA

Or, shop farm stand style, like these decorative and practical half-bushel baskets featured in this farmstand5.

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Best 5 items at Treat Farm Stand, Orange, CT

Treat Farm Orange CT sign

September 9, 2018

In its first couple centuries, the Treat Farm was focused on dairy and milk delivery. Wait, what? Rewind. Yes, I meant to say it, centuries. One of the great things about living in New England is the rich history. The region’s farmers are proud to be able to preserve and share America’s Colonial legacy.

I want to say that the delicious apples and sweet corn are my favorite thing about this farm, but the truth is, my favorite thing isn’t edible at all. It’s the old well. Even a quick study of it’s hand-placed stones leaves me imagining all the life that happened at and around this charming old watering hole.

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The Treat family offers more than just a farm stand. As the seasons change, they offer cut-your-own Christmas trees, pumpkins and a five-acre corn maze! Be sure to check back again or (easier route) follow this site, as the seasons change, I will post again about this historic, picturesque Connecticut farm.

Take a quick look at some of the fresh, classic offerings of an Early American farm.

#5
Bushels of sweet corn

Sweet corn at Treat Farm Orange CT

Nothing says late summer harvest like sweet corn. All along the way to my son’s fall ball baseball games, we see signs for sweet corn. It’s so exciting. We boil some up fresh a couple nights each week. Treat Farm has a massive display with a full table piled high with fresh corn cobs and bags and bushels of corn all around the stand.

#4
Zephyr Summer Bi-color squash

Zephyr Summer Squash a bicolor squash at Treat Farm Stand Orange CT

One of those delicious-looking veggies you might have to visit a farm stand to find and google to figure out what it’s called. My little daughter was immediately drawn to these zephyr summer squashes. Of course, we bought one for our dinner.

#3
Fresh-picked pears
Fresh picked pears in a basket at Treat Farm Orange CT

We don’t always see pears at the farm stands. It’s exciting when we do. Let them sit in a brown paper bag for a few days, and these pears should become soft and sweet. You’ll need a napkin to eat them, or else you’ll embarrass yourself. That’s the sign of a really good, farm-fresh pear.

#2
Pressed apple cider

I walked into the Treat Farm Stand, turned around and saw it. It took my breath away: an old-fashioned ice box holding the fresh-pressed apple cider! The only thing that says autumn more than my #1 pick, is a cup of cider. I serve it chilled with ice in September and warmed on the stove with a cinnamon stick in October.

#1
Colorful gourds

Basket of colorful gourds at Treat Farm stand Orange CT

Gourds! One of the darlings of farmhouse style décor. If you’re on Instagram or you open a magazine this autumn, you will see so many of these little suckers sitting on dark wood tables and bright white mantels, you might actually get sick of them, but I won’t. There are several baskets of gourds at the Treat Farm Stand. All are beautiful. We brought three home with us to decorate.

Treat Farm has upgraded their farm stand over the years. They operate out of this fancy little structure next to their giant barn. Notice the mums and pumpkins out front and the deep blue September sky. Autumn was just a few weeks away!

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Hope you’re enjoying my top picks from local farm stands.

Have you seen this farmstand5?

Fancy’s Farm Stand, Orleans, MA

Or, shop farm stand style, like these decorative and practical half-bushel baskets featured in this farmstand5.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.