Knowing how much of a treehugger I am, one of my students recently told me she had seen earrings made out of tree slices. And all I could think was “why do I not have a pair of them right
9 Pieces of Nature-Inspired Jewelry
9 of the Healthiest Plant Proteins
The Canadian government recently overhauled its food guide – getting rid of the long-standing “four food groups” and offering a clear message. Eat more plants. Eat less dairy and meat. Not only am I happy about this change because it confirms my family and I
The 5 Most Popular Of Houses and Trees Posts of 2018
It’s that time of year again! And by “that time” I mean time to take a look back at the five most visited Of Houses and Trees posts of 2018. This year was an exciting ride as I saw my
10 Eco-Friendly Pinterest Trends for 2019
Each year, everybody’s favourite idea-gathering platform releases their projected upcoming trends. Covering ten categories, including travel, health, wellness, home decor and more – 100 Pinterest Trends for 2019 is a wealth of information for consumers, business owners, marketers and bloggers like me.
5 Reasons Why You Should Buy Organic Underwear
Yup. We’re talking about underwear. Why? Well, because Of Houses and Trees is about sustainable everything. And your undies – they’re an everything. Now, I’m a huge proponent for buying whatever you can secondhand. I even wrote a whole post about the
Homemade Tomato Soup in Under 5 Minutes
When I was a kid, I loved me a bowl of canned tomato soup. I don’t even think my family bought the “good” stuff – it was strictly no name brands for us back then. But it didn’t matter. Throw a can on the stove, fry up a grilled cheese sandwich (with the no name processed cheese) and I was in little kid heaven.
My tastes may have matured a bit, but I still love tomato soup and a grilled (vegan) cheese sandwich. The problem is, it’s not easy to find canned tomato soup that doesn’t have some kind of milk ingredient in it.
4 Second Hand Halloween Costumes from Thrifted Items You Can Wear Again!
I may cause those of you who love Halloween to scratch your wig-covered heads – because you’re already wearing your costume, obviously – when I tell you that I’m not a fan. Then you ask through your plastic glow-in-the-dark vampire teeth, “What’s not to love?”
Don’t you like costumes? I’m a dancer – of course I like costumes! What about candy? I’ve been known to down an entire bag of sour Skittles in one sitting. A big bag too. And scary stories? I’m not a fan of the super gory stuff, but a tastefully told ghost story? Yeah, you got my attention.
So, why don’t I like Halloween? Well… because it’s wasteful!
5 Reasons Why You Should Buy Secondhand Instead of New
Guys, I am obsessed with secondhand shopping. I’ve always loved a good thrift find and grew up on garage sales and antiquing, but only recently have I switched to buying only clothing and household items that are pre-loved. I actually have not bought an item of clothing for myself or my kids since the spring and the last time I bought anything home-related was last year for my nature-inspired holiday decor.
Sure, I still buy new things sometimes. Ballet shoes, craft supplies, gifts. But man do I have really good luck thrifting.
Healthy Lunch Ideas for Kids (and Adults!)
Even if you’re not a student, or don’t have kids in school (or kids at all), back-to-school season is still a great time to re-evaluate your life in terms of healthy eating. I actually find September to be a better time to start “resolutions” as it actually feels like a new beginning. (Unlike January, which here in central Alberta just feels really, really, really cold.)
Summers are so free-spirited – at least for me and my family. Perhaps, a little too free-spirited? Don’t get me wrong. I L-O-V-E summer. I’m totally a walking-around-barefoot-not-knowing-what-day-or-time-it-is kind of person for the entire month of July and about half of August. But then I get the itch. The itch for routine. For wearing shoes. For going to bed on time and eating home-cooked meals more often than takeout.
Eco-Friendly School Supplies
Back-to-school may be a stressful time, but with my eldest daughter entering Kindergarten – I’m actually pretty excited. I know she’s going to love it what with all the learning and the crafting and the playing. And – although having her away from home for two (sometimes three!) full days a week will be hard – I think it will be good for us as a family. Plus, sending her to school means I get to shop for school supplies – something I’ve always had a bit of a fascination with. And not just any school supplies, but eco-friendly ones!
I won’t lie, finding earth-friendly versions of everything on the list provided by her school was not easy. It isn’t that eco-friendly school supplies don’t exist, or even that they’re too expensive. But they weren’t easy to find in our local stores or on websites that would ship to us for a reasonable price. But don’t let that discourage you! The more of us that demand these types of products by refusing to buy anything else, the more readily available they’ll be.