Our Green Life – The Creative Salad

Breaking Our Plastic Baggy Addiction

This year on Earth Day I resolved to curb our reliance on plastic baggies:

We started using plastic sandwich baggies several years ago when we joined Costco, where they are cheap and BPA-free, and found them to be incredibly convenient.

I tried to bury my feelings of guilt over the waste of natural resources and money; guilt over sending hundreds of baggies to a landfill where they’d take hundreds of years to break down.

Ugh. I feel a little sick just thinking about it.

Time for a change.

Now instead of reaching for a sandwich or snack baggy:

When we open our baggy drawer, we grab a LunchSkins Reusable Bag (BPA, pthalate, lead-free and dishwasher safe):

We also have glass Pyrex containers (with BPA-free lids) and bell jars topped with BPA-free Tattler reusable canning lids in the cupboard.

A friend recommended these stainless steel snack containers and I’ve been eyeing these Lunchbots containers to supplement our container storage (especially since we can’t bring glass containers to the pool and we plan to swim all summer long).

I hope to sew these washable container covers reminiscent of shower caps. (My mother-in-law has washable plastic ones like this that work great with leftovers, especially during the holidays.)

Do you have any tips or product suggestions for us? We’re excited to jump back on the plastic-free bandwagon again.

Back Deck Redux

We moved into this rental four months ago and still so much of the house remains a work in progress. Now that the weather has warmed we’re turning our attention to the outside of the house. We began work on our front garden last month and now we’re turning our attention to the backyard space.

Our first step to make the backyard more usable was to clean the slick wooden deck that became a slippery mess any time it was wet:

David rented a power washer and completely transformed the deck:

What a huge difference!

Next we want to string lights across the space, setting them up to turn on/off with our indoor light switch (an easy fix). Then we need some planters to hide that ugly water storage container. We also have to tackle the rest of the yard. (The laundry list includes removing stray building materials, closing off the yard from the front, making it kid-safe, tackling the back garden…)

I would love to plant hydrangeas like these (they grow eight feet tall in either sun or part-shade):

along the back of the yard directly in front of the fence:

Maybe next summer?

Nevertheless I feel so excited to use this space! I foresee many summer meals spent outside on our back deck.

Peak into the Garden

For Earth Day let’s head out to the garden!

We inherited an amazing assortment of plants when we moved into this house rental. Buried under the weeds we’ve found so many goodies:

Borage, lavender, oregano, chives, chard, garlic, flax, poppies, strawberries, rosemary, ferns, roses, to name just a few. We also have some pretty amazing trees and bushes growing in our yard including pineapple guava, pear, plum, olive, and fig.

What a feast for the senses we shall have this summer!

Oh, and the seeds planted in our Fairy Garden have sprouted!

Our daughter was incredibly excited about the seedlings. So excited that she called Daddy at work to share the news. (Heaven forbid he have to wait eight hours to find out!) Yet not excited enough to water the garden plot herself; that task has fallen to mama (no surprise there!). Nevertheless we’re all looking forward to seeing what wildflowers grow in our little Fairy Meadow.

Spring Garden Plans

Spring has sprung here in Sonoma County: seventy degree days, bright sunshine, occasional showers.

Perfect gardening weather. Ideal weed growing conditions.

So we have begun the process of reclaiming the front yard at our new house from the past three months of neglect. What can I say? We’ve been focused on other things. (IMAGINE THAT!)

We have many hours of weeding and planting ahead of us.

We’re preparing one bed for veggies and herbs,

planting native grasses by the deck,

and transforming the middle bed into a…

fairy garden!

Botanical Interests, may I congratulate you on your BRILLIANT marketing. Once our daughter saw “Fairy Meadow” all other seed mixes fell by the wayside. Who wouldn’t want their very own fairy garden?!

Now we’re just keeping our fingers crossed the seeds sprout since a five year old insists on being in charge of watering “her garden.” Stay tuned!

Blackberry Sweet Treats

We’ve been loving blackberry season. This year we’ve had more blackberries than ever, thanks in part to warmer weather and how our landlords pruned the blackberry bushes this past year. Oh, it’s been such fun.

Oh, it’s so sad the season it almost over!

We’re been pureeing up berry sauce (and LOVING our new OXO Food Mill):

And making crumbles:

We simmer blackberries with strawberries or raspberries and maple syrup on the stove until the fruit begins to fall apart. For the topping, we like to mix almond flour, coconut flour, and rolled oats with coconut oil. We add nutmeg and vanilla extract, then stir in a touch of maple syrup for sweetness. Then bake it in the oven until the top is browned. Delicious!

And eating a pint (or two!) of blackberries each day:

We even ate blackberries for dinner the other day, just because we could!

It’s been delicious.