natural all-purpose spray

Tried and tested and loved. Tea tree oil is a natural solvent and kills germs and bacteria. They actually use it to clean hospitals in Australia. You need to make sure it isn't diluted. It should be very pungent and come from the melaleuca alternifolia plant.

32 oz plastic spray bottle
2 cups water
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon pure castile soap
3/4 cup hydrogen peroxide
20 drops tea tree oil
20 drop of lavendar or lemongrass essential oil

Fill a large 32 oz plastic spray bottle with water. Add the vinegar, castile soap, hydrogen peroxide, tea tree oil, and lavendar or lemongrass essential oil. If it is hot outside or you have a bug problem you can add 10 drops of citronella essential oil, it is a great insect repellent.

gift idea: reusable shopping bags

Re-usable shopping bags are very hot right now. And I know sometimes I leave the grocery store with a million bags so other people probably don't have enough reusable bags for those big grocery days. And I doubt that the bags they already have are as cute as the one you get for them. :) Plus I use my bags for so much more than just groceries. I always end up forgetting stuff when I pack my suitcase so I end up using all my bags for last minute things I need to take. I also use them to tote my knitting around. I love them. I started out with bagu bags. Then I found envirosax. The downfall with the bagu bags is that they aren't connected to the pouch that they are stored in so then there is a seperate piece to keep track of. Not fun. Also, while they do have alot of vibrant colors, there are no patterns. Envirosax fold up into snaps that are attached to the bag and the patterns are soso cute! They are 8.50 a piece or 37.95 for a pouch of 5. That's 5 great gifts for abot 7.50 each!



for the kids:
oragnic:

and so cute:

The fruit fly wars

I know, I'm a bad blogger. In my defense, it's my busy season with photography and I'm trying to potty train my almost 3 year old. Plus all the other stuff moms with 4 kids have to do. And it's a lot.

Anyway.....

One thing on my list is to KILL THE DANG FRUIT FLIES! It's bad. And gross. I'm having serious fruit fly rage.

So I heard this would work.



Just put apple cider vinegar in a container (jar, cup, water bottle, whatever) and top it with a funnel. They can get in, but not out apparently.

Well, it works... although, I've found that fresh vinegar works faster...once it's pretty full I drown them with hot water (leave the funnel or they'll fly out before they drown and then refill with vinegar and a new funnel) but they just keep multiplying anyway.

So today, I'm attacking them with aerosol hairspray too. It actually is working pretty well.

I WILL kill them.

a find...by april

I cannot say enough about farmer's markets. The way they draw the community together is so enchanting. Supporting local farmers, buying organic produce: the camaraderie of the whole ordeal is fantastic. As I'm sure you can guess, I highly recommend visiting one in your area. Also, you might get lucky enough to find a purse like this! It is handmade and one of a kind-two of my favorite things.




The vintage button detailing thrills me. As do the birds for some reason. Overall, this is my new favorite find-for now.