United by Blue: Jewelry That Benefits The Ocean

As you already know, I am a huge lover of the water – especially the ocean. It is what makes me feel really connected to living in Florida and is one of the biggest reasons that we live where we do. I also have a thing for jewelry – especially vintage or vintage inspired.

I was immediately smitten when I came across United by Blue, they offer a lovely collection of vintage inspired jewelry, and for each product sold, one pound of trash is removed from a body of water. Fantastic. I am especially fond of the Pioneer Companion’s Bracelet and The John Dillinger Necklace.

Which piece would you choose? 

Have a Lovely Weekend + A Few Green Things

Hello, Friends! Did you have a good week? The mister and Eben both have today off, so we are planning on visiting the great-grandparents this afternoon, followed by a quick trip to IKEA to check out the spring collection. The rest of the weekend will be spent on our sailboat – the mister has been itching to get a little sailing and paddleboarding in this weekend.

While I pack up for our weekend of adventure, here are a few green things you might enjoy:

– A mama and baby Koala Bear! It doesn’t get cuter than this.
– Are natural, alternative sweeteners better than sugar?
– A North Atlantic Right Whale and her calf were spotted off the coast of Florida!
Rebel Green now has a blog. Hooray!
– A Leatherback Turtle makes a rare daytime appearance in Florida! (Why couldn’t everyone just let her lay her eggs!)
– A giant rubber ducky floats down the Loire River in France!
– Spring flowers make me smile. 

I hope you have a lovely weekend full of sun and fun, I will see you back her on Monday.

xo,
Sweet Greens

Cookbook Crushing

In our home, our bookshelves and coffee tables are stacked with cookbooks. I love cookbooks with bright, beautiful photographs and creative food styling. The mister loves cookbooks because he does all of the cooking. Ha! Here are some cookbooks that I am crushing on right now – all of full of beautiful photographs of food and yummy recipes too! Win-win!

1. La Tartine Gourmande $21
This book looks so yummy and with it’s bright photographs of French food, I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy. Bonus: Nearly all of the recipes are Gluten-Free! I am feeling inspired.

2. The Gardener and the Grill $20
The mister loves his grill and I think grilling is the perfect way to prepare food in the summer. This cookbook is super intriguing to me with it’s fantastic mix of vegetarian and omnivore-friendly recipes with fantastic food styling.Yes, please!

3. Ripe $25
Cheryl Sterman is a food writer and her beautiful little masterpiece arranges all of the fruits and vegetables by colors. This book is a must have! Love!

4. Sweet Cream and Sugar Cones $25
Who doesn’t love ice cream? This lovely cookbook from San Francisco’s Bi-Rite Creamery is full of 90 ice cream recipes using local, organic and homemade ingredients. Can you image Eben’s delight if we mixed up these delightful ice cream batches all summer long? Sign me up!

5. Plenty $35
This delicious collection of vegetarian recipes looks amazing and the food styling is out of this world. London chef Yotan Ottolenghi’s recipes are deeply rooted in his Mediterranean heritage. My favorite style of food! Yum!

Mother’s Day is coming up, maybe I will receive another fantastic cookbook!

Do you have a favorite new cookbook or one that you highly recommend? I would love to hear your suggestions!

Tweet Toys: Chevron Stripe Organic Sailboat Bath Toys

I am smitten with these super sweet chevron stripe organic wooden sailboats from Tweet Toys! Wouldn’t these be a super fun addition to your child’s bathtub? Not to mention, design loving moms wouldn’t mind these chevron cuties hanging out around the house.

P.S. I miss the days that Eben would spend an hour in the bathtub playing with his sailboats.

Do you have a particular fond memory of a favorite toy?

5 Eco-Friendly Spring Activities for Families

Springtime is one of my favorite times of year! Lately, our family has been enjoying spring afternoons outside. Really, we can’t seem to get enough of it. Do you have spring fever too? If so, I would love to hear what you have been up to? What is your favorite family activities to do in springtime? Interested in what we have been enjoying? Read on to check out some ways that we are getting our spring on!

1. Nature Walks at Night
Regardless of where you live, you have some sort of critters that come out at night. Take the kiddos on a late night stroll in search of these critters. Just remember to stay a safe distance away, walk quietly and have fun. In Florida, we are lucky – this is the time of year that sea turtles climb up the beach from the deep, vast sea to lay their eggs. Lately, we have been taking walks on the beach at night – in hopes that we will come upon a mother turtle returning to her beach of choice to start the next generation of sea turtles. We haven’t seen it happen yet, but it has to happen sooner or later!

2. Natural Art Projects
It’s almost impossible to take the kiddos on a nature walk or hike and not return home with a bucket full of pinecones, leaves, sticks, rocks or seashells. Use those natural treasures to create one of kind art pieces for your home. You may remember Eben and I had a blast making natural leaf prints for his office, or the nature stick mobile that we made for our patio. We even have bowls and dishes in our home that hold different finds from our adventures including; small pinecones, acorns, heart shaped rocks and pebbles.

3. Start a Garden 
One of my favorite spring activities is starting a garden as a family. Now that we are in Florida our garden consists of pots of tomatoes, peppers, oranges, lemons, limes and tons of herbs. Our citrus trees may be our favorite – they are in pots on our front patio and it is so much fun for Eben to check to see what new fruits appear. It just goes to show that you don’t need a traditional yard to grow goodies with your family. Even if you have zero outdoor space, you can still grow a garden in a window!

4. Orange Juice Carton Projects
Last year, Eben and I had a fun time creating a series of orange juice carton projects. Spring is the perfect time to tackle these projects with your kiddos – just take all of the supplies outside to your patio table. The series consisted of a desk organizer, wallet, portable dollhouse, snack container, and a sailboat. I would have to say hands down that the sailboat project was the biggest hit for Eben. Not only was he able to help me design, build and decorate the boat – but he was also in charge of testing it out on our local pond and swimming pool.

5. Take It Outside
Springtime is perfect for eating outside – grab your picnic blanket and head out. My favorite place to picnic is at the beach, all you need is a blanket and cooler and you are set! Our family also enjoys drinking our morning tea and our evening reading outside on our patio. And we like to take after dinner strolls on our beach or a brisk walk around the neighborhood. Any reason to get outside is a good reason – just do it!

What family activities are you enjoying this spring?