These warm and easy days of Summer give me time to try new things and well… love them.  These days I am loving a few new things that help keep the world and myself a little more healthy and happy.

Stainless Steel Straws

I don’t use a ton of straws in my daily life, but I thought I’d get ahead of the no-straw game and carry some environmentally friendly straws with me. At first I tried silicone straws (at least I think they were silicone) because they were squishy and bendy and I thought that was fun enough to remember them when I needed them. Sadly, the execution of shoving squishy bendy straws into the lid of an iced coffee (even a recyclable cup lid) was sadly lacking. They also got a little linty and dog-hairy in my purse and looked silly, droopy, and mildly disturbing when I pulled them out to use. A little research led me to try out some stainless steel straws from a popular online shopping site with quick delivery. They came with little protector caps in case you drink hot things with a straw (which I don’t) and a teeny little scrubber brush.  They (along with the caps) are dishwasher safe as well. So far, I’m quite pleased with them!

Urban Composter

I’m currently eating a whole lot of produce and that leads to quite a bit of compost. I have a small yard with some raised garden beds that I am learning to tend. I also have weekly compost pick-up from our local sanitary pick up service. I had a small compost bin to store and carry the scraps to the bin outside, but I fill it every day or so and feel like my new little plant shoots would like some of it, but I don’t have enough room for an actual composter outside. Again, I did a little research and found this Urban Composter that is kind of like bokashi composting. It arrived today and is larger than I expected (I got the 4 gallon, so should not have been surprised), but at the rate I’m creating vegetable scraps it is probably the right size. Just having this makes me happy that I found a possible solution and may be making compost tea before you know it!

Silicone Muffin Liners

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As I increase my produce intake I have also had to increase my participation in food preparation. I found that I was using muffin tins and mini muffin tins more than I had before. Okay, in all honesty I didn’t even own muffin tins before last month, so it was bound to be more once I did own them. I didn’t like using the paper muffin liners (is that what they are called?) since it seemed wasteful, I couldn’t find the non-bleached ones, and I kept having to buy more. I ordered super colorful silicone liners for both regular and mini muffin tins and I love them! I have learned a valuable lesson, however. If I make a dozen banana muffins I will eat a dozen banana muffins. Partly because they are just so pretty in their little liners.

Homemade Shower Spray

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I moved recently and was reminded how much easier cleaning is if you do it in little bits every day. I like daily shower spray, but have always felt like I was standing in a chemical bath when I sprayed it. I found a recipe for a DIY daily shower spray that uses small amounts of hydrogen peroxide, rubbing alcohol and dishwasher rinse aid along with a large amount of water. I added some tangerine essential oil for smell and put it in a pretty spray bottle. Viola!

Agua de Sandia

I love the taste of watermelon. I don’t, however, love the texture or the seeds–even the little seeds in seedless watermelons. I now use my high-speed blender to make agua de sandia and I get to sit back and sip watermelon-y deliciousness through a stainless steel straw with no fear of pulpy texture or seeds invading my sensibilities. I also like the new, modernized canning jar style with the swirly look. Three cheers for watermelon water!

What are you loving this Summer?