When These Guys Aren't Available...

I used to feel a bit guilty about taking my car to the local car wash when I have a perfectly good right arm, water hose and driveway.

But, in fact, a car wash can be a better environmental choice.

When you wash your car in the driveway or street, contaminants such as grease and brake dust (as well as the detergent itself) flow into storm sewers, which discharge directly into our waterways. Car washes, on the other hand, are required to drain their water into sanitary sewers (which direct sewage to treatment facilities) or they filter and reuse it.

Water efficiency is also a benefit of many commercial car washes. Car washes use approximately 50 to 75 gallons of water per car (assuming the water is not being recycled); using the self-service bay consumes only 15 gallons.

A typical garden hose with an average flow rate of seven gallons per minute would exceed a car wash’s water consumption after two minutes (self service) or seven minutes (automated) if the hose were left running.

Even armed with this info, I'm still feeling a bit wasteful of my own energy and resources at the idea of the local car wash and I like washing my car (probably because I rarely wash it - no one has written WASH ME - or something worse - in the dust yet but it really needs a good washing) and it is my intention this year to take better care of the things I value. So...

1. I'll be washing my car in the grass rather than in the driveweay. Grass and gravel help filter contaminants from your wash water so they don’t end up in the storm sewer.

2. I bought a water-saving hose nozzle and I will be using it very sparingly.

3. I'm using biodegradable soap that is chlorine and phosphate free. It is citrus based. This doesn't lessen its immediate environmental impact but it will degrade over time.

4. I am thinking about my rain barrels- not sure about this yet, but I'm thinking..

5. I will dump my dirty soap bucket into a sink or toilet. These drain into the sanitary sewer (instead of the storm sewer).

6. I will check into waterless wash products. Several companies have developed nontoxic car cleaners that require no water; they are designed to be sprayed on and wiped off with a soft towel.

And, of course, the less I use my car, the less I will have to wash it, anyway.

1. Vintage Bicycle Cards by Orange Twist
2. Bikes Are Better Than Cars T-Shirt by Isotope
3. Hands Free Bag by LaTouchables
4. Sky Helmet by Belle Helmets
5. Recycled Bicycle Clock by PixelThis

I've Got A Secret...

I love the little weekly confessions shared at post secrets. I am good at keeping secrets (really) except once in a while when I slip up and tell my sister, but luckily for me she is very good at keeping secrets.

(maybe because her name is Victoria - they didn't just pull that name out of their hat - or bra - you know)

So, if you ever want to tell me a secret - know that it is safe with me - really, truly and I am totally doing the library book thing, isn't that clever?












1. Pants by Victoria's Secret
2. Message in a Bottle by A Second Time
3. Secret Garden Sachet by Simple Sweet Design
4. Locket For Laura by Botanical Bird
5. Nancy Drew Book at Callooh Calley
6. Whisper Portrait by Sela Hestelle

Happy Other Side of the Hump Day

Here are a few more lovelies from my 'gimme' collection of the things I love that you won't want to miss:

The amazing tea dresses of Louise Hedley of Sohomode, the stunning fabrics of Angela Adams , the totally inspiring illustrations of Jess Gonacha, Lovers Chairs in Hyde Park (ain't they sweet!) and the very cool sky planters of Boskke (not sure my plants want to live upside down, but how awesome are these!).

I love to check out all the amazing collections that people upload onto Flickr including this vintage pin and beer can collection (kinda makes me wish I'd let hubby save those old beer cans - well, sort of ... he's not really old enough to have collected any of the really cool ones anyway... although he was known to throw a few back in grade school).

Goin' to the Dogs ...

I am asked sometimes about Olive and if she really bites and what she is (a dog, silly).

I used to call my studio Dream Scenes Studio (and was getting tired of it and it wasn't exactly a household name), so when I got my little pup I wanted one of those cool dog names for my studio like Red Dog Studio or Blue Dog Studio, but all the dog colors seemed to be taken.

(I mean I could have called it Fuscia Dog Studio or Turquoise Dog Studio, but that just seemed wrong somehow ... and no one I know would ever be able to spell it)

At the time Olive spent most of her day gleefully jumping on us with her little puppy teeth grabbing into our clothes, our skin, the arteries in our wrists (which aren't as close to the surface as they seem I'm told, but still worried me).

And of course, naming her Olive was a given - I mean - just look at her ....

So since I spent so much time warning, "watch it- Olive bites" (my own lazy way of dog training- it seemed easier to train all our family and friends than little Olive)-

I ordered some moo cards with the name Olive Bites Studio, got a new sign for my studio door and registered the name (which shockingly was still available).

Of course, within days my hubby had discovered this amazing technique to stop Olive's biting which worked very fast (or she just outgrew it) and my mailman and several others asked me what I put in my olive bites (as in appetizers)....

*sigh*

In answer to the question of what Olive is- she is part Boston Terrier / part Beagle ...

(we don't use the M word around here- although it's probably the only four letter word we don't use- this is Jersey after all...)

Some Etsy faves for your own little pooch:1. Custom Pet Portrait by FuzzyMug
2. Upcycled Suitcase Pet Bed by Vintage Renaissance
3. Olive's Favorite Collar by Lucky Fiona
4. Olive's Favorite Toy - TugOWar Braid by Woofpurr Creations
5. Eco Pet Bed by Annie's Sweatshop
6. Personalized Pet Tag by Cristina Ashley Design