Looking to add beautiful green lifestyle books to your family library? Jump over to Inhabitots and check out my favorite Eco friendly books that every home bookshelf should have. P.S. Looking to add a little colorful whimsy to your home, check out this beautiful mobile that I also found for Inhabitots.
Every Valentine’s Day, instead of surprising Eben with chocolates and candy – I surprise him with a Valentine’s Day scavenger hunt. Every year the prizes that he finds during the scavenger hunt are the same – books. Books that I have scoured my local thrift stores for -sometimes it takes me months to find enough books that are in great condition and that I know he will love. This is probably his most favorite family tradition – he looks forward to it every year. It’s great fun and super simple to put together, read on to check it out. 
What you will need:
How to get started:
1. Choose several books that your child will get really excited over. Eben loves graphic novels and comic books – so this will be my focus this year. I picked up a handful of Garfield, The Far Side and Calvin and Hobbes comic books. He will go berserk!
2. Wrap the books in fun paper from your recycling bin. I used leftover Scholastic book order forms.
3. Make several colorful hearts (depending on how many books you have + a couple extra).
4. Star by writing a “welcome heart”, such as; Hi, Happy Love Day! Follow the clues, one by one, you’ll find a surprise each time you find one! Secure this heart on the front door or whatever door your child comes home from school in or the place where you want to start the scavenger hunt.
5. Place the second heart, right inside the front door – with the first clue on it. Write a different clue on all of the other hearts, each clue should direct your child to the next clue and so forth. I like to really spread the clues out so Eben has to go upstairs and downstairs, inside and outside over and over again. (Just make sure to do the scavenger hunt yourself one quick time to make sure that clues make sense!)
6. With each found clue, leave a wrapped book.
7. Place the last clue in the family room or a room that the entire family can join together in – watch your children unwrap and devour their books.
Do you have a special Valentine’s Day tradition that you surprise your children with? I would love to hear about it, please share your tradition in the comments below.
Do the winter blues have you planning a little getaway to find some sunshine? If you decide that you would rather build sandman than snowmen and plan a mid-winter vacation, remember these 10 simple ways to make your trip more Eco-friendly.
1. Reuse It:
Use the same linens and towels throughout your entire stay at the hotel, bed and breakfast, Airbnb, swap or friend’s home. My guess is that you don’t change your linens and towels everyday when you are home, so why do it on vacation?
9. Refuse It:
Don’t use the complimentary shampoo, soaps, cups, napkins and other freebies at the hotel. If everyone used their own personal care products and brought their own reusable cups and napkins, the hotels would stop offering complimentary and disposal ones. It’s a step to towards ridding our planet of one-use items.
* Sandman creation and photo courtesy of Eben Lyon
While I get ready for a night out, here are a few green things I didn’t want you to miss.
– Could oatmeal really have more sugar than a snickers bar?
– Did you know Mr. Peanut has a bio-diesel powered Nutmobile?
– I would love, love, love billboard free cities!
– A vintage polka-dot dress, refashioned? Fabulous!
– Wow! Riding the ice looks fun. I’m sorry you couldn’t ride, Jen.
– Don’t forget to enter to win Fleur de Sel Caramel bars!
– And once again, Jamie has me dreaming of our new home. (picture above)
I hope the sun comes out for you this weekend and you let it shine on your face. See you Monday.
xo,
Sweet Greens
Did you know you probably have everything you need in your house right now to make a recycled juice box guitar with your child? Music is a great way to boost your mood, it gets you moving and stimulates the brain. Children also love to experiment with musical instruments and studies show that children who play a musical instrument are more focused and get better grades in school. And even little ones will enjoy playing catchy riffs on their own juice box guitar that they helped to make. So jump over to Inhabitots to learn how you and your child can make a recycled instrument in a few shorts steps.