Green Cleaning for Spring

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Spring has finally sprung and I can hear my mom saying to me ” It’s time for spring cleaning”.

Since I’m trying to live a healthy Eco-friendly lifestyle, I’ve recently started to eliminate toxins in my house as much as I can. I’ve said goodbye to my toxic cleaners and hello to non-toxic cleaners.

They are a few non-toxic cleaners you can buy, but you have to be careful because there is a lot of “greenwashing” and you have to really research the company and ingredients to make sure what you’re buying is really non-toxic.  So I decided why not make my own stuff.

It’s really simple and I’m sure you already have all the ingredients you need in your house already.  Now I know what you’re thinking.  “Man, I don’t have time to make that. It’s easier just to buy it”.  Trust me, if I can do it, you can do it too.  Think about it, by the time you drive yourself to the store, you could have been at home making the toxic free cleaner and finished cleaning.

There are so many different non-toxic formulas you can make but here’s what I use:

All Purpose Cleaner 1:

Fill a spray bottle with half of white vinegar and half water. Shake it to mix vinegar and water. This can be used for bathroom, mirrors, sinks, counter tops, windows

All Purpose Cleaner 2:

Here’s another all purpose cleaner you can use.

1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4  cup of baking soda
2 litres of water

Mix together, store and keep for future use. Can be used for bathroom, mirrors, windows, counter tops.

Cleaning Stainless Steel appliances:

All you need is a cloth, olive oil and vinegar. Check out the video below on how to clean stainless steel appliances.

Floors
1 cup of white vinegar
4 Litres of water

What do you use at home? Let me know in the comments below.

Happy Cleaning!

Food Fridays: Collard Green Salad

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So decided to try something new on my blog.  I love food and I try my best to live a healthy lifestyle.  So I thought it would be fun to showcase all of the recipes I try out on my blog on Fridays called – Food Fridays!

So for my first Food Friday, decided to start things fresh with a Collard Green Salad.  I love eating salads, and yes salads can be filling if you know what ingredients to add to them.  Plus, I wanted to try something new, and never had collard green salad.

collard green salad, green salad mango, vegan salad

This is so simple to make.

Ingredients:

1 Bunch Collard Greens
1 Mango
2 carrots
a mix of dried fruit, dry roasted sunflower seeds, dry roasted pumpkin seeds, cashews (or any nuts, dried fruit you like)

Salad Dressing

1 TB of Olive Oil
1/2 TB of Organic Apple Cidar Vinegar
1/2 TB Organic Agave Nectar

Directions

1. Chop collard greens in to  strips. Be sure to de-stem collard greens.
2. Chop mango into tiny cubes
3. Chop carrots into tiny cubes
4. Mix greens, mango and carrots in a large bowl
5. Whisk together the olive oil, apple cidar vinegar, agave nectar
6. Pour dressing over salad and toss salad. Let marinate in the fridge for about 1 hour (you can marinate longer if you want)
7.  Add nuts, dried fruit to salad before serving and enjoy!

If you try this, let me know what you think.

Spring is in the air

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It’s finally starting to feel like spring in Toronto. YEAH!! Finally!

Here’s a little spring inspiration for you by yours truly. I love the these colors together. Reminds me of a warm day, and feels very calming. I’m looking forward to more sunshine ( hopefully I didn’t jinx anything lol).  If you’re in Toronto, go out and enjoy the beautiful sunshine!
Happy Monday!

spring inspiration board teal yellowFrom Top to Bottom: Top Left 1. Steph Baxter 2. Tiger and Fox 3. Dreamy Whites 4. Dixie By Design

5. Marquis & Dawe 6. Ara133photography

Unique Coffee Tables

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Looking for a cool, unique coffee table? Check out some of  the ones I found on the internet. Which one do you like?

 

Cassette Tape Coffee Table – For those of you that don’t know what this is, ask your parents. We didn’t have iTunes back in the day.   We had to walk 30 miles in the snow to buy a cassette tape to listen to music on our Walkman.

Classic Nintendo Controller – This would be perfect for the gamer in the house

Old Suitcase Coffee Table – Love this idea. Perfect for traveler in the house and a lover of all things vintage –  That would be me.

Old Door Coffee Table – When one door closes, another one becomes a coffee table. (corny joke, I know).

Birch Log Coffee Table – Do you have any extra logs hanging around? Why not make this log coffee table.

Did You Miss Me?

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Holy crap! It’s been tooooo long since I last posted. My apologies but I was having a blast  in 2012.  Ended 2012 with a trip to Buenos Aires. I miss that place….

It’s a new year, so new things will be happening with this blog.

First off, I’ve finally decided to back to school and I’ll be working towards a certificate in Graphic Design! I’m super excited!! So stay tuned for some design projects by yours truly.

Hello 2013!

Color Me: Blue

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Are you feeling a bit depressed today? Feeling a bit blue. Well, it could be because it’s Blue Monday (aka the most depressing day of the year).  Yup that’s right folks. Today is the most depressing day of the year.

Since it’s Blue Monday, I figured why not show some of my favorite blue home decor.  The pics below will have you feeling blue in a good way 🙂

Cool idea for a staircase

wallpaper on ceiling navy blue nursery

Beautiful nursery. Hello wallpaper on the ceiling!

Love the pink and navy blue combo.

Peaceful

Very calming.

Fresh

~ Photo Credits ~

Images from top to bottom 1. Martha Stewart 2. Sarah 101 3. Decor is like butter 4. Cor Architect  5. Cor Architect 6. HouzzAtmosphere Interior Design Inc.

The Obsession Files – Reclaimed/Salvaged Wood

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If you recall, I’m a sucker for reclaimed/salvaged wood. My mouth salivates like a St. Bernard dog when I see reclaimed/salvaged furniture. Ok, maybe not that much but I get pretty excited when I see something old brought back to life. As I said before in an earlier post, my green heart loves this!

So I was searching the good ol’  www and came across this website Tree Green Team.  If you browse the gallery on their website, you will immediately be blown away.  Each of their pieces are handcrafted from beginning to end by the artist, Melanie and the team.

Here are a few of my favorite pieces.

To learn more about the artist, Melanie click here.

The shop is located in Creemore, ON (it’s worth the drive to Creemore!) click here for more info.

~All photos are by the Tree Green team~

Color Me – Tangerine Tango

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The Pantone 2012 Color of the year is….Tangerine Tango.  I love this color!  Some people might be afraid to use this color when decorating their home, but it’s a great color to add to any room if you want to add some warmth or just a pop of color.

Check out some of Tangerine accent pieces below for some inspiration.

pantone color of the year tangerine tango pillows

~Photo Credits~

Images from Top to bottom – 1.Tangerine Accent Pillows 2.London Underground Poster 3. Canary Tangerine Chair 4. Biscuit Tins 5. Wegner Wishbone Chair

Love – What the world needs now.

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As I was walking today downtown, I passed a man singing the song below.  As he passed me he sang “What the world needs now” and I continued singing “is love sweet love”.   No we didn’t break out into a musical routine like they do on Glee (although that would have been cool).  I kept on singing and humming as I walked.  It’s one of my favorite songs and I immediately had  a smile on my face.  So I thought I’d share with the rest of you and hope it puts a smile on yours today!

Enjoy!

Happy New Year!

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I wanted to take this time to wish everyone a very happy new year. Thanks for reading my blog in 2011, posting comments and sending me emails. I appreciate it all!

I look forward to another amazing year and making more great memories.

Lots in store for 2012! I’m excited for things to come….

2012 I will become legendary.  Thanks for the reminder MJ.