Zero Waste : The Joy of Using Up

In 2017 I started my zero waste journey. Zero Waste is the goal, mindful practice is the action. When I use the term Zero Waste, that is my ultimate goal, but Less Waste would be a more  accurate description of my evolving lifestyle.

Old hotel shampoos and conditioners and huge, horrifying plastic razor that we are in the process of using up. 

The other day, I scraped the last little bit of mayo from a large plastic Hellman's container and I thought happily "this is the last plastic jar of mayo I will ever buy!". I have had a lot of these moments since I have started my Zero Waste Journey.

There's something so simple, but still challenging and satisfying about swapping out the mindlessly acquired items in plastic packaging that we used to buy for things in recyclable, compostable, or reusable packaging. I went out several days later and decided to try a really fancy mayo in a glass jar! Why not?! It was way more expensive than that huge plastic jar, but I know it'll be more satisfying and exciting to try a little bit of something new and more sustainable. I get to try something cool that isn't going to generate a ton of waste after I use it up.  

Not only do I love using up something in plastic and buying something new NOT in plastic, I love to NOT buy a replacement at all. It's exciting to realize that I don't need that Item any more and feel good about that. This goes for freebies, too! 

Recently we used the last of our of shampoo and conditioner from big plastic bottles. We plan on buying bars to replace these, but in the meantime, we brought out all those little hotel shampoos and conditioners. You know you have them! Every time we use up a baby hotel bottle I get excited about recycling it and vowing to never bring them home again!

The joy and excitement that comes with using up and getting rid of things that no longer fit my lifestyle is an unexpected pleasure of going zero waste and plastic free. What do you love using up? What surprising pleasure have you gained from a new lifestyle choice?

What I Ate in a Day 1/6/18

After my first abbrieviated first attempt at What I Ate in a Day, I have a more complete day of eating here. There are two coffee roasters within walking distance from my house. My favorite is Asbury Park Roasters, but I also occasionally go to the other roastery, Bookerdoo. 

For breakfast, I had a simple wrap of cheese and left over sweet potatoes and broccoli. 

I didn't actually drink this Brew Dr Kombucha on this day, but I wanted to spotlight it here bc it's my favorite kombucha lately. It's very mild, I think bc it's main ingredient is tea. It's also as close to zero waste as I can get; glass bottle, metal cap, no plastic ring on top. 

I've been eating a lot of cara cara oranges lately. I recently discovered them and they are almost a mix of a navel orange and a grapefruit!

We've been obsessed with going to our new local ramen place!! The lighting is poor, so I only got a photo of this age tofu, but we also got veggie gyoza and miso ramen with tofu and veggies. 

I was craving something sweet and made a super rich hot chocolate with cacao powder, maca powder, maple syrup and cashew milk. 

More fruit!! You may have noticed that we are mostly vegetarian (occasionally we eat fish) and plant based. I know I feel best when eating a ton of fruit and veggies, and very little processed foods. This winter, I'm trying to get back to eating LOTS of whole fruit. 

For dinner we had one of our favorite meals, pierogies and kale. These are the simplest store-bought ones I can find. They do come in a plastic bag, but we take them to be recycled at our local drop off bin. 

Who out there enjoys seeing what people eat each day? I'm still watching a ton of youtube vids of people's daily eating! 

Mad Cat Capsule : Winter 2018 (January - March)

This capsule marks the end of my first year having a capsule wardrobe. My Winter capsule came about pretty easily. The way I create my capsule is to take absolutely all my clothes from everywhere and put them on the couch.  This was the first capsule where I was able to fit everything in the "extra clothes" bins I keep. Before now, clothes were spilling out all over. I was also able to sort all the clothes that aren't in this capsule by item. Previously, there were just too many pieces of clothing to keep track of. Keeping a seasonal capsule wardrobe has been a great way for me to let go of things and wear what I love while paring down. I created two paper grocery bags full of clothes to giveaway or donate because of the sorting of this capsule. 

For my Winter capsule, I really wanted to change things up. I have had so many of the same pieces in my first three capsules and although I love them, I was for something a little different this time around. In my other capsules the color blue played a big role, but for Winter I took all the blue out of my wardrobe. I also swapped out some favorite tees and staples for new and different items. My color palate for the Winter months are greens, creams, grey and heavy on the black. 

I'm glad that most of my wardrobe still falls under slow fashion, with many items being 10 years old or older, bought second hand, or bought in indie shops. I'm also super excited to include my first purchases from sustainable, responsible companies. 

6 t shirts - I kept my grey v neck (10+ years), this piece has been in all my capsules. My green v neck (10+), Happy Bday sandwiches cat shirt (thrifted), skeleton shirt (10+), cream pizza shirt from work, green xmas shirt from work.  

6 tanks - Most of the tanks in my capsule are 10+ years old. I have a grey, black and green with owls tanks, all from old navy.  I also have a cream tank (10+) and a army green tank and a black spaghetti strap tank (both getting close to 10+). 

5 long sleeve tees - I added a lot of layering tees in this capsule and so far, 10 days in, I'm so glad I did! I have three waffle tees, two 10+ from America Apparel (one grey and one light green) and one dark green (that one is getting up there). I also have a 3/4 sleeve black tee that must be at least 15 years old. Same with a long sleeve green tee that I've had forever. 

6 "fancy" shirts - I'm trying to add some flair into Winter, let's see how that works. The black sheer top, green feather top, and grey lace top are fairly new (6+ years). The gold flowy top and the anchor top are newly thrifted. I also purchased a new top from Everlane that falls into the "fancy" category. 

5 skirts - The long black skirt has been in my previous capsules and is newer (4+ years). It was bought at a local indie shop when I lived in Brooklyn. The black cord mini is 10+. The grey wool skirt is thrifted and the black leather is thrifted and probably at least 20 years old. I also have a long grey leather skirt that I got at a stoop sale (15+). 

6 jeans - My grey jeans, black jeans, and green jeans were all thrifted last year. My levis are well past 10 years old. I plan on doing a full review of my new Everlane jeans soon!

7 sweaters - I have two thrifted sweaters, a grey one and a mottled one with a cowl neck. I have two cardigans both 4 - 7 years old (the black one was bought in an indie shop). I have a cream wool sweater, a dark grey sweater, but my favorite sweater is a over sized teal sweater I got about 4 years ago. 

I don't include underwear, leggings, tights, exercise clothes, sleepware, or outerware in my capsules. But this season I am including shoes! I have 10 pairs of shoes for the Winter capsule. I plan to shoe these in another post. I hope to pare down my shoes, just like my clothes! 

This capsule is quite large, about as large as my very first capsule of clothes alone was!! I have about 51 items in this capsule (at least 23 of them slow fashion). For me, capsule wardrobes aren't about the perfect number, they are about mindful choices and wearing things I love. 

Who else is starting a new capsule in January? Is it Winter or Summer where you are? What are your go to cold weather clothes?

Shelfie 006

My extremely dirty compost container and some plants propagating in the kitchen.  

December in Review

Another year, done and dusted. 2017 was pretty tough, but it had so many great moments as well, and December is a perfect example. 

We dealt with sickness, stress, anxiety, this month but also new beginnings, goals achieved, spending time with family and friends, and greeting our newest family member!

We didn't get to the beach or to travel as much as we would have liked. But we always try to squeeze those things in where we can. We decorated, cooked, played clue, took walks, and chatted with family and friends for the holiday season. For those who are far from us, we talked on the phone, texted and sent photos. I didn't get to send a holiday card in 2017, but there's always new year cards!

The weather turned brutally cold and the holidays are a hectic time at work, so we didn't get to walk too much, but some #watchercats were seen, and some were right under our noses at home.

December saw sickness and new beginnings. We're still fighting off illness in our clowder of cats, and I'm hoping January will see a break from sad babies and sadder cat mom (me). We are still figuring out our new addition, but check it out! He already has his own insta! 

In Dec, we tried to eat well, stay cozy and keep the Winter blues at bay. We weren't always successful. But discovering a juicy new apple, spreading light through our house, listening to records, plant maintenance, plus more self care, helped us see some bright sides.  

For this the last month of 2017, and for the whole year with all it's ups and downs, we are thankful. We are thankful for a new year ahead. January 2018, here we come!!

2018 Goals

It's that time again, time to think about the new year ahead and what I'd like to focus on, be mindful about and accomplish. I don't consider these task or resolutions, mearly guidelines for growth. 

Be Balanced in Home Life/Art/Personal Endeavors and Work
Since 2015 working on personal endeavors as much as my job has been one of my main goals. At some times this works, at others it does not. In 2018, I would like to continue on this path but to change it slightly. What I find most difficult sometimes is splitting my focus, trying to keep my work, art, life and job separate but equal. This year I want to focus on keeping them Balanced.

Sew and Quilt More
In 2017 my quilting fell off the map a little after a strong start to the year. I want to get back in the habit of working on quilting more days than I don't. I want to have more finishes in 2018 than last year. There are a bunch of projects (not quilts) that I have been wanting to work on; I'd like to get these done this year! I want to keep up with all my community sewing projects, like YOTS, OMG, and FALs. 

Be a Better Blogger
I want to keep up my progress on my blog and set some goals for myself. I want to make sure I blog at least 23 days each month, explore my favorite columns more, create new content, and make bloggy connections. I want to get back in the habit of writing in my live journal, and use it more as a free flowing, personal, brain dump, style actual journal. I plan to get some items that will help me at work, but I plan to use them for my blogging life as well. I plan to try a standing desk. I have to learn to get better about answering comments!!

Zero Waste Journey
Last year I began my zero waste journey. In 2018, I plan to continue this journey and take more steps towards becoming plastic free. At the moment, I feel like I still hold myself back from taking easy steps towards this goal, so becoming more mindful and incorporating more ZW routines into my daily life are key for this goal. 

Be Purposeful and Mindful in My Home Life and Relationships
This is a big goal, but I can break it down. 
First and foremost, I want to spend more time with my husband and the cats, and make that time more purposeful. We live very busy lives and sometimes togetherness and quality time get pushed to the side. I want to make sure I'm mindful of the little things, like taking photos together, going on walks, exploring, beach combing, and being together intentionally. I want to make sure we are caring for the cats, appreciating where we live and the seasons. 
I made strides in decluttering and keeping the house clean, happy and healthy in 2017. This year I want to get even better. I want to tackle a few bigger projects around the house, like finishing our kitchen renovation, fixing up our bathroom, organizing and purging the basement, plus more. I want to continue to take good care of the plants. 
I want to continue to see and be mindful about connecting with my family and friends. This includes my immediate family, who live close, but also those that live far away, and friends near and far. 
This year, I want to focus on gardening, taking care of our yard, growing food, and composting. Since moving we have wanted to make our property more comfortable and useful. This is the year to do that in earnest. 

Improve My Health, Wellness, and Mental Well Being. 
A lot of things last year worked towards this goal, but in 2018 I want to be more mindful and more intent on really taking care of my health. In February, I turn 39 and I want to make sure that I get healthier and happier as I get older. I want to walk and exercise more regularly and purposely. I want to swim in the summer and learn to do yoga and home workouts. 2018 will be the year I can touch my toes!!
My first full year of having a capsule wardrobe is approaching and I have loved this challenge and routine. I plan to implement even more consciousness about my style and outward appearence to feel better about myself in 2018. 
I want to continue to eat and be more mindful of having a plant based diet. I want to make sure that we are eating locally and sustainably as much as possible. I want to increase our health using suppliments, vitamins, essenital oils, and exercise. I also want to make sure I'm maintaining my health by taking my inhaler. My asthma has gotten worse in the last few months and I know this is due to not being strict on taking my meds and also not exercising properly. 
Reading, drawing, sewing, creating, and organization have always helped my mental well being and this year I want to focus on all these areas. Watching tv does the opposite, so I want to be mindful of moving away from this fun but unproductive activity. 

Make Time To Travel and Explore 
This should be a priority for us but it must be balanced with being at home in our own space. Challenges like exploring one new place per month, doing an overnight every two months, seeing art once a month, going to the beach once a week, etc...  might help strike this balance. 

Write 2 Letters Per Month
Writing letters gave me so much joy last year, but I never made the time to do it in a purposeful way. In 2018, I plan to change that. 

Create 1 Tattoo Per Month
I have very slowly been learning to do Stick and Poke tattoos. This year it's time to branch out and seriously improve this skill. One tattoo per mouth is really ambitious but it's a good goal to strive for. 

Save Money
We did a good job at saving money and at not over spending in 2017. 2018 is the first year since we moved to NJ that I will work full time all year and I want to have some money saved to show for it. 

All these goals may seem like a lot, but so many of them go hand in hand and lend themselves to each other. Continuing to go zero waste will help me live healthier, save money, declutter, and improves my mental health. Being mindful about togetherness helps me keep our home clean and happy, saves money, and lets me focus on my family. Sewing helps me blog, explore, meditate, and moves me forward on my zero waste path. And so on, and so on!

I'm really excited about these goals and guidelines and the year ahead!
Feel free to leave your 2018 goals in the comments!

What I Ate in a Day 12/16/17

I've been wanting to do a "What I Ate in a Day" for a while. Bit every time I start one, I forget to take pics half way through! This was the closest I have gotten so far. 

Starting the day with coffee, of course! I drank is black this day bc I had run out of homemade oat milk.

Then toast and apples and pears. Pears have been soooo good lately! I haven't been eating bread lately, but we had a 1/2 a loaf that was getting stale and I didn't want to waste it. I looooove butter, but I spread it around more after this pic. 

Ginger tea with turmeric, lemon, and honey. I was feeling under the weather, and this is a great pick me up. 

This is the last of my ramen, which I forgot to photograph until the end!! This was our first visit to a new ramen place by us. We have been enjoying it a lot lately, we've been back 2 more times since this! They do have single use chopsticks and paper napkins, so the next time we plan to bring our own! 

Next time, I hope I capture all my meals and make my eating adventures even more zero waste. 

December Plant Update

A lot going at home on this month meant that not too many plants were mindfully observed besides our own house plants. We did get about and about to see some plants, luckily. 

Guest room house plants have the best light. 

Blurry new shoots on our eternity plant. 

Our back yard just as the now starts. 

And more snow in Ocean Grove. 

And a little festive snow. 

Were you too busy to plant gaze this month? Or were your plants observations on point?

I'm looking forward to a new year of plant observations in 2018!!

Best Nine 2017

I started finding my Best Nine on Instagram last year and I love it!! Instagram is really the only social media I participate in (besides this blog, of course!). I try hard to curate my feed and this year, I ended up starting two new instas. I now have a quilting insta (link above) and one for our new kitty, Irving. I did this bc I want my personal instagram to look a certain way, and it could easily get filled with only my cats and projects. 

These are my Best Nine for 2017:

I think the above collage is a good representation of my aesthetic style and of my lifestyle. 

Below are my Best Nine from the last two years. As you can see, my feed is still mostly cats. 

2016

2015

It's interesting to look back and see the natural color themes of each year. It seems that since moving to the beach my palate has become more neutral and washed out. I don't really try to follow a color theme, but I do use a few favorite themes/filters. I notice that I naturally have "color runs" on my feed, where, over a few days, I tend to snap pics of like colored scenes. I guess this depends on my moods's eye. Does this happen to anyone else?

Who else loves Best Nine? 

Something Nice

I discovered these Envy Apples last week at Deans Market and they are amazing and delicious! I wish they were grown in the US. 

Mad Cat Capsule: Thinking About Shoes in My Capsule

While thinking about my next Mad Cat Capsule Wardrobe, which will be for Winter (Jan- Mar), I decided that one area of my wardrobe that makes me feel lost/overwhelmed/cluttered is my shoes. So I decided to really take a look at all my shoes, pare down, and think about adding what I was left with to my upcoming capsule. 

I have a lot of shoes that I have barely looked at since we moved, three years ago! Turns out our basement gets a little mildewy and I have not wanted to delve in and go thru (plus clean) my shoes but when I started feeling overwhelmed by my shoes, I knew I needed to. 

I started by going thru all the shoes I had upstairs first, which were plenty. They are also the shoes that I wear more often and love well. These are mostly sneakers, some boots, and my flip flops which I live in in the warm months. While going thru, I made a list of all the shoes I found in my Bullet Journal. Next I moved on to the shoes in the basement. One of my goals was to pare down enough to only have one box of shoes downstairs. Since I started out with two boxes of storage, this felt like a really good, if a little challenging, goal. 

At the end of the day, I had a small give away/throw away pile, a very small maybe pile, one box of storage, and a lot of shoes that I wear and can go in my capsules. Most of the shoes in my storage box are formal wear, sentimental, or super summer shoes. Those are going back to the basement. I also know that I have a few pairs of shoes floating around that I didn't capture in this declutter. I'll have to find those and determine if they are keepers. 

The next step will be to further pare down the shoes that I do wear, and break them into capsules. Right now, I'm thinking that I will try to incorporate my shoes into my Winter Capsule. I am trepidatious about this bc I'm sure this will up my overall capsule count. Even though my capsule is not about a set number, one of my goals is to reduce the amount of clothing I have and keep a smaller over all wardrobe. My end list ended up being about 40 pairs of shoes. Even though that includes shoes that I keep for sentimental value, that seems like an absurd amount. 

Do any reader keeping a capsule wardrobe include shoes? How many shoes do you own, whether you keep a capsule or not?

November Plant Update

November has become decidedly cold. Trees changed colors and shed their leaves, we've had the first frost and more. Almost all our inside plants are happy, a few still need extra dirt. We acquired some plants from my grandma, mostly xmas cactus that bloomed almost immediately. 

We rarely have cut flowers in the house. 

A view to the back yard, behind the screen door. 

Our blueberry bushes, planted. 

This lovely beet. 

A walk around Sunset Lake. 

Down in Bayhead. 

Bittersweet berries. I had never seen these before!

I wish we had got out more, to hike or explore, as the weather turned. Hopefully December we will get do make more pointed plant observations. 

What were your November plant sightings?

Zero Waste: What We Already Do

In 2017 I started my zero waste journey. Zero Waste is the goal, mindful practice is the action. When I use the term Zero Waste, that is my ultimate goal, but Less Waste would be a more  accurate description of my evolving lifestyle. 

It seems that most people think that the biggest roadblock for becoming Zero Waste is money. But so far, the biggest problem I've come across is the overwhelming nature of how many things are wasteful and how much of a huge life changing endeavor going zero waste will be. 

Once I started examining Zero Waste and really looking onto the waste in my day to day life, I realized that there was even more than I had thought. When I looked around at all the potential solutions, that was also daunting. For a while Zero Waste seemed unachievable, impossible. But I still felt like it was something I needed to work towards. 

The more I read other's accounts and the more I researched, the more I realized that Zero Waste is the goal, but the journey is one of many many baby steps. Not just for me, but for everyone trying to achieve Zero Waste. Once I realized this, I stopped sweating every little thing and began recognizing that mindfulness is the first step. I also realized that there are things that I already do that help me on the journey to Zero Waste. Here's a working list of things we already do:

Eat mainly a plant based diet - My husband has been a vegetarian (mostly) since I've known him. I've eaten veggie for about 5 years bc I don't feel well when I eat meat. We both do eat fish now but not eating big industry meat is a great step for ZW. 
Next step: Eat only locally farmed fish, eggs and cheese. 

Eat fresh as much as possible / eat out rarely - We try to eat mostly fresh veggies and whole foods although we do have a weakness for frozen pizzas. We patron the local markets as much as possible for fruit and veg. Most days we cook at home or have simple meals of veggies, cheese, bread, etc... I have been making an effort to pack lunches for my husband most work days. We love to eat out but on average only do so once a week. We want to support our local businesses and restaurants. 
Next Step: More of the same. Try to cut out our bad habit foods, items packaged in plastic or tetrapacts, and continue to source local foods.

Avoid Western Medicine (and other Western Wellness Ideas) - We have never been people who rush to the doctor when we have a sniffle. We ride it out, use home remedies, or homeopathic remedies. We drink more water, get rest, drink tea, eat better bc we know that those things will help heal our bodies. Similarly, we have never adhered to Western ideals of wellness, such as massages, hair salons, spa treatments, etc... I got my hair "done" a few months before starting to go zero waste, before that I hadn't got a hair cut in 4 years (I had just cut it myself). It was a fine experience and I was happy with the result - but what a waste! The plastics! The chemicals! Luckily, we are fine living without most things like that.  
Next Steps: Learn more about healing/traditional medicines, home remedies, etc... Find wellness businesses committed to reducing waste. Trade skills with people. I know a few hairdressers I can call on and explain my want for a zero waste haircut!

Recycle/compost- When I started my ZW Journey, I knew right away that recycling didn't feel right and one day I hope to cut it out as much as possible. But for a beginner recycling does help ease the worry and the trash we create. When we moved to NJ, we started composting almost immediately. We have a lot of plants and have been wanting to garden more, so composting is a great way to reduce food and paper waste. I would say that we have become more mindful of both these methods for reducing waste since starting our journey. 
Next Step: Continue to cut down on buying items that need to be recycled. Become better at only buying what food that we will eat to reduce food waste. Use the compost we have created in our plants and gardens.

Reuse glass jars and other containers for storage - I was delighted when I realized reusing and storing items in recycled glass jars was a favorite technique among zero wasters! I had been doing this for years! 
Next Step: Use our jars in bulk sections, buy only what we need at the time, cut down on what we buy in jars as to not have to recycle those we don't use. 

Homemade natural cleaners - When we moved to NJ, one of my early pledges was to use all natural cleaners in our new home. We had some cleaners left over that we are still using up, but otherwise we have worked to use all natural + homemade cleaners.
Next Step: Use up the old cleaners we have and dispose of their packaging safely, find recipes that work for us for tougher jobs (drain clogs, tough stains, etc...).

Buy second hand - We have always like to thrift shop, but we have moved towards buying everything second hand: furniture, cookware, clothing, records, toys etc... 
Next Step: Use up what we have, donate more, buy from sustainable companies when not buying second hand.

Shop local - After living in Brooklyn, NY, for 15 years, shopping local is just second nature. We try to get everything we need as local as possible. We also try to buy products produced locally when we can. This isn't to say we never shop at chains (I love my Shoprite!) or big box stores (sometimes Home Depot has what you need) but we try not to. 
Next Step: I try, when I see us returning to a big box store, to reserach where else we can get that item or experience. A good next step is to continue to diminish our want/need for those stores by finding items elsewhere. 

Use public transportation/walk - Again, having lived without a car for many years, it's second nature to try and utilize public transportation. About 7 years ago I started walking to work and made finding a job where I could do that a priority. Walking to work is my favorite part of every work day!! We specifically moved to a town where my husband could still use public transportation to get to work. He takes a train most of the way and walks the rest.  
Next Step: Find even more ways to stay local, use our car less, or upgrade to a more eco friendly car in the future. 

These are the main things we were already doing that adhere to the zero waste lifestyle. But when I start to think about it, I can think of other things, too. I found this exercise really helpful and I plan to make more lists like this in the future.   

All the photos in this post are from our local beaches. We were out for only about an hour and saw all this trash plus much more washed up on the otherwise empty and pristine landscape. Most of the items of trash could have easily been eliminated by choosing very simple sustainable options. My husband and I were understandably sad about what we saw, but it helped encourage us that we are on the right path, as slow going and tough as that path might appear. 

I highly recommend anyone thinking about going zero waste/plastic free/fair wardrobe, etc... to make a list of the things they already do towards this goal. It helped me feel less overwhelmed and let me see that each step is worth it. 

Something Nice

The other day I ran out of the rice milk I made (more on that later). Instead of running to the store, I simply made a new batch of oat milk. It took 10 minutes and felt great be self sufficient! 

For this batch, I used 1/2 cup oats and 1 1/2 cups water. I didn't let them soak, just blended them immediately. It came out much better, creamy but not gummy!

Jersey Collective Collection + Year 3 Photo Show

In June 2015, I was thrilled to be part of an interesting community art project: Jersey Collective. Each week, a different artist takes over the Jersey Collective feed on instagram and gives everyone a glimpse of their New Jersey. In December 2016, I participated again! For me, it was a very different experience to try and show my NJ now that I lived there again. If I did this project again, now, I wonder how it will have changed for me?

I'm thinking about Jersey Collective today bc it marks the opening of their Third Year Show! Each year they have had a gallery show featuring one photo from each artist and week of the year long project. 52 artists, 52 photos. Each year the show is held in a different gallery or community space, and open to the public. Here is the info for this year's opening:
Opening reception with the artists:
Saturday, November 4, 2017
7:00-10:00 pm
South Amboy YMCA
200 John T. O'Leary Blvd
South Amboy, NJ 08879

I'm not sure how long the show runs, but I highly suggest that if you are in NJ or close, you check out both the instagram and the show. I'm also not sure which photo from my week in December of 2016 is featured. Here are my images from 2016:

@art_poca is the next New Jerseyian to shoot for JC after me in Dec 2016. 

And 2015:

The top left image is the next participant's.  The bottom right, the rooster, was the image that was chosen for that year's show. 

If you are from NJ I hope that you will reach out to Jersey Collective and shoot a week! For me, it was a really lovely process and it would be lovely to hear what readers of my blog think. 

For those not from NJ, do you have community projects in your area? Have you participated?

October in Review

My goodness, the year is almost at a close! After October's quick turn to true fall, Winter is right on it's heels. October was a lovely month, a true switch from the bustling nature of Summer into the settling in of Autumn calm. 

1) Sulfer. 2) Cacti. 3) Supermarket Tree. 4) Quartz.

We were able to take a few trips, see old familiar places, and new locales. Some we will return to, some perhaps not. 

Cats were a priority, both our own and the watchers that were out in droves!

1) Tom contemplating. 2) Flounder flat out. 3) A night time visitor. 4) Tom out like a light. 

1) Car watcher, 2) Playful kittens, 3) On the fence, 3) Out to sea.

It was a busy work month, but very little quilting got done.

I was able to see some new spots in the neighborhood. 

1) Asbury Park Distillery. 2) Bright yellow in Keyport. 3) A perfect building in Far Hills. 4) Holidays at work. 

These past few months have been really hard. Adjusting to a new schedule, working towards zero waste, trying, as always to be better for my family and friends, has been very difficult. Sometimes I worry that the end results will never arrive, or will not be worth it. But I try to keep my way on the path and remember that I have end goals that I am moving towards that I truly believe in. 

So, October was one step close to the end of the year, and November will be another, moving ever forwards towards in life.

On My Mind On Friday Morning

Time for another edition of one line movie reviews:
Blade Runner 2049 - A really good sequel, made years later, but in the same universe.
John Wick 2 - Never saw the first one. I think I'd like that better. 
LoudQUIETLoud - The Pixies were even weirder than you thought. 
Who else is ready to build a house in the woods with this??
Speaking of people's houses, I've noticed a lot of articles about celebs from NJ. I liked this one. 
Maybe we should all just move in with Ed Begley Jr.  
Starting this post with fire and ending with rainbows! Here are some rainbows thrown from the prism I moved this week. I'm in need of more rainbows now that the weather is getting colder. 

October Plant Update

It's been a warm and wonderful October, only towards the end turning chilly. There has been a lot of plants to observe outside, and to tend to inside. Getting near the first frost means we are adding dirt, and sprucing up our plants in doors, and moving them around to make room for our inside plants that have been hanging out outside all Summer.  I also got to visit Deep Cut Gardens for the first time in many years and ogle their succulents. Then rushed out to pick up a few new ones for our home!

Repotting, and maintaining out indoor plants for Winter. 

So mant succulents!

So many cacti!

Infinity

We were a little late for the rose garden in it's prime. Next year! 

Fishermen at The Manasquan Reservoir. 

Winter is definitely on it's way Down The Shore. What are the plants doing where you live?

Something New: Home Made Oat Milk

I've been allergic to cow's milk for as long as I can remember. So although, I prefer skim milk in my coffee, I rarely drink it and I never buy. My preferred non dairy milk, especially in my coffee, is rice milk. Non sweetened rice milk is the closest to skim milk, in my opinion. But rice milk comes in tetra packs and often has a lot of gross ingredients (canola oil, why?), when bought commercially. So recently I went on the hunt for a rice milk alternative. I have found a few that I enjoy, but when my husband brought home extra oats the other day, and it coincided with running out of milk, I decided to try making my own Oat Milk. 

I had been researching making my own non dairy milks for a while, but buying as many nuts as one needs can get expensive! Oat milk, as well as cashew, hemp and macadamia, was one of the milks I tried and liked when store bought. Oats are super cheap, and can be bought in bulk, so it was a no brainer to try making the milk. I read a bunch of recipes but in the end decided to wing it and make it as simply as possible. 

Ingredients:
1 cup oats
3 cups cool or cold water

Equipment:
Blender
Fine mesh strainer (or cheese cloth or nut milk bag)
Jar

All the recipes suggest using rolled oat or stone ground oats, but all I had on hand were quick oats so I used those. Some say to soak the oats, some not. I soaked mine for about 10 minutes, maybe less. I added the oats and the water to the blender and let sit as I puttered about the kitchen. Next, blend on high, as high as you can, for 5 -7 minutes. You don't want to blend too long. Once blended, use a fine mesh strainer or cheese cloth, etc... and pour into a jar. All I had for straining was a rather large stainer, but that worked fine. I just had a few oatmeal pieces in the jar afterwards. Refrigerate your milk. Makes about 1.5 pints. Use it in coffee, baking, etc... but shake before use! 

A few notes:
-Save the strained oat pieces, use as oatmeal for breakfast, in baking, etc...
-The recipes all say this volume lasts about a week but I'm almost done with mine 3 days in just from drinking in my daily coffees. 
-Don't heat this milk. Pouring it in coffee, or using in baking, is ok, but heating it on the stove will create a goopy mess. Think oatmeal without the meal. 
-Add sweetener and/or a pinch of salt if desired. I like my coffee unsweetened and even sweetened milk is too much for me.  
-Bring a spoon. This milk is a little gummy and heavier than most milk I'm used to in my coffee, so it tends to settle. I now have a spoon on hand to stir my coffee as needed. I also end up using more of this milk than I would another milk, so something to think about. 
-Make this milk zero waste and plastic free by getting your oats in bulk, recycling a jar for storage, and using the leftover blended oat parts.  

Over all, I really liked making my own oat milk. When I make my next batch, I will use more water to oats, to see if I like the consistency better. When I run out of our excess minute oats, I will try using stone ground to see if it ends up being less gloopy. I may make some sweetened to try it with cookies or for drinking. 

Next up, I plan to try rice milk! Who else out there makes their own non dairy milk? Tips, tricks?

Zero Waste: My Favorite Jars

In 2017 I started my zero waste journey. Zero Waste is the goal, mindful practice is the action. When I use the term Zero Waste, that is my ultimate goal, but Less Waste would be a more  accurate description of my evolving lifestyle. 

I think one thing that all all people trying to go zero waste, or plastic free, can agree on is that recycled jars are a great thing to have! They can be used for food storage instead of a plastic tupperware, as dry goods storage, as freezer storage, as drinking vessels, to hold cleaners, snacks, hair clips, home remedies, flowers, nuts, bolts, screws, and just about anything else you can think of.  

Since most of us, when buying packaged items, try to buy glass, we end up having quite a few jars laying around. Sure they can be recycled, and sometimes are, but I prefer to reuse at least a few time before that step, or indefinitely. I started this practice long before I knew what zero waste was and I was happy to discover I was already doing something towards this life style!

Another thing I think people who do the same and feel the same as I do about glass jars, is that we all have our favorite jars! Erin from Reading My Tea Leaves talks about her favorite jar in her blog. Personally, I have two favorite style of jars, that come from specific items. 

I'm a big fan of natural crunchy peanut butter. I don't much mind what brand, as long as it has less than 4 ingredients, is organic, and comes in a glass jar! These Jars are great, bc they are a manageable size, usually about 16oz, have a wide mouth, and a metal top! Great for drinking out of, bringing your drink along, storing food items and beach finds! When I need a larger vessel, I greatly enjoy a Mt Olive pickle jar! Firstly, yum, pickles! But this jar is twice as big as the peanut butter jar, and shares the same great properties!

I love these jars bc I find that the caps don't rust easily or quickly, and the jars themselves are sturdy and strong. These two are my go to jars and I use them in some capacity everyday. 

What jars are your favorite? Are there other surprising reused items you can't live with out?