I recently got to test out some Squid Balm products that were graciously sent to me. Most times I refuse any sort of product in the beauty and/or skincare realm. I get dozens of requests each week and I always have to politely explain that I can’t test them if I won’t use them. ;) Soap and shampoo bars are just my thing though. I was also very interested in trying a lotion bar since I have heard good things about them. Plus my skin has been drier since I started spending so much time in the pool. I wanted to try a moisturizer.

Anyway, I have been washing my hair 2-3 times a week using the shampoo bar. It foams up nice and it does the job well. After washing I have also been using the Squid Silk Solid Conditioner Bar in Wild Blueberry. I LOVE it!

Anyone who uses shampoo bars knows that they leave your hair drier and less shiny than chemical laden shampoos. This conditioner helps to remedy that. You rub it between wet hands and then rub it on the surface of your hair or your skin if you want. The smell is divine as well. Shampoo and conditioner using natural ingredients and they come in bar form. What else could I ask for?

The lotion bar has a really heavenly, albeit not overpowering scent called coconut peach. I am not a fan of scents in general but both scented products I got were a-okay for my delicate olfactory system. Anyway when you rub the lotion bar on initially it feels kind of sticky and that bothers me a bit. After 2-3 minutes or so the stickiness is gone and it feels nice and refreshing. The small tin it comes in is nice for throwing in your purse or gym bag too. Few people could carry around a bottle of lotion but this little tin would be no issue at all and it will last quite awhile.

In addition to being vegan, Squid Balm products are also nut-free, paraben-free, preservative-free, and phthalate-free. Handcrafted by moms as well.

In the end I would happily keep ordering all these products but especially the shampoo bar and conditioner bar because those are two things I cannot find locally.  The only real criticism I have is that their web site was a bit hard to navigate with all the product descriptions sort of running together and the order buttons being nowhere near the photos of the item. Plus I didn’t see any “coconut peach” scented shampoo bars. ;)

Squid Balm get a big thumbs up from me.

Cool product alert!!  I am super excited to have found these in my Internet browsing this morning. While I do have more than enough reusable bags there are just times when I forget them. Yes, I put them in the car, I often carry a pocket size bag in my purse even but once I use that and carry it in the house, I am so bad about remembering to put them back. I have ended up getting paper bags more often than I would like to admit.

These shopping cart baskets may be just what I need. They are supposed to be big in Europe and Reusit is the first US company offering them here. You stick them inside the shopping cart and fill them with groceries. Then you take them out to put on the store conveyor belt for purchase and just ask the bagging clerk to forgo bagging and fill the baskets again. How easy is that???

No more eye rolling and sighs from store clerks who don’t want to fill your reusable bags, heck they don’t have to bag at all so their job just got a lot easier. And in seconds you can have everything loaded into the car to take home. I would guess that these would be heavy though so my plan would be to transfer groceries from the baskets to large reusable bags when I get home. This way it wouldn’t mater if I forgot my bags and the baskets would just always be in the trunk where they belong. OR I could have the husband do the heavy lifting… that works too. ;)

Anyway, I thought these could be really useful and I love that in a day and age when everyone is jumping on the green bandwagon and half the stuff I see out there is only mildly helpful, if at all.  I could definitely use these.

Available at Reusit

When I stopped eating meat awhile back I did so for health reasons, not really for ethical reasons. But when you read vegan and vegetarian blogs, magazines, etc you start to understand the ethical reasons for avoiding animal products. This video from PETA shows the absolute horrors of using animal skins to make belts, shoes, and purses. Thank goodness I have never much liked the look of snake skin bags or alligator skin shoes because I would be so distraught after seeing this video. Ironically I saw it just after I finished vegan shoe shopping for my daughter at Simple Shoes. I was thrilled at how easy it was to find cruelty free shoes that she actually liked and I was also thrilled by the price (under $50).

But on to the video. I warn you… you could lose your lunch… it is THAT graphic. I wonder if anyone can buy animal skin products after watching something like this?

It is the time of year when we might buy a new weekly planner and calendar. This is the first year that I am sporting a  GREEN one thanks to Sarah Pinto.

Not only is this a GREAT, stylish planner it is eco friendly and made by a mom of two. Sarah wanted to make a fun, stylish planner that would fit well inside a purse for those that like the visual reminder of a weekly planner. These planners measure 5” by 7” and are made with high-quality recycled paper, soy-based ink and they are printed and bound in San Francisco, California (my fave town). There are five unique cover designs. I have the blue one with a horseshoe that says “This is My Lucky Year”. LOVE that!

Sarah Pinto’s 2009 Weekly Planners are a stylish, eco-friendly answer to your busy everyday schedule. Check em out at SarahPinto.com!

I seem to be suffering from clumsiness lately. A few weeks back I was walking out of my bedroom and instead of clearing the doorway my left hip brushed the doorjamb and caught on the receiver end of the door knob thingamajiggy (not sure what to call it). It ripped my jeans ever so slightly. The 1.5 inch tear didn’t bother me much so I just kept wearing them as is. Well it happened again a few days ago and now that tear streaks down my whole back side…so they are not wearable anymore. A patch would look ridiculous and would be awkward to get on so now I need to figure out what to do with them. If only I could find my sewing machine I would make numbers 1 and 2.

Ideas for Recycling Blue Jeans:

1. An iPod pocket protector – Use the pocket area of your blue jeans to make a nifty little purse for small electronics like cell phones and iPods. It would also be perfect as a little snack bags for young kids. Get instructions here.

2. Use the legs to make a wall organizer perfect for sewing notions.

3. Stuff them with straw and use them to create a scarecrow for fall decorating.

4. Cut them into squares and make a quilt or cut them into strips and make a rag rug.

5. Make denim pot holders.