Win Worst-Case Scenario Guides, Cats & Dogs

How do you deal with a bossy cat or remove skunk odors from your dog?

If you need to know that and more, enter this contest to win a copy of the newly released Worst-Case Scenario Pocket Guide: Cats.

The winner will also receive a copy of Worst-Case Scenario Pocket Guide: Dogs, which was just released this April.

Both books are hardcover pocket guides for cats, dogs and their lucky owners. The pet guides are co-written by David Borgenicht, creator and co-author of all books in the Worst-Case Scenario series.

If you’re a person who likes to be prepared, you might also enjoy the Worst-Case Scenario blog. A recent post written by Jeff covers How to Kitten-Proof Your Home. Really? That’s possible!?

To enter the contest: Leave a comment on this post describing a tricky situation you’ve been in with your cat or dog. If you haven’t been in one of those, lucky you! Just tell us about your pet.

To be eligible to win, you must leave a comment before 11pm CST on Tuesday, December 8 and have a US mailing address. The winner will have five days to answer my request for a mailing address, so please triple check your spam filter on Dec. 9.

Update: Congratulations to the winner, B. Lerner!

(Images via Chronicle Books)

Year-Round Gardening Cards

Look how cute this gardening book is – set up as a deck of cards rather than an actual book, P. Allen Smith’s Container Gardens Deck: 50 Recipes for Year-Round Gardening, allows you to browse easy-to-follow container garden recipes.

Each card includes plant lists, step-by-step instructions, and a diagram showing you how to design your garden. Like cooking recipie cards these garden recipes are printed on tabbed cards. I like the idea of cards vs. pages. You can easily take them to the nursery or to a community garden with you vs. carrying around a hefty book.  Plus if there’s a recipe you don’t love, you can give it to a pal without tearing a book to shreds.

I think it would make a great holiday gift. Actually, I was looking for more tabbed gardening ideas, and found another cute set too – not a how-to for plants, but a how-to for saving seeds.

Kitchen Garden Box Save and Sow Seeds of Your Favorite Vegetables is a sweet vintage looking box with 55 4 x 6 4c cards, 5 tabbed dividers, and 10 envelopes, to help you save your favorite seeds. Included on the cards is info about how to collect, store, use, and replant seeds, plus step-by-step instructions, practical tips, and delicious recipes for each veggie. As a bonus, 10 reusable seed storage envelopes and a coupon redeemable for two free seed packets from Gardens Alive is included.

Awesome Garden Sheds

Potting Places: Creating Ideas for Practical Gardening Workspaces is hands down one of my favorite garden related books. I’ve never had a yard large enough (that I own) for a large garden shed, that won’t take up too much land real estate, but having a killer garden shed is an eventual goal of mine, so I like to look. That said, I thought we’d take a casual, no task Friday and look at some dreamy garden sheds.

ShackUp makes some extra nice, clean-cut, garden sheds, including a porthole design that’s really original.

I love this little garden shed. It’s simple, and right away I can see an issue with the zero windows, but it’s really rustic and sweet with the surrounding trees.

Also…

A mind blowing mod garden shed. Too incredible.

Fairy-tale garden shed slideshow! Very quaint and sweet. Bonus;  it’s made partially with recycled materials.

A GORGEOUS garden shed, greenhouse, hideaway, and gathering place all-in-one. You will be blown away.

Do you have a garden shed? What sort?

Indoor Water Gardening

I have not personally ever had an indoor water garden. One, I’ve had my son around for the last eight years, and as a baby, I’d never want to chance a tot falling into indoor water (kids can drown in under an inch of water and in just minutes) two, it seems like a lot of work, and three I like being outside.

That said, I’ve been seeing a mess of indoor water garden news lately and some of them look pretty fun, and since Blisstree Gardening aims to discuss all things gardening, I thought I’d offer some good links to indoor water gardening tips.

• Martha Stewart has the most glorious indoor water garden piece with tips on light for water plants and how to set up your plants along with plenty of lovely images of course – it almost made me want to start an indoor water garden.
• The University of Vermont Extension has less of a how-to and more of an important tips piece up. It’ll clue you in to some mistakes not to make, types of pots to choose, and more.
• Thrifty Fun has some easy to follow tips about how to get started when creating an indoor water garden and the piece offers an excellent list of suitable water garden plants.
• A big old guide on all things indoor water gardens.
• Find supplies for indoor gardening at Growco Indoor Garden Supply.

[image via stock.xchng]

Green Review: HappyBaby Organic Baby Guide

Yesterday I introduced you to HappyBaby The Organic Guide to Baby’s First 24 Months and if you look at it from a healthy baby standpoint I would categorize this book as excellent, however it’s also being marketed as a green baby book, and I while it is a healthy baby book, some of the green info is not as good. Read on for the pros and cons.

PRODUCT: HappyBaby The Organic Guide to Baby’s First 24 Months by the founders of HAPPYBABY, Robert W. Sears, and Amy Marlow (September 2009, Harper Collins)

COST: $16.99 softcover / $16.99 ebook

See a general run down of what HappyBaby is about; including how the book chapters are set up, topics covered, and more.

THE GOOD:

• Not a guilt trip book – the tips are easy, not overwhelming, and focus on doing what you can vs. doing it all.
• Chapters are bite sized chunks – easy for busy parents to digest. There are small sections on various topics throughout the book plus easy to follow charts (like “A Healthy Mama’s Weekly Grocery List”), and I especially like that little tips pepper the text, such as, “green mama tip”, “green feeding tip”, and “real mama tip”.
• Great coupon section at the back that offers really nice deals on organic baby food, juices, green magazines, organic clothing. There are diapers too – but they’re disposable which was too bad.

The best part of the book was the middle (and largest section) The Happy (and Well-Fed!) Baby. This is where the book shines because co-authors, the founders of HAPPYBABY really know their food stuff. Their company makes organic baby and toddler food such as frozen organic baby food cubes, baby snacks, cereal, and more. This section is almost all perks and has the following features…

• Breastfeeding nutritional info including breastfeeding myths and facts, mama health, latching on help, breast milk storage, weaning and more.
• Feeding your baby solids which includes information on when to feed, the best nutritious foods, baby food textures, problems you may run into, finger foods, beverages for baby, food allergies, and a run down on baby food types (jarred, homemade, frozen, etc).
• A large section on making your own homemade baby food with tips on how to get started (yes it’s super easy), ingredients, prep, the cooking process, charts on how to prepare specific veggies, fruits, and meats, storage information, flavor for baby and many excellent recipes that you’ve probably never thought of before but that your baby will adore.
• The entire last section of part 2 focuses on healthy feeding tips, advice, how to get your child to love veggies and other healthy foods, and so much more.

THE BAD:

This book is a green and healthy baby care book yet the book itself is not printed on recycled paper. Or if it is, I couldn’t find that information. When green books are printed on virgin paper it really irks me. The book is available in ebook format which is nice, but doesn’t help if you’d like to own a hard copy. If you’re feeling book guilt you can plant some trees in exchange for this book though.

The book seems to focus on some major green brands but not some other (better) but more obscure green brands. For example, Seventh Generation, who I like in some ways, has a coupon in the back of the book and the book recommends their diapers as having less of an impact on the planet – which really they don’t. There are many greener diaper choices. Seventh Generation has some health perks for your baby and I’d suggest them over say, Huggies, but overall it’s just a dressed up as “natural” disposable diaper. In any case Seventh Generation is peppered throughout the book and it makes me wonder if they were a partner or something. They also suggest some odd choices of safer diaper creams but leave out one of the safest on the market – Earth Mama Angel Baby.

The cleaning supply section is questionable. I like their make your own green cleaners section, but some of the store-bought ‘greener’ cleaners they suggest come from companies that conduct animal testing, contribute to pollution by means of their other bleach filled products, or that contain ingredients not made public (i.e. they likely are toxic and suck).

Someone wrote up the green resources without doing their homework. For example The Good Guide is listed more than once as a place to find greener and safer products and I think this is a terrible place to compare green products. Some cool green resources, books, and websites were left out too (although they did have many nice ones) but overall it seems like someone who is not completely into green living wrote the resource section.

OVERALL SCORE:

4 out of 5 trees!

As a green baby book only, I’d likely have given this book a lower score (a three). However, since the main bulk of this book is feeding your baby, and because the feeding sections were excellent in my opinion, I bumped this book up to 4 trees. The book loses a point for not being printed on recycled paper and because some of the other non-feeding green sections could have been more informed.

Overall if you want to learn to make green and healthy foods for your child from day one and raise a healthy and happy eater this is a must own book. Get your own copy of  HappyBaby The Organic Guide to Baby’s First 24 Months.

See my Green Product Review Criteria

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PS – HAPPYBABY was recently nominated by Shine A Light as one of the three most inspiring small companies in the U.S. which is a huge honor and in order for them to win, they need your vote. They’re the only green company in the running, so it’d be really cool if they win. VOTE for HAPPYBABY!

New Healthy Green Baby Book

Today I’ve got the scoop on a good green baby book – this is a freshly released book that new parents should consider because of the stellar mealtime information. This book would also make a great baby shower gift.

PRODUCT: HappyBaby The Organic Guide to Baby’s First 24 Months by the founders of HAPPYBABY, Robert W. Sears, and Amy Marlow (September 2009, Harper Collins)

COST: $16.99 softcover / $16.99 ebook

BASICS: From HAPPYBABY; “HappyBaby The Organic Guide to Baby’s First 24 Months, focuses on the most crucial and confusing time for growing families: the beginning. This book is the one-stop source for new moms and dads who are committed to having the healthiest, happiest family possible.

Topics Include:

• Easy, healthy & delicious recipes for babies and toddlers
• Proper nutrition for nursing moms
• Dealing with post-pregnancy stress
• How to teach caregivers to be health-conscious in your absence
• Managing immunization schedules and planning family activities
• How to create an environmentally sound and baby-friendly household without hazardous chemicals and toxins.
• A checklist for baby and toddler wellness
• Choosing safe products for baby and your home

This groundbreaking book offers a proactive, harmonious approach to parenting that’s easier, greener, and just plain better for your precious infant or toddler.”

WHAT I THINK IN GENERAL:

This book is an easy introduction to a greener lifestyle and a healthier way to bring up your baby.The chapters are arranged in a way that makes sense. They open with tips and advice about what it means to live a healthier and greener life and focus on all over greener living like household waste, green cleaning, energy savings, reusable bags and water bottles, information about green baby food – i.e. pesticide free and organics, and more. All of this is in very usable bite sized chunks so if green is totally new to you, it’s not overwhelming. The first chapter is less useful if you’ve been living green for a while though. I didn’t find many new tips for me – but keep in mind I’m a green writer and have been looking at this stuff for years.

The rest of the book (following the first chapter goes in time order from the postpartum period to homemade baby food which includes information about breastfeeding and weaning and tips on choosing BPA-free baby feeding gear. The book then covers healthy foods for mamas, starting solids, healthier baby feeding with recipes, sample baby meal plans, and all sorts of other baby feeding tips. The last part of the book looks at your home such as diapers,  greener nursery gear, safe toys, green cleaning, and so on. There’s also a short chapter on baby and toddler wellness.

There are some good points and bad points to this book but overall I’m going to recommend it because the mealtime sections are excellent. Coming up my thoughts on the pros and cons of HappyBaby The Organic Guide to Baby’s First 24 Months.

12 ways to garden on the cheap

Gardening is often promoted as an inexpensive activity, but in truth it’s not always easy to garden on the cheap. That said there are some areas where you can cut gardening costs big time.

1. Save your old seeds (check to see if they still work).
2. Compost for homemade soil – even if your yard is small you can compost. In fact, you can compost indoors if you want.
3. Don’t buy new – garden tools, gardening books, pots, and so on. Most gardening supplies can be easily found at thrift stores. You can also borrow from or share garden tools with friends. It’s also super easy to check out books about gardening from the library.
4. Try some easy DIY landscaping instead of paying someone to do it for you.
5. Always use reusable items and recyclables such as egg cartons for starting seeds or reuse the plastic seed pots you used last year (clean well to avoid disease). You can also make your own growing pots with recycled materials.
6. Be water aware. Build a rain barrel, water at night, only give plants the actual water they need, and so on. Using less water can save you big time.
7. Make homemade weed killer -Mix one ounce orange oil and 1 teaspoon liquid soap with 1 gallon of 10% white vinegar. Shake it up and use it to spot treat weeds.
8. Use the least evasive pest control methods first, which are often much cheaper than advanced pest control supplies.
9. Buy seeds locally from the farmers market or a local farm store. You can often buy just what you need vs. a whole packet. at the local farm store.
10. Swap seeds and plants with neighbors.
11. Plant a garden that will naturally thrive where you live. Plants made for your climate will thrive better with less care than exotic plants.
12. Use what you’ve got such as leaves and newspaper as mulch.

[image via stock.xchng]

Homemade Organic Cleansing Milk

It’s easy to make homemade facial cleaners at home and better for the planet because you’re not buying prepackaged stuff. PLUS this is organic and does not contain any toxic junk that you don’t need on your skin. Milk is one of the best homemade cleanser bases because it’s packed with properties that hydrate skin. Milk contains essential proteins, vitamin A, and lactic acid, all of which can help keep your skin in tip top condition. Lactic acid has even been touted as a way to stimulate skin cell renewal.

The downside is that milk cleansers are perishable when homemade, but it’s no big deal to keep your soap in the fridge.

PS. One bottle of milk is too much unless you’re making a TON of cleansing milk so to store the extra, pour the milk into ice cube trays, freeze, then pop out and store in a freezer safe container. The next time you want to make cleansing cream, pop some cubes out of the freezer.

Homemade cleansing milk:

You need 1/2 cup of organic whole milk for the base of your cleanser. The more creamy the better. I like  whole Straus Milk for this, because it’s rich and creamy, plus comes in cool glass bottles you can use for vases, but really you can use any good organic whole milk.

You’ll also need 2 or 3 tablespoons of fresh or dried organic herbs or flowers, which you should choose based on your personal skin type. Read Homemade Beauty Products: Safety 101 for tips. Some typical choices include; lavender, elderflowers, chamomile, lime blossom, or sweet violets. You can also try a citrus cleanser by using 2 tablespoons grated organic lime, tangerine or orange peel plus 1 tablespoon organic lime, tangerine, or orange juice (fresh squeezed). You can also add a couple drops of your favorite essential oil if you like. I normally don’t if I’m going to use this on my face though.

To make:

Heat everything together in a double boiler for 30 minutes. DO NOT allow your milk to boil or form a skin. One, it’ll make it smell funky, and two it can burn your pan. Once super hot, remove from heat and allow it to infuse for 3 hours. Then strain in a mesh cloth or fine strainer to remove the herb/citrus bits.

For facial cleaning, you can apply with fingers or an organic cotton ball. Rub lightly in then rinse.  For full on body cleaning I’d make a larger batch and then pour onto a washcloth.

Store any extra in the fridge and use within 10 days.

Win A Copy Of “Generation T”!

I am so excited to bring you this great contest!

Megan Nicolay, author of “Generation T: 108 Ways To Transform A T-Shirt” has offered one of my lucky readers their own copy of her book.

Generation T is all about using your resources creatively.  Why not transform a t-shirt into another piece of clothing, rather than having to buy it new?

As a special treat, here’s a sneak peak with instructions to create your own “Pin Up Girl” halter top – all you need is a pair of scissors.  This project doesn’t even need to be sewn!

image: Megan Nicolay

If you’d like to enter the contest, there are a few rules I need to go over first:

• The contest is only open to residents of the continental USA.
• One entry per person please.
• To enter, just leave a comment on this post, explaining why you want to win your own copy of Generation T.  Make sure to use a valid email address so I can contact you if you win.
• The winner will be determined by a random draw.
• The contest runs from August 18th, until midnight, September 1st.  I will hold the draw on September 2nd, and contact the winner privately by email.

Good luck!

Julie & Julia Hits Theaters Tomorrow

I’m excited to see the movie Julie & Julia, which comes out in the United States tomorrow, though I might have to wait a few weeks until the kids are in school and I have an afternoon to myself to do it!

Based on two separate books — Julie Powell’s Julie & Julia, and iconic celebrity chef Julia Child’s book My Life in France — the movie (and Powell’s book, which is what the movie is based on), chronicles Powell’s attempt at making every recipe in Child’s cookbook, The French Chef, in one year and blogging about it (and to make things even more confusing, the blog is what inspired the book, which is what inspired the movie!). At the same time, it follows Julia’s story, though it happened over 40 years earlier, as she lived in France and became a master of French cooking. Amy Adams portrays Powell in the movie, and Meryl Streep plays Julia Child.

Though the two never met, it’s been rumored that before her death in 2004, Julia Child had made comments that she didn’t approve of Powell’s blog, saying that Powell wasn’t serious about what she was doing and that it was nothing more than a stunt, and that she wouldn’t endorse it (she also, apparently, didn’t approve of Powell’s language in the blog either!).

Julie keeps a current blog on blogspot, where she writes about some of the ins and outs of her shot to celebrity status. She also had an interview on ABC News yesterday that I found interesting.

Truth be told, an experiment like this is very appealing to me, but I just don’t know if I’d have the determination (or funds!) to pull it off, especially when it involves 524 recipes within 364 days! There are some days where all I feel like doing in the kitchen is put out sandwich makings and telling the family to knock themselves out.

What do you think — could you do it?

[image: wikipedia]

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