Coconut

I LOVE coconut.  The smell takes me back to my days of laying in the sun slathered with Hawaiian Tropic Dark Tanning Oil.

I could eat The Barefoot Contessa's Coconut Cupcakes for every meal....

My Mom just recently discovered this tea...and it is delicious!

Coconut Chai Black Tea...you can find it in the natural foods sections at the grocery store.

I also have been reading LOTS about the health benefits of coconut oil.

One of my favorite books, Gorgeously Green, talks about some of the health benefits being, "that it contains lauric acid which can destroy viruses; it is great for brain development and the nervous system; it can protect against cancer and heart disease....Coconut oil is even thought to aid in weight loss because the body doesn't store it as fat; rather, the liver converts it straight into energy"

Tosca Reno (Clean Eating Magazine & Oxygen Magazine) also raved about the benefits and the taste!  I do reccomend buying the "Virgin" Organic Coconut Oil...I was able to purchase this exact brand in the natural foods section at my grocery store.

So, last night I made a recipe from Oxygen magazine that Tosca Reno mentioned she loves:

Saute one bunch of Kale with a spoonfull of Coconut Oil, minced garlic, sea salt, and fresh ground pepper...it was delicious...there is just a hint of coconut, but it really just made the dish.  I am going to try adding it to my protein shakes and maybe a bit to my oatmeal too.

I am not a nutritionist, just love finding new healthy alternatives to add to mine and my family's diet.  Let me know if you give any of these a try!

Do you have one of these??

Do any of you have one of these ceramic compost crocks?

I throw all of my food scraps, egg shells, coffee grounds in the garbage...so I was thinking this would be a great way for me to start composting them.

I have been wanting one for so long, but I am wanting to know...

do you like it??

does it put off any odors??

Grab My Button!

I made a button for my blog!!

If you would like to add it to your blog...it is right over there ☛

Giveaway!

My friend Danielle is have a great Lisa Leonard giveaway....go check it out!

Black is the new White

I was going through past photos, and came across this picture of our Foyer doors.

When we moved in, these were solid doors and our foyer was so dark.

We replaced them with these which I love! They make a huge difference, and look so great from the front of our house. The outside of these doors are painted black.

Awhile back I decided I wanted the inside of the doors black as well. So, our doors went from this.....

To this....

I love the transformation, and I love Black!!

The next "black project" on my list is my stair bannister...which I plan on doing this Spring/Summer!

Green Cleaning~

Kristen over at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia did a post today on one of my favorite books...

It reminded me of this post that I did awhile back.

Since then I have fallen in love with Mrs. Myers Dish Soap and All Purpose Cleaner, but never really switched over any of my other cleaners. Kristin has inspired me today to make a couple of changes! This also came on the heels of this post that I read from a new blog I found 320 Sycamore about making my own granite cleaner (is alcohol a "green" product??)...I made a batch and it works great!

Now that we have a 5 year old little Lady in our house who LOVES to help her Mommy clean, I feel better having cleaners under my counters that I know she can use to help and that are safe.

So...today I will get out my book and take a refresher course on

"Green Cleaning"

Grey is my new favorite color!

First...let's clear something up...is it GREY or GRAY?

Here is what I found:

Gray is used primarily in the United States and other areas that use US English. Grey is used in Great Britain and areas that use UK English.

I'm an Anglophile so, GREY it is!

CrewCuts

Anthropologie

GapKids

Target

Tracy Porter

Liberty of London coming to Tarjay!!

Have you heard??

Liberty of London is coming to Target in 8 days!!

In additon to all of this yummy stuff...Girls and Women's clothing!!

I think that bike is calling my name!

Score!

My friend Catie shared about these cute little french glasses...and I knew I needed to find some. Now you can buy them at Williams Sonoma or Restoration Hardware...but for me, the thrill is in the hunt :)

Well, I stopped into a local thrift store, and after digging around on the dusty shelves...THERE they were...8 of them!! Catie likes to keep a few in the freezer and then have her little sip of wine in them....oooh how French!