"H" is for

H is for Hearts. And on that topic, Valentine's Day is coming soon. Wouldn't you love to give someone these off-color conversation hearts? So much attitude in such little packages!

Hearts you can knit or sew for Valentine's day...

• (I posted this link before)


• A cute pattern from Susan B Anderson's website. Too pretty and I love the soaps she packaged with them!


• cute heart mitts!


• A heart doily to crochet!


• A crocheted folk-art heart motif--I like the blog this is found on!


• A conversation hearts scarf, great colors!


• This photo is from Drops Design:
  --how cute is that felted heart?!

• cute pillowcases with hearts to make. What a great design!


• And for quilters heart yo-yos that could be sewn into a lovely reusable garland in your fav scraps! Oh, this is toooooo cute! I'm feeling very inspired!

H is for Healthy living.

With all the news about mercury in our corn syrup, studies of bottled-water plastics residue (BPA) being retained in our bodies after exposure, and the chemicals entering our food chain manually, it's never been a better time to think about your health and revamp your lifestyle.

I'm personally trying to become a better consumer by reusing plastic grocery bags, & slowly replacing them with re-usable totes. I'm buying more fresh produce, and especially from the organic section and local farmers. I'm weaning off bottled water--I guess the BPA-laced plastic is also used to line cans...that's frightening. It is EVERYWHERE.

Our rapid-pace, disposable lifestyle is killing us slowly, by poisoning our oceans with debris and CO2 emissions, eroding our ozone layer, and depositing chemicals into our very makeup that could have unforeseen consequences. Very scary indeed. Like destroying our planets natural oxygen factory, the rain-forest.This poster makes a sad but true statement:

via

Here's an article on healthy eating. Paying attention to your own habits, consumer habits, eating habits, etc, can make an impact on yourself and the world around you.

For instance, I was always grabbing the bottled waters at work as a "healthy snack." Now I'm freaked out by the BPA I'm exposing myself to. (Not to mention the trash needlessly generated) I'm going to get a Brita Filter to keep at work in our office fridge (these are generally made of plastic too, but I'm not sure which kind--I'll find out today) and filter the water to drink from my own cup. There are plastics that have no BPA leaching, that should be safer to use. I guess it's the plastics labeled "1" and "2" that are the best for water bottles. "7" is the BPA-loaded type. Here's a link to BPA-free water bottles that you can re-use, so buy one and fill it with tap water!

My own thought on aluminum is this: I won't switch to aluminum water bottles; aluminum cookware use has been implicated in Alzheimer's disease, so I'd pick a stainless steel version, or just use an old-fashioned thermos that has the glass liner.

H is for Hobbit House! A sustainable-living Hobbit House!


Found here (scroll down). What a cool article, and a sweet design! Wouldn't you just love to live in something that had that kind of curb-appeal?!

Have a Hobbit-cozy, Homey & Healthy weekend!