Sweet Greens
Your Earth Friendly Guide to All Things Green | Green Parenting | Eco Kids | Green Families
This time of year is all about gratitude – I am most thankful for is my family. The fact that I get to wake up everyday and see these two beautiful, smiling faces makes me the happiest wife + mother in the world. They are the most perfect part of my life. Fact.
What are you thankful for?
If your kid’s Halloween costume calls for a painted face this year, take caution when considering the stock at your local Halloween store that’s likely loaded with toxic ingredients. Instead make your own Halloween face paint, using two simple ingredients that will neither harm the planet or your precious little goblin. What’s more, you probably have both of these ingredients in your cosmetic bag already. You can learn to make a fun selection of face paints for fright night. Eben and I had so much fun working with different color combinations.
Do you make your own Halloween face paint?
When you make the decision to live a greener lifestyle, it is easiest to start by taking baby steps. One of the first steps that I took on my green journey was completely greening my beauty routine. I don’t use a lot of beauty products, however the ones that I do use have to be organic, affordable, free from all toxins, can’t irritate my sensitive skin, and they have to work! Since I have tried a lot of different organic beauty products over the years, I thought I would share my picks for the best beauty products that are also organic, good for you and good for the planet.
First up, mascara – because a girl just has to wear mascara, right? Mascara can be a tough one for me because I need one that won’t irritate my eyes [I wear contacts] and it can’t flake or smudge, for obvious reasons and it has to be reasonably priced. [I have a family to raise!]
My pick for the best organic mascara is Physician Formula 100% Natural Origin Mascara. It doesn’t flake or smudge, is great for adding volume to my lashes, doesn’t irritate my eyes and has no harsh chemicals, preservatives, dyes or parabens.This is the mascara that I have been using for the past couple of years, you can pick it up at any local drugstore or Target for less than $10. Deal.
The eco-brush and product packaging is recyclable, but the mascara tube is not. That is the only down-side that I can see with this product.
Do you have a favorite organic mascara? I would love to hear about it.
+ Organic Wear 100% Natural Origin Mascara $9.95
+ PHYSICIAN’S FORMULA
A couple of days ago, Mr. Sweet Greens and I went paddle boarding to an area that we had never been before. We came upon a hidden estuary that had a water opening just large enough for our paddle boards to fit through. We paddled around and quickly released that this estuary was home to hundreds of corals, puffer fish and jellyfish. Thankfully, we were on our boards or we would have been stung over and over again. It was amazing to watch the jellies pulsating – I wish I dared to take my camera on the open water.
Today, I we are going to take another paddle board adventure. Eben doesn’t have school today and it is Mr. Sweet Greens’ day off. How fantastic is that? I woke up super-early to get all of my work done, so that I could spend the day with them. I don’t know where we are going, what we will see or where we will end up – but honestly, that is part of the adventure for us. We are going to take our snorkeling gear, that way when we see something cool, we can leash our boards and jump in to get a closer look. I am grabbing my board and gear and heading to the ocean.
How are you spending the day?
When you send your kids off to school each morning, in addition to packing a healthy lunch, you may also want to pack a healthy afternoon snack. While buying pre-packaged snacks to throw in your child’s backpack is the easiest option, it’s usually not the healthiest option. And with the added packaging, packaged snacks aren’t the best option for the environment either. Luckily, choosing snacks that are organic, healthy and free of packaging doesn’t have to take up a lot of time. Check out seven organic, kid-approved snack ideas that you can pick up at the grocery store and easily pack in a reusable snack container to send to school. Many of these snack ideas can also be purchased in bulk, which is better for your budget, too.