I'm moving, I'm moving! As we speak actually (thru the magic of pre-posting! :) Into a big house with a HUUUUUUUUGE park-like backyard for our doggie to run around in and a covered deck for us to stay dry under. It's a rental, so we have to stick with the pastel paint colors as is (they range from eh to eww) but I can't wait to decorate and settle in and make it feel like our home. These cool cards by Robin 101 remind me of how fun it is to add some personality to every room, and of the simple treasures of home life vs. apt life that we sometimes take for granted (like a washing machine! In my house? That is not coin operated? Holy great moly, I cannot wait!) 
Find more beautiful and colorful cards and prints at Robin 101. Now, time for me to get back to unpacking! I won't have internet set up in the new house til sometime on Tuesday (if all goes well!!) so I'll be back again with regular posting once it's working again. See you soon!
<3 jena
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September 2008
Sep 29, 2008
Sep 26, 2008
The low down on dirty
Hippie School for Habitat Stewards is over for the session, and I'm back with a renewed interest and vigor in all things eco. It was refreshing to sit in a room and talk about the environment in real, hands on ways, without having brands and goods thrown in my face. Changing the world, one reused object at a time? For real??
Around our house we don't take the garbage to the street for pick up every week. Between the two of us, we don't really have that much actual trash, the rest goes into recycling (which also doesn't go to the street for pick up until it's absolutely full.) I don't know if this will truly make a difference, but I have a sneaking suspicion that cutting the idling time on those big garbage trucks could add up quickly, saving a good bit of gas.
What does this have to do with habitat and working on keeping our world green? Well, the same philosophy goes for yard waste, right? Some cities do implement a municipal composting program, but why ship your leaves off to break down when you're just going to purchase more dirt come planting time? Simply delineating an area of your space for building dirt and throwing vegetative waste on it can change your landscape; think of how thankful your houseplants will be when you can offer them a tall drink of compost tea.
Live in an apartment? There are many kitchen composters on the market, but why not take a small lidded trash can or 5 gallon bucket, drill some holes in it and keep it on the patio? Put a lipped dish under it, and it will collect the extra liquids and you have yourself a super-charged apartment sized drink of nutrients for your favorite growing greenery.
Composting is essentially the transformation of vegetation back into dirt. I'm sure a lot of you already compost, but a little positive reinforcement never hurts. For the noncomposters out there (if you've read this far), with all the talk of scientific balance and the problematic smells that are too often associated with composting, I thought I'd present an easy way to get back to the basics of it, so you can start cooking up some nutrients. Obviously there are tons of ways to make dirt happen. Some people compost directly on the area they'll cultivate later (plastic sheet mulching and lasagna method), some compost in a pile, others in a cage or stand still bin, and still others in a tumbler bin.
The lasagna method is simple: a layer of thick cardboard or wet newspaper (5 sheets thick), a layer of compost or manure, and a layer of loose organic material on top. At that point some people will solarize the concoction to help it cook down into rich compost a little faster, but it will work either way. Nature takes her course.
I use a plastic heavy-duty trash can with holes drilled in the top, bottom, and sides and stir it up and sometimes just tumble it around the yard. My cost was less than $15, but to keep the smell away (plastic holds moisture) I have to maintain the green to brown ratio in check. Most experienced composters suggest a 2:1 ratio of carbon based to nitrogen based goods.
While in Hippie School, though, we talked compost, and I was surprisingly reinvigorated by the simple technique that was presented. A homemade wire cage, some alfalfa meal pellets from a feed supply store, and a heavy supply of leaves and you're all set for a hot batch of compost. Things you'll need: 12.5' heavy duty wire caging material (you'll find it in the fencing section of the hardware store), Lots of leaves (perhaps from your neighbors' yards, if you can't get enough from your own; we like to bike around with a trailer on one bike and pick up bags at the street), Alfalfa meal pellets (rabbit food, find it at a farm supply/hardware store. It's much cheaper there than pet stores, actually almost half the price) which is a super quick and effective method of infusing your leaves (browns/carbons) with nitrogen (greens), and a quick and easy water source.
Form a cylinder out if the wire, using the raw end to "tie" the ends together. This will form a bin just over 1 cubic meter, which will make 1" of compost for approximately 100 square feet.
Next add a foot of leaves to the bottom. Sprinkle the leaves with alfalfa pellets. Add water to make the pile moist, but not soggy, and mix it all together.
Repeat the process until your bin is full.
Mix every couple weeks (don't get too anxious, you know, watched pot blah blah blah) and wait for the magic of nutrient rich compost to happen!
*Keep it moist but not soggy. The wire cage will help in this, but at the same time, make sure it doesn't dry out, either. A dry heap will attract ants; it will also keep microbial activity down, which is what's making your waste into compost.
*Turn, turn, turn. Get a pitchfork and take some aggression out on your heap, stir it like stew, shake it like...well, you know. But get some air in there every once in a while and it will keep some of the yucky smells at bay.
*Make sure you bury your food scraps--this will keep flies from laying their eggs in your bin and should aid in keeping rodents away.
*Don't put your bin near a water source and keep it away from storm drains. All that nitrogen in stream water can turn into an ugly algae bloom and kill the little fishies.
The examples below of composters and supplies are all from Green Culture. They certainly aren't necessary to get the job done, just a great example of some of the products available in the world of composting.
1. Natural Cedar Bin -- $172; 2. Heavy Duty Pitch Fork $35.77; 3. Compost Starter, 4 lb box -- $14.65; 4. Stainless Steel Counter Top Compost Keeper -- $63.65; 5. Compact Compost Tumbler -- $332.22; 6. Soil Circle Compost cage, similar to what my municipality sells (just ignore that bad Photoshopping job they did, okay?) -- $39.15
Alameda County has a great how-to for building a wire bin composter, as well as all sorts of directions and helpful hints.
Really diggin this dirt stuff? Become a Master Composter!
Renee Garner has a passion to make things grow, although her brownish
thumb wants her to believe otherwise. When mud pies aren't on the
menu, you can find her doodling the days away at Wolfie and the Sneak.
On a blissful afternoon...
My lovely fellow blogger and Portlander, Traci French, has inspired many of my days since I've moved here. On her blog, Bliss, she often writes beautiful posts about Portland- through her, I was introduced to a wonderful antique flea market called Barnhouse out in rural Washington not far from here, I've seen her beach vacations, discovered restaurants to try out (like Pix, yummm!) and all the while, have enjoyed her photography along the way. So, I was pleased as punch when Traci said she opened up an etsy shop for her photos, Blissful Images. I just love being able to explore the place I now live through someone else's eyes.
There's more where that came from in the Blissful Images shop, be sure to take a peek for yourself. Good luck with the new shop Traci, your work is beautiful!
Sep 25, 2008
Livin' La Vita Lola
La Vita Lola is home to flirty clutches in a wide variety of designs, from super femme flowers, to modern patterns to rocker style skull motifs. They're simple and cute and the perfect size to carry your essentials for a fun night out: 
The coolest thing tho about these clutches is that they're each made to order! Pick your favorite fabric pattern, and then you can choose your hardware (antiqued brass, silver or gold) and choose the color for your luscious silk lining. It's the perfect way to find the perfect clutch for you! Take a peek at all the pretty options at La Vita Lola.
Black and white and funny all over
I am loving these black and white line drawings by Nosideup- they're intriguing, full of personality and some are laugh out loud hilarious (that screaming woman cracks me up for some reason!)
The artist, Maria, points to fashion as a big inspiration for her work, but it's obvious that her incredible background (she's Mediterranean, just got a degree in product design from a school in London, studied visual art Swaziland, Africa and is now settling down in Oxford) gives her a keen understanding of people, as I imagine she's met quite a few characters along her life's path. Most drawings in her shop are originals, but there are a few prints available too- check them all out at Nosideup!
Sep 24, 2008
Eco-Friendly Find: Heidi and Seek
This new clothing shop out of Australia is making a name for eco-friendly clothing, and that name is Heidi and Seek! The designer behind the label creates her cool, retro styled wares purely from second-hand and vintage materials, upcycling old garments, using scrap fabrics and unused second hand remnants. Too cool!
And, on top of the eco-goodness and pure adorableness of the clothing line, most pieces are one-of-a-kind so you know you'll be stylin' in a garment that no one else has. Check out the whole collection, including a new line of accessories, at the Heidi and Seek etsy shop!
