Some Hump Day Honey

A little assortment of sweet awesomeness to get you over the hump of this crazy July week and give you some ideas for great places to spend some of that moula you have been working so hard to earn lately!

I am totally in love with Moshi Moshi Designs' gorgeous dresses, Eight Season's beautiful organic bags, Aaron Ruell's stunning photographs, PlayDoh cologne? Oh yeah!, Goldfish trashbags - I've gone to heaven, Recycling Totebag that tells it like it is, Kendra Zvonik's stunning new collage work and fruit shaped sticky notes- almost too cute to use!








Awesome QUIET DOING Wallet Giveaway CLOSED

AND THE WINNER IS (number 244 of 265 using random number generater at random.org) QUILTING DIVA! She has an amazing Etsy shop, too- so check it out- congrats Quilting Diva!

Tawny is the amazing artist behind the craft design project she calls Quiet Doing.

She feels handmade is personal and says, "Supporting an independent is valuable because it attaches a face, a tale and a life to an otherwise anonymous and mundane transaction. You may not know everything about the creator, but you might imagine and appreciate them by purely owning that piece of art. In this vast and limitless world, I think we need those connections. Buying handmade to me is just as rewarding as making it."

I think Quiet Doing totally rocks and Tawny's wallets are the coolest thing any guy or gal could ever shove in their pocket! Super slim and lightweight, yet totally sturdy and functional my hubby got one as a gift and just loves it and you will, too.


WHAT YOU GET:
One lucky winner will receive one Quiet Doing Power Lines slim wallet in green!

HOW TO WIN:
It's easy, peasy -just leave a comment below with your contact information

For additional entries:

(5) Follow my blog
(5) Twitter this post
(5) Blog about this contest; linking to this post

Let me know if you have done these things so I can give you additional entries.

DRAWING:

MIDNIGHT on Saturday, July 18th!

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