Off meat.

I'm officially off meat. Forever. I've had issues with handling meat, preparing it, eating it and digesting it since I was small. For moral reasons (and for the simple fact that I don't really love it) I have thought seriously about getting off meat permanently for a long time.

I quit red meat about two years ago and have felt better, but after learning about how animal protein isn't really necessary, and how it's actually harmful to our health (causes heart disease and cancer to grow), and how hard it is on the environment to manufacture, I'm convinced now is the time to stop. I'm just ready to live a healthier lifestyle.

You would think that Chris, my carnivore husband, would be devastated by this decision. Actually, though, this was all his idea. We watched Forks Over Knives (it's on instant Netflix) and did some of our own research and decided to try a whole foods plant-based diet for 30 days. We still have some dairy items in the fridge that I don't feel good about wasting, so we're finishing that off, but we are off meat, processed foods, artificial sugar and oil and most dairy for 30 days.

No one thinks their fat, no one is trying to lose weight. We just want to see how we feel. We want to see if it'll work with our lifestyle and budget, too.

Once the 30 days is up, Chris may eat some seafood here and there and he might drink cow milk. I can't tell you his commitment level to this whole thing, because I'm not sure. But as for me, I can say with confidence I don't want meat, and unless I can find a local farm nearby, I really don't feel good about buying dairy. (Watch Vegucated, also on Netflix,  if you don't already know what goes on in factory farms.)  I will have a candy bar at the end of 30 days. I can tell you that much.

So this, friends, is the reason for the sudden influx of vegan recipe pins.  I have been sharing some of our favorite new recipes over on my other blog, in case you're interested. I'm dedicated to keeping things fun and interesting in the kitchen. I can't eat a salad for every meal and nuts for every snack.

Even though it's a lot of extra work and dishes, it's already paying off. I love how I feel after a green smoothie for dinner. I'm not bogged down anymore. I feel like working out, even after I eat. We don't own a scale, but I can feel my pants are a little loose. It's only been a week, so I'm trying to ensure I'm getting all of the calories and protein I need (this can be a struggle when meat is no longer a factor). I'll keep you posted, blog world. 

For earth.

We've been out and about lately. Thanks to my place of employment, we've been given several opportunities to be involved in community activities that benefit the environment. I thought instead of writing another heated rant about how people don't care enough, I could just share what we did.

In honor of earth day, we cleaned the highway that Sun Products adopted (it's a chunk of Bangerter). I've done this a few times and despite what people think, it's actually quite a riot. We play games like who can find the grossest item and who can make up the best story about a littered item.

Chris's stance and face in this photo scream I'm here for court-mandated community service. He volunteered though. I swear. 

We tied for grossest item: I found a condom and he found an unwrapped tampon. But don't worry -- we have nifty pinchers to pick up the trash so we don't come in direct contact (see contraption about).

I won't share the nasty, imaginative stories we came up with.


On to the next event. Tree planting at Wheeler Farm. I've planted small trees before, but these large ones were a challenge. Chris and I were both a bit sore. Tree Utah worked with Sun to organize this event and I was happy to see the big turnout. It's reassuring to know that some people care. Or maybe they were just there to get outta work? Either way, planting trees is a nice thing to do. So do it. Please. (See how non-ranty and nice I'm being about it?)

This isn't everyone. More people came. I think 70 total. Parents brought kids which I think is an amazing thing to do. It was cool to hear the little ones talk about how "happy the trees look" and to see them working as a team. What smart, smart parents. Bravo.

The people who work for and volunteer for Tree Utah were so thoughtful and grateful. They gave out cookies, homemade brownies, bottled water, sunscreen chapstick and these adorable pens shaped like veggies.

I loved them so much, I volunteered to do some writing and editing for them. I'm excited to arrange it.

Work passed out these adorable handmade wildflower cards. I love them. We almost used the same kind of paper of our wedding invites.

So to sum up, I just want to ask the few peeps reading to stop and consider the world in which we live. It's dirty and suffering, but we can make it better. Little bits at a time.

DIY wedding details

Now that everything is said and done, I thought I'd share some of the wedding details. Almost everything we did was a DIY project. I was private about it before because I wanted guests to be surprised. Here are a few of the ins and outs.

The invitations

Chris drew the willow branches then we scanned them and I colored them in Photoshop. We printed on pearly golden paper then mounted each one to a piece of burlap.

 The small text says: Chris and Crystal request your presence as they exchange vows and celebrate their marriage on July 17, 2010. Please meet at Nicholls Park for a delicious pre-wedding barbecue at 5:00. At 7:00, we'll head across the street to Davis Golf Course 19th Hole for a sunset ceremony, drinks and dessert.

The font was from here.
The paper and recycled earth tone envelopes: from here.

We compromised on these invitations. I wanted something plain with lace attached to it somehow. Chris wanted something earthy, like a big tree watermark bleeding off the page. I think we came up with something perfect for us. I was just happy that he wanted to be involved. I hate when people say "the only thing the groom has to do is show up." Bull honky.

 The favors

I wanted the favors to be simple, like the rest of the wedding. Also, eco-friendly. But beautiful. We came up with this: wildflower packets.

Found the cute woven boxes at Michaels.

Used fabric scraps leftover from the pomanders.

Printed the little signs myself. Text reads: Thank you for sharing a perfect day with Crystal & Chris. Please plant these wildflower seeds (in early spring) and enjoy their beauty.

The favors were a hit. I have leftovers. Does anyone want some? My damn HOA community won't let me plant them 'round here.

Table signs

I have to give Chris full credit on these (well, and my grandparents and Byron for salvaging wood for us). Freshly cut wood with slits for displaying photos and signs. I am hoping the photographer got better pictures of these at the wedding.

The hole punch is a Martha Stewart one from Michaels. 

Mossy initials

These sat on the mantle surrounded by photos of us. I didn't cut the wood into letters myself (didn't have the necessary tools), but I did attach the moss to them with hot glue. Chris cut up some wood rods to make stands to attach to the back. They stood perfectly.

The cool thing is now we're going to use these in our living room (once we get an entertainment center). Some say they look a lot like marijuana. I guess you'll never know...

Table risers and vases

I used old mason jars and wine bottles and added wedding elements to each (i.e. twine, moss, lace). The risers are just old pieces of boxes wrapped with burlap and lace. 

Some of these are on display above my cupboards in the kitchen right now. Everything used here was recycled (except the burlap, but that's cheap). The lace is from a huge, old curtain I found at the DI. 

The wishing tree

My mom saved the day on this project. Thank goodness I had her help. We looked for the right kind of branches all over town. Fallen trees on the side of the road, the nursery, etc. I couldn't find something that would work. I ended up ordering this manzantia tree on bloomsandbranches.com. It was $3. 

We wrapped it burlap (what else?) and topped it off with twine. I found those little wooden tags at Joanne's Fabric Store. Here's a photo (not a very good one) of the wishes hanging. Not everyone at the wedding participated (shame on you) but it was sweet, nonetheless. Some of the remarks made me cry.

SO MUCH FUN.

That's all, for now.

biosilk vs. apricot oil

So recently I decided to start learning my around essential oils and such. There are so many benefits that I'm uncovering about the use of aromatherapy.  It seems like nowadays we just head to the pharmacy any time something's not right; either that or spend horrendous amounts of cash on synthetic, name brand, hyped-up products.

Now that the wedding's over I have time to venture hobbies I've always been interested in. Learning to make my own stuff is one of em. I made some sugar scrub and that was a success. I still have a lot to learn (about just the right mixtures) but it'll get come along. It's fun! 

This morning I was looking at the bottle of the apricot oil (used as a main ingredient in my sugar scrub) and I noticed it said something about using it on hair. I also remembered hearing something about rosemary essential oils being good for hair as well. Instead of pouring my typical half-of-a-palm-full of Biosilk to get the comb through after my shower, I tried this: 4 drops of apricot oil + 1 drop rosemary. 

Oh. My.

I cannot believe I've been spending $30 a bottle on Biosilk. It's not that I don't like it (cause I do) but this pure oil mixture worked better and I used much less. Plus, it cost about $7 for the bottles that will last me MONTHS. I highly recommend trying this on your hair if you have any dryness or tangling.

Let's be eco-aware here: 

Biosilk ingredients: Cyclomethicone, Dimethicone, SD Alcohol 40-B, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Ethyl Ester of Hydrolyzed Silk, Panthenol, Phenoxyethanol,Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Parfum (Fragrance). Hexyl Cinnamic Aldehyde, Benzyl Benzoate, Linalool, Gamma Methyl Ionone, Citronellol, Lilial, Hydroxy Citronellol, Geraniol, Eugenol

I cannot pronounce anything on this list, which to me is not a good sign.

My essential oil hair blend: Pure apricot kernal oil, pure rosemary  (extracted/cold pressed with environmentally friendly practices)

More body care recipes and tips to come!   

Save the date stamps

I'm ordering these.

Also, I've continued to work on making vases for our wildflower centerpieces.

There's a local market that sells wildflowers and we'll be stopping there and getting them the day of the wedding. My mom and I are going to do some simple arrangements and a bouquet (?) ourselves. 

And finally, this is just for your viewing pleasure. I really love playful weddings.

my weekend

consisted of a lot of Wendover,

a lot of tequila,

and a lot of wtf.

After a day of recovering, I squeezed in some craft time.

I made this vase from a recycled Pucker bottle

(yes, the remaining Pucker did go down the drain because...ew.)

Speaking of recycling, remember the spiky fabric flowers we made here?

I almost threw away the little leftover triangle scraps from cutting the circles.

Then, I remembered the cute mini flags from How About Orange on this post. I said to myself self, you should try making something similar with your extra fabric triangles and twine. Here's the result:

 

After a couple hot glue burns and some trimming, I created this cute bottle vase:

Any ideas of how else I could use this mini flag garland? Send em my way, please.

why thrift stores rock

 

(craft project waiting to happen)

 

 

 Not sure what this thing is, but look how adorable the fabric is.

Newman O's vs Oreos

Have you ever had Newman O's?

Oh. My.

They are unlike anything I've ever experienced. They are like creme-filled cocoa heavens that sing songs of love in my mouth. Seriously.

I'm not sure exactly what it is, but the plain, organic goodness is PERFECTION. I'm sort of over the highly processed uber sugary tastes. They are like clean Oreos, but a trillion times cleaner and crunchier. Plus, Newman O's are guiltless (well, almost). See the nutritional comparison here.



As far as cost goes: yeah, Newman O's are a bit pricier. But that's because they cost more to make (due to the use of organic sought-after ingredients like unbleached flour). To me, it's totally worth diggin' a bit deeper in my pocket for the extra change. Besides that, all proceeds go to various charities. So loosen the purse strings and enjoy a snack.

Every Day is Earth Day

It's Earth Day…YAY!

So are you doing something nice for our Mother Earth today? Well if so, that's nice…but shouldn't you be doing nice things for her every day? I'm torn about Earth Day because I feel every single day should be Earth Day. Why only give it emphasis one day out of 365 in a year? Nature and its glory is a personal issue for me, but the point is that animals and plants should matter to us ALL.

Sure, we could shut it all out and pretend it's not happening…we can be foolish about global warming, habitat destruction and pollution, but ultimately (if we keep dirtying the nest at this rate) we're screwed. The trees that give us fresh air and beauty, the animals we love to watch and those pretty flowers we love to smell…they'll disappear, along with us because we all depend on the biosphere. So you think it won't affect your life? You think it's okay to ignore the 3 Rs we learned about in elementary school. That's fine, but what about your kids? What happens when these detrimental things we're doing to the Earth start directly affecting your offspring (oh, and I guarantee they will)? We're stuck here on this planet with nowhere to run. So maybe everyone should quit running from the responsibility of keeping this place livable.

Don't depend on government or large companies to do all the dirty work, because they won't. It starts with YOU and your ability to be conscious of the little every-day habits. Whatever political beliefs you've established or environmental opinions you've formed over your years here on Earth, I think it's a safe assumption that we ALL want fresh air to breathe and a safe place to reside.

Okay so this turned into more of an angry rant than an ode to Earth Day. The bad part is I had to stop myself from going on and on.
Go ahead and click around to find out easy ways you can help.
http://www.cat.org.uk/index.tmpl?refer=index&init=1
http://www.seql.org/100ways.cfm
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/
http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/7-energy-savers-460608

I live in a tiny apartment and still find ways to recycle. I have a chaotic schedule just like any modern girl, but I still find ways to reduce and reuse as well. Lifestyle isn't a good excuse. When people make fun of me for reusing my tin foil, I just tell em 'I'm not cheap, I'm resourceful!'
I'm not ashamed.

If you'd like to know more about simple ways to save Earth, email me!