Hello, Friends! Are you in the mood for a giveaway? Me too! Today’s giveaway is a fun little one from me for you. One lucky winner will receive a summer fun prize pack. Fun!
These are some of my favorite products for summer. A go-to sunscreen that can be worn everyday under your makeup, a great lip balm to throw in the beach bag, and a set of beauty brushes with a carrying case perfect for touch-ups when you are out and about on a hot, summer day.
Simply leave a comment below telling me one eco-friendly thing you are doing this summer! Good Luck!
I am a huge thrift store shopper – I have been my entire life. I remember when I was little, I lived for hitting the thrift, antique shops and swap meets with my grandmothers. They taught me where and what to look for and how to haggle for the best price.
When I was a teenager, I purchased the majority of my quirky clothes from the thrift store. I never had to worry that someone would show up at a party or dance wearing the same dress I was. Ha! As an adult, I have honed the skill and am usually able to find exactly what I am looking for. My favorite things to look for are cookbooks, novels, quirky ceramic and pottery pieces, and expensive jeans.
Eben is getting quite good at thifting too, however he is more drawn to antique shops and comic books stores. Needless to say his favorite thing to look for is books. I usually have a hard time getting him to leave, he is usually sitting in a corner somewhere with a huge stack next to him.
Eben and I try to hit the thrift store at least once a week, I recommend going first thing in the morning before everything has been picked over and the store is still quiet. Yesterday, when we stopped I was on the lookout for new cookbooks for the mister.
We are huge fans of Food & Wine magazine, so when I found 8 of their annual and Best of the Best cookbooks I knew I had to scoop them up. The mister was excited to have a new set of cookbooks, they are all in perfect condition and they look amazing on my media center – I love the colors! Here is a breakdown of the retail cost, what I paid and the savings.
Do you shop at the thrift store? What is your favorite thing to look for? Do you like these types of posts? I would love your thoughts – it helps me to decide whether to continue them.
NOTE FROM SWEET GREENS: My grandmother lived in a retirement care facility for the last several years of her life. The decision was made when my grandfather became very ill and remained in a nursing home until he passed. This particular retirement community offered many opportunities for her to socialize, discover new interests, exercise and even get her hair done at the on-site salon. More importantly, she was still able to live in her own little space, a community of people around her – and was able to get assistance whenever she needed it simply by pressing a button. This article on modern solutions to retirement care wasn’t written by me, but I thought the information could be helpful to those of you in this transition in life or helping someone who is. Thank you for supporting the community that help to run Sweet Greens.
Elderly people today are very different from those of previous generations. During retirement many people continue to be active for years – continuing to work part-time, volunteer for causes important to them, spending time with friends and family, discovering new interests and hobbies and perhaps helping with the care of their grandchildren. However, when they are no longer able to keep up their own home, take care of their daily needs or need assistance getting around, their living situation will need modification.
Traditional care for older people
There has recently been a lot of concern about standards in retirement care homes throughout the world. While there are good retirement care homes, cost pressures may impact on important areas such as staff training, so standards are not always as high as they should be. It is very important to carefully research the retirement care home before placing your family member in one.
Even if an individual needs care, moving into a retirement care home is not the only available option. Some older people find moving in with family members works for them and their families, but this depends very much on the individuals.
Sometimes moving close to family members is enough to make it possible to stay independent for longer. If you do not want to rely on your family, or do not have close relatives, packages of retirement care can be arranged in your own home from professional caregivers, but the disadvantage of this is that visiting caregivers are not always allocated enough time to meet all of the necessary needs, meaning that you may have to work with many different caregivers in a week.
Modern trends in care for older people
Retirement villages have been popular all around the world for quite some time. Perhaps one of the best solutions available is to buy or rent in a retirement village where you can maintain your privacy and independence but have the security of knowing that the help you need with your day-to-day life is there, as well as opportunities to enhance your social life, engage in fun activities and explore new interests and hobbies.
The benefits of living in a retirement community include the fact that residents can enhance their social life while maintaining their independence. If residents need assistance in any aspect of daily living it can be arranged by the staff. It gives peace of mind knowing that care is available if and when needed.
Retirement villages often have their own centers with cafes, restaurants, hair salons, libraries, fitness facilities and launderettes available for residents to use if they choose. With social activities and programs available to suit people with all levels of ability, making socializing and discovering new activities and hobbies with your neighbors and building friendships very easy.
The individual homes in retirement villages can be one, two or three-bedroom houses, condos, or apartments. They are equipped with emergency alarms and the level of care will be tailored to the needs of the individual. It is good to know that if your care needs increase, the amount of help you get can be increased as well.
An increasing number of retired people as young as 55 are choosing to make their homes in retirement villages where they find all the facilities they need and are likely to need throughout their retirement.
Eben and I are obsessed with coconut ice pops – we have been cooling down with them all summer long. During the day here in Florida, it is hot and humid – so you have to spend your time at the beach, poolside or eating frozen pops on the patio. With that being said we always have some type of frozen goodies ready to go. Yesterday, we decided to mix it up and added a little mango to our favorite coconut ice pop recipe. Read on for the recipe or click here for the printable version.
#1: What you will need:
1 1/2 cups organic unsweetened coconut beverage
3 1/2 cups organic fresh or frozen mango
2 cups canned organic coconut milk
1/2 cup organic honey or agave
#2: Make the Mango Puree Blend the mango with 1/2 cup coconut beverage. Then, set it aside.
#3: Make the Coconut Mixture Mix the remaining coconut beverage, coconut milk and honey together.
#4: Add the Mango Puree Add a tablespoon of the mango puree to the bottom of each of the ice pop molds.
#5: Add the Coconut Mixture Pour the coconut mixture on top of the mango puree and fill each mold to the top.
#6: Add a Stick and Freeze Add a stick to each of the pops and freeze until solid. #7: Eat and Enjoy! Enjoy this super yummy frozen treats on the patio with someone you love!
One of the things that I miss most about our home in Colorado – the garden. I have amazing memories of building a raised garden bed and planting vegetables with the boys! Gardening was an activity that all of us loved. It was a great way to bond with each other. And we always had a bounty of goodies ready at harvest time. Oh, how I miss that!
I remember after planting the seeds (on this particular day) we came out the next morning to find our garden markers had washed away during a rainstorm. We had to wait until things started to sprout to remember what we had planted in the different sections. Ha!
I saw these adorable garden markers by Plant Picket and thought they were brilliant. I love that they mark each vegetable with a visual. Wouldn’t these be perfect for children who can’t read yet! There would be no worry that these sturdy markers would wash away in the rain either. Hooray for gardening!
