the goode life

A Creative Prayer

While perusing some of my favorite blogs this morning, I came across this.....

In fact I would recommend stopping by Andrea's blog and reading through some of her posts.  She has lots of fun exercises to get to the creative juices flowing!

Eleni's Love Letter Cookies

Whenever I find something so pretty as this, I'm always torn on whether I want to eat them or not:

Get yours at Eleni's Playfully Unique Cookies!

Learn How-to Vermicompost!

A while ago I did a story on an island off the coast of Georgia called Little St. Simon's. I've recently learned besides it being a great little eco-gem of natural beauty, they are also supporters of one of my favorite ways to compost (no kidding). 

"In 2008, Little St. Simons Island’s garden received organic certification from the USDA. Since then, the island’s vermicomposting and 3-bin composting systems have worked overtime to generate the rich “black gold”/compost that has resulted in a fertile garden delivering fresh vegetables and herbs served to the island’s guests. Amy Shuster, Little St. Simons Island’s gardener, and the island’s team of naturalists invite guests into the garden to learn how easy (and stench-free!) it truly is to incorporate composting into the everyday home."

These simple steps to creating an at-home vermicomposting system will turn kitchen scraps into rich “black gold”, not only giving the disposal a break, but also reducing greenhouse gases all while creating fertile soil, the foundation for a successful garden!

Old School meets New School

As new items make their debut almost everyday, it would be a shame to throw away the old items that have served us well over time.  Some designers have decided to take the old and merge it with the new!

The iRetrofone - the iPhone meets the old phone

The USB Typewriter - what a clever idea

Old School Desk - I love how they gave this desk a new look with the shiny red lacquer

Life is like a bicycle......

 

 

Get your poster at vol25's shop on Etsy

A Message From the Universe: Discover

Shaping, shifting, molding, making... what people do when they discover their imagination.

Spinning, curling, dipping, twirling... what people do when they discover their wings.

Beaming, marveling, basking, sparkling... what people do when they discover love.

Basking,

    The Universe

 

(image via: sage555)

Homemade Blueberry Buttermilk Ice Cream

I don't care what brands are out there, nothing compares to homemade ice cream!  I say this as someone who is really not that big a fan of ice cream, unless it's homemade.  I don't feel guilty eating it, in fact, I feel like I'm doing something goode for my body!

I found this delicious recipe at Grist.com, on the Farmer's Daughter column.  April McGreger has excellent taste when it comes to food, both metaphorically and literally speaking.  Here's the instant gratification recipe for the blueberry buttermilk ice cream.  She does have a a longer recipe which uses a cooked custard base for those chefs amongst us.

Immediate Gratification Blueberry Ice Cream

2 pints blueberries
1 ½ cups sugar
2 tablespoons lime juice
¼ teaspoon salt
3 ½ cups heavy cream
¾ cup buttermilk
Mint leaves for garnish (optional)

Puree the blueberries with the sugar in your food processor or blender until chunky, reserving a few for garnish. Mix in the rest of the ingredients, and churn according to your ice cream maker manufacturer's instructions. Garnish with mint.

Summer in a bowl indeed!

(image via: grist.org)

I Love the Love to Love You shop of Etsy

Loni Gaghan of Love to Love creates the sweetest one of a kind dresses and skirts for her shop on Etsy.  She uses a variety of new, vintage, and recycled fabrics, so as not to make a huge impact on the environment.  I immediately thought of how cute her skirts would look with my new red boots and some thick tights for fall, or bare legged with ballet slippers in spring.  Here are a few of samples:

(images via: Love to Love you on Etsy)

When life gives you lemons......

When life gives you lemon, what do you do with the lemon peels?  Here's a clever article I found at Care2.com on what to do with leftover lemon peels.  This article caught my eye, because my neighbor has a lemon tree, I'm always pilfering from, my sister and I love lemonade.  So naturally I'm left with a lot of lemon peels and was curious to see what could I do with all the skins besides just tossing into my compost bin.

1. Clean your microwave
2. Deodorize the garbage disposal
3. Clean a stainless steel sink
4. Keep insects out
5. Make a sugar scrub

This is just a partial list, there are actually 22 tips.  For the complete list and the "how-to" click on the link above.

Eat Your Crayons

No that's not a protest slogan against art.  It's a DIY project for actual edible crayons.  Most of us ate crayons when we were younger anyway, partially because the pretty colors were so tempting and we just don't know any better.  Well the pretty colors are still tempting, but now, despite knowing better, we still want to eat them and we can.  Here's the part I found so crazy....these edible crayons can still "color"!

I"m not bold enough to to actually try them out, but if someone out there does, let me know how they taste.

(images via: Luxirare)

Holy Chi

Did you know you could borrow the chi of holy places? If you are on a pilgrimage or visiting a holy place take a little bit of earth from the ground with you and when you return home sprinkle it in your garden and the holy chi will instantly take root! My own garden contains such holy chi from many special pilgrimages and maybe that's why all my plants and flowers grow so well!

Love,
Lillian Too, Grand Master of Feng Shui

(image of Cao Dai Temple in Saigon)

Angel Wing pajama

I have a new niece on the way: Gabriella Maximo, who is expected to arrive on October 17th.  When I saw this I just knew I had to get her this as a birth-day gift:

It's too precious for words!  The angel wing pajama can be purchased at one of my favorite sites - Vivre

We are family

I just came back from a great family reunion this past weekend.  Seeing everyone, made me realize how blessed I am to come from such a great family.  I don't show my family ( immediate and extended) enough  how much I appreciate them.  I'm always using "too much work" as an excuse to not visit or call.  This weekend made me realize that I need to change that!