Fireflies Art

yesterday + today

yesterday we got to spend a few hours with jim's mom (aka granny)

this is the only picture i got...but i really love it.

thanks again for making time to see us nina...

i'm afraid i'm going to jinx myself...but i think spring might actually be here now.

shhhh. don't tell jim but emerson and i shared some vitale's breadsticks tonight.

sage relaxing...reading her national geographic for kids magazine.

our newest addition...lonny. he's a cuddler and doesn't even mind playing dress up.

note: hazel has a new home now. and this is a good change! :)

earth month: natural remedies

i love natural remedies. and right now i'm so excited about this one.

my little sister mindy had some plantar warts that wouldn't go away even with different treatments from her doctor...and he told her she'd have to deal with them for life. well then she read online about using apple cider vinegar to remove them.

and IT WORKED.

well a couple weeks ago i noticed a bump on sage's knee and sure enough it was a little wart.

i soaked a little piece of cotton in apple cider vinegar and then rung it out well and used athletic tape to hold it onto her knee.

i am lame and forget things constantly.

so i have only done this for 3 different nights. (not in a row even)

but it blows my mind because the wart is already gone and there is just a tiny bump left.

we'll continue to do this a few more times to be sure it doesn't come back.

when i told sage i was going to post about this on my blog and that some people go to the doctor for warts she said, "ummmm. why don't the doctors just tell people to use apple cider vinegar?!"

i know that warts are one of those things that people get embarrassed about and rarely talk about. but i just had to post about it because it's amazing.

do you have a favorite natural remedy?

 

earth month: decorating eggs

jim had to work this afternoon/evening and the kids and i didn't have any plans...so we finally decorated eggs! sadly this is the first time we've ever done it!

when i saw the idea to reuse old silk ties to dye eggs i knew i wanted to try it!

i picked up the ties we used for about 10 cents a piece at a thrift store!

so for the full instructions on how to decorate eggs while reusing something old go HERE. (i meant to do this before easter...so bookmark the link or print out the instructions to try it next year!)

how cool are these?! we'll definetly do this again next year!

 

 

earth month: personal care products

We use Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Castile Soap...

If you have a Trader Joe's near you the 32 oz size is only $10!

We don't have one close by...but we either have someone (Thanks Ry!) pick it up for use when they are by one or buy it when we are near one. This bottle lasts us quite awhile.

I also put this in our soap dispensers most of the time.

Note: If you're making your own laundry soap now the bars of Dr. Bronner's are under $3 at Trader Joe's as well!

This is the toothpaste that we've been using for years...

Tom's of Maine Fennel Toothpaste

We have bought the mint on occasion too...I think all of their flavors are great though. Fennel is just our favorite!

And we use Preserve toothbrushes...well the kids of course use all the free toothbrushes they seem to get from the dentist, school etc. as well.

It's awesome because they are made from recycled plastic and you send them back in a little postage paid envelope so that they can be recycled again! Click the link above to read more about them!

Do you have a favorite earth friendly personal care item? I'd love to hear about them! :)

40

happy birthday to the most amazing man i know.

he is the best husband and daddy i know.

he takes care of us and never leaves a doubt in our minds that he loves us more than anything else in the world.

we are the luckiest.

i hope you have an amazing birthday jimmy scripps.

bagels

 

i know i posted about these a while back but i think it's worth posting again.

these bagels are amazing. and easy.

i have added blueberries to them a few times too...so.freaking.good.

i just made 2 batches at jim's request (it is his bday tomorrow) so that we can share them with the wade's tomorrow!

i got the recipe from the Never Home Maker blog.

but here it is:

BAGELS! GLORIOUS & HOMEMADE BAGELS!
(Modified from a recipe in Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook)

What you'll need (to make 10 healthy bagels) . . .

• 3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1-2/3 cups warm water
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 3 cups bread flour
• 1-1/2 cups wheat pastry flour
• 1-1/2 tablespoons table salt
• Poppy seeds, sesame seeds, coarse salt, rye seeds, etc., etc. (whatever you'd like to top 'em with!)
• Vegetable oil (for bowl)
• Plastic wrap
• Parchment paper (I don't think this is absolutely necessary, but it definitely helps)

Method . . .

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the yeast and water. Let stand fo 5 minutes (until foamy).
2. Attach bowl to mixer fitted with the dough hook and -- with the mixer on low speed -- add the sugar, molasses, flours, and salt. I actually forgot to add the salt, and they still turned out beautifully. Knead for about 1 minute (until a slightly tacky -- but not sticky -- dough forms). You may need to add more flour or water depending on what you find. If so -- just add in 1 tablespoon amounts.
3. Continue to knead dough for about 5 more minutes -- then transfer to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with oiled plastic wrap.
4. Let rise in a warm place for 2 hours (until doubled in bulk).
5. Divide dough into 10 equal pieces. Cover with a damp kitchen towel (the book reminds us to make sure the towel is CLEAN, which I find hilarious). Let rest for about 20 minutes.
6. Line two unrimmed baking sheets (no worries -- mine were rimmed, so I don't know the benefit of using the unrimmed sheets) with parchment paper and lightly brush with oil; set aside.
7. With lightly oiled hands, roll each piece of dough into a 6-inch rope. Form a circle around your hand and then press the two ends (rather, roll them) together to seal. There really isn't a great way to explain how to fasten them together -- so go with your gut!
8. Place the bagels 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Cover with a piece of oiled plastic wrap (I used the same one from earlier in the process), and let rest until puffed (about 20 minutes).

And now the fun part . . .

1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F (260 C) -- with racks in the upper and lower thirds.
2. Fill a large stockpot (the wider the better, Martha notes) with water and bring to a boil.
3. Gently drop bagels into the water (as many as will comfortably fit without touching each other). After 30 seconds, use a slotted spoon to gently flip the bagels over -- simmer for yet another 30 seconds. (NOTE: I only boiled 2 at a time.)
4. Then, using the slotted spoon again, return the bagels to the parchment-lined sheets. Top them with the seeds or salt -- you must do this when the bagels are still wet so everything sticks to them. Also, I was somewhat anal and used a paper towel to wipe up the extra water that dropped onto my baking sheet.
5. When you've finished this process with all to-be bagels, immediately place sheets in the oven. Bake for 5 minutes and then rotate the sheets and reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (176-ish degrees C). Bake until golden brown (about 10 minutes -- but mine only took 8).
6. THEN use a spatula (I just made my husband do this part, as he seems to be impervious to heat) and flip bagels over. Continue baking for another 5 minutes -- or until the back-sides are golden brown as well.
7. Transfer bagels to wire rack to cool! Then toast and enjoy with some eggs (or just a generous topping of butter, Nutella, peanut butter, etc.)!

earth month: CFL light bulbs

i'm guessing the majority of you have already switched to CFL light bulbs...right? :)

the picture shown above are the ones we use!

they are from home depot and are only $1.85 for 4 of them!

click HERE to read more about the package that we use.

THIS site has a simple explanation and Q&A about CFL bulbs. 

and things have definetly improved...there are tons of different watts and styles of bulbs now!

happy earth week! i'll be back wednesday with another tip!

 

earth month: gift wrapping

i know i posted about this at Christmas...but I decided it was worth mentioning again!

this past Christmas we didn't use wrapping paper for any of our gifts at home! even santa was earth friendly and put all the kids gifts in the giant red bags we left out for him!

my new goal is to not use wrapping paper for birthday gifts either!

i've been continuing to pick up cloth bags whenever i find them at goodwill.

cute pillow cases work great too! i also made some simple ones!

we have a pretty good stash now!

i have a baby shower to go to today...and i'm going to wrap the gift in a baby blanket! (i'll add a picture of that later.)

i'd love to hear if any of you have earth friendly gift wrapping ideas!

etsy shop: coupon code!

there are 150 things up for grabs in my etsy shop right now!

go check it out and enter ILOVEVINTAGE for 10% off everything!

earth month: repurpose found objects

i LOVE it when i can find a way to repurpose things that i find...especially when the things i find are FREE!

last fall on my way to get sage from school i stopped by a yard sale.

when i pulled up to the house there was a free sign.

seriously. everything was free. i had seen an idea somewhere right before this to make these cute trays! so i snatched everything you see here + more.

i made this for my friend whitney!

it was SUPER easy! you just take different sizes of plates + candle holders + use some really strong glue and you have a sassy place to set treats out for a party!

what have you repurposed lately?